Watching one plump rosy-cheeked rather friendly-looking red-haired middle-age southern woman with a straw hat from which hung many teabags around every inch of the brim, I could not help but to wonder about the mentality of those in attendance at the "Tea Parties." She was not articulate enough to address the reason she was protesting and I could not help but to think that a grassroots effort this could never make.
I would no longer participate in such a "grassroots protest" if you paid me. There is nothing grassroots about these protests. I am all for grass roots organizations, but these were not such; they were engineered and organized by organizations on the far right, not by the people. They have the air of such and have gathered little steam.
Joe the Plumber was here in Michigan heading up a protest. Listening to him is just so bad. He's like a female Sarah Palin. He is most certainly not the brightest and his vigor leaves me utterly unmoved: hot noise on a pogo stick! I am, however, for making tax codes more sensible and for deficit reduction. We'd be hard pressed to find Americans who would not want this. By the way, where were such "grassroots organizations" for the past eight years when the deficit spiraled completely out of control? It seems very political indeed. Most Americans are pleased with the way President Obama is handling tax issues.
CNN report that a "recent polling also suggests that a majority of Americans are giving the president a thumbs up when it comes to taxes. Sixty-two percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national survey conducted last month said they approve of how Obama is handling taxes. Thirty-seven percent disapproved."
That would be:
62% Approve
37% Disapprove
Some are speaking of the President's accountants being upfront with the real here were not too many people speaking about the creative "accountants" of the last 8 years that did not include BOTH wars in an administration where deficit has been the largest ever in our history. So, what was President Reagan's excuse? The deficit increased then to its greatest level ever before President George W. Bush and there wasn't even ONE war!
Now, can we talk about honesty? No one talked about the deficits when President Reagan or President George W. Bush were in office. I'm all for reducing the deficit, especially after seeing the documentary I.O.U.S.A. Scary stuff! But these Tea Parties seem purely political, not to mention lame. Many interviewed could not even explain why they were protesting. But they looked the part!
5 comments:
Judith;
I keep thinking how terrific news was when we had three networks and some UHF channels. Programming went off the air for several hours a day and journalists followed some basic tenets to report facts not their opinion. Now we have 24 hours of programming to fill, endless talking heads and political consultants fueled by their respective parties talking points blathering on and endlessly arguing. Repeat it enough times and someone will believe it.
My challenge with the way tax dollars are spent is simply the fact they are being spent on programs that are inefficient and ineffective. Couple this with the pork and earmarks that keep that money coming in for re-election campaigns, I can understand why folks feel the urge to "vent" and if they do it in a way that's "organized" by groups that support a particular party or agenda so be it. It's a game both parties play. I would say however a more effective form of protest might be to get involved and engaged with your neighbors and work on your local communities challenges,
To me , real change begins with the way we fund elections and level the playing field to enable more parties to overcome the "incumbents" advantage and be heard.
Terrific topic Judith, as always!
Dave - Your opening paragraph literally made me laugh aloud. It's so true. I too agree with the necessity of government efficiency and campaign finance reform. Thanks for your comment.
I agree most News after well-calculated horror stories we
essentially can do nothing about,
consists of carefully crafted
commericals loosely based on
fact, largely based on opinion.
Grass roots groups are usually
paid in one form or another
these days. Not the surge of
over-whelming dismay about the
topic at hand, but sponsored
by people who have a huge vested
interest [ read more money than
the majority of the people participatin will ever see in
their lifetime] and have the
means to round up people and
basically appeal to them on an
emotional level.
Upshot - Some do not care for this
Administration and feel a visceral need to "cause turmoil" under the
guise of caring about America.
Which how can this be when one of
the biggest Republicans, no pun
intended, has said he hopes the
new president fails. Come on,
really! To be willing to sacrifice
America? What a shame.
You're right Judith, more than half
of the people attending the tea
party are quite sure why they are
there, no doubt.
Oh, I meant to say, Most of the
folks attending these tea parties
are NOT quite sure why there are
there, except to just this- party,
"Upshot - Some do not care forthisAdministration and feel a visceral need to 'cause turmoil' under the guise of caring about America. Which how can this be when one of the biggest Republicans, no pun intended, has said he hopes the new president fails. Come on, really! To be willing to sacrifice America? What a shame."
This is so true, Cynthia.
The more I think about this and hear people like Governor Perry of Texas and former congressman Tom Delay I am beginning to sincerely think that there are some serious racial overtones here. Some would rather secede than have an Afrian American lead them. The whole "States Rights" argument smacks of George Wallace. Perry and Delay are scarry guys.
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