Austinites plan "Tea Parties" as part of nationwide protests

Austin American Statesman ^ | 04/15/2009 | Danny Yadron

[unixfox]

Austinites plan 'tea parties' as part of nationwide protests By Danny Yadron

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A band of outraged Austinites will re-enact the Boston Tea Party today.

The group, expected to number in the hundreds, will rally at the state Capitol to protest what some call runaway spending in Washington. They will then march to Lady Bird Lake to recreate the famous 1773 protest.

But it will be a far cry from the infamous protest of the American Revolution, organizers admit. Empty boxes labeled with the name of the once heavily taxed beverage will be thrown into the water — and immediately retrieved by canoe. The protesters have even obtained the proper permits from city officials, event organizer Judy Holloway said.

The rally is one of an estimated 600 "tax day tea parties" that various grass-roots organizations and conservative interest groups have orchestrated to oppose what they call taxation without adequate representation. Depending on the group, the protests are a reaction to stimulus spending, congressional earmarks or Wall Street bailouts.

The rallies have been in the works since a February rant by CNBC host Rick Santelli went viral on the Internet. While he was on the floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange, Santelli called for a "Chicago tea party in July" against President Barack Obama's plan to buy bad mortgages. A week later, dozens of such events were held across the country.

"A lot of Americans just feel trapped right now," said Mary Ellen Burke, a spokeswoman for Americans for Prosperity, one of the groups that helped to organize a large number of today's protests. "They elected the representatives, but representatives don't always vote the way they say they'll vote."

Americans for Prosperity's Texas branch has planned its own Austin tea party today at Austin City Hall, titled "Don't Mess with Texas," said Cindy Mallette, a local group director. Gov. Rick Perry will speak at the event, as will other local Republicans and Libertarians.

But in the days leading up to the rallies, some have begun to question the motives and timing of those involved.

Libertarians hold their own tax day protests outside Austin's downtown post office, said Wes Benedict, former executive director of the Libertarian Party of Texas. About 25 to 30 people usually attend, he said.

"I'm glad to see citizens show they're fed up with the high taxes, but I think a lot of these Republicans showing up are just hypocrites," he said. "The Republican machine is trying to get in front of a parade. They probably feel like they have to."

One of the repeated claims of organizers is that today's rallies have grown from the ground up, a sort of conservative response to the grass-roots organizing that Democrats said propelled Obama to the White House.

Democrats have countered that the tea party operation has been hijacked by a "small, vocal minority," said Kirsten Gray, Democratic Party of Texas spokeswoman.

FreedomWorks, a conservative activist organization led by former U.S. Rep. Dick Armey, has been instrumental in creating many of today's events, said Brendan Steinhauser, the group's director of federal and state campaigns. FreedomWorks' Web site features a map of all known protests in the country, and national directors have advised local activists who wanted to hold events. In most cases, local organizers came to FreedomWorks, Steinhauser said.

"Some of the politicians want support or they want to ride that wave," he said. "The local organizers reject these people. We are extremely upset at many of the Republicans in Congress."

FreedomWorks encouraged protest when the first bailout passed in 2008 under then-President George W. Bush, Steinhauser said.

But the group's association with Armey, the former Republican House majority leader, raises questions of authenticity when organizers claim nonpartisanship, said Eva DeLuna, budget analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income Texans.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, will speak at the state Capitol rally. He said he spoke Tuesday at a tea party in Brenham, which about 200 people attended.

"This is very organic, if you will," McCaul said. "All across the district we're seeing people supporting this."

Holloway said she hopes that at the very least, today's events will show that people can still protest.

"They're spending money without our permission," she said. "I don't like it. We elect these officials; they should listen to us."

[unixfox]

I'm sure the Statesman will report an accurate count of those who attend. I'm certain of it.

[manic4organic]

Yeah, just like they’re reporting that Dick Armey organized all these Tea Parties.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Looks like the conservatives are still fragmented among different political parties, each claiming the others are acting out of selfish political interest. Well, duh! Each interest group insisting on the perfect candidate is what keeps us out of office. We must not let the desire for “perfect” defeat “good.”