CLT UPDATE
Fhursday, April 16, 2009
Massachusetts Tax Day Tea Parties
Boston saw a new round of anti-tax
“tea parties” yesterday, 236 years after the first one, as thousands of
people turned out for several protests, part of a nationwide movement
against President Obama’s economic stimulus and budget deficit plans.
“There is a lot of anger growing. That anger is justified,” said WRKO
(680 AM) talk-show host Todd Feinburg, who emceed events at the Boston
Common and in Lowell. He cited Obama’s policies and Gov. Deval Patrick’s
political “tin ear.”
The Boston Herald
Thursday, April 16, 2009
‘Tea parties’ boiling over taxes
Thousands gather in Hub
Tax day took a twist yesterday at the Barnstable Municipal
Airport Rotary.
Streams of protesters chanted "USA," waved American flags and rallied against
what they call over-taxation and excessive government intrusion....
The crowd waved signs such as "Don't steal Our Kids $$," "Shrink Government Not
My Wallet" and "It's the Taxes Stupid." ...
State Rep. Jeffrey Perry, R-Sandwich, helped spur on the Hyannis event.
"The excessive spending and bureaucracy and control government has in everyone's
life is a dangerous thing," Perry said, explaining why people were rallying
across the country.
Cape Cod Times
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Cape residents join 'tea party' revolt
The two-hour event, described by organizer Kenneth J. Mandile
as the beginning of a movement to reduce government spending and waste and to
restore the free market, had already drawn hundreds before its start time of 4
p.m., with the roads lined with protesters holding placards....
Several speakers, which included five Republican state legislators, compared the
protests around the country to the Colonists who stood up to repressive taxation
at the Boston Tea Party.
“Think of what our founders did,” Mr. Mandile said to a cheering crowd, speaking
over the cacophony of automobile horns blown in solidarity. “They took on the
most powerful country in the world, and won.” ...
The crowd presented a colorful mix of placards, props and costumes. Some wore
caps with tea bags dangling from them. One woman, dressed as the Wicked Witch of
the West, stopped briefly to chat on the air with WTAG radio talk host Jordan
Levy. One woman held a placard out to motorists that instructed them to “Honk if
I’m Paying Your Mortgage.” ...
State Rep. Paul K. Frost, R-Auburn, also took Gov. Deval L. Patrick to task for
raising taxes, saying that the income tax relief offered under the federal
stimulus will be eaten up by new state taxes.
“Leave people more money to spend, don’t throw federal dollars at corporations,”
he said. “… Don’t prolong the problem for the long term.”
The Telegram & Gazette
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Taxes not their cup of tea
As many Americans scrambled to file their taxes yesterday, a
group of about 300 folks steeped their anger around microphones in downtown
Lowell.
The "Tax Day Tea Party" rally, at JFK Plaza, was one of more than 2,000
nationwide staged yesterday by people fed up with tax rates, rising deficits,
and government bailouts and corruption. They came together in angst, seeking
unity, hoping to maintain momentum.
"I would have been happy with 100 people," said Sandi Martinez of Chelmsford,
who organized the protest with Barbara Klain of Lowell. "This was people sharing
their hearts. It gave them a voice and a sense of unity with the others doing
this across the country." ...
James Bohn of Carlisle, a former economist with the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C, told the crowd that this year, "the
federal government will spend $2 trillion more than it will take in. If the
founders of our nation were around today, they'd be horrified." ...
The keynote speaker, WRKO Radio talk show host Todd Feinburg, said it is
"unfathomable" to live in a state with massive government pensions and rampant
cronyism. Feinburg, whose radio co-host is former House speaker Tom Finneran,
decried "cozy" deals between teachers' unions and Democrats, calling schools "a
disaster."
"We just elected a president of the United States whose qualifications come down
to hope and change."
Feinburg used Finneran as an example of Statehouse politicians who "get
teary-eyed at the smell of marble. ...You put people in power and scumbags
result."
The Lowell Sun
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Lowell 'Tax Day Tea Party' pours out fury over spending
More than 100 local residents joined tens of thousands across
the nation Wednesday in protesting government spending and taxation they believe
is out of control.
Groups from across the political spectrum lined Park Square in Pittsfield
Wednesday to take part in a tax day protest modeled after the Boston Tea Party.
The protest was organized by the Berkshire Conservatives and the Berkshire
County Republican Association.
Protesters held signs, American flags and handed out tea bags while scores of
passing drivers honked in response. They said they came together to speak out
against federal bailouts and the stimulus package, as well as a lack of reform
and a proposed 19-cent gas tax increase in Massachusetts.
The Berkshire Eagle
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Citizens tea'd off on tax day
Some held an American flag in one hand and a protest sign in
the other, a simultaneous expression of pride for the country and anger about
its condition.
The placards were nearly all hand-lettered. "Vote the bums out." "More freedom,
less taxes" "Stop the Pelosi pirates." "No public money for private failure."
More than 200 people lined the sidewalks outside the Springfield Post Office on
Main Street Wednesday as the tax-filing deadline approached, one of hundreds of
Internet-fueled protests staged around the country.
The Springfield Republican
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Protests, placards dot Tax Day
OK, so there were lots of nuts. But there were plenty
of calm, informed and reasonable non-nuts, too, regular Janes and Joes
scared to death by out-of-control government spending. And lots of them
showed up for yesterday’s tea parties - at least 500 on Beacon Hill and
perhaps as many as 1,500 at Christopher Columbus Park....
Until yesterday, after Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz trashed
so-called mainstream media - network TV, MSNBC, CNN and big city
newspapers - for ignoring the tea parties, the aforementioned media
outlets had, in fact, ignored them.
Perhaps chastened, they were all over the story yesterday. FOX, CNN and
NECN were at Christopher Columbus park to record WTKK talk-show host
Michael Graham, dressed up in a wig, three-corner hat, knickers - the
full Revolutionary War patriot ensemble - dump tea into Boston Harbor.
He led the crowd in a chant to pols, “You Work for Us! You Work for Us!”
The Boston Herald
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Protesters have had their fill of pols
By Margery Eagan
Chip Faulkner's Report
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Chip Faulkner
speaking at the Boston Tea Party
-- Photo by Garrett Quinn,
Jr.
Click photo to enlarge |
All around us we hear
"Reform First!" Can't you just feel the tax hikes coming?
I attended and spoke at
three Massachusetts Tea Parties yesterday representing Citizens for
Limited Taxation. I gave a speech in Boston around 1pm, traveled to
Worcester for a talk at 5:20pm and finished up in Lowell before 8pm. All
three gatherings, with their multitude of speakers, emphasized the same
themes about limiting government spending, lowering taxes and taking
back our government. I focused on CLT’s concern about the Massachusetts
tax burden being 5th highest in the country and our determination that
there be “NO RE-ELECTION FOR TAX HIKERS” in 2010.
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David Tuerck,
director of the Beacon Hill Institute
-- Photo by Frank Conte |
The Boston event, with several hundred participants, had a great list
of speakers. Half of the scheduled speakers had at one time or another
addressed the Friday Morning Group: CLT’s monthly meeting of
center-right activists. Several CLT members came over and introduced
themselves to me during the rally. A bunch of people hawked bumper
stickers, buttons and T-shirts, many with anti-Obama themes. I bought
one of them - a button that had the face of the President with the
words, “Welcome Back, Carter.” There were more signs then I had seen at
any rally in my life. Among them: “Obamanomics, Chains You Can Believe
In,” “Stop Spending Money I Haven’t Earned Yet,” and “Fair Tax Now.”
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CLT activist
Ted Tripp, President of the North Andover Taxpayers
Association
-- Photo by Frank Conte
Click photo to enlarge |
Then it was on to Worcester. The size of the crowd there was stunning,
at least one thousand enthusiastic people, with some estimates of a lot
more. There was massive amounts of traffic in Lincoln Square were the
Tea Party took place, Cars were continually honking their horns in
support of the sign carriers, hundreds of whom lined the streets
bordering the Square. The sound system, under the direction of Shari
Worthington, was superb. The microphone was on a raised platform; the
speakers’ voices could be heard half way to the moon.
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Boston Common
Tax Day Tea Party
-- Photo by Frank Conte
Click photo to enlarge |
After Worcester, I headed for Lowell and the Tea Party organized by
Sandi Martinez. Arriving there after 6:30pm, I missed most of the
speakers. However, I was just in time to see the crowd move from the
plaza next to Lowell City Hall to one of the canals a short distance
away. Several wooden boxes were thrown into the canal as part of a
re-enactment. They were all drawn back up by attached ropes except for
one which stayed in the canal when its rope broke. Of course the crowd
immediately started kidding Sandi that the EPA was going to come down on
her for leaving the box in the canal. Everyone then walked back to the
plaza to listen to the last of the speakers, which included me. I was
pleasantly surprised to see longtime CLT members (and Grover’s parents)
Warren and Carol Norquist there enjoying the program. Lots of people
were in costume. A few were dressed as patriots, one was in an Uncle Sam
outfit and there was even a “Redcoat” there. (He didn’t dare arrest
anyone for throwing the tea boxes in the canal).
To sum it up: Boston scheduled the most impressive speakers, Worcester
had the biggest crowd and Lowell was the most colorful.
Chip Faulkner
Associate Director
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State Tea Party
coordinator Corie Whalen (L) and Chip Faulkner (speaking) at the
Boston Tea Party
-- Photo by Frank Conte |
The Boston Herald
Thursday, April 16, 2009
‘Tea parties’ boiling over taxes
Thousands gather in Hub
By Jessica Heslam
Boston saw a new round of anti-tax “tea parties” yesterday, 236 years
after the first one, as thousands of people turned out for several
protests, part of a nationwide movement against President Obama’s
economic stimulus and budget deficit plans.
“There is a lot of anger growing. That anger is justified,” said WRKO
(680 AM) talk-show host Todd Feinburg, who emceed events at the Boston
Common and in Lowell. He cited Obama’s policies and Gov. Deval Patrick’s
political “tin ear.”
Libertarian leader Carla Howell told an early morning crowd of about 100
on the Common to engage in direct political action, voting for small
government candidates. Several thousand people showed up for the noon
rally on the Common and at Christopher Columbus Park at 4 p.m., where
the crowd sang the national anthem, threw tea chests and chanted “you
work for us,” a message aimed at pols.
“It was exactly what you wanted democracy in action to be,” said WTKK
(96.9 FM) talk-show host Michael Graham, who donned colonial garb to
address the crowd.
The rallies were part of a nationwide movement pushed by conservative
bloggers and on Facebook and Twitter social networks that saw tens of
thousands of people at about 300 tea parties on Tax Day - the date when
tax returns are due. The movement attracted some Republicans rumored to
be 2012 presidential candidates. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
planned to address a tea party in New York City last night.
About 2,000 people crowded the steps of the Rhode Island State House.
About 500 people rallied at the New Hampshire State House. But in
Vermont, about two dozen people, calling themselves S.O.S. or Save Our
State, came out for a pro-tax rally in Montpelier.
Cape Cod Times
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Cape residents join 'tea party' revolt
By Robert Gold
HYANNIS— Tax day took a twist yesterday at the Barnstable Municipal
Airport Rotary.
Streams of protesters chanted "USA," waved American flags and rallied
against what they call over-taxation and excessive government intrusion.
Joining "tea party" protests nationwide, the boisterous crowd clustered
around the rotary from 4 to 6 p.m. Afterward, many headed to the nearby
VFW for a second rally.
The crowd waved signs such as "Don't steal Our Kids $$," "Shrink
Government Not My Wallet" and "It's the Taxes Stupid."
East Falmouth resident Bill Joerjer stood along the east side of the
rotary waving a large American flag.
Joejer, who is retired, said recent government spending will leave a
long-term debt and detriment to the economy.
"It will all (have to be) paid for someday," Joejer said.
Alana Donohoe of Sandwich said the protest reached beyond political
views. In her eyes, there is too much wasteful government spending and
burdensome taxes.
"Enough is enough," she said. "It's not a Democrat or Republican thing."
State Rep. Jeffrey Perry, R-Sandwich, helped spur on the Hyannis event.
"The excessive spending and bureaucracy and control government has in
everyone's life is a dangerous thing," Perry said, explaining why people
were rallying across the country.
The rotary was picked as the protest site, Perry said, because of nearby
parking and the visual impact no matter what size crowd showed up.
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"We wanted to be the center of Cape Cod. The center of Cape Cod is
Hyannis," he said.
Several Barnstable police officers directed traffic during the rally.
Police would occasionally stop the rush-hour traffic to let protesters
cross into the grassy central area inside the rotary.
There were no accidents or arrests, police said.
Sandwich resident Scott Ames, standing in the central area of the
rotary, argued that the corporate bailouts hurt everyday taxpayers.
"If (corporations) can't make it on their own, they shouldn't expect
government to bail them out; government being us the taxpayers."
The Telegram & Gazette
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Taxes not their cup of tea
By Martin Luttrell
WORCESTER — Rebekah R. Stearns endured the sonic assault of car and
truck horns that blared a few feet away to hold a pair of placards on a
traffic island at Lincoln Square yesterday, one of an estimated 1,500
participants at the city’s Tax Day Tea Party to protest government
spending, corporate bailouts and taxation.
The two-hour event, described by organizer Kenneth J. Mandile as the
beginning of a movement to reduce government spending and waste and to
restore the free market, had already drawn hundreds before its start
time of 4 p.m., with the roads lined with protesters holding placards.
“I heard about this watching Glenn Beck on TV,” said Ms. Stearns, a
Worcester mother of three who stood next to her son, Elijah, 10, who
held his own placard exclaiming, “Obama Spends, Jesus Saves.”
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“I knew right away I wanted to come here. There’s no freedom in debt.
The future concerns me. Now’s not the right time for this government
spending. It’s gigantic.”
Worcester’s event was one of more than 700 similar anti-tax “tea
parties” held around the country organized under the umbrella of the
Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, comprising four conservative grass-roots
organizations. The event is named after the Boston Tea Party in 1773, in
which 342 chests of tea were thrown into Boston Harbor by Colonists
protesting taxes. Organizers chose April 15, tax filing deadline day,
for its symbolism.
Several speakers, which included five Republican state legislators,
compared the protests around the country to the Colonists who stood up
to repressive taxation at the Boston Tea Party.
“Think of what our founders did,” Mr. Mandile said to a cheering crowd,
speaking over the cacophony of automobile horns blown in solidarity.
“They took on the most powerful country in the world, and won.”
“… I’ve even heard that the Department of Homeland Security considers
the Tea Party an extremist organization and a threat. We are a threat,
to the crowd in Washington.”
He has said that President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan is
wasting money on new programs and is not focused on revitalizing the
economy. He said it will triple the national debt with no plan to pay
for it.
The crowd presented a colorful mix of placards, props and costumes. Some
wore caps with tea bags dangling from them. One woman, dressed as the
Wicked Witch of the West, stopped briefly to chat on the air with WTAG
radio talk host Jordan Levy. One woman held a placard out to motorists
that instructed them to “Honk if I’m Paying Your Mortgage.”
Jodie Chapin of Northboro, who carried a framed photograph of former
President Ronald Reagan, stood at the base of the granite stairs to
Worcester Memorial Auditorium with her daughter, Juliet, 11.
“Ronald Reagan would not have allowed things to get to the point where
we would have to do this,” she said. “He epitomized the Free World. He
is the hero to all the people here. He was a proud conservative who
believed America was a shining city on a hill.”
State Rep. Paul K. Frost, R-Auburn, also took Gov. Deval L. Patrick to
task for raising taxes, saying that the income tax relief offered under
the federal stimulus will be eaten up by new state taxes.
“Leave people more money to spend, don’t throw federal dollars at
corporations,” he said. “… Don’t prolong the problem for the long term.”
But Paul Charles of Shrewsbury, who held a placard proclaiming, “No
Government Waste,” said he would take issue with protesters who do not
want more government regulation on business. He criticized the stimulus
plan for having some “reckless spending” for new programs.
“I think it’s too big,” he said of the stimulus plan. “But there are
things in it that will prevent things from getting worse. The free
market got us into this to some degree. It didn’t prevent Enron or
Bernie Madoff from screwing people.”
The Lowell Sun
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Lowell 'Tax Day Tea Party' pours out fury over spending
By David Perry
As many Americans scrambled to file their taxes yesterday, a group of
about 300 folks steeped their anger around microphones in downtown
Lowell.
The "Tax Day Tea Party" rally, at JFK Plaza, was one of more than 2,000
nationwide staged yesterday by people fed up with tax rates, rising
deficits, and government bailouts and corruption. They came together in
angst, seeking unity, hoping to maintain momentum.
"I would have been happy with 100 people," said Sandi Martinez of
Chelmsford, who organized the protest with Barbara Klain of Lowell.
"This was people sharing their hearts. It gave them a voice and a sense
of unity with the others doing this across the country."
A few, like Tom Weaver of Westford, dressed in Revolutionary War garb,
but many more carried signs. "Don't tax me, bro," read one. "Party like
it's 1773," said another. "Stop Obama's Socialism." "I'll keep my guns,
freedom and money," said a bumper sticker plastered on one young man's
sweatshirt, "You can keep the change!"
They wore buttons, and carried American flags along with their anger.
They quoted the Bible, booed the mention of Congressman Barney Frank,
and found unity in disdain for state and federal government. They
cheered when one speaker mentioned the possible demise of the Boston
Globe.
In Boston, not far from the original 1773 tea party protest, a few
hundred turned out on Boston Common. But tens of thousands of others,
bolstered by talk radio and Fox news,
and conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks, used the last hours before
the income-tax filing deadline to vent frustration and anger.
James Bohn of Carlisle, a former economist with the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System in Washington,
D.C, told the crowd that this year, "the federal government will spend
$2 trillion more than it will take in. If the founders of our nation
were around today, they'd be horrified."
He recalled the Concord Coalition, co-founded by the late Lowell Sen.
Paul Tsongas, as a group that "understands the importance of fiscal
responsibility. And yet, in February, every New England representative
and senator voted for president Obama's $800 billion borrow-and-spend
package."
"I think this is going to have a big impact," Bohn said later. "It
brings people together where they can meet other people. There are times
they can feel like they're alone in feeling like this." He also said
that those in office "have to listen to us."
Chris McMillan, 37, of Tewksbury, and a recent selectman candidate,
carried an American flag and brought his 17-year-old daughter, Courtney.
"We have to stop the madness," said McMillan. "Every branch of
government, town, state and federal, never does cutting but continues to
spend. Obama is creating a socialist state. If I ran my business like
that, I wouldn't be able to survive.
"No one's bailing me out," McMillan said. "I'm no economist, but
capitalism is the most successful form of government in the world. We
have a couple hundred years of proof."
The keynote speaker, WRKO Radio talk show host Todd Feinburg, said it is
"unfathomable" to live in a state with massive government pensions and
rampant cronyism. Feinburg, whose radio co-host is former House speaker
Tom Finneran, decried "cozy" deals between teachers' unions and
Democrats, calling schools "a disaster."
"We just elected a president of the United States whose qualifications
come down to hope and change."
Feinburg used Finneran as an example of Statehouse politicians who "get
teary-eyed at the smell of marble. ...You put people in power and
scumbags result."
Lee Libbey of Lowell, dressed as Uncle Sam, spoke of "total negligence
in Washington." He questioned the citizenship of President "Barack
Hussein Obama."
"Obama's citizenship? I'm past that," said Cliff Krieger, a retired Air
Force pilot and local blogger (Right-Side-of-Lowell), seated on the
sidelines. Krieger was more concerned about "corruption and pork and
general incompetence" that fuels government.
Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, fired up
the crowd, quoting Thomas Jefferson, the book of Dueteronomy, and said
"anti-family' policies are being adopted "from Beacon Hill to
Washington. ... Destroy the family and you will destroy this nation.'
"I'm angry as hell," said Kathy Sartorelli, 44, of Chelmsford. "We need
to be more fiscally conservative. In my household, when we're strained,
we cut back on spending. We have to be responsible. But why do we have
to be responsible for someone else's mistakes?"
Around 7 p.m., they filed over to the bridge over the canal at Lucy
Larcom Park, and lobbed four empty crates into the water, cheering. Two
of the crates broke free of their tethers. Martinez said she promised
she would leave nothing in the canal, so the wooden boxes would have to
be fished out. It was the one bailout anyone present would approve.
The Berkshire Eagle
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Citizens tea'd off on tax day
By Trevor Jones
PITTSFIELD — More than 100 local residents joined tens of thousands
across the nation Wednesday in protesting government spending and
taxation they believe is out of control.
Groups from across the political spectrum lined Park Square in
Pittsfield Wednesday to take part in a tax day protest modeled after the
Boston Tea Party. The protest was organized by the Berkshire
Conservatives and the Berkshire County Republican Association.
Protesters held signs, American flags and handed out tea bags while
scores of passing drivers honked in response. They said they came
together to speak out against federal bailouts and the stimulus package,
as well as a lack of reform and a proposed 19-cent gas tax increase in
Massachusetts.
"It's not tolerable and it's not feasible," said Jim Bronson, of
Berkshire Conservatives. "I think people understand that and I think
people have had enough."
The protests were promoted nationally by FreedomWorks, a conservative
nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington and led by former
Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas.
Organizers said the movement developed organically through online social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox
News.
In Boston, a few hundred protesters gathered on the Boston Common — a
short distance from the original Tea Party — some dressed in
Revolutionary garb and carrying signs that
said "Barney Frank, Bernie Madoff: And the Difference Is?" and "D.C.:
District of Communism."
Other protesters also took direct aim at President Obama. One sign in
the crowd in Madison, Wis., compared him to the anti-Christ. At a rally
in Montgomery, Ala., where Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It"
blared from loudspeakers, Jim Adams, of Selma, carried a sign that
showed the president with Hitler-style hair and mustache and said, "Sieg
Heil Herr Obama."
Meanwhile, in Washington, President Obama declared on that he aims to
ease the dread of deadline day with "a simpler tax code that rewards
work and the pursuit of the American dream."
"For too long, we've seen taxes used as a wedge to scare people into
supporting policies that increased the burden on working people instead
of helping them live their dreams," Obama said. "That has to change, and
that's the work that we've begun."
While organizers of the protest insisted it was a nonpartisan effort, it
has been seized on by many prominent Republicans who view it as a
promising way for the party to reclaim its momentum.
"We are trying to say that there is room for more than one political
party in Massachusetts, that conservatism is not dead," Bronson said of
the Park Square protest.
But a mix of Republicans, independents and Democrats joined the ranks of
those upset with the government as well.
Dick and Kathy Piretti, Democrats from Lenox, said they felt government
spending was out of hand and they had to speak out against it.
"People think it's a bunch of right-wing nuts, but it's not," said Kathy
Piretti. "It's about ordinary people."
Peter Giftos, president of the Berkshire County Republican Association,
said he has been inundated with dozens of messages of people of all
different political beliefs this week.
"People are not only angry, but scared," said Giftos. "The politicians,
in Washington and Boston, are scaring them. They're sick and tired of
being taxed out of their home and they're sick and tired that their
children and their grandchildren are going to be paying for it for years
to come They're just fed up."
The Springfield Republican
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Protests, placards dot Tax Day
By Stan Freeman
SPRINGFIELD - Some held an American flag in one hand and a protest sign
in the other, a simultaneous expression of pride for the country and
anger about its condition.
The placards were nearly all hand-lettered. "Vote the bums out." "More
freedom, less taxes" "Stop the Pelosi pirates." "No public money for
private failure."
More than 200 people lined the sidewalks outside the Springfield Post
Office on Main Street Wednesday as the tax-filing deadline approached,
one of hundreds of Internet-fueled protests staged around the country.
Tax Day Tea Party
The so-called tea parties ("taxed enough already") were organized to
protest massive government spending aimed at restarting the stalled
American economy, from the bailout of General Motors and Bank of America
to the $787 billion stimulus package. The protests gained huge
word-of-mouth on the Internet, swelling the ranks of sign-carriers.
Jack J. Cascio traveled to Springfield from Ware to lodge his
complaints.
"I really resent the fact of the government is taking our tax dollars
and giving it to failing companies, giving it to financiers who are
making billions of dollars, and then expecting us to continue to support
them," he said.
Daniel Rose of Pelham, another protester on the line, took aim at the
bailouts. "I think businesses should not be bailed out in the fashion
that they are. If that means they fail and we have to start over, then
that's what it means."
"The concern is that this government is out of control," he said. "They
are wasting money for generations to come."
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama met with several working families
Wednesday, underscoring his commitment to a simplified tax code and
touting his tax cuts and credits for working families. Also Wednesday,
the Federal Reserve said economic contraction slowed
in
much of the country in March, perhaps signaling the start of a recovery.
The tea party protests were held Wednesday because it was the deadline
for filing income taxes, Tax Day. The Internal Revenue Service estimates
that about 35 percent of taxpayers will file in April and 20 percent did
so in thefinal week before the deadline.
The agency also estimates that nearly 58 percent of individual returns
will be filed online. Five years ago, e-filings were still the
exception. Larger post offices were usually swamped with last-minute
filers, creating a near party atmosphere as the deadline approached.
On tax deadline day in 2004, outside the Springfield Post Office on Main
Street, postal works stood in the middle of the street, collecting tax
returns from those driving by. A local band, Classic Edge, played and
free coffee from Dunkin' Donuts was served.
Wednesday, the tax protesters at the Main Street post office were
numerous, but those mailing their returns were not.
Sue Brennan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service, said, "It's a
busy day for us but certainly not as busy as it used to be."
To meet the deadline electronically, the IRS and state Department of
Revenue require that the send button be hit by midnight.
In Massachusetts, nearly two-thirds of all personal income tax returns
are now filed electronically. As of Monday, 2.36 million state tax
returns had been filed. About one million more were expected to be filed
by midnight Wednesday.
The Boston Herald
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Protesters have had their fill of pols
By Margery Eagan
OK, so there were lots of nuts. But there were plenty of calm, informed
and reasonable non-nuts, too, regular Janes and Joes scared to death by
out-of-control government spending. And lots of them showed up for
yesterday’s tea parties - at least 500 on Beacon Hill and perhaps as
many as 1,500 at Christopher Columbus Park.
Bobby Hatfield, who looked disheveled and claimed to be from Nashville,
Tenn., said he’d been kicked off Facebook five times. They shut down
“Redneck Cafe,” the name of his group, because he asked too many tough
questions, he said, about President Obama.
Always a bad sign, I say, if you get dumped by Facebook.
Brenda White of Revere, a laid-off teacher, dressed herself up in an
attention-grabbing Obama mask, head-to-toe brown bodysuit and tighty-whitey
underpants, and carried a red Elmo doll with letters on it, “The Emperor
(Obama) Has No Clothes.”
White, 51, had no use for Gov. Deval Patrick either. “Yes We Can - Sit
in Traffic Jams” was a popular sign yesterday, a reference to the Easter
Sunday turnpike traffic jam. “Stop Tolls and Pensions” was another big
hit.
Ruth Scott, a retired lawyer who drove all the way from Westport,
complained about “companies giving out mortgages to people who can’t
pay.”
Other apparent non-nuts: Amanda and Brandon White of Weston, who brought
their four kids, ages 8, 6, 3 and 10 months. “It’s their money they’ll
be spending, after all,” Brandon said, referring to his children.
Meanwhile, rally organizer Corie Whalen, a 22-year-old Simmons College
senior and libertarian, called down a pox on both parties for their
spending, their “corporate capitalism” and sleazy lobbyist-fueled
governance.
Whalen said her left-leaning classmates understand her better once they
figure out libertarians aren’t necessarily social conservatives.
Until yesterday, after Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz trashed
so-called mainstream media - network TV, MSNBC, CNN and big city
newspapers - for ignoring the tea parties, the aforementioned media
outlets had, in fact, ignored them.
Perhaps chastened, they were all over the story yesterday. FOX, CNN and
NECN were at Christopher Columbus park to record WTKK talk-show host
Michael Graham, dressed up in a wig, three-corner hat, knickers - the
full Revolutionary War patriot ensemble - dump tea into Boston Harbor.
He led the crowd in a chant to pols, “You Work for Us! You Work for Us!”
Then everybody sang the national anthem, and went home.
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