Tea Party!!!

Dear Readers,

The day before yesterday, on Independence Day, my wife and I went to a tea party! It was so fun!

Now, we didn’t go to the type of tea party you might be thinking about. There were no old English ladies extending their pinkies as they politely sipped tea. Nobody ate crumpets and nobody discussed the merits of Victorian-style décor. It wasn’t that kind of tea party.

It was a TEA (taxed enough already) party. It’s for fiscal conservatives, you know, people who are upset about the bailouts, the stimulus bill that passed recently, the climate change bill that passed in the House of Representatives about a week ago, and the Universal Health Care bill that Obama has in the works.

I was a little worried that there were going to be some crazy gun nuts there, or ultra-conservative wackos, or maybe some extreme libertarian or anarchist people there.

But when I got there (in front of Flagstaff city hall) and saw what was going on, my fears were alleviated. It was a really peaceful demonstration. There was one guy who wore a T-shirt that said "9/11 was an inside job" but the most radical thing about him was his T-shirt. He was really quiet. Mostly there were hard workers, people in cowboy hats, and lots of senior citizens.
Another thing the tea party attendees did to make the demonstration seem not so radical is say the Pledge of Allegiance. I thought that was a nice touch. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance lets people know that we're not violent, and we're not in opposition to our government. We're just patriots exercising our First Amendment rights to speak freely and to assemble peacefully.

I don’t know how much the tea party really accomplished. I don’t know how much it caused legislators to change their ways. But a lot of people driving by honked and waved in support of us, and we were raising awareness, so that was cool. There was a reporter from the Flagstaff newspaper there, taking pictures, so hopefully they’ll do a positive write-up in the paper about the tea party.

The first wave of tea parties happened in cities across the country on April 15th. Maybe you heard about them in the news. I wanted to go to the first tea party in Flagstaff, where I live, but I was in a communist literature class at the time, learning about how great Marxism is.

The tea party the day before yesterday lasted an hour, from noon to 1 pm, in front of city hall, and the weather was great. There were about 250 people there. There were 4 speakers who talked through a megaphone to the crowd.

The first guy was the sheriff of Coconino County, Arizona, for a really long time, and he talked about how the country was changing and how we’re headed towards socialism and stuff, and how that’s really bad.

The second speaker was a small business owner in Flagstaff who talked about how she had to budget really well in the recession, and she asked, “Why is it that when American citizens are tightening their belts, government writes itself a blank check? They should be cutting back in tight times, just like we are!” She made great points.

The last person was a lady who had voted for Barack Obama, but now she wishes she hadn’t and she’s frustrated with reckless government spending. She said she was in New York City on 9/11, and she talked about how wasteful and stupid the government was for photographing Air Force One around NYC recently.

The fourth speaker was billed as a “constitutional scholar,” and he spoke for the longest time. He had gone to law school, and he had taught government and history at a high school in Globe, Arizona, and he talked mostly about how the lawmakers really ought to read the bills before they sign them. He talked about how our representatives and senators are supposed to represent our desires, and he feels like most people want lower taxes, smaller government, and an environment where small business and large business can prosper. I can’t remember his name, but he said that he was going to run to be an Arizona representative of District 1. He’s hoping to replace Ann Kirkpatrick.

My wife and I didn’t bring any signs, and we didn’t yell at all, but we just wanted to be there to add to the numbers and get more politically active. (OK, it was mostly my idea. I was the one who heard about the tea party and wanted to go, but my wife agrees with me pretty much politically, and we vote virtually identically, because we discuss the propositions and candidates and usually come to an agreement on what’s best.)

We saw a lot of funny and cool posters there. Here’s what some of them said:

Keep your hands off my piggy bank!

I see debt people.

Read the bill.

Madoff billions, Obama trillions

Obama, thanks for the change- that’s all I’ve got left.

Just Say no to socialism

Born free, taxed to death

Don’t spread the wealth; spread my work ethic

Don’t Stimulate … Liberate

Give us liberty; not debt

HONK if I’m paying your mortgage

Next Time, Read the Bill Before You Sign It, Stupid

Obama: Commander and Thief

Reduce your government footprint

TEA = Taxed Enough Already

Universal health care make me SICK

Socialism smells like B.O.

I bet a lot of those people at the tea party got their poster ideas from this website or a website like it:

http://lukeamerica2020.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/101-tea-party-sign-slogans/

Here were a few funny slogans on the website that I didn’t see on July 4th:

Socialists Don’t Need no Stinkin’ Budget

GOD Only Requires 10%

And my favorite slogan is…

Oh … Now I See … Change Means Socialism

Overall, the tea party was great, and I like the tea party movement.

Hey, I’m part of a movement! Oh it’s so exciting! I hope the tea party movement generates hope and change I can believe in.

I don’t know if there will be another tea party anytime soon, but if there is, and my schedule is free, I’ll attend.

Viva capitalism!

Sincerely,
Telemoonfa.