The American Tea Party 2009 - Why Protest?

Feb 27th Tea Party Protest - Nashville, TN © 2009 W. E. Messamore

I mentioned on Twitter early this week that the Tennesseean got in touch with me to do an hour-long interview on the motivation behind the Tea Party protests. After scheduling the interview, I put together a one page explanation listing the reasons behind our activism and brought that to the interview for the journalist to keep and use.

Here it is below. As soon as the Tennessean publishes some of the information from the interview, I'll be sure to let you know in an update.

----------UPDATE (1:27 pm) - It seems that this post and the Tennessean's Tea Party article went up at roughly the same time today. Check it out; the part with information from my interview is on page 2.
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The American Tea Party 2009 - Why Protest?
W. E. Messamore | ***.***.**** (c) | wemessamore@gmail.com
http://www.humblelibertarian.com

Oligarchy-

Many Americans no longer feel that their voice is being heard or that they’re being fairly represented. Here’s why:

• The secrecy and closed door committee meetings surrounding passage of the stimulus bill, and the fact that like many other bills, none of our representatives were given adequate time to read it.
• Spending bills in D.C. have become so large that they necessarily indebt children and future generations of American citizens who do not have representation in Congress.
• Unelected officials in the Treasury and Federal Reserve system have wielded enormous and vastly increasing power in recent years.
• The Constitution is routinely ignored and defied by our elected officials in Washington.

Spending-

The Tea Partiers are aghast at the fiscal irresponsibility of Congress and both the Bush and Obama Administrations.

Principles

From the Humble Libertarian (http://www.humblelibertarian.com/2009/03/american-tea-party-2009-goals.html)

“The proper role of a government is to maintain a civil society, meaning a society free from aggression, a society in which no human being can threaten any other by aggressing against them to destroy, diminish, or expropriate their lives, or their liberty or property- which are necessary preconditions of and corollaries to a human being's right to his or her own life. When government forcibly takes from some in the form of exorbitant taxes (or inflation) to give to others, it does the very thing it exists to safeguard against happening. When it takes such an action, it becomes an aggressor. It ceases to be an impartial arbiter between free and equal citizens to ensure their liberty, and it becomes a biased, partisan advocate for some people, using the legal power and force of its laws to favor them at the expense of the lives, liberty, and property of others without their consent and voluntary cooperation, which is morally outrageous.”

Purpose

From the Humble Libertarian (http://www.humblelibertarian.com/2009/03/american-tea-party-2009-goals.html)

• Voting out each and every single incumbent up for re-election in 2010 who voted for the Stimulus Package and/or the 2008 Wall Street Bailout.
• Electing to office only candidates who promise to support a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution (without any exceptions -e.g. in the case of war, emergency, or a 3/5ths vote in Congress) in an act that also requires spending reductions only (no raising taxes) for the first four years to balance the budget, as well as:
• The transition of Social Security from a mandatory pay-as-you go system to an optional system of private pensions.
• A permanent repeal of the payroll tax.

Parallels

From the Humble Libertarian (http://www.humblelibertarian.com/2009/04/defending-tax-day-tea-parties-from.html)

“The situation in 1773 was eerily similar to ours today. The British Empire had run up heavy debts from a long war with France. The global economy was shaky. High taxes and heavy regulations were taking their toll on British companies, and one of them in particular- the East India Trading Company- seemed in danger of going under due to a "near term liquidity crisis." After determining that it was "too big to fail," the British Parliament passed the Tea Act, a bailout of the East India Trading Company. Incensed about the taxes levied under this plan in violation of the principle of taxation without representation, the colonists erupted in protest.”