Tea Party U.S.A.: The movement grows
Seattle on Monday. Denver on Tuesday. Mesa AZ on Wednesday. Overland Park, Kansas today. What a week, huh? We got the anti-stimulus, anti-entitlement protest ball rolling — and now the movement, spurred further by CNBC host Rick Santelli’s call for a “Chicago Tea Party,” is really taking off.
David Hogberg at Investor’s Business Daily has a nice piece out today spotlighting the growing taxpayer revolt the rest of the MSM won’t cover. He interviewed our registered commenters Liberty Belle Keli Carender, who spearheaded the Seattle anti-pork protest, and HuskerGirl Amanda Grosserode, who organized today’s anti-stimulus demonstration against Democrat Rep. Dennis Moore in Overland Park, KS.
I’m happy to report on several new protest events now on the docket.
My friend Michael Patrick Leahy of Top Conservatives on Twitter and his crew are spearheading “simultaneous local tea parties around the country, beginning in Chicago, and including Washington DC, Fayetteville NC, San Diego CA, Omaha Nebraska, and dozens of other locations” for next Friday.
Time: February 27, 2009 from 12pm to 1pm
Location: Chicago, Washington DC, other cities, Twitter
Go to OfficialChicagoTeaParty.com for all the info.
Co-sponsors of the events with #TCOT include #DONTGO, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Tax Reform, Heartland Institute, and American Spectator Magazine. The tea parties will be “simultweeted” with the hashtag #teaparty. You can find me tweeting here.
There’s a Facebook page here for the DC Tea Party. I hear that PJTV will also be stepping up to the plate.
If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, reader Mark Christopher Frimmel has come forward to put a Tea Party ’09 event together. He put up an ad on Dallas Craigslist, has contacted local radio and TV, and wants you to be there. The protest will be held on the outside stage at The Cowtown Bar & Grill on Friday, Feb. 27, from 3pm to 7pm, located at 7108 Camp Bowie Blvd Fort Worth, TX. Music, food, and great fiscal conservative company guaranteed.
Are you in Georgia? Reader Patrick e-mails that he’s “getting a tax protest off the ground in Atlanta. I’d appreciate it if you’d pass on the word. The blog is http://atlantataxprotest.blogspot.com.” He needs your help. Calling Neal Boortz!
Here’s a snippet from Hogberg’s IBD piece to get your motors running:
As unemployment soars and anger over Wall Street bailouts mounts, public outrage will seek an outlet. Populism could go in many directions — and could easily ebb when the economy revives. But if it takes shape as an anti-spending movement, it could revive conservatives much as the 1970s tax protests did.
To be sure, the protest sizes so far are a far cry from the left’s anti-globalization and anti-war demonstrations of the past decade. But they appear to have grass-roots origins. The organizer of the Kansas protest, Amanda Grosserode, calls herself a home-schooling mom who is “fed up” with the spending in Washington. She has been a member of Fair Tax Kansas City since last fall.
“My husband and I were feeling frustrated that the stimulus had passed with very little debate and no one had read it,” she told IBD. “I said, ‘We need to do something.’ ” She began contacting family and friends, and eventually received attention via Fair Tax Kansas City and local talk radio.
Grosserode received considerably more publicity after e-mailing popular conservative commentator and blogger Michelle Malkin.
“I think the taxpayer revolt is the new counterculture,” said Malkin, who has been publicizing the protests on her blog. “People want to stand up and say, ‘Hey, I’m paying for that, I do not support that.’ “
Brendan Steinhauser has a terrific set of detailed tips on how to organize your own tea party protest.
Don’t wait for someone else to do it.
Don’t make excuses.
Don’t think you can pull one off because you’ve never done it before? Look at mom-bloggers Liberty Belle and HuskerGirl.
Yes, you can!
***
I’ve put together a playlist of tunes for Tea Party USA — and several parodies submitted by commenters and readers. Bailoutmania is apparently bringing out the songwriters in you, too.
My favorite Schoolhouse Rock Tea Party song, “No More Kings:”
And check out my second Schoolhouse Rock classic, rewritten by the fabulous Jim Treacher and Batton Lash: How a “stimulus” bill became law.
George of EU Rota reminds me of the perfect Spinal Tap song for the cult of entitlement, “Gimme Some Money:”
Royce Dunbar produced “The Subprime Mortgage Blues.”
Reader L.C. e-mails:
I made this up as I watch[ed] the ridiculous, sad, terrifying vote on the Stimulus Package! Thanks for your good work on covering it all!
Sing to “American Pie”
A long, long time ago…
we can still remember
How Ronald Regan made us smile.
And we knew if we had a chance
we could make those Democrats dance
And, surely we’d be happy for a while.But this February should makes us shiver
With every promise Nancy delivers.
Bad stimulus on the doorstep;
We shouldn’t take one more step.We will remember when we cried
As we read Harry’s big fat lies,
But something is foul deep inside
The day responsibility died.So bye-bye, to our kids piece of the pie.
Obama Drives us to the brink,
will leave us all high and dry.
Coburn and the boys were tryin’ all they could think
Singin’, “You’re making our economy die.
you’ve taken our kid’s piece of the pie.”Can we still trust in our gov,
We will need our faith in God above,
If we want to make them go.
Do we believe in principles,
Can we be saved from those liberals,
And can Mitch and John keep their troops in tow?Well, the Unions are in love with them
`cause they read the same liberal hymm.
They change all the rules.
Now we got those stimulus blues.We’ll end up lonely and without a buck
Just a Green job and a hybrid truck,
Right now, we are out of luck
The day responsibility died.We started singing,
“bye-bye, our kid’s piece of the pie.”
Obama drives us to the brink,
will leave us all be high and dry.
Coburn and the boys trying all they could think
singing “You’re making our economy die.
you’ve taken our kid’s piece of the pie.”Now for two months we’ve been on our own
Ried, Nancy and Obama have clearly shown,
Their way is how it’s gonna be.
They’re jesters, jokes and drama queens,
Throwin’ cash around like they’re seventeen
Not listening to the voice of you and me,And while they read a book of Marx,
We praise Friedman in the dark
The day responsiblity died.We were singing,
“bye-bye, our kids’ piece of the pie.”
Obama drives us to the brink,
will leave us high and dry.
Coburn and the boys were tryin’ all they could think
singin, ” You’re making our economy die.
you’ve taken our kid’s piece of the pie.”But we can not sign the blues
We will work for happy news,
Freedom is 21 months away.
We must go to the roof and shout “no more,”
Like we did 15 years before,
It is time to put an end to the Lib’s day.For today believers in responsibility screamed,
Conservatives cried, But we still will dream.
Loud words must be spoken;
“Our Liberal government is broken.”
And three men to whom we could turn:
Pawlenty, Jindal and Coburn,
From their leadership we can surely learn.Today, responsibility died.
‘Til then we will be singing:
“bye-bye, our kid’s piece of the pie.”
Obama drives us to the brink,
will leave us all be high and dry.
Coburn and the boys were trying all they could think
singing “You’re making our economy die.
you’ve taken our kid’s piece of the pie.”
From mm.com commenter Mark x, sung to the tune of Janis Joplin:
Oh Barry, wont you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So lord, wont you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?Oh Mr. President, wont you buy me a color tv ?
Dialing for dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So oh Barry, wont you buy me a color tv ?Oh Messiah, wont you buy me a night on the town ?
Im counting on you, Messiah, please dont let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round,
Oh Messiah, wont you buy me a night on the town ?
Reader Barry e-mails:
I wrote this parody of “Dixie” to protest the socialistic programs hidden in the stimulus bill…
NIX-FREE VS. FIX-ME LAND
I wish I was in the land of bought ‘n’
Sold; times there were not so rotten.
Congress say, no delay, take away Nix-free land.
In Nix-free land that I was born in,
Clearly I was not forlorn in,
Made my way, saved my pay, had a say, Nix-free land.Chorus:
Now I wish I was in Nix-free like yesterday!
In Nix-free land I took my stand to live and vie in Nix-free.
Could pray or stray with wayward mouth un-P.C.
If they hold sway, they’ll stay my mouth from D.C.Obama’s massive bill was eager;
Billions cost but jobs were meager.
Cooked entree books flambe, took away Nix-free land.
Just try to get your arms around it;
Miles of paper haven’t yet bound it.
Ev’ry way, give-away, to create Fix-me land. (Chorus)Our bucks he takes and brings to scatter;
Makes you mad but it doesn’t matter.
Took away, won’t repay, it’s new day, Fix-me land.
Then slow it down and hatch your babble;
To Nix-free land we’ll rouse the rabble,
For the range of the change makes a strange Fix-me land. (Chorus)
And here’s Woody Guthrie’s remake of Tom Paxton’s “I am changing my name to Chrysler,” which he updated to “I am changing my name to Fannie Mae.”
Oh the price of gold is rising out of sight
And the dollar is in sorry shape tonight
What the dollar used to get us now won’t buy a head of lettuce
No the economic forecast isn’t right
But amidst the clouds I spot a shining ray
I can even glimpse a new and better way
And I’ve devised a plan of action worked it down to the last fraction
And I’m going into action here todayCHORUS:
I am changing my name to Fannie Mae
I am going down to Washington D.C.
I’ll be glad they got my back
‘Cause what they did for Freddie Mac
Will be perfectly acceptable to me
I am changing my name to Fannie Mae
I am headed for that great receiving line
So when they hand a trillion grand out
I’ll be standing with my hand out
I’ll get mineWhen my creditors are screaming for their dough
I’ll be proud to tell them all where they can go
They won’t have to scream and holler
They’ll be paid to the last dollar
Where the endless streams of money seem to flow
I’ll be glad to tell them all what they can do
It’s a matter of a simple form or two
It’s not just remuneration it’s a liberal education
Ain’t you kind of glad that I’m in debt to youChorus
Since the first amphibians crawled out of the slime (of the slime!)
We’ve been struggling in an unrelenting climb
We were hardly up and walking before money started talking
And it’s sad that failure is an awful crime
It’s been that way for a millennium or two
But now it seems that there’s a different point of view
If you’re a corporate titanic and your failure is gigantic
Down in Congress there’s a safety net for youChorus
Rock on.
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Biden: Tea Party stopped us from growing the economy
May 23, 2012 01:55 PM by Doug Powers
40 Comments
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Eye on Indiana and Wisconsin; Update: Lugar defeated; Barrett to face Walker
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110 Comments
If you’re gonna call Tea Party activists RAAAACISTS…
May 3, 2012 12:33 AM by Michelle Malkin
162 Comments
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May 2, 2012 11:45 AM by Doug Powers
79 Comments
“Happy May Day, now go kill”
May 1, 2012 01:02 PM by Michelle Malkin
73 Comments
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Yeah, go with the pig face.
I loved all the tunes and vids.
I hope this movement takes off like it should. If we need to, we must take time off work. I bet most of our bosses will apporve it.
Jason Lewis (subs for Rush somtimes) did a tax rally in Mpls. MN a few years ago at the state capital very successful. There was a socialist anti-rally accross the street, only a few dozens showed, the media took pictures of Jason’s crowd and presented them as the socialist crowd!!!!!! ha ha ha I am sure Jason Lewis will love to fill ya in on the detail-he just went national! Good luck Jason.
I see Tuesday, Dear Leader is expected to address congress. One item will be his push for government healthcare. He and the dems are going all out to control everything in our lives; Constitution be damned. I know I may have some patients who will suffer under his plans, Severe CP kids at home, especially, when they cut back on their care in order to be “prudent” in paying out. We need “tea parties” everywhere and be heard. According to Fox News, he’s more popular now than Jesus. Yeah, well I really doubt that!
To all those who advocate a third party and those who say it is irrelevant I offer this suggestion:
How about a sub-party within the GOP composed of genuine conservatives who actually speak it and live it. That way, they could get the benefit of being in a large party, and still be separate from the RINOs.
750 showed up in Overland Park, KS today. Way to go people !
Great job !
plymouthacclaim: I don’t know if you read Alan Greenspan’s “Age of Turbulence” but in it, he voices his dismay with the demise of the GOP as a principled party and states that this would be an excellent time to start a new party. You call it a third party but with GOP registrations probably being under 20% by now, I call it a second party. We unaffiliated independents outnumber both parties as it is. How hard would it be to get half of us to join a new party?
I would also suggest we drop the label “conservative” since it seems to confuse and irritate so many people. For instance, how many people here still use conservative and Republican interchangeably? I prefer “1776 Liberal”. The beauty of it is that it requires explanation and would restore the word “liberal” to its rightful original meaning.
Besides, the socialists have abandoned it in favor of “progressive” and are well on their way to trashing that term too.
What you are advocating is similar to what many of us did at Townhall by establishing the Saint Crispin’s Day Society. Got us kicked out of TH and your idea will get you kicked out of the GOP. The “big tent” was Reagan’s idea for rallying Americans around specific, well-articulated principles. That “big tent” since has emptied under the new management that has sprayed the party clean of principles and people who insist on having some.
HA! Outstanding.
I made these up hope it helps.
The Looter Government
capitalism
oops! bad link
The Looter Government
Why do we need either a name or a party? Yes, I know that politicians have to run under a party, but I don’t care what their party’s name is – what I care about is that we elect people that actually represent the people who elected them. Yes, I know that there has to be a platform, but if “our” candidate gets the most appeal – doesn’t that dictate the platform?
And, I do believe that currently enough Americans are angry enough that a third party DOES indeed have a chance. We are living in unprecedented times. In 1990′s you would have thought that what is happening today could never happen – but it did.
I say we send Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid tea bags.
Yay!! The protest pics are AWESOME!! This is so cool! We have to keep it up. We cannot just do this for a couple of weeks and then go back to being complacent. We woke up, and we’re not going back to sleep! And I agree with someone above who said to start at our local levels, in order to clean out the GOP. If we do it locally, it will spread to rest of the party and the platform.
Great job Huskergirl!!
no one disagrees with that but the harsh reality is that neither party cares. There is only one party, the Democratic Party and the Other Democratic Party. Bipartisanship is the face they present to block us out. Any appearance of disagreement is merely a kabuki play to keep us entertained.
They don’t care about people like us either. Most people don’t “chatter” like we do. They just read what we say and keep appearing as silent “hits” on blogs. That’s the key to our getting heard.
In the blogosphere, attracting “hits” is like attracting sparrows and squirrels. Any quick moves or other signs of potential hostility and they are gone. That Michelle keeps attracting a very large audience is something that is getting noticed. Let’s make sure that we don’t give that away for cheap by being partisan.
Politics has been monopolized by an entrenched class of elite criminals united to impose a one-world reality that we have no say in. That is why every important bill that appears in front of Congress is too urgent to go through regular committee procedure. They get passed in the dead of night and in a panic because “time is of the essence”…. and then everyone goes on vacation.
We need to stop thinking in terms of lib/con and Dem/Rep. “Both” parties are the same and have united in selling us out. It’s all about K Street and their global money. Constitutions, national boundaries, nations and the standard conventions that divide us have become artificial barriers to doing more business and are being eliminated without our consent. Even while that world is falling apart, they have become more desperate in closing the deal. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s a “business plan”.
The miracle we are about to perform can only happen in America. Working people (I’m an investment pro, portfolio manager) will take back the streets and voting booths. And we will hold our elected representatives accountable. We will do this by protesting like never before and voting all incumbents out.
What will they do once we send them all packing, even if they end up losing to the street bum who was put on the ballot as a joke? Are we THAT angry? We better be! If we’re not, Phil Gramm was right, we’re just a bunch of whiners.
Let’s get out there and protest! Melt their phones and fax machines! Show up! Be heard! “Follow your bliss and doors of opportunity will open where you never even knew there were doors! And they may only be open for you… if you follow your bliss!” (Joseph Campbell). It’s all about being a warrior in following your heart.
It’s “for the republic for which it stands” for a reason.
We are suppose to have a representative government yet our glorious leaders have forgotten that little detail.
The house must be taken back to curb the spending , we need to rattle them now and take power back locally and in the house across this country.
excerpt from All Politics is Local at surgeusa.org
Katablog, don’t worry about the low ball estimate. The local news can’t seem to do better. What is even worse is KCTV 5 didn’t show up until the protest was over. I think there was 20 or so left at that point. I guess they will have to admit to getting scooped. I confess I never got an estimate myself. People (whom I didn’t know!! which was almost everyone!!!)
would tell me they did a recent crowd count, so there you go, I don’t do crowd counts very well either. The Sergeant on duty for the OPPD told me his count at one point was 500. Luckily, he also told that to a reporter!
A little bit of misinformation out there on some other blogs. Sorry to the organizers of the other protests, i.e. Liberty Belle. Some giving me your credit.
On February 21st, 2009 at 1:50 pm, happyscrapper said: (#69)
We might be related. Gee, quite a couple of days–an fellow alumnus(a?) from my high school (albeit a number of years apart) and now a potential relative.
On February 21st, 2009 at 5:30 pm, RabbidSquirrel said: (#94)
The overwhelming majority of commenters on this blog do NOT trust the government with our records. However, we were not listened to as the provision was stuck somewhere in over one thousand pages of repellent spending.
Let’s end with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3YVil3Ajjs
You know, all these people coming out to protest the Socialist/Marxist Powergrab 2009 is all well and fine, but frankly, it does not impress me, excite me or anything else other than make me sick.
Why?
Because I want to know where the hell all these people were before November 4th! None of what is happening is a surprise. Nothing that the Democrats are doing or have done since November 4th is anything that was not forseen and warned about. In fact, they are doing and have done EXACTLY what was foretold and more. The only difference is that most of us gave them two years and in fact only took them 3 weeks.
This is similar to letting a convicted child molestor free next to a school and then wondering just what went wrong when they find children harmed.
I psrticularly have found the comments from those who vowed not to vote or vowed not to vote fr McCain. Frankly, anyone who falls into those two columns should just keep it to themselves, for they are partly responsible for all this.
So go ahead and hit the streets, make all the noise you want now about what they are doing and what kind of person Der Fuhrer is. But you are all almost 4 months too late, and the rest of us are being made to pay for it.
Forgotten it? They haven’t forgotten it. They are willfully disregarding it and working twards a one party dictatorship where opposition is punished, and those speaking against Der Fuhrer are penalized. Just wait till the National Security Forces hit and we all start to learn what Political Prisoner means.
There is a song from the American Revolution called Revolutionary Tea. It’s been one of my daughter’s favorites since she was little. It goes like this:
There was an old lady lived over the sea,
and she was an Island Queen;
Her daughter lived off in a new countrie,
with an ocean of water between.
The old lady’s pockets were full of gold.
But never contented was she,
so she called on her daughter to pay her a tax
of three pence a pound on her tea,
of three pence a pound on her tea.
“Now Mother, dear Mother,” the daughter replied,
I shan’t do the thing you ax;
I’m willing to pay a fair price for the tea,
But never the three penny tax.”
“You shall,” quoth the mother, and redden’d with rage,
“For you’re my own daughter you see.
And sure, ’tis quite proper the daughter should pay
her mother a tax on her tea,
her mother a tax on her tea.
The tea was conveyed to the daughter’s door,
All down by the ocean’s side;
And the bouncing girl pour’d out ev’ry pound,
in the dark and boiling tide.
And then she called out to the Island Queen,
“Oh, Mother, dear Mother,” quoth she,
“Your tea you may have when ’tis steep’d enough,
But never a tax from me,
But never a tax from me.”
Here’s a performance:
Revolutionary Tea
Preach it, Brother! God bless and Amen. Well said.
So we are late, so what? Should we just continue the behavior that got us into this mess (i.e. NOT protesting and making noise) or do we realize our mistake in not saying anything months ago and alter our behavior and reactions? Do we sit around whining or do we become proactive citizens? There is no logic to saying, we should have done this before, but because we didn’t, we should just give up now. I’m sorry that I waited, but I will never go back to being uninvolved again.
Ret,
I must respectfully disagree. Maybe it took this to wake them up. It’s never to late. Please keep the faith. Don’t be discouraged.
Only difference now is that the “old lady” is on this side of the sea.
Hmmm, didn’t have to change a thing…
OK Michelle, Miranda Lambert has a song for you.
On February 21st, 2009 at 7:13 pm, Pasadena Phil said:
OK, I’ll bite. What is this Saint Crispin’s Day Society? I tried googling, but all I got was about the actual saint, and the speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V. I’m guessing it has to do with King Henry’s pep talk.
Besides, I don’t give a rip about the GOP as a thing to itself.
I believe in the principles of the Conservative/Libertarian philosophy and the GOP is the best route to that. If the Donkeys ever become more conservative than the Elephants, then Hee Haw.
I’m not totally opposed to a third/new second party (after all, that’s where the GOP came from). I’m just a pragmatist and will stay where I am as long as it is pragmatic. Besides, I don’t see any real contenders for the position.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
If I were to atend one of these rallies, I would carry a huge photograph of our Secretary of State meeting yesterday with the Premier of China.
AlohoaGuy, MNUSMVDavid, lgm, RedStateSkptic, Chap, MissCheryl, et all. I have a question.
Did any of you ever think you would see the day that the Secretay of State of our country would go hat in hand to make sure we could finanacially survive by borrowing more money from Communists?
I do not care what your politics is. If we cannot agree that our nation cannot and should not allow a nation like China to have us by the financial throat then what can we ever agree on?
This situation is madness. We have to do what we have to do to stop this fiscal insanity and reverse course 5 minutes ago.
I am no fan of Hillary, but I know in my heart it killed her to have to do what she did. I never want to see her in that position EVER again.
And where pray tell were you? What did you do 4 months ago?
One thing is clear, you didn’t read blogs. We spent GBs of space making tons of noise. Many of us held our noses (even after declaring we wouldn’t) and voted McCain. Some of us even donated to GOP campaigns. We spent a lot of time calling and emailing.
Yes, we’ve woken up. We’ve realized that the “representative” government we grew up with does not “represent” the people who elected them. We railed and called and emailed over the Bush bank, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Wall Street and auto bailouts.
Yes, conservatives have been too polite and too archaic in their attack on the problem. So as libertybelle says – what do you want us to do now; sit down and cry in our beer and take the punishment nicely?
You seem to forget that a huge percentage of Democrats and a certain race voted for what we have now – not us. You seem to forget about all the money and fraud ACORN poured into the 2008 election.
Perhaps you should put your pointy finger away and join a protest.
Oh yeah, we all remember how the Clintons didn’t like the Chinese who financed their campaigns for years (/sarcasm)
This is hilarious. Where was all this rage and anger over the past year when the economy was falling over a cliff. Where was the anger at Bush and the GOP for turning a budget surplus into a deficit of over 1 trillion dollars. Now I don’t like the stimulus bill or the housing plan at all, but the choices left to Obama are bad or worse. Its great that Bush is not responsible for 9/11 because he was only in office for 8 months when that happened. He “inherited” a recession from Clinton even though that started a few months into his Presidency. The financial meltdown is the Dem congress’s fault. But now that Obama is in office for an entire month he is already a failure because he hasn’t turned the economy around? This site is just too funny.
Um…Flyoverman, why are you lumping all these people together? Are you calling them all trolls? Because some of them are and some of them aren’t. You need to read their posts before you pass that kind of judgement. I had someone call me a troll on here once. It is definitely not true, and it HURT.
WELL said! I am tired of the folks saying, well, we didn’t do enough before, so why bother now? Even Bill O’Reilly the other night was blasting this guy who put out that great ad showing how much 750 billion dollars was and then a clip of Schumer’s “chattering class” comment. O’Reilly told him it was too late, he needn’t have bothered. I turned O’Reilly off and will not watch him again. What a jerk.
No, freemind, Obama is not a failure because he hasn’t turned the economy around. You have to be a liberal to have interpreted our comments that way. The issue is his blatant socialisation of our country. And, using tactics that are sure to fail. And the fact that he is an angry black liberationist Chicago thug jerk. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Please show me ONE post where people have criticized “the one” for not turning around the economy. You libs just love to turn and twist stuff and turn it into what it is not. Why? Because they can’t use the real facts to make any worthy point!
Our problem with O is that he is sending the economy into a slide from which we will never recover. Watch the good ole stock market on Tuesday when he announces his next plan, to tax businesses and the wealthy! These are two sectors of the economy who one should want on their side if they want to help the economy recover since they are the life blood of the economy.
You don’t really think $65 a month is going to “encourage” more spending, do you? That might buy one a dinner out at Applebees!
There you go, but I’m talking more in general like Rush and Hannitys talking points of the “Obama Recession”. Do I like what Obama is doing? Absolutely not. But sadly the economy is on life support and drastic action has to be taking. You may call it socialism, but it is a necessary evil. Believe me when I heard about the mortgage plan I was outraged. I am looking to buy a home in a few months and I don’t want the government bailing out people who can’t pay there mortgages and therefore artificially propping up home prices. But whether we like it or not the economy is interconnected, if all these people become homeless we as taxpayers will pay a much high price, foreclosures will drive home prices down for everyone in the neighborhood and unemployment will continue to spiral upward. We need to bite the bullet now before things get a whole lot worse. Yea its not fair for those who acted responsibly, just like its not fair that we are all suffering for the irresponsibility of a few on Wall St and in Washington. But thats life.
freemind25,
I don’t know how much you were paying attention especiallly the last few years, but many conservatives have had enough with the huge explosion in government the last few years. I saw a govenment full of liberals and moderates, and not many willing to stand for true conservative values. The reason for all of our recent protests is not just the stimulus bill, but all of the other pork ladden rescue bills that have come from Washington the last 6 months.
My conclusion is that real conservative are mostly quiet, polite, work-within-the system, hardworking people. We are tired of not being heard, so we are turning over a new leaf. We are using the tactics of the left. We will get our message out, with or without the media!
Happyscrapper,
If I did not make my point clearly, my apologizes. Obviously, this list contains people who are often in disagreement with one another out here.
My question was to everyone out here. We may not agree on much, butI hope we can all agree on a common threat when we see one. Having the Chicoms at our financial throat should scare the h*** out of any American.
On this one we’de best hang to together or we are all going to hang separately (as the old story goes).
That was my point. Again, no intent to imply anyone is a troll on this issue. On this one we all need to be Americans.
The wrong thinking is in thinking that this package or any other will actually work. The blow back from the massive debt and spending is inflation and higher taxes. Who do you think is going to pay that price? Those of us who didn’t get us into this mess!
NO, IT IS NOT NECESSARY!!! EVIL IS NEVER NECESSARY!!! GEEZ!! Sorry I yelled.
What irritates me most is those who are getting a tax “cut” who don’t even pay income taxes to begin with. And in the swindle us plan, the states get money for unemployment benefits and can now be used for those applicants who didn’t qualify in the first place.
If this isn’t a welfare plan, I don’t know what is. But then again, with any socialist agenda, dependency is key here to maintain control and increase the voting base.
I think the thing that gets me the angriest is all the pork. If they had just put together a stimulus package that had only things that would work and help spur the economy, I wouldn’t be so mad. I just don’t understand how they can be allowed to get away with dumping every liberal wish-list item in this one bill and ramming it down our throats under the threat of the total collapse of our country. It they would have just been honest and called it what it is, a “reparations bill that will stick it to all those who have done us wrong for the past 200 years”, maybe I would even have a little respect for them. They are lying, coniving, corrupt, well, politicians.
Why do people insist on saying this? They won’t be “homeless” they will be going into homes they can afford, or rent places they can afford.
Yes, home prices will be corrected. It is unfortunate, but has to happen.
Everyone should bring the wonderful plan to these protests and rip it up at the same time.
That might be a good idea except that the environmental wackos would probably scream about all the trees we were killing. Come to think of it, I wonder how many copies of that 1000+ page bill were made every time a change occurred. Can you just imagine how many sheets of paper they must have used? If our great government would just stop WASTING our money, we wouldn’t be in this mess!
Freemind,
Take another sip of the Kool Aid.
The foolish belief the government is the cure for all that ails us is exactly what got us in this mess.
This is only part of your post that is correct. What’s going on with our economy is a correction. We need this to happen regardless of how painful.
After the tech bubble, interest rates were lowered to smooth out the recession. This ignited the mortgage industry. Then the Fed kept rates too low for too long and the industry overheated. Back to another recession. What’s next? There is no way to smooth this out. It has to run its course.
Trying to delay it just makes it worse later on.
Well, I expect the worse to come. When this “stimulus” plan falls flat on its face, expect massive tax increases. And I don’t mean just the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, I mean both at the state and federal level.
That’s why it’s key that in 2010, we take over congress and make sure these socialist plans don’t continue to get passed. Unfortunately, with the rapid pace that Obama is moving at, it may be too late to stop the socialized healthcare plan, which will surely become a disaster.
We don’t even have enough doctors to service the country as it is, how does this idiot thing he can provide “free” healthcare to everyone in the country?
Long lines, no special diagnostics and the government making the cheapest possible decisions with regards to your life. That’s how.
Agreed, but the pork in the bill is a small fraction of the bill. I wish this were not the case, but everyone needs to be realistic. When you get over 500 politicians together its nearly impossible to get something done that everyone likes and that is free of pork. Its never going to happen, unless the line item veto was brought back. Without that there has to be give and take to get something done. If the Dems got everything they wanted the bill would have been 90% spending, if the repubs got everything they wanted it would be 90% tax cuts. We got something in between.
As for your point nlebou you are correct. They wouldn’t become homeless, just kicked out of there home and find somewhere else to live. I also think that the housing price drop is a necessary correction to a well overinflated market. But if something isn’t done to put a floor in the market we will overshoot on the downside and run the risk of having millions of people owing more on there homes than what its worth. Lets say you just got married a few years ago put 20% down on a $300,000 home. You have a good job and bring in $150,000 in total household income. Now you hear that your job has been relocated to a different state. But the house is now worth only $175,000. You still owe $200,000 on the mortgage. Is this person irresponsible?
The bottom line on the mortgage problem is…if you can’t afford a house, then live in an apartment, or your parent’s basement (lgm?) or somewhere inexpensive. Save your money until you can afford a house. The rest of us had to do that. Why do some people think they deserve things they haven’t earned? It disgusts me. Another thing that disgusts me is the “community affordable housing projects”. You know, like the one that produced Cabrini Green (sp) in Chicago. That worked well, didn’t it?
Yes, and add in the runaway inflation we are sure to have because those idiots keep printing more money. This will be very very bad.
“My friend Michael Patrick Leahy…”
OUCH! That’s like being named Robert Jimmy Carter. Poor guy.
I have one idea, but it involves illegal aliens, fences and the military. Probably won’t go over so well with some.
Unfortunate, but that is the chance you take when you sign on the dotted line. Why does a newlywed need a $300,000 home? Yes, I would say that is irresponsible.
The 1st home I purchased was a tiny 2 bedroom 1 bath house that needed a lot of work, but we knew that was what we could afford. And, we had 2 children at the time. We knew that if one of us lost our job we could still cover the mortgage.
I keep seeing references to a Party set up in San Diego, but can’t find anything specific. Somebody, please toss me a clue at fretlesstd-at-yahoo-dot-com.
Also, Recommended Protest Song: Money For Nothing!
Huh? In many places $300K will get you a decent fixer upper. Certainly nothing approaching extravagant, if that was your implication.
Completely agreed about the chance you talk about the risk you take. However, I live in Northern New Jersey, believe me, a $300,000 home here is a starter home. I know in some areas of the country it may buy you a 5 bedroom 3 bath mansion, but in North Jersey that buys you a small 2 bedroom one bath home.
fm25,
Your statement shows that you presume that this is a Pro-Bush blog. You libs just love linking your opponents to straw men and then knocking them down. It feels soooo good, doesn’t it? That’s what you have to resort to because that’s the only trick in your bag. Your “arguments” are based on feeling and not fact. libs like you are little more than shout-down artists, scoring points with weak minded sob-sucker fools as you do your little demagog song and dance. Well, it doesn’t fly here. This is NOT a pro-GOP Bush loving shill sheet. If you had any kind of scruples at all, you would have gotten to know this blog before spewing your charges. If you already knew then shame on you.
I am, and have been, angry with Bush and the GOP for a long time. The “charges” that you list are shared by the GOP and the Dems, and ultimately are the fault of the American people. The main fault of Bush is that he broke his oath:
…but then all Presidents beginning with Teddy Roosevelt have broken their oath. There have been a few exceptions, Reagan being one, but even he didn’t fight against some of the progressive tentacles that threaten our Liberty.
Just for once, I’d like to see a President fight for the 10th amendment. When is the last time any elected or appointed “public servant” even mention the 10th amendment, let alone defend it?
I’ve been there. You have my condolences. That is a place I would never live.
nlebou, I sympathize with anyone in that situation. And I don’t think it was irresponsible to buy a $300,000 home that you probably could afford at the time you purchased it. You had a good job and every hope that you would keep that job. Also, $300,000 for a home these days isn’t that high a price. However, the fact remains that those things do happen and we can’t expect the government to subsidize our misfortunes. That is socialism. Beieve me, I don’t lump everyone who is having mortgage trouble into the same pile. My own daughter and son-in-law are having problems right now making the mortgage and we are helping them out. If these people have families willing help, great. But NOT the GOVERNMENT! NO, NO, NO. I know, I am yelling a lot this morning. I need to lay off the caffiene.
Try buying anything in CA for $300K. You can’t even buy an empty lot for the most part.
happyscrapper, that was my point also.
When you are looking to buy a home you HAVE to take all things into consideration. Loss of employment, health, and economic downturns.
Exactly why I would never live in either of those places.
Just think back to when this country was just starting out. And before the industrial revolution, when everyone helped each other out, and if you didn’t have money to pay for some service, you paid with a chicken or some other barter item. Communities stuck together. They worked hard, took responsibility and the idea of taking a handout from their government was unthinkable. We need to get back to that kind of goodness, kindness, moral values. Wow, do I miss those things. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not THAT old, but I do remember the 50′s and that was the best time in the history of this country!
In normal times I would agree wholeheartedly with you. However this is not normal times. This is not an isolated hypothetical scenario. This is happening to millions of people all over the country. Its causing a destruction of wealth not seen in many many years. The only people with the capacity to stop it sadly is the government. Will irresponsible people be helped out? Unfortunatly yes? But we don’t really have other good alternatives.
Me too happyscrapper, me too. I live in a small community and it has always been that way here. As a matter of fact, my husband is at my daughter house right now doing just that. They can’t afford to pay someone to change their roof and install siding so there are several family members & friends there today to help them do it. Next month they are moving to my nieces home to help out there.
When this economy tanks we will all be going back to the barter system. I suggest we all get to know our neighbors well.
90% of homeowners are paying their mortgage. Why should we all suffer for the 10% who are not?
We have lived in this neighborhood for over 35 years and the neighbors are fantastic. We have gone through all the births, graduations, marriages, and some deaths with them. I think one problem in America is that so many people move away from their communities, usually by necessity, but sometimes just because they are restless. Families live many states away from each other. Your support system is scattered. I have always believed in putting down roots and staying there if you possibly can. Both our daughters went to college out of state and got engaged to men who lived in other states. Both of those engagements ended. They are now happily married to good old Minnesota boys and living close by! My parents and all my siblings have always lived in Minnesota. Having family near has always been special to me. I know that is not possible for everyone, but part of the problem we are all having is a sense of being disconnected from our support system. If you are lucky enough to have your family near, you are truly blessed. If you are not, you can develop another support system in your neighborhood or your church. OR, on a blog with like-minded folks.
Government is not the answer, government is the problem. The private sector could pull us out of this mess if the government would get out of the way.
Exactly! I think that Freemind is panicking a bit! I agree that these are not normal times. But I also think that Obama is playing the “crisis” card on TV almost every day! If he scares enough people, they will think big government is the only solution. It isn’t.
Same here happyscrapper, I married someone not from my hometown; I wanted to get away from here. I had no support system and it was very hard. I insisted we move back after my children came because I realized that my small hometown was the best place to raise them. Long story short, I am now remarried to a man from that hometown. We are now living on property that has been in my husbands family for over 150 yrs. We are surrounded by both our families. My husband, his father and brothers built our home in the early 80′s. Total cost was for materials only $17,000. That’s right, my current husband has never had a mortgage. It is not a large home but it is very comfortable, better built than most homes and best of all it is paid for. When we want to make changes we save the money first, then we do it ourselves.
3yrs ago my son wanted to buy a bigger house. He has 2 stepdaughters and one daughter. They felt they needed more space. My husband and I convinced him to close in his porch to make another bedroom instead. He is soooo glad now that he did that. It’s all about the choices that we make.
freemind25: Here’s the problem with your thinking. You seem to suggest that because someone lost $125,000 on a home they purchased, other people should now “share” by government command, in their loss. Okay. So how about the people who bought a $300,000 home in say 1990, sold in 2000 for $800,000. Where was the “sharing” then?
Bad things happen to good people. We’ve all had bad things happen to us – should we now demand that everyone “share” in the bad? Where’s the reverse of “sharing” in the good?
This is exactly what socialism is – all for one and one for all. Everyone supposedly produces and everyone supposedly shares in the bounty or loss. The fallacy is this is that everyone does NOT produce under this type of system because the lazy realize they get the same whether they produce or not and those who control this system always siphon off from the top.
Notice in the stimulus bill the siphoning off by government for government! They are the ones getting the new buildings, furniture, cars, pet projects in their states (harry’s rail, nancy’s mouse, etc.). We get $8 a week!
DING DING DING…..you win the prize for best analogy of my day.
Sounds familiar. And there are millions of stories just like yours. That is what makes up the fabric of our country. The small town folks are the ones the progressive “elites” make fun of and put down. The “chattering class”, the gun toting, Bible thumping peons. The kind of people who made this country great. Although we live in a suburb of Minneapolis and you wouldn’t consider that a small town, our neighborhood is like that small town. Also, our oldest daughter moved to a small town about 80 miles from us and bought a 100 year old remodeled house. We have roots there because my husband’s Mother, sister and brother-in-law all lived there. Our daughter felt connected to that town and felt drawn to it. After living alone in that huge house for about 1 year, she started dating a man who lived only a few blocks away. They ended up having a huge wedding down by the lake right outside of town, with all the lake people there and ALL of our neighbors travelled the 80 miles to attend the wedding. Even a neighbor couple who had moved away came to the wedding. We all partied for 3 days in that small town. And they gave us a beautiful 5 year-old grandson who is growing up in that great town by the lake. It is a fairy tale come true. By the way, they don’t have much money, but they are truly happy. I am convinced that, should things get worse in this country, that small town will be the best place to be, and we would probably move there.
Several things. I am a physician and with 30 years of experience can tell you that there is no advantage to knowing the details of a patients past records. It will not save lives in the least. This information can be obtained in short order from someone with a few questions. If they are not able to communicate, you can still get a considerable amount of information in short order and do not need to examine the record from another hospital. The whole issue is control. That and the fact this is the initial effort for nationalized medicine.
The other thing. A house is nothing more than an investment. I we are going to help one group who made bad investment decisions, what about the rest of us who have seen our retirement plans killed by the market. Maybe we need a bailout.
Oh, they will be sharing that, never fear! But they won’t be sharing with the responsible folks, only those who the government thinks needs it.
Have a great Sunday all. I have been cooking for the crew at my daughters house all morning. I have to carry food over there now. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!
Ret Fireman.Alot of us did indeed vote for McCain,the problem was that it felt like he was constantly choosing to shoot himself in the foot everytime he gained momentum.It’s almost like they were in agreement that he would take a fall.Examples: Voting for the TaRP,people saying Obama was dangerous and him saying you had nothing to worry about if he were president.He was constantly doing things like that and when they were attacking Palin he said very little,but attack a Dem or call him Barack Hussein Obama and he would pitch a fit.Unfortunately McCain made a lot of people not want to vote for him,especially since for years we was constantly poulling the same stuff as Specter and the Maine twins.
Not to us. To us it is a place to put down roots and raise a family. My husband has never looked at this home as an investment. THANK GOD!
OK, now I really have to go. Bye!
freemind25: You suggest we have to “bit the bullet”. Now that I can agree upon. But “biting the bullet” in my mind is different than yours. When you bite the bullet you take responsibility for your actions and move on. I take responsibility for my actions, you for yours.
You disclose that you are about to purchase a home and then suggest the mortgage bailout hurts you. No it doesn’t! We the People are going to “assist” you with $8,000 to purchase that home. Why? Where were you when I was buying my home? I didn’t get your contribution!
Biting the bullet means I accept that my home value has gone down. You, on the other hand, reap the rewards of a market that is down and get a great price on the home you buy (without my contribution of $8,000). We both live with what life deals and move on. What’s wrong with that? Why should *I* who has already suffer a loss in my home value now have to contribute to your purchase of a home AND bailout those who aren’t paying their mortgage?
Oh yes, David, we definitely need a bailout. But we aren’t the ones who have a prayer of getting it. You see, deep down the socialists know that the producers will continue to produce. That is the way producers are wired. We can’t sit on our butts and let someone else take care of us. Obama, Pelosi and Reid know that. They are counting on it. We could no more sit idle and let big brother take care of us than the welfare class can take initiative and get jobs. That is why they are getting bailed out and we are getting the shaft.
And God bless you, real good!
How did you get so smart? And why can’t libs understand these simple, logical principles? Why is the sky blue? I’m going mad. Time for lunch. Later.
Washington Monument 12:00 Friday 27 Feb–I’ll be there.
We need to plan a huge march on DC, but far enough ahead so more people can get there. I would try to come if it was in a couple months. Can’t make it by the 27th, as I live in Minnesota. But I WOULD come to DC if there is a march that I can make arrangements to come. Seriously, my husband and I would join a march like that, and I know thousands would too. We just need some notice. In fact, we would probably use our camper and bring all the signs, etc. and just drive there. I would LOVE to meet some of the great people who contribute to these blogs! We could all just wear name tags with our user names!
I haven’t read all of the comments, so this may be a repeat. There’s a tea party set for Los Angeles at the Santa Monica Pier. Check the Santelli tea party web site.
MNDavid and Purplepeep…you could ride with us in our van with the camper trailing behind…yes you could! We would even let David ride “shotgun”.
This Minnesota lady is getting really excited about all this!
How about a link? I can’t seem to find a Santelli Tea Psrty website, except for the video itself on CNBC,
I just read this comment by a left winger on another site. This is typical of what these folks think about conservatives and anyone who has money. This is truly frightening!! And yes, class warfare is inevitable. Describing people who are rising up against the mortgage bailout…”These men are pure America. They’re suburban, they fear and loath black people, and they buy giant luxury trucks and 40-foot Rinker yachts to signal their wealth and power. They are angry now as ever, shifting their business model into “foreclosure rescue” scams, complaining about taxes, betting on football and snorting coke, sneering at the “losers.” They are the fragile blackshirts of the crisis’s next stage.” Wow…this really is the face of the left.
That person is not irresponsible unless they decide to stop paying the mortgage.
I bought a car a year ago 100% financed $0 down. That same car is now worth less than I owe on it. Does that mean I can walk away from the payments and get to keep the car? Should the .gov make the bank lower my principle?
The answer is the same as with this mortgage mess. If a contract was signed, then abide by the terms of it or suffer the consequences. Their personal irresponsibility is not my problem.
Try going here. Not sure if this will work. http://www.reteaparty.com
I only wish that statement was true. Just like the Wall St bankers irresponsibility became our problem, so has/will irresponsible mortgage holders. Every time there is a foreclosure in your neighborhood your home value goes down. Is it fair that I am a hard working American with a job and my tax money is going to pay for other peoples unemployment benefits? NO,but without those benefits the economy will spiral out of control. The government is the backstop to the economy. My philosophy is let them go in fix the job and then get the hell out of the way. The economy needs a jump start, the government needs to provide the spark, and once the car is running again than it needs to pull away.
The link I just gave you does work…I went there.
I wish I could believe that the government would pull away again. If they had done something reasonable, something actually that would stimulate the economy instead of senseless spending, I could maybe stomach this so-called stimulus package. BUT I don’t think it will work, and the government doesn’t ever give up something that they have taken over.
The problem with that analysis is that once the government gets their tentacles in, they don’t let go. They will not just swoop in like the Lone Ranger, fix the problem, then quietly fade into the background. Power corrupts and this administration is in power. Things will never be the same and if you think they will, you are delusional. Again, BIG GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS DO NOT WORK. THEY ONLY ENCOURAGE IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR. ONLY THE PRIVATE SECTOR CAN GET US OUT OF THIS MESS. IT’S CALLED CAPITALISM, NOT SOCIALISM. Please, think about it…the government needs to butt out!
I am also getting really tired of hearing, “You have no heart. If you had your way, no one would get help and you would just let them live on the streets and let the children starve.” Whoever said the children will starve? There have been and continue to be charities and agencies that help those people who really need it. No one in this country need be homeless or hungry. EVER! There is help out there for those who seek it.