# I'm not sure why, but the "Tea Party" Tax Protests really rub me the wrong way. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 15, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149 "2009-04-15T05:01:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/61 "2009-04-15T15:16:20Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Truly it’s mindboggling why they would want to compare themselves to the most famous anti-tax rally in American history, one that every schoolchild knows about. :rolleyes: I’m just an unwashed immigrant (who pays taxes and can’t vote), but I thought the rallying cry for the Boston Tea Party had something to do with the _lack of representation_. (Perhaps the fact that the Tea Act _lowered_ the tea price and undercut the local tea smuggling enterprises had something to do with it, as well? Naaah…) ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/62 "2009-04-15T15:18:13Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Media Matters is hosting that video to to make the claim that the coverage precedes the protests; this is untrue. The fact that Fox is glomming onto the protests NOW has no bearing on how/where/why the protests originated. _I_ was making _my own_ argument based on that video (I don’t really care what Media Mattters thinks. I was merely inking to their website so that I could link to the video.) that Fox News is actively supporting these protests. And I find that rather distasteful. Whether or not these protests are “astroturf” has no bearing on the fact that Fox News is promoting them. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/63 "2009-04-15T15:23:23Z")
As a resident of DC, I’m puzzled by the references to “taxation without representation.” It appears that Glenn Beck has been talking about this quite a bit. If all these well-represented economic conservatives are really concerned about the slogan, I can only wonder how they feel about giving the District of Columbia representation in the House of Representatives. I’m pretty sure I know their views: I’m betting they are mostly against it. As others have said before, the Boston Tea Party really isn’t a good historical analogue. I think the organizers should have harkened back to the Whiskey Rebellion, when the Feds raised taxes due to high debts. (I’ll ignore the part about jackbooted thugs crushing the dissent/insurrection.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/64 "2009-04-15T15:45:59Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > As others have said before, the Boston Tea Party really isn’t a good historical analogue. I think the organizers should have harkened back to the Whiskey Rebellion . . . Kewlist-named incident in American history! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/65 "2009-04-15T15:47:30Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Fox and the Republicans are jumping on a phenomenon that started two months ago. [Ron Paul Tea Party 07](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG_OwTthS-E) (vid) > [@](#): > > On December 16, 2007, help celebrate the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party by donating $100 to Ron Paul. Our last money bomb raised $4.3 million and got lots of media attention. Our goal should be to raise twice that much with this event. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/66 "2009-04-15T15:53:24Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > _I_ was making _my own_ argument based on that video (I don’t really care what Media Mattters thinks. I was merely inking to their website so that I could link to the video.) that Fox News is actively supporting these protests. And I find that rather distasteful. Whether or not these protests are “astroturf” has no bearing on the fact that Fox News is promoting them. Understood and agreed. Part of my annoyance is seeing the Sean Hannitys of the world leeching onto something that did start out, and largely still is, authentic nonpartisan grassroots activism – which in turn encourages the Hannitys of the left in making their own predictable responses. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/67 "2009-04-15T15:53:49Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [Ron Paul Tea Party 07](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG_OwTthS-E) (vid) Although the only thing they have in common is the name. Just like these tea parties and the original tea party. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/68 "2009-04-15T15:58:48Z")
Are they going to dress up like Native Americans? Because I don;t really know how I can take the teabaggers seriously if they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/69 "2009-04-15T16:02:54Z")
I think [Andrew Sullivan](http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/04/left-behind.html#more) essentially nails the hysterial hypocrisy of the Teabaggers: > [@](#): > > Glenn Reynolds today pens an op-ed hailing the “tea-party” “movement” as a post-partisan, spontaneous uprising of ordinary folks against the establishment of both parties. He makes no mention of Pajamas Media’s heavy investment in the events, nor Fox News’ endless touting and endorsement of them, but he does point to FreedomWorks’ coordinating website. I’m sure, of course, that it’s a mix of both: some grass roots enthusiasm, coopted in some part by Republican party operators. But it seems odd to describe this as anything but a first stab at creating opposition to the Obama administration’s spending plans, manned by people who made no serious objections to George W. Bush’s. The tea-parties are as post-partisan as Reynolds, one of the most relentlessly partisan bloggers on the web. When you see them holding up effigies of Bush, who was, unlike Obama, supposed to be the fiscal conservative, let me know. > > But the substantive critique must remain the primary one. Protesting government spending is meaningless unless you say what you’d cut. > > If you favor no bailouts, then say so. If you want to see the banking system collapse, then say so. If you think the recession demands no fiscal stimulus, then say so. If you favor big cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, social security and defense, then say so. I keep waiting for Reynolds to tell us what these protests are for; and he can only spin what they they are against. > > All protests against spending that do not tell us how to reduce it are fatuous pieces of theater, not constructive acts of politics. And until the right is able to make a constructive and specific argument about how they intend to reduce spending and debt and borrowing, they deserve to be dismissed as performance artists in a desperate search for coherence in an age that has left them bewilderingly behind. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/70 "2009-04-15T16:32:52Z")
The latest tempest in a Tea Party is that the DHS is classifying broad swaths of the right as “right wing radicals” and “extremists” and therefore “hate groups” and “terrorists.” It all comes from an article from [Michelle Malkin](http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/14/confirme-the-obama-dhs-hit-job-on-conservatives-is-real/) wherein she claims that a DHS report titled _Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment_ wasn’t specific enough in naming the groups it was talking about, therefore Obama classifying everyone on the right as an extremist and a terrorist. The report was clearly talking about groups like the National Alliance and the Creativity Movement and clearly _not_ talking about the Akron Young Republican’s Club, but my uber-conservative facebook friend has altered her profile to read that her political vews are “I say Republican, the Government says ‘Domestic Terrorist’,” and she appears to have a lot of people who agree with her. It’s very, very strange. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/71 "2009-04-15T16:38:51Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I think [Andrew Sullivan](http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/04/left-behind.html#more) essentially nails the hysterial hypocrisy of the Teabaggers: Uh, no. Though hysterical and Sullivan in the same sentence is always a good idea. To call Reynolds partisan is laughable: in 2006 he said the Pubs “deserved to lose,” leading and [listed all the reasons why](http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit-archive/archives/033235.php). He is a moderate libertarian on just about any issue you want to name. More to the point, he did criticize Bush for spending, numerous times over the years. He was and is opposed to bailouts, even the ones Bush supported. He did think the stimulus was highly wasteful. He has often pointed out that defense spending is very often pork-heavy. And he has made entitlement reform – including SocSec but also state and city employee pensions – a running theme. He – and a lot of other people – are, in short, principled, consistient fiscal conservatives. Sullivan knows this full well. He’s just had a hardon for Reynolds ever since instapundit started getting more hits then him. The fact that one of the things that cost Sullivan readers was his (c. 2001-2003) over-the-top praise of Bush just makes it ironic… ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/72 "2009-04-15T16:43:58Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Are they going to dress up like Native Americans? Because I don;t really know how I can take the teabaggers seriously if they don’t. The original Boston Tea Party participants chose Native Americans because such a disguise worked well in that era. Today, they would choose to disguise themselves as cops and construction workers. I guess a few teabaggers could dress as a Native American for old-times’ sake. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/73 "2009-04-15T16:47:49Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Part of my annoyance is seeing the Sean Hannitys of the world leeching onto something that did start out, and largely still is, authentic nonpartisan grassroots activism . . . Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/74 "2009-04-15T16:48:15Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > The latest tempest in a Tea Party is that the DHS is classifying broad swaths of the right as “right wing radicals” and “extremists” and therefore “hate groups” and “terrorists.” It all comes from an article from [Michelle Malkin](http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/14/confirme-the-obama-dhs-hit-job-on-conservatives-is-real/) wherein she claims that a DHS report titled _Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment_ wasn’t specific enough in naming the groups it was talking about, therefore Obama classifying everyone on the right as an extremist and a terrorist. The report was clearly talking about groups like the National Alliance and the Creativity Movement and clearly _not_ talking about the Akron Young Republican’s Club, but my uber-conservative facebook friend has altered her profile to read that her political vews are “I say Republican, the Government says ‘Domestic Terrorist’,” and she appears to have a lot of people who agree with her. It’s very, very strange. It is appalling that the Malkin actually quotes the part of the report that defines the term “rightwing extremist” as being those who are basically racist or anarchist, and then a whole mess of commenters seem not to grasp that though they may be right wing, they were not being called extremists unless they are, indeed, racists or anarchists. Has the loony right finally embraced political correctness to the point that we cannot call neo-Nazi or militia types “rightwing extremists” for fear of hurting the feelings of Republicans? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/75 "2009-04-15T16:55:57Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Truly it’s mindboggling why they would want to compare themselves to the most famous anti-tax rally in American history, one that every schoolchild knows about. :rolleyes: Characterizing the two protests as being merely “anti-tax” is like saying a mouse and a brachiosaur are pretty much the same, being “animals with four legs.” The issues aren’t just different, they’re completely different. At issue in 1773 was interpretation of a well-established constitutional right and whether it applied to Americans - and, consequently, whether Americans constituted part of the nation of Britain or a separate nation entirely. At issue in 2009 is “I don’t like the budget for FY 09/10.” None of the central issues of 1773 are in any way reflected in today’s protest. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/76 "2009-04-15T16:57:43Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > The original Boston Tea Party participants chose Native Americans because such a disguise worked well in that era. I don’t think they expected anybody to be fooled. The probably chose that disguise just for the kewl factor. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/77 "2009-04-15T16:59:28Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > Today, they would choose to disguise themselves as cops and construction workers. I guess a few teabaggers could dress as a Native American for old-times’ sake. Maybe a few could dress as cowboys to emphasize the value of rugged independence. Or they could dress as soldiers and sailors to show their support for our troops overseas. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/78 "2009-04-15T17:04:37Z")
> [@Linty\_Fresh](#): > > I could go on and on about what we could do or should do, but the simple fact is that I don’t know. And \*that \*pisses me off more than everything else combined. Hear, hear. I’ve listened to a lot of experts make arguments I can barely understand about what we should do, and almost all of them sound right. I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do but make their best guess at what to do. I’m glad Obama’s in office because I expect I’ll like his guesses better than I would have McCain’s, but with a massively expensive war and a worldwide economic crash to deal with, I don’t know how much good anyone could do. As for the protests, I don’t begrudge the right wing a little frothing at the mouth after all the hyperbole that came from the left about Bush (comparisons to Hitler, etc.). But yesterday I heard a quote on NPR a conservative protester who said that they were angry about Obama’s massive deficit spending. WTF??? Bush _lowered_ taxes and initiated an expensive, unnecessary war, and they’re pissed off at Obama? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/79 "2009-04-15T17:10:51Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Maybe a few could dress as cowboys to emphasize the value of rugged independence. Or they could dress as soldiers and sailors to show their support for our troops overseas. I suppose the leather outfit is going to be a little more difficult to justify. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149/80 "2009-04-15T17:12:19Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I suppose the leather outfit is going to be a little more difficult to justify. Perhaps the leather-clad cowboys could protest Obama’s supression of dissent by wearing ball gags. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-why-but-the-tea-party-tax-protests-really-rub-me-the-wrong-way/493149.md?page=5)