HUGE tea party in Chicago!!!! At least 5000 here. Just sang the National Anthem.
Mancow, the DJ revving up the crowd. “Don’t spread MY wealth around, spread my work ethic”!
Some disruptions going on in Madison, Wisconsin...apparently counter protestors have arrived...
Crowd gathers for Madison tax protest; counter-rally expected
By Steven Walters of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Apr. 15, 2009 11:02 a.m.
Madison - Mary Phelps of Burlington came to the Capitol on Wednesday to protest the leadership of President Barack Obama and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
She was in place one hour before a rally to protest what she said was an erosion of personal freedoms under Obama and overspending by the governor. The rally was sponsored by Americans for Prosperity. The state Republican Party provided buses that brought protesters from an outlying parking area to the Capitol.
“I’m really upset at the changes that Obama has made,” Phelps said. Her sign told Obama to “Keep your change. I’ll keep freedoms. God bless the USA.”
But Scot Ross, executive director of the Democratic-leaning group One Wisconsin Now, said his group was organizing some counter-protesters.
“If this corporate-funded rally is to oppose raising taxes on the wealthiest 1%, then we think the wealthiest 1% should show up and thank the crowd for protecting their tax breaks and opposing the closing of offshore tax havens,” Ross said.
Earlier this year, Doyle signed into law a tax increase on businesses, which Democrats said ended loopholes that have allowed them to not pay state income taxes. Doyle also wants to create a new tax bracket, with a tax rate of 7.75%, for what he said would be the richest 1% of Wisconsin residents. Republican legislators have argued that the state should cut spending rather than raise taxes.
The Capitol “tea party” rally is one of many being held across the country to coincide with the deadline to file federal and state income taxes.
Oh I can’t imagine how wonderful that must have sounded, all the singing. Talk about leg tingles!