America Demonstrates at Tax Day Tea Parties

Citizens Across the Country Rally Against Improper Representation

Apr 14, 2009 Kevin Moore

The spirit that prompted the Boston Tea Party in 1773 has resurfaced in the wake of bailouts and spending packages as citizens nationwide take to the streets on April 15t

To protest British tyranny over the American Colonies, particularly as demonstrated through the Tea Act; colonial merchants stormed Boston Harbor one night and dumped over 600,000 pounds of tea into the water below. The slogan of behind this movement which believed that the British monarchy was denying the colonists’ rights became “No Taxation without Representation.”

No Taxation without Proper Representation

Fast forward the clock 236 years and the scene shows the American people once again resorting to the concept of the tea party to let their voice be heard. In September and October 2008, as the Congress debated whether to pass a $750 Billion bailout package for the country’s financial sector, constituents bombarded their Representatives phone boards with opposition to such a bill. However, those being represented saw the Legislature pass the bailouts regardless.

Since that time, the nation has seen half of its tax payers’ bailout money go unaccounted for, watched the federal government utilize unprecedented methods of control in the private sector as illustrated in the AIG bonuses fiasco of March 2009 and the ousting of GM CEO Rick Wagoner, and witnessed the passage of the largest federal budget in U.S. History. Thousands of Americans have responded by demonstrating en masse at 170 tea parties in cities across the country; and as April 15th, Tax Day, approaches, citizens plan to gather across the nation for a simultaneous show of opposition.

A New Meaning for April 15th

The Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party, a grass roots movement which is not the brain child of any one individual or organization, has used the power of the internet and social networking sites such as Facebook to coordinate their efforts to hold demonstrations in cities as large and central as New York City, as far away and remote as Homer, Alaska and as bold and historic as the Alamo in San Antonio. The movement is well characterized by the remarks made by John O’Hara, an organizer of one of the first tea parties:

“Our message is simple: ‘Bailing out’ reckless businesses and individuals is neither the burden of responsible, hard-working American taxpayers nor the role of government. It is time politicians heed the will of the American people and the clear signals coming from the financial sector: stop the excessive spending, cut taxes, and get out of the way. Only then will we unleash the resilient, entrepreneurial spirit of Americans that has made our nation great and which will propel us through this rough patch to more prosperous times ahead.”

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Tea Party in Buffalo	The Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party	4,000 Attend the Cincinnati Tea Party in Mar. 2009
The Boston Tea Party