Tea Party planning national strike for Jan. 20, the first anniversary of Obama's inauguration

Posted: 01/02/2010 10:03:28 PM

As President Barack Obama's first year in office draws to a close, Tea Party groups are planning to mark the occasion with a national strike - something local leaders say could demonstrate the conservative groups' burgeoning strength.

The strike, planned for Jan. 20, the first anniversary of Obama's inauguration, is being promoted online through Facebook and Web sites run by various national Tea Party groups.

"What's proposed is a nationwide strike by all Tea Party members, no matter where they are," said Lloyd Rekstad, an organizer of the Yucaipa Tea Party. "The idea is to strike where we are, in our communities, at our employment, to make an impact that will be diverse and spread out."

That would mean, Rekstad said, not going to work, not buying groceries, not going to restaurants or movie theaters.

"You just stay home," he said, "so that the person participating would become, for that one day, a nonentity - that they would give no support to the economy."

Not all Tea Party members are on board.

Lane Schneider, organizer of the Redlands Tea Party, said she hasn't heard all the details of the strike.

And Rekstad said he and other Tea Party organizers aren't sure if the strike is a good idea.

"How wise it is, how effective it would be, I don't have answers to those questions," Rekstad said.

Fred Taub, president of Cleveland-based Boycott Watch, said the national strike sounds like a one-day boycott- something he said never works.

"If I choose not to buy gas on Tuesday, I'm going to have to buy gas on Monday or Wednesday instead," he said. "I still have to eat. These one-day boycotts are completely and totally ineffective."

Taub said Tea Party organizations have generally done a good job of making themselves seen and heard, but that the idea for a one-day strike is a misstep.

"They've been effective," he said. "This is the first time I've seen the Tea Party fail with one of their projects. I mean, it's a one-day boycott: big whoop."

More than ineffective, though, Taub called the notion of not supporting the economy for a day "silly."

"You can't boycott the United States economy if you live here," he said. "Even if you're not working or purchasing anything today, you're still part of the economy."

Rekstad said the planned strike is motivated by general frustration with Obama's agenda, but different sites promoting the strike cite different motivations.

Some say protesting Congress' health care reform bills is the strike's explicit focus.

"We will not become tax slaves to pay for a government-run health-rationing scheme," says the National Day of Strike event page on Facebook. It goes on to say that "liberal Democrats are ... more interested in increasing their political power than fixing the problems that exist in the best health care system in the world."

Another group, Patriots for America, says the strike is aimed at protesting a ballooning deficit and increased government spending.

Another site specifically devoted to the Jan. 20 strike - strike120.ning.com - is even more general, saying the strike aims to speak against corruption and damage to the country's economy.

Politico.com | Florida conservative has registered an official "Tea Party" with the office of the Secretary of State

November 9, 2009 - A Florida conservative has registered an official "Tea Party" with the office of the Secretary of State, and is promising to run candidates against Republicans and Democrats in state and national races.

"The current system has become mired in the sludge of special interest money that seeks to control the leadership of both parties. It’s time for real change,” says Orlando lawyer Frederic O’Neal, the new party's chairman, who couldn't be reached immediately by phone, in a press release.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Secretary of State, Jennifer Davis, said the party had registered in August, and that its qualified candidates will appear on the ballot in the state.

O'Neal compared his party's role to that of the Conservative Party in New York's 23rd District. Florida, however, lacks the "fusion" rules that has allowed third parties in New York to amass influence by offering their ballot line to acceptable major-party candidates.

It's unclear if O'Neal, who has represented high-profile tax protesters, has the wherewithal to organize a movement that prides itself on spontaneity and existing outside party structures.

The Tea Party will become one of 32 minor political parties certified by the state, including also the Real Food Party of the United States of America, the Prohibition Party, and the Florida Socialist Workers Party. Its website is not live.

Gathering of Eagles: NY Fighting the Insurgency at Home - The Tea Party took to the roads of Long Island today!

Patriots departed from Rockvilles Centre, Lindenhurst and Setauket to converge on Islip Grange Park!

The crowd at Lindenhurst posed for a group photo in front of the Babylon Town Hall before rolling out.

Many along the routes waved, cheered and gave thumbs up as the caravan rolled through their towns!

More pictures here!

AZStarNet.com | About 6,000 people descended Saturday on Tucson Electric Park for the Tucson Tea Party event, billed as Tucson’s Last Stand

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.10.2009 - By 8:07 a.m., nearly two hours before the speeches began, the main parking lot of the Tucson Electric Park was filling up. Walking down a random aisle, there was a car with a bumper sticker for limited-government advocate Ron Paul, next to another with an “I’m NRA and I vote” sticker, adjacent to one with a fading “W 04” sticker.

Folks were serving coffee out of thermoses and handing out muffins and doughnuts. Vendors were selling small American flags and Kettle Korn.

Among the early tailgaters in the parking lot, small business owner Chris Bubany was offering passers-by a helping of her chile relleno casserole and peanut butter cookies.
“We’re normal, non-racist everyday Tucsonans who are very concerned about the direction our government is going, ” she said.

Health care topped her list of concerns, followed by stimulus spending and the devaluation of the dollar.

She said she was grateful for the sense of community at the event. “It helps to know other Americans are very concerned as well, that it’s not just me.”

Enjoying the casserole was Tim Curry, a 58-year-old laid off construction worker. Curry said he lost his job a year ago when the market slowed. His boss said he had to let him go first because he knew that, unlike many of his employees, Curry’s house was paid off and he’d paid cash for his vehicles. “We did everything right. We were conservative with our money and did all we could to live within our means and we still got hit. I was penalized for being prudent.”

Bob Park, a retired law enforcement officer, stood at the front of the entrance, handing out signs he’d made that read, “Change 2010.” Park drove down from Prescott for the event, he said. “I don’t like what’s going on in the country from the top down.”

THE BIG EVENT
Inside the park, Tea Party organizers were raising funds by selling T-shirts, some of which said, “I am the mob.”

One man wore a necklace of tea bags. Another wore a T-shirt that said, “Tyranny Response Team.”

A man carried a placard with Obama’s face photoshopped onto a yellow bull, with the caption, “21st century golden calf.”

A woman carried a sign stating, “First Black President leads U.S. into slavery.”
There were signs of Obama with a Pinocchio nose and with the Joker’s face paint and smile. There was another with Obama as one of the three Stooges.

A couple carried brooms, with signs stating, “Clean sweep. Vote out the crooks.”
Several people in the audience waved yellow flags with the saying, “Don’t tread on me.”

Richard Colasuonno, a 68-year-old retired New York City teacher, carried a sign that said, “Thank you Joe Wilson” on one side, in a nod to the Congressman who yelled “You lie!” to the President during his health care speech. Colasuonno maintained Obama lied about several things, including making government more transparent. On the flip side, the sign in part read, “The radicals are at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — not here.”

“I don’t like the direction the country is going in,” he said, citing healthcare plans and the cap and trade bill designed to counter carbon emissions. “When you have a government that has total control, you end up with tyranny.”

He said he doesn’t plan to wait until 2010 to send a message. He said he plans to start with the 2009 city election.

POLITICAL ACTIVISM
The crowd was in a signing mood.

A petition to recall Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was circulated out of a bed of a pickup truck.

Another recall effort, this one against Democratic Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson, was collecting signatures near the entrance of the park.

Thomas D. Young, who is organizing the Giffords recall effort, needs 83,000 signatures by January to launch the effort, although Giffords is up for re-election in 2010. “Something needs to change. Even if all this does is raise awareness and get people involved, that’s a good thing.” Nancy Day, a registered nurse, had photo radar in her sights. Asking voters to sign a petition to put photo radar on the ballot next year, she asked event-goers if they liked “to be watched 24/7 and ticketed by a machine.”

The three Republican City Council candidates were in attendance, as was Brian Miller, who is challenging Giffords for her seat. Auto dealer Jim Click was there, as was Bill Arnold, the chairman of the public safety initiative, Prop. 200.

A perhaps unexpected visitor: David Higuera, the campaign manager for Democratic council incumbent Karin Uhlich, wearing a pro-Uhlich T-shirt and carrying a “No on 200” placard up and down the aisles, warning it will increase taxes. He said he was getting a 50/50 thumbs up reaction to the sign. “People are starting to understand that this is an unfunded mandate,” he said.

Later, Council hopeful Shaun McClusky took some of his time at the microphone to point out that the No on 200 campaign was being funded in part by the Democratic Party.

The crowd booed when a reference was made to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It gave a standing ovation, however, to former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, who is rumored to be considering a primary bid against U.S. Sen. John McCain, when he noted 80 percent of Americans want the borders secured. Hayworth, who has a talk radio show, lost his congressional seat to Democrat Harry Mitchell in 2006.
Barry Goldwater Jr., told the crowd it was in the middle of a revolution. “Will we continue to climb toward socialism or will we continue to fight for liberty and freedom?” He got the biggest laugh when he broke down the word “politics” into poli — meaning many — and tics —meaning blood-sucking creatures.

Wisconsin talk show host James T. Harris took the microphone to the stands, asking why attendees were there, given that he’d heard that people who come to tea parties are Nazis, racists and anti-American. Some of the answers: “Freedom.” “I love my country.” “This is patriotism.” “I’m tired of big government trying to run my life.” “I’m damn sick and tired of this government taking the American people’s money.”
Harris told the crowd not to be complacent, urging them to engage people with Obama bumper stickers and asking a simple question: “How’s that ‘change’ working out for you?”

The main speaker, firebrand judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano of FOX News, defended the Second Amendment, attacked the sweeping powers of the Patriot Act and questioned where it states in the constitution that the federal government is authorized to regulate health care.

“Gatherings like these tell Washington: Stay the hell there and leave our freedoms alone,” he said.

Big crowd gathered for Tucson 'Tea Party' today - expected up to 10,000 people

October 10, 2009 - The parking lot of Tucson Electric Park filled quickly Saturday morning with Tucsonans eager to take part in The Tucson Tea Party.

Organizers said they expected up to 10,000 people to descend on Tucson Electric Park for the rally to demand less government. Long lines of cars and a healthy crown of tailgaters Saturday morning made it clear organizers could get as large a turnout as they had predicted.

“We’re normal, non-racist everyday Tucsonans who are very concerned about the direction our government is going, ” said Chris Bubany, a small business owner who was serving chile relleno and peanut butter cookies while tailgating Saturday morning. “It helps to know other Americans are very concerned as well, that it’s not just me.”

T-shirts, with slogans like, “I am the mob,” were being sold, and a petition to recall Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was being circulated.

Organizers say they have heard from people all over the state who are angry about unsustainable spending and government’s encroaching role in the private lives of citizens, and who plan to carpool or rent charter buses to come from such places as Sierra Vista, Phoenix and Flagstaff.

The free event, started with tailgating at 8 a.m.. It features a meet-and-greet with political candidates running for seats from City Council to Congress. Speakers will follow from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Judge Andrew Napolitano, an author and senior judicial analyst on the FOX News Channel, as well as a regular guest on the Glenn Beck program, will be the featured speaker. Other speakers include Barry Goldwater Jr., former Arizona Congressman J.D. Hayworth and local talk radio host Jim Parisi.

The organization, registered as a non-profit political organization, is also soliciting donations to support future events, both in the upcoming city general election, as well as the bigger statewide general election next year. It is renting guest suites, at $4,000 for the suite or $500 for a single person, for a chance to mingle with the speakers.

Associated Press | Today's MILWAUKEE Tea Party Protest Draws Thousands - County Executive, Sheriff Speak At Event

Associated Press

6:44 p.m. CDT, September 19, 2009

MILWAUKEE - Demonstrators packed a lakefront park in Milwaukee Saturday to protest what they say is runaway government spending.

The rally is the latest of the so-called "tea party" demonstrations held nationwide to protest tax policies, growing government spending and bank bailouts.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department estimated the crowd at Veteran's Park at 8,000 to 10,000.

Don Kraus of Jefferson says government is "spending money like crazy," and taking away taxpayer rights.

Meanwhile, House Republican leader John Boehner said in Washington Saturday the "tea parties" are the result of pushback against Democrats' spending. Boehner said people are demonstrating and attending town hall meetings because "we're in the midst of a political rebellion in America."

Last weekend, tens of thousands of protesters fed up with government spending marched to the U.S. Capitol.

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Information from: WISN-TV, http://www.wisn.com

iOwnTheWorld.com | RARE photo of the 9/12 Rally taken in extreme High Resolution from atop the Capitol Building.

Photographer Michael A. Beck and FreedomWorks.org


Click to view large image

PRNewswire-USNewswire | The National Inflation Association today released a video we made at this past weekend's March on Washington Tea Party Protest

Related:

National Inflation Association: http://inflation.us/videos.html

Rense.com | Picture of the Day - September 14, 2009

How do you hide over 5,000 Tea Party Patriots in Los Angeles?

..you ask the mainstream media, including CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC and local stations to report on them.

For those who rely on these news sources, the only rally you likely heard about in Southern California was the nudist rally in San Onofre. (They reported "dozens" of nudists...none of which would be worth finding footage on.)

What they all missed were the thousands of people who flocked to the federal building on Wilshire Boulevard to be a part of 9-12 West, a gathering of tea party patriots and concerned citizens throughout Southern California. Grassroots organizations from as far north as the Central Valley & Santa Barbara, as far south as San Juan Capistrano, and as far east as Las Vegas converged at the venue to join like-minded Americans upset with the lack of communication, responsiveness and transparency from both our national government and our state government.

READ MORE>>>>

WhatReallyHappened.com | More photos from Washington DC Protest

More photos from Washington DC Protest >>>>>

StanDeyo.com | Picture(s) of the Day - September 14, 2009

millions mad as hell!

ORIGINAL CAPTION: Taxpayers stormed Washington, D.C., today, taking their fight against excessive spending, bailouts, growth of big government and soaring deficits to the front door of the U.S. Capitol.

More Photos>>>>

Black Speaker at DC Rally Mocks Obamas Teleprompter Dependence (YouTube)

GlennBeck.com | Picture(s) of the Day - September 14, 2009

See more>>>>>

Examiner.com | Congress are you listening now? 912 Tea Party in D.C. a success of historic proportions.

Indiana Barrister | Tea Party or Third Party

Examiner.com | Liberals in denial of massive tea party

See thousands descend on National Mall Watch the action in Washington D.C. --C-SPAN

WND.com | A million or more rock Washington - Taxpayer march could be biggest rally ever in capital

WASHINGTON – The capital was rocked today by a taxpayer march and rally that could be the biggest protest ever – potentially dwarfing the Million Man March and the Promise Keepers Rally.

Though crowd estimates vary from as low as 60,000 to 70,000 according to ABC News to a high of 2 million by London Daily Mail, photographs and videos of the march and rally demonstrate its enormity.

The taxpayers stormed Washington, D.C., today, taking their fight against excessive spending, bailouts, growth of big government and soaring deficits to the front door of the U.S. Capitol.

InfoWars.com | Massive Corporate Media Coverup of Real Numbers at D.C. Rally

Kurt Nimmo | New York Times, ABC News, NPR, et al, attempt to minimize the historical significance of the protest.