Monday, March 16, 2009

Frequently Asked Questions





How did you get involved in the Tea Party Movement?

I am on Facebook and Twitter, and the buzz on Twitter was about having three large tea parties in three different cities. Soon other people stepped up to volunteer to add their own cities to the list, and I decided Houston, large as it is, needed to be represented as well. I wasn't recruited, nor did I apply for permission. I just planned the event with my cohorts, and joined the national effort.

How long did it take you to organize the 2/27 event?

We planned the Tea Party with six days' notice. And with only six days' notice, we saw a crowd of about 500.

Why didn't I see anything about it on tv?

Um, yeah. Media. Well, we made our own coverage and videos, which can be seen here and here. When you use You Tube, the media can miss the story and you can still get the word out.

Your crowd didn't look very diverse.

Our speakers sure were!

People like to say this is just an angry white people phenomenon. The truth is that bad economic policies hurt everyone, and the black and Hispanic communities are hurt worst of all. In tough times, people don't take the risk to start businesses. When taxes are high, you find barriers to entry in small businesses, and less disposable income to stimulate the economy.

It is also important to remember that this borrow-and-spend habit never works. Wealth and jobs are created by businesses and people, not governments. Government doesn't create anything, it merely takes what you've already worked for and says "You're not smart enough to spend that money correctly, so we're going to do it for you." This from the people who order $600 toilets.

But didn't all this spending start under President Bush? Why blame President Obama?

Oh, it DID start under President Bush, and it was reprehensible then, too. And many of us railed against him then, too. But this was during the middle of an election cycle, and there was no general interest in covering the lame-duck president losing support. Those reports instead covered John McCain and his mild objections to massive spending.

People who are angry at the current president also realize which president and which Congress got the ball rolling on bailouts and spending. The banking sector, the auto industry, the investment companies, the mortgage industry... all this was inevitable with the first discussion of a bailout in Bush's term. That doesn't absolve the current president from blame for the way he has greased the skids and sent the economy rocketing to hell on a bobsled.

Hell on a bobsled? Come ON.

I stand by my statement. When a government can grab control of the major facets of the economy, whether by ownership or severe regulation, markets cease to provide information by which to make good business decisions. People stop taking risks, investment falls, and capital is horded rather than invested for growth. Sounds like fun, right?

It sounds like you are just engaging in class warfare.

Class warfare has already been DECLARED on the taxpayer!
Let me make it personal. My husband will be losing his job at the end of April, so we're scrambling to figure out how we will make it after that. He's paid our mortgage faithfully for years, and never missed. But now, more of his income is supposed to be stolen from him in order to pay for other people's mortgages; mortgages they obtained by lying or by purchasing more house than they could afford, mortgages in which the owners are woefully behind on the payments. What gives those people the entitlement to my husband's paycheck? Why should we be forced to pay to keep others in their houses? Who will keep us in ours?

No, class warfare was declared, and we are RESPONDING.

What do you hope to accomplish with the Tea Party movement?

The theme of the Tax Day Tea Party protests across the country is "Repeal the Pork, Cut Taxes." Our message to Congress and to the President is simple: current policies are incompatible with the Constitution, so follow the Constitution.

Locally, we plan to organize more formally in order to reach local politicians and candidates. We aim to hold candidate forums and design ways to get our message to our elected officials in ways that they can no longer ignore. We're fed up!

1 comment:

  1. Amen, Sister!!!! I am encouraged to see the diversity of the people who are outraged by this big spending and unfair policies of taking from those who have "played by the rules" to give to those who have not.

    I've lost a great deal in all of this too. Nobody cares about us. But you won't see us asking for a handout from the government. Why? The price is too high.

    I agree, class warfare was declared long ago. It's a cruel hoax on the disadvantaged who are told entitlements are the only way to make it.

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