It's no garden party when anti-tax crusaders gather for a 'tea party'

Times columnist Chris Erskine, who has been known to wax poetic about sports and the life of a suburban dad (both Erskine specialties), decided to take in an anti-tax Tea Party the other day. As the Ticket has reported, people all over the country have attended them. Erskine writes:

You might have caught wind of this tea party movement, sometimes dubbed TEA (Taxed Enough Already). It first appeared in late February, with scattered protests around the nation, then grew to a reported 500 events on tax day, April 15. The grass-roots movement has sort of taken off, becoming more than a hiccup and less than a full-fledged revolt.

There were some 1,400 tea party rallies scheduled across the nation this Independence Day weekend, billed as nonpartisan efforts to rein in tax-and-spend politicians. Significant? You be the judge. Honestly, I could come down two different ways on all of this: In times so tough, isn’t it a little cold-hearted to complain about paying your fair share? Or, are people so fed up with dishing out huge chunks of their income — and receiving so little visible benefit — that they think their “fair share” isn’t so fair anymore?

Erskine goes on to describe what transpires when anti-tax crusaders rallied recently in suburban Los Angeles.

If you’ve never been to an anti-tax tea party, here’s the deal. There are a lot of good Americans — about 500 at this rally — sitting around a stage in molded plastic chairs trying to stay awake. Tea is in short supply, and oddly, there is no beer (Huey Long would’ve sent an entire Budweiser truck). But the burgers are good, and the music — some live, some recorded — is stirring.

What more does a political rally need? A few characters.

To read about those characters, click here for his whole column. In typical Erskine fashion, he blends humor (“Have you looked at a dollar bill lately? George Washington is weeping”) with on-point portraits of people being themselves. You might find them admirable, or appalling, and maybe even a little bit of both at once.

-- Steve Padilla

The Ticket, which always pays its taxes, goes inside politics several times a day. Click here for Twitter alerts of each new item. Or follow us @latimestot

Comments

[Linda O'Keefe]

WARNING: TYPICAL MEDIA SLANT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have you been to one of the local health care town halls sponsored by Organizing for America? I have. The organizer showed up late and had one pamphlet that had generic information. A total of 10 people trickled in through the day. With all the millions being pumped into the Organizing for American endeavor, I would think this is turning out to be a waste of money.

Have you been to one of the local ACORN events? If you pick up a sign and chant, you may get paid. If you are just passing by, you may get threatened.

Have you been to a rally sponsored by the anarchists? Get ready for smashing windows out, turning cars cars over and setting fires.

Tea Party events talk about real solutions. Most Americans don't have time to listen to real solutions. Our congress leaders don't have time to read the bills. If there's one thing I've learned from being married to an attorney, is read the contract! Mortgages, credit card fine print, and all other contracts should be read!

We could allow the media, Obama and his progressive party to shape the debate over health care but we choose to make our voices heard. The media (except for Helen Thomas) doesn't have a problem with pre-screened questions at staged town halls.The media has a problem has a problem with Americans who don't accept this new type of state sponsored media! So the media ridicules and belittles the Americans who oppose the president's agenda.

This is journalism that will need a bailout. The only people who will contribute money to this nonsense will be the American taxpayer and it will be through force. Perhaps the LA times should be dumped along with the Tea.

[Angel]

Taxation is fair? wrong. The only taxation that is remotely fair's sales tax. Everything else is based upon communism and the idea that the state owns you {income}, and all property. Individual citizens make the right decisions far more often than the government ever has, does, or will.

[FRED]

Spending money that we don't have (i.e.have to borrow or print) is not the answer...doesn't fix anything and makes more problems...deep down, everybody knows this to be true.

[Rob Quinn]

It is inaccurate to characterize Tea Parties as "anti-tax". There are a broad range of reasons why people are protesting, and as of yet - there is no single, consistent set of principles underlying these protests.

However, there are undercurrents to attach principled approaches to Tea Party sentiments, such as the promotion of rights of the individual as against the collective, or the return to Constitutionalism.

[MG]

If these protesters are so worried about deficits, why didn't they vote for Al Gore in 2000? He and Clinton left the country with a budget surplus estimated at $1 trillion over 10 years. Why change horses in mid-stream after such an amazing accomplishment?

Why didn't Gore win in a landslide over GWB for helping to balance the budget? Because Cliton lied about sex. So voters picked GWB. And destroyed our economy in doing so.

[Carson]

Good job TEA Partiers!

Did you ever wonder where the money for things like the subversion of the world's immigration laws may come from? Also, recently I’m seeing an ad campaign, using money we don’t have, to sell us on a new health plan.

It seems to me as long as we allow people to print up fiat money there will be no place in the world where freedom can flourish.

If the Globalist oppose your efforts, paid for with real hard earned money, all they have to do is fire up the presses and shovel the money to any group that will oppose you.

Not only that but it seems they do it in such a way that the money to achieve THEIR goals is borrowed from them. Then we pay interest to a group outside of our country, like the Federal Reserve, on the creation and borrowing of OUR OWN money.

IN ESSENCE THEY BEAT US WITH OUR OWN STICK!

[FRED]

MG-
GWB did not beat Al Gore because Clinton lied about sex. Obama did not beat Hillary because Clinton lied about sex. As far as why Obama beat Hillary, I don’t know, but Clinton lied about sex all the time, early on, and still got reelected. It’s pretty easy to see how Obama beat McCain…but back to Gore…I just couldn’t vote for somebody that constantly reminded me of Forrest Gump.
Sex isn't always thew answer.