Tea Party: Will you be drinking or dunking?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/15/art.teaparty1.gi.jpg caption="Activists nationwide are holding gatherings on Tax Day, April 15."]WASHINGTON (CNN) – Finger sandwiches won't be served, but there will be a lot of frustration brewing about the current tax system at "Tea Parties" being held Wednesday across the nation.
Activists are holding these events on tax day to voice their opposition to the current tax system and the federal government's spending decisions, such as bailing out the banks and the auto industry.
So, what do you think? Have President Obama and Congress taken the right steps to help the ailing economy? Have Republicans been smart to oppose his fiscal policies? Does the tax code need an overhaul?
Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.
Here are some CNN stories about the nationwide "Tax Day Tea Party":
Activists gear up for national 'Tax Day Tea Party'
GOP uses tax day to raise money
GOP encourages supporters to send virtual tea bags to top Dems
Listen: CNN Radio analyzes the politics of Tax Day
Doug in New Jersey, You are the dumbest and most ignorant person on these blogs, day in and day out... Do you know how to read? Do you understand what you read?
I suggest you get your Mommy or Daddy to teach you a little something, as you have never made an accurate or true statement in all the months you have written your comments
You people who keep saying it is a GOP, Fox News, etc. are manufacturing this just don't get it. These events are planned by the people. They were fed up with Bush as much as Obama (most of us did not like the first bailout, remember). And just because Bush doubled it does not give Obama the right to double it again! Talk about stupidity! We are upset, and I find it interesting that no one in the Mainstream Media can talk about the millions of people that are protesting. I guess the surprise will come when we vote everyone out of congress who doesn't get it...
checked my paycheck today, no tax break. didn't know i was in the top 5% of eaners in this country. will trade in my neon for a ferrari tomorrow.
change i can keep?
When liberals and progressives protested Bush, we were un-American. I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now. What does bother me is that conservatives want it both ways. So the them I say, don't choke while you're tea bagging!
@ Matt
President Obama is the U.S. President.
If you don't like it, move out of the country or kill yourself
I guess if you attend a tea party, so that you can pay less taxes and have more money, then you are a great patriot and American. If you protest against the Iraq war, then you are anti-American, socialist and a blame-America firster!
Tax Burdon on the Middle Class?
Personal Property Taxes on my home are ridiculous. Now, in Illinois,
Gov. Quinn of Illinois, wants to raise payroll taxes on the poor and the
middle class by 40%! This includes raising taxes for a single mom!
Thanks to bad budget and bad spending by our elected officials
We are taxed to death already and Ameren has raised their rates
on gas and elec. to the point that my daughters "little tiny home"-one
bedroom and highly insulated home, utility bill is $190. per month and
she keeps her thermostat very, very low.
Where, or where, are our legislators speaking for the people of Illinois?
Oh, and thanks, Gov. Blago, for making this mess in Illinois!!!.
I am going to see how our representives vote on Power costs
and Quinn's new plan for raising Illinois Income Tax by 40%
Complaints anyone! Lawmakers are crooked and do not spend
out money wisely. Then blame and tax us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awwwww!!! Conservatives getting together to tea bag each other is adorable. Hope they have fun!
Alright, and after it's all over, you say: "Ooh, what a lovely tea party".
If you get the quote, God bless you and enjoy
Actually I luv it! Republicans need something to do with all their time. I can't wait to see RUSH at the party, will he wear a hat?
Tim Geitner is not a patriot and so are all of you libs leading our country down the road to socialism. MARXISTS. Whats next, communism? The far left would really love that.
Laugh all you want but we are protesting as this is still a free country. Next year it may be illegal to protest anything Obama does and he'll have his civilian militia thugs (ACORN) round us up and thrown into reeducation camps. "For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of my country".
The original Tea Party involved taxes on tea. If these people want to capture the spirit of the original protest, they should throw their paychecks into the water since they are complaining about taxes on their paychecks.
I think the road to bankruptcy and the end of American Empire started with Ronald Reagan bankrupting us in his pursuit of the Evil Empire USSR which was already rotten on the inside and wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.
WARNING: This e-mail is a suspected phishing scam.
obama/mama April 15th, 2009 2:34 pm ET
This stinks to high heaven of racism.
________________________________-
I knew it was just a matter of time before the race card came out.
These people must be the 1% were talking about, because who else would be out here with a Colonial custom, do you know how expensive they are!
The Tea Party I went to in Louisville was started by a 26 year old female Democrat who is a waitress and is fed up with the junk. In fact I saw a great mixture of Dems, Repubs, and Libertarians. No one cared about which party you were from, they really cared about what the Government is doing to America. This is poor reporting on CNNs part.
Apparently, there seems to be a common observation here: these so- called "tea-parties' are a perversion of a sginificant event in our history, when we demanded to be treated as equals by the Imperial government in London. The people stoking the flames of this so-called populist movement are the same people who insisted on tax cuts for themselves that resulted in the biggest redistribution of wealth in this country since the Guilded Age. It shows spectacular arrogance, but why should that suprise us: these are the same people that insisted on WMDs in Iraq, politicized the biggest tragedy in recent American history to their advantage (9/11), and have demonized anyone who dared to disagree with them as traitors or giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Now they take the hypocritical stand against taxes after they did nothing to help right the economy they ran it into the ditch.
No it seems pretty stupid since Obama just gave us the largest tax DECREASE in US history....
I see a lot of frightened people posting here. Just be calm and we'll talk you down. It's going to be ok. Americans have come through much worse things than this. We just have to want to eliminate the debt. I have no doubt that we can make that a top priority when the economy recovers. It will require more tax revenue and it will require much less spending.
A lot of Americans are tightening their belts right now. And we'd better get used to it, because it is going to get a little bit worse, and it is going to take decades to pay off this debt. Right now, I trust Obama more than the republicans. The republicans apparently think that if we have no taxes (income) at all, that's a great way we can pay off the debt. It makes no sense.
First, get the economy fixed enough so we stop losing 500,000+ jobs a month.
More than 95% of us who havecommented will get a tax cut. The tea party should have been thrown when George Bush and his GOP buddies ran our economy into the ground. We tried tax breaks for the rich for 8 years. That plan has failed!
Why do folk want to pretend they are rich and Obama tax cuts are going to hurting them. Please! I know I have paid more taxes than Joe the Plumber's salary, but it is people like him the GOP counts on. Folk with nothing trying to act like they have something! Tea Party folk..take the tax break and shut the heck up!! Most of you dont make enough to be affected by the proposed tax increase!
So that's what its all about...
You should read "GOP uses tax day to raise money". I bet there will be some people walking around at every tea bag party asking for donations to the GOP. You give people a cause to come together then promote it through FOX news and collect some money that way. Also gives the GOP a pretense for the next election that they accomplished something, even if its just a tea bag party. Pretty smart.
Don't be fooled – this is all about the election in 2010. I just wish they would come up with some real plans for the economy. Criticizing is always easy but having a better plan than the same old stuff which doesn't work is something else.
@worriedmom,
Don't try and make a point then shoot your own argument down. You said
"You know nothing about me. You think because I am for the tea parties and to stop this outlandish spending that I don't care about the poor."
Then you go on to judge someone you 'do not know'
"I for one, am proud of our military men and women. I wish only you could be."
How do you know that because someone was opposed to starting two wars that they are not proud of our military men and women? That is very insulting. I for one am opposed to the war in Iraq and how it was managed and brought on but I am VERY proud of our military.
@ Arithmetic is Liberal:
You know something – I take great exception to the "brown shirt" reference. Why don't you take your $13 per week tax cut and go buy yourself some dignity?
so Obama reminded us he's already cut our taxes. Okay, I got my extra $10 a week in my paycheck. How're the rest of ya doin'? And, may I ask, "How the he!! is $520 this year gonna stimulate the economy?" Geez, my property taxes alone went up $800 so there's no new LCD TV or iPhone or even a used car in my plans. And my portion of the 1 trillion dollar budget and 800 billion bailout's is how many 10's of 1000's of dollar$?!!! Just where is that coming from? Oh, yah, those poor schmucks who make over $250,000 a year...and that's exactly how many American's? not many actually.
The only thing these "tea parties" will accomplish is polluting our water supply and possibly kill more fish and other aquatic wildlife. This could possibly backfire because the government will have to spend more tax dollars cleaning up the pollution from the "tea parties".
This proves once again that conservatives do not care about anyone or anything else but themselves.
Limbaugh is a raging idiot!
Hannity is a idiot.
Glenn Beck is a big fat idiot.
Carl Rove is a ugly, big fat headed idiot!
Boehner is an idiot that should be voted out of office.
Special mention to McCain, Joe Blow Lieberman,
The "followers" of this so called "Tea Party" should look behind them
into the "W" fiasco.
Keep your change Barry talks about sheep . . . right. All these "tea baggers" (check the urban dictionary folks) organized by rich Republicans to do what? Protest against their own best interests (their own tax cuts). That's what I call sheep. You can't make this stuff up.