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
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Where were the tea parties for the last 8 years? Clinton left us with a surplus, Bush left us with a massive deficit. You do the math.
IF you have the knowlege re spending, borrowing and taxes you will understand taxes will have to raised alot in the next two years. If you don't have the knowledge, try some research.
Obama in four years will spend more money then all the Presidents since George Washington (that's his goal however to grab power) – and people were making fun of Bush's 459B.
Obama just added 83.5 billion WAR SUPPLEMENT, not in the budget. Come on let's complain as they did w/Bush. Obama won't give out information on Wiretapping. Come on let's complain as they did Bush. EARMARKS\PORK, WASTED MONEY 2008-2009 just reported last night at 19.6Billion Dollars – come on "hope and change".
People who fell for Obama bluster should be embarrassed at this point as most of us who considered him now KNOW.
Karen O
SD
I am sick and tired of both the Democrats and the Republics dividing this nation. This tea party is more than a conservative thing and a liberal thing.
I was upset over the Bush spending that double our nations debt and now I am equally upset at the Obama administration doubling Bush's spending.
I want to see the federal government cut the entire federal budget by 10%, no bonuses, no increase in pay until our nations debt obligations start correcting itself.
I am willing to pay my fair share only if those who are spending it are doing so wisely and responsibly.
I am an Independant.
Gimmicks, gimmicks, & more gimmicks...
How does one spell irrelevance?
G O P
Nothing says "don't take my hard earned money away" like spending it on tea and then dumping it in the ocean.
The next rally will be to burn books, especially since no one at the rallies have a need to read them, or facts about our taxes.
Bravo!
How is it that the Republican Party continues to look even MORE stupid every day? Just when I think they've hit bottom...........
I love protest...its what makes this country great!
....but these people are still a bunch of tools! 🙂
This is another example of the GOP – the party of: Got-0-Plan – trying to find some pathetic way to stir up trouble for the President and the people who are working with him to fix the mess that the past 8 years have brought us.
Do any of them actually understand the tax system? Do they know how much they pay? Why? Where it goes? How much they paid under Clinton? Bush? Before that? What their tax bracket is? I suspect not.
I would like to see a real opposition party in this country – a party with ideas, plans, goals... Though I agree with much of what the new administration is doing, a strong and loyal opposition party is always a good counter balance. But the GOP is a pathetic joke at the moment, and the more they scramble, the more foolish they look.
@ SoccerNana, who wrote:
"Who is still paying for Roosevelts socialist plans? Social Security, Medicare, SSI. Whose still paying for that? We all are".
_________________________________________
Roosevelt (Social Security, an unfunded and unfundable entitlement program) – Democrat.
Medicare (an unfunded and unfundable entitlement program) – LBJ, Democrat.
See a pattern?
I am afraid that Limbaugh, Hannity, Newt and all the other obstructionist are starting a new homegrown Terroist groups, remember McVeigh. These people don't realize that taxes is and will always be this is how we keep the country running. The amount of taxes we americans pay may vary by administration however, under this administration the Rich will now have to pay their fair share. Yes higher than most of us but when you break it down by income the percent is just about right and they still will have enough left over than most of us, don't know what they are crying about. The Repubs say there is a lot of waste, what is being wasted at these TEA PARTIES, food, money and time. What a low point for the REPUBS
think I will 1st dunk, play like I am dunking the repubcants, then drink to get rid of them ! what a problem they are becoming to themselves !
what these republican extremist fail time and time again to understand is that for the first time WE THE PEOPLE want to pay our OWN way out of this economic crisis and that means paying our taxes! we all seem eager to no longer live beyond our means, and help each other out in hard times...THIS IS AMERICA...we can do it.
we can give trillions to other countries in crisis, but we cant give to ourselves in a crisis???? puhleese....
this tea party is nothing more than the super rich not wanting to pay their fair share, so they make the Obama tax policy the enemy, and they recruit the ignorant who hate to pay taxes anyway to rally for the rich man's cause....pathetic.
The wealthy is for the wealthy PERIOD.
Without access to seeing what these "parties" look like, I'd love to know the racial make-up of those protesting. Since it's a GOP sponsered dog-and-pony show, I'd love to see all the non-white faces showed prominently. .....Oh there are none? Well big surprise there
As for the astonishingly-ignorant "Jimmy the Greek", we fought a revolution because we were being taxed WITHOUT REPRESENTATION, and we fought the CIVIL WAR over states rights – the end result being that the FEDERAL rights won out!
How many of the tea-partiers make over $250,000 a year? I make a good living, I work hard, I'm all for individual initiative and I'm looking forward to my tax cut. If I hear that the Republicans are hiring day workers at minimum wage to bulk up the tea parties I'm going to write Newt Gingrich a nasty letter.
The Dems. are a terrorist organization. You people call the reps. the party of no,so this is what i call you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Republicans have worked overtime to disenfranchise American working families, from vote suppression to their hatred of the Employee Free Choice Act.
The GOP is the party of taxation without representation.
Into the harbor with 'em!
Oh good. Fox News and an assortment of corporate lobbyist sleazeballs manufacture fake "news," and CNN is dumb enough to take the bait and report it. I knew there must be a reason I don't waste money on cable anymore, but I do kinda miss Turner Classic Movies.
I paid my taxes today like a responsible American who enjoys driving on a paved road to get to work. I'm also a young 20-something making a good income, which I will use to help better this country.
The Boston Tea Party is about no taxation without representation in the body that was levying the taxes. GOP, you have representation in our democracy, but you LOST THE MAJORITY, get over it and do something constructive.
On the bright side, they are boosting tea sales around the nation!
The TEA PARTIES are not gop or demmie – they are REAL AMERICANS, either party fed up with the mismanagement of government employees (from the janitor to the president) wasting our hard earned tax dollars!! Government officials seem to forget we elect them and we pay their salaries and we are tired of being ROBBED!
First of all this is not the Bush mess. Democrats have a very short memory as this is the Clinton mess as much as we will have the obama mess after he leaves office in 3 1/2 years. And yes, we have the Bush mess which mainly relates around a war that pales in comparison in costs to the obama mess and the clinton banking disaster.
And this blog does point out the obvious saying about liberals. They will fight to the death your right to agree with them.
In general, liberals are liberals until they get a little extra money. Then suddenly, since it is their money they are now giving up, they become conservatives. all I have to say to liberals is "con't spread my walth, spread my work ethic!"
Lastly, I have learned the best way to annoy a liberal is through logic and facts. They can't dispute these but only spew out their unfounded beliefs on what someone told them to think.
All this because people making over $250k have to pay 3% more?
I don't get this, seems like a gimmick that is not working.
Rush, Sean, and Glenn have got the poor convinced that they (Rush, Sean, and Glenn) should not pay the tax rate that they were paying before Bush instituted the tax cuts for the rich – tax cuts that even McCain could not agree with.
Good Brainwashing Well Done!!!! Rush will now be able to buy even more Oxy.
Man, I feel sorry for these suckers standing out in the rain.
Ok. I make less than $250,000 a year and I have ALREADY seen an increase in my bi-weekly paycheck due to Pres. Obama's tax cuts!
ALREADY! What is the issue they're fighting??? "Or poor rich people will have to pay more taxes!" Who are you fighting for Republicans???? Not the Middle Class. Not yourselves. Geez! Get a clue!
There IS a sucker born every minute – and they're all attending the blessed tea parties today. Anyone that would be fool enough to fall for Dick Armey, his lobbyist organizations and Fox to protest higher taxes for the rich are a real special kind of stupid.
So the top 1% pays 3% more in taxes, while 95% of us get tax cuts. And as far as spending is concerned, where were these fools during the reagan, bush 1, bush 2 administrations where 90% of the deficit was incurred?
These folks are nothing but gullible dupes for slimeballs like Dick Armey and the gop.