Raining on Your Tax Day Tea PartyApril 20th, 2009
Don't shoot the messenger, but before you pat yourself on the back for protesting, consider the following paradoxes
by Jacob Hodgen
This last Wednesday, Utah marked the passage of national tax day and mourned the loss of its hard-earned wages with a series of protests that stretched across the state. Calling them "tea parties," attendees sought to invoke the patriotic spirit of the nation's founding fathers and pay tribute to the Boston Tea Party of long past.
While numerous locations held events--such as Logan, Provo, and St. George--none attracted as much attention as the protest organized by Adam Gardiner at the Federal Building in Salt Lake City.
Despite the anti-(big) government theme, the SLC rally made national headlines by inviting Congressman Jason Chaffetz, Congressman Rob Bishop, and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff as guest speakers. For this feat, Adam Gardiner was contacted by producers from Glenn Beck and Neal Cavuto. Adam told me he acknowledged the irony of inviting elected officials to their protest, but that he was proud to present men he felt were able to, "make the changes in government that the people want."
The SLC event was quite popular, drawing several thousands of conservative activists together to voice their disapproval of the current handling of the financial crisis and to draw attention to what many Utahns feel is the growing threat of socialism.
Now the freedom to express you beliefs through non-violent protest is one of the things that makes this country great. And you'd be crazy not to be at least a bit nervous of the growing deficit. However, Utah, before you congratulate yourself again for "sticking it to the man" by showing up at the Federal Building clad in 18th century garb with Celestial Seasonings in hand, you may wish to take a brief moment to ponder a few things. Consider the following a non-partisan public service announcement.
First, while presented to the public as "grass roots" initiatives, many of the regional protests in fact had corporate sponsors and were directly tied to big league, conservative lobbyists. The Fox News channel was so excited about the events, for example, it usurped several as its own, promoting them as, "FNC Tax Day Tea Parties." Grass roots indeed.
Secondly, you should know that the "liberal" media pundits you wanted to enrage were not frightened about the success of the protests. Quite the contrary: they treated the event like a party themselves and spent the day laughing at a lengthy list of unsubtle ironies. "Protests by definition oppose the status quo, which conservatism is supposed to defend," said one giddy, progressive writer. "Protesting for conservatism is, to borrow a phrase, like f*cking for virginity." One counterprotester who attended the event reportedly shouted back to the tea party crowds, "You don't want taxes? You don't want gun control? Go to Somalia!" Now you don't have to aggree with them, but please take at least a second to aquaint yourself with the paradox.
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Utah Stories Scorecard: According the Tribune, Jason Chaffetz, "has proved himself a loyal foot soldier for the GOP leadership, voting 94 percent of the time with his House Republican colleagues. |
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Thirdly, I feel obligated to make the following linguistic clarification, since some people still don't seem to understand. The phrase "tea-bagging" happens to be a euphemism for a certain sex act--I won't bother to tell you which--and thus you really ought to cease calling yourself "tea-baggers." Don't believe me? Think I am a pervert? You're right, there's no possible way conservatives could ever be out of the loop when it comes to bizarre, hedonistic pop culture references. Feeling brave? Google it. Look, don't shoot the messenger; I didn't make this stuff this up. If you want to really be offended, though, watch this clip of MSNBC's tea party coverage by a gleeful David Shuster as he puts the Enzyte commercials to shame in one of the most wickedly lascivious segments in cable news history. How he kept a straight face, I cannot say. So please, if you want to have any credibility among those who do not yet carry AARP membership cards, do yourself and your impressionable children a favor, and do not use this phrase again--ever.
This leads us to our final point: the cosmic struggle between high rolling, ivy league liberals and old money, flag pin-toting conservatives is only a piece of the story. What you will likely not hear on the news is much talk from the people who probably have the most reason to protest out of anyone: Libertarians and Constitutionalists. You see, long before it was hijacked by Republicans and scorned by the Democrats, this was their idea.
Bliss Tew is the Utah Coordinator for the John Birch Society (JBS) and is a Regional Field Director for nine western states. He also considers himself a Constitutionalist and tells me that protesting the current government's taxation is old news for them. "Congressman Ron Paul," he says, "started the idea and put it into action through the Campaign for Liberty organization."
Utah Stories also spoke with Quincy Andelin from Orem, Utah. He studies law and also considers himself a Constitutionalist. Quincy tells Utah Stories, "Patriots gathering at modern tea parties protest the same injustice as the patriots who held the Boston tea party: unfair taxation. Congress has violated the constitutional limits on its power by creating a system where unelected bureaucrats running unconstitutional agencies have virtually unchecked control over the property rights of American citizens. Republicans, Democrats, Constitutionalists, and Libertarians will certainly disagree about how to fairly apportion taxes or how to justly use tax revenues, but every thinking American citizen must agree that the unaudited bureaucratic system now in place should be replaced with a transparent democratic system."
The JBS is not a political party but a group that advocates political education and awareness. In the past few months, their numbers have surged in Utah and across the nation. They are quickly becoming a powerful force and influential critic of the Obama administration and all policies they feel go against the constitution and interests of the free market.
"I would love to see Attorney General Mark Shurtleff uphold and enforce the Tenth Amendment," Bliss tells me. "The Constitution does not authorize the use of tax expropriation to 'bailout' failed enterprises, but rather allows a free market to clean up misallocations of investment funds."
Bliss is concerned that the stimulus package will cause numerous problems and pave the way for future government interference in the economy. He claims it will, "only stimulate government growth in size, in debt, in bureaucracy, in power, and in intrusiveness in our lives. Such socialist redistributions of wealth as 'bailouts' were never envisioned by the Founding Fathers."
However, with the Republican party still heavily divided, fiscal conservatives like Bliss have much to be worried about in days to come. He hopes that Democrats and Republicans will soon resolve their differences and, "start being Americans again." He tells me, "People are fed up with unconstitutional and undeclared wars for the United Nations. They are sick of the government operating in a lawless manner. We are the public, and it is supposed to be the public servant not the master. This is the time Americans will rediscover what we call 'Americanism,' that is the American culture, principles, Constitution, fundamental shared religious beliefs, and economic principles that made Americans free, prosperous and respected around the world."
Interested in learning more about Constitulionalism and the John Birch Society?
Bliss Tew recommends the following article, "A Crisis of Dollars and Sense" by Edwin Vieira, Jr.
Or visit the Utah chapter of the John Birch Society
Video by Richard Markosian
Photos by Cometstamoon and Ivy Dawned
