Tax protesters gather across U.S.; president promises cuts for some

Please see updates below the main article. I'm trying to publish everything I get in email and by phone about the tea parties.

A pleasant feature of Jacksonville's downtown area: it smells like coffee because of the Maxwell House Plant. [photo by Kay B. Day]Even Jacksonville’s First Coast News TV anchor was surprised at the “jam-packed” Tea Party held at Jacksonville Landing on Tax Day. Organized by a number of grassroots groups, my own Republican Liberty Caucus (NE Florida) fellows participated, working hard to get a good turn out. This wasn’t an easy feat—today’s gathering came on the heels of a Fair Tax Rally that drew thousands to the Landing on Saturday. Neal Boortz and Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) spoke at the Fair Tax event.

A story by the Associated Press describes thousands gathering in cities across the nation to protest federal spending and of course taxes. The Homeland Security Dept. will be hard-pressed to track all these “right wing” types recently defined as “extremists” by the Obama administration.

CNN showed a brief aerial shot of the Washington, D.C. protest and you can tell there’s an ample crowd.
I shot this less than stellar photo from my TV screen as CNN aired snippets of the Washington, DC protest.
Some statist Democratic Party enthusiasts have charged the tea parties are a right-wing conspiracy funded by Republican strategists and others.

That’s a fabrication. These protests grew in true grassroots fashion, without all the rabid social media manipulation the DNC loves to use. It’s true that organizations like FreedomWorks and the Republican Executive Committee in Jacksonville have helped spread the word. But I cover political groups diligently and I can tell you from what I’ve seen, the protests began with an idea and took on a life of their own. I’d like to encourage the donkeys among us to respect freedom of assembly and accept that for once, the conservatives are holding protest signs. That in itself is a phenomenon.

In between coverage of the protests, some networks also aired remarks by President Barack Obama who has I snapped this photo of President Barack Obama promising tax cuts to some when CNN aired his remarks on Tax Day.promised a tax cut to those making less than $250,000 per year. It’s my understanding those cuts come to $400 for an individual and $800 for a family, spread over a year. The federal government sank $156 billion into a tax cut that will have little impact on the economy yet adds to our debt. And of course when President George W. Bush’s tax adjustments expire, the marriage penalty will return.

Rep. Eric Cantor, Republican Whip (Va.), issued a statement that goes to the heart of conservative philosophy. “Republicans know that Washington must not spend money faster than American families’ ability to pay for it. Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the Administration look at our $11 trillion debt and think it is time for Washington to raise taxes on hard-working Americans and spend more than ever before. They are wrong. America doesn’t have an $11 trillion debit because Washington taxes too little; it is because Washington spends too much.”

The Tea Parties aren’t just about the taxes—they’re also about an irresponsible level of spending that will indebt generations to come. Some attendees say the Tea in Party stands for “Taxed Enough Already.” One sign held by a Jacksonville protestor said, “Give me liberty, not debt.” Those two words—liberty and debt—do tend to be incompatible.

 Guests at the Republican Liberty Caucus' National Convention held in Jacksonville; the group urged members to attend a Tax Day protest.

Update on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 4:17PM by Kay B. Day, Editor

April 21, 2009: We've received reports CNN may yank the video included below of the network's reporter flagrantly showing her bias. All she lacked was a Democratic Party button. So you  may consider saving the vid if you want future access to it.

April 15, 2009

4:15 p.m.: Neil Cavuto is in Sacramento where a huge crowd has gathered. Californians are being hit hard by state taxes too. All sanctuary states are hit hard, including my home state of Florida. Cavuto said there are at least 2,300 protests happening across the nation. This isn't just about the taxes--the protests are also about government spending. Cool sign I saw: "Don't tax me, bro!"

Dakota Voice is covering South Dakota protests. William J. Federer reminds us, "In 1942, with World War II, Franklin Roosevelt passed “the greatest tax bill in American history.”

More coverage as information comes in.

4:34 p.m.: About 5,000 at Michigan capital tea party according to friend on Twitter.

5:30 p.m.: About 4,500 at Jacksonville Landing Tea Party protest, according to my Facebook friend Erik Setzer (using The Landing's figures). I heard kids were planning to use river water instead of tea bags--so the water came from and was returned to the great St. John's. Nice green touch, that.

Time Unknown: Watch the CNN reporter lose it. She tries to ask a protestor, "Don't you know you're getting a $400 tax break?" Or something like that. She should be fired for complete stupidity. The government spent 1 1/2 billion bucks to give people a paltry tax break, incurring more debt, while gouging top earners. This reporter's bias is overwhelming. She did not treat the interviewee with respect. This is a prime example of a statist reporter hostile to what the other side has to say. And watch the anchor back her up --sort of oh, you poor thing, what you went through. Where do networks find these women?

Comments

[Dave Nale]

Wow, that video is pretty incredible. The efforts of the CNN woman to totally mischaracterize the event were truly shameless. "Not family viewing" my ass. What a shill.

But the guy with the baby was also sadly confused. Great though Lincoln was, his biggest mistake was that he initiated the first income tax in US history and laid the groundwork for future direct taxation.

IMO associating this protest with April 15th was a big mistake from the very start. It put too much emphasis on the tax issue and took away from the much stronger and more important issues of state sovereignty and opposing the madness of stimulus spending.

Dave
Republic of Dave

[Kay B. Day, Editor]

Dave, I think the CNN "reporter's" conduct is a perfect example of leftwing extremism. Perhaps DHS can check her out. :>)