Tax Day Tea Party in Little Rock, AR
#tcot
I’ve finally found a bright side to the new administration. As bad as it’s been to watch as the new Liberal regime dismantles so much of what made America great, as the budget deficit balloons at a record pace with new spending and bailouts, as our government seizes control of private industry, as our children and grandchildren are saddled with debt that their offspring won’t even be able to repay, one good thing is happening as a result of the November elections. Conservatives are finally standing up and organizing!
My wife and I arrived at the Tax Day Tea Party in Little Rock, AR around 4:30 pm CST for our first ever protest. We found an enthusiastic crowd of young, old, and middle-aged colleagues who are sick and tired of the direction our country is headed. Signs and slogans identified their concerns, their motivation for participating (many like us, for the first time) in an organized protest against the US government.
As one would expect, slogans damning Obama’s policies on taxes and spending dominated, but references were also condemning the country’s charge toward a Socialist economic model and even abortion. Not so long ago, conservatives were never seen carrying signs or heard chanting slogans, or even gathering to get our message out. So thank you Mr. President, Ms. Pelosi, and Mr. Reed for motivating us to join forces, organize, and even march to make our voices heard.
A number of signs proudly identified their bearers as “right-wing extremists.” Contrary to what the Obama administration would have you believe, these protesters weren’t foaming at the mouth, shooting into the air, maiming children and the elderly, or murdering innocents. In fact, I interviewed a Capitol police officer who admitted the protest was completely peaceful–not even a hint of violence or disorderly conduct. He did say one participant was asked to leave because the slogan on the sign he carried was “vulgar,” but he left without trouble or incident.
So much for the portrait the left tries to paint of anyone who leans to the right, that of a ravenous beast who mutilates the helpless and innocent.
I was also surprised there was no counter-protest. Evidently, the left thinks we’ll slink off into the shadows if we’re ignored.
The crowd in Little Rock didn’t seem ready to sit on their haunches though. Participants roared as speakers called on them to not let this be the culmination or their efforts. Hundreds signed on and pledged to organize voter registration efforts, to blog, to YouTube, to Twitter, to take the fight to the Left’s home turf, to fight using the tactics of ACORN, Moveon.org, and other left-wing activist organizations.
Thank you Mr. President, you have awakened a sleeping tiger!
Photos and videos to follow.
Related Articles
Massive: Tax Day Tea Party USA–Michelle Malkin
Greenberg at Little Rock TEA Party–ARRA News Service
MRC Endorses Blackwell for RNC Chair
#TCOT #diggcons
The Media Research Center has endorsed Ken Blackwell for RNC Chair. You can read Mr. Blackwell’s conservative columns on Townhall.com and see his planned fundamental changes for RNC strategy at his website.
The following is the email I received from MRC announcing their endorsement.
A Personal Message from L. Brent Bozell IIIJohn,The Republican Party needs to be rebuilt. It needs to be reconnected to the conservative principles that made it the majority Party in Washington.And we have at this important moment a genuine opportunity to affect the direction the Party will take in the years to come. The election of the next Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair will take place at their meeting at the end of this month. Who they choose will determine the future of the Party, and for conservatives and our country this decision could not be more important.Last Friday, conservative leaders representing some forty different organizations met. These leaders represent a broad cross-section of the conservative movement. One attendee, Virginia Republican National
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I previously endorsed Mr. Blackwell here and you can read his endorsements by others here.
Are We On the Verge of a Rightroots Movement?
by Aaron Marks on NextGenGOP
It’s been a while since I’ve heard chatter on the blogosphere about building a Rightroots movement (I last commented on it at the end of October). However, over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a number of major developments that suggest we might be on the verge of establishing a true and effective Rightroots movement.
When John Hawkins wrote about this topic, he noted that (emphasis added):
One of the biggest problems online — and this extends outside of the blogosphere — is that there are far more liberals online than conservatives and they’re much more enthusiastic.
Because of that, huge websites that can drive a lot of traffic like Digg, Fark, and YouTube have come to be dominated by liberals, even though they aren’t liberal per se.
…(Read full article)
Steele Leads in Online Poll
The website, Choose Your Chairman, offers voters concerned with the future of the Republican Party a chance to have a say in who the next RNC Chairman will be.
There, you can view photos of all the candidates, visit their individual websites, and view comments of others who’ve voted already. Once you’ve decided who you’d like to lead the GOP, you can vote and leave your own comments if you’d like. Your RNC voting members are then notified who you chose.
As of now, 1,307 have voted and Michael Steel has a comfortable lead–40.8% with his nearest challenger, Ken Blackwell, at 29%.
North Dakota Republican Party Chairman Gary Emineth has called for a special meeting of the 168 voting members on January 6 in order to give them an opportunity to hear from the candidates prior to the late-January meeting of the RNC.
If you want your voice to be heard, vote today at Choose Your Chairman.
Spotted: Little Piggy Gettelfinger 12-22-08
Little Piggy Gettelfinger was fulfilling his role on Fox Business News today, still whining about how unfair life is for his poor, mistreated organization. He whined about not being included in last minute talks with the White House and whined some more about how difficult the concessions will make things for the UAW. He even goes so far today as to deny responsibility of either the UAW or management for the current predicament. Now, he lays the entire blame on the current economic climate.
He may not realize that well run companies realize that periods of fortune are eventually followed by less fortunate times. And I guess he doesn’t remember how close he came to not having his union subsidized by us, the U.S. taxpayers.
Had Bush remained true to our conservative principles, I can only imagine how Gettelfinger would be whining today. It just goes to show that you just can’t please a little piggy like this.
Bush (for God knows what reason) gave the Three Little Piggies $4 billion more than they last requested–and Little Piggy Gettelfinger is still whining! Oh woe is me, life is so unfair, I’m so mistreated, nobody loves me, nobody respects me, the sky is falling, etc., etc.,…
But, then at the end of pitching his fit he holds to the hope that Obama will be his Knight in Shining Armor. The valiant hero will ride in on a white horse and save the UAW from the torment visited upon it by the evil Bush Administration!
If anyone out there who calls themselves a conservative ever believed that pandering to the Democrats would further the cause of bipartisanship and bridge the divide that separates the jackasses from the elephants, this should be a wake up call. Bush gave them more than they asked for! $4 billion more, and now that the money is in the bank it’s back to politics as usual for the jackasses.
We will never gain favor with the Democrats. Not by pandering to them, not by opposing them. So why do we time and again abandon our principles in the vain hope that this time will be different? The only thing that will make them happy is our unconditional surrender. And even when they get it, they turn around and stab us in the back with it. Just like they’re doing now.
Conservatives cannot sell their philosophy to the party of jackasses, they’re not buying! We must sell it to the people. The rank and file Americans who share our conservative values. They’re out there, even in the deep blue states they’re out there. Christians, gun owners, limited government enthusiasts, and fiscal responsibility fans reside in every state of the union.
Gettelfinger’s persistent belly-aching about how he didn’t get enough from the President’s socialistic subsidies reinforces the importance of a return to our conservative roots. This seems obvious to most grassroots activists on Top Conservatives on Twitter and Rebuild the Party, two groups which sprung to life in the wake of last months defeat that are dedicated to reinvigorating the GOP. Somehow though, this idea seems lost on those who’ve led our party for the past several years.
Little Piggy Gettelfinger’s trough was just refilled with feed. Though he hasn’t yet consumed it all, he’s already complaining that it isn’t enough.
Thanks again Mr. President. This is precisely what we warned you would happen.
Related Posts
UAW to taxpayers: $%^@ you!–Michelle Malkin
A guide to the RNC chairman race
By ALEXANDER BURNS at Politico
The six contenders for Republican National Committee chair are rolling out every gimmick, plan and endorsement in the hopes of gaining an edge — any edge — in the tight contest for the GOP’s top job.
…(Read full article)
Just like we thought…
Now that Republicans in the Senate have drawn a line in the sand and killed the “American 
Socialist Experiment Act” (the auto bailout), GM has suddenly found a way to save money. After all the whining and begging and flying to D.C. in private jets in an effort to extort money from the American taxpayer so they could continue to run their companies into the ground for just a little longer, we suddenly discover there is a plan C that we weren’t told about until it became obvious that Americans are going to keep their hands on their wallets this time around.
GM has decided to temporarily close plants across North America and cut output by a third in order to cut costs and preserve capital. Wait a minute. Weren’t they telling us earlier this week that without an immediate bailout they’d be completely shut down by New Years? Didn’t it sound like the Democrats in Washington and the White House (they may as well be Democrats) were predicting something approaching the Apocalypse if the purse strings weren’t loosened NOW?
Here’s how the auto company execs played out their hand:
1. CEOs said unless Congress approves $34 billion in aid, the U.S. can look forward to becoming a 3rd world nation.
2. No? Okay, since that didn’t work $25 billion will prevent imminent collapse of the U.S. economy.
3. Still too much? Well then, maybe $15 billion will be enough.
4. What do you mean you won’t give us $15 billion? Okay, $14 billion will have to do.
5. You won’t even give us a measly $14 billion? That’s not fair! We’re going to pick up our toys and quit playing. That’ll show you and the world as you know it will end. Nobody will have a job, nobody will have any money, the country will fall into chaos, the DOW will go to $0, and Christmas will be canceled!
6. You still won’t give us ANYTHING?!?!?!? We’re all going to die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. Well then, okay. We’ll see what we can do to cut costs and keep as many jobs filled as we can so that when this economy rebounds we’ll still be in a position to restart and ramp up production to take advantage of it. It would have been easier if you’d given us the money, but now we have to play by the rules and do what we probably would have done in the first place if you hadn’t just given the banks all that money.
Okay, I exaggerated a little there, but you get the point. Basically they were saying disaster awaited if they weren’t supplied with immediate cash and the amount needed kept being adjusted downward in an effort to find a point where they could just get something.
For those of you who believed the Democratic and UAW scare tactics and were convinced that Socialism was the only thing that could save us from impending doom, ask yourself “Who told me there were other options?” “Who repeatedly said there were alternative paths involving restructuring the companies to make them competitive in today’s market?
I’ll tell you who. It was the conservative “Gang of 6” along with conservative political pundits and activists on cable TV shows and the internet! Groups like Rebuild the Party and Top Conservatives on Twitter marshalled their forces to rally behind the true conservative Senators to keep your kids and ours from inheriting many more billions of dollars in debt that one day will have to be repaid.
While Harry Reid (D-NV) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tried to scare you into believing economic death would await you behind every door, behind every bush, and around every corner if we didn’t immediately implement full-blown Socialism, it was the conservatives who sounded the call of responsibility, accountability, patience, calm, and courage to deal with the impending crisis.
And suddenly, when it became obvious to these panhandling CEOs that nobody was going to fill their tin cups on the corner, we see a plan to carry them through this difficult time. A real plan that appears to have been devised by someone with a degree in business. Imagine that.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize a company can’t sustain a cash burn rate of $1+ billion per month. If your company is paying out that much more cash than it’s taking in, drastic changes to the business model should come quickly. Yet GM knew for months this crisis was approaching and did nothing to prevent it! Why would they when they thought if things got bad you and I would fill their coffers to keep them afloat? It reminds me of a spoiled rich kid who spends all his money partying. Then, month after month has to come to his parents for money to pay the bills.
Know that we’re not deluding ourselves. Hard times are yet to come–for the auto companies and for our economy at large. But now we can confront the challenges the way they should be confronted, with restructuring and reorganization that will eventually result in a leaner, more productive business model that can once again thrive and be competitive in today’s market.
So all who believed it was imperative to pass this bill, to use taxpayer money in a vain effort to sustain an unsustainable business model, to fully embrace Socialism–an economic model that history has proven time and again cannot compete with free market Capitalism, think about who it was that spoke the truth throughout the hype.
It wasn’t the Reids and Pelosis, but the “Gang of 6” and all the conservative activists standing behind them.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) Press Release on Gov’t Waste
Coburn Report Highlights Worst Waste of 2008
Report Includes More Than $1.3 Billion in Pet Projects, Frivolous Grants and Other Ridiculous Spending
December 12, 2008
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, today released the oversight report “2008: Worst Waste of the Year.” The look back on 2008 features absurd federal spending from beltway bureaucrats and elected officials. To view the entire report click here.
“As we look back on federal spending for 2008, American taxpayers will laugh, and then cry at how their elected officials spent their hard-earned dollars. Not even these tough economic times have dulled Congress’ ability to find new and creative ways to waste taxpayer dollars,” Dr. Coburn said.
Examples of waste in 2008 include:
• $188,000 for Lobster Institute in Maine, home of the “LobsterCam”
• $1 million for bike paths on Louisiana levees while levees await basic repairs
• $2.4 million for a retractable shade canopy at a park in West Virginia
• $24.6 million for the National Park Service’s 100th year birthday in 2016 – 8 years early
• $3.2 million on a blimp the Pentagon does not want
• $367,000 wasted by a Texas school board on items like an inflatable alligator and under-the-sea waterslide, among other things
• $5 million for a bridge to a zoo parking lot in St. Louis
• $9,000 for a non-functioning airplane-shaped gas station in Tennessee
• $300,000 for specialty potatoes for high-end restaurants
“The waste highlighted in this report is only a fraction of the more than $385 billion the federal government throws away every year through waste, fraud and duplication. Yet, each example in this report is a snapshot that tells a larger story, just as the Bridge to Nowhere justifiably became a symbol of the corrupting nature of earmarks. The story the American people already understand is that Congress’ inability to make common sense decisions about spending priorities is putting our children’s future at risk. Until Congress abandons the short-term parochialism that gives us LobsterCams and inflatable alligators, we will never get a handle on the major economic challenges facing this country,” Dr. Coburn said.
Sen. Jim Demint (R-SC) Gets It
Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) held a conference call with bloggers today, discussing the recent
Sen. DeMint (R-SC)
Sen. DeMint (R-SC)
bailout of the financial industry, proposed bailout of the Detroit automakers, universal health care, and the so called Employee Free Choice Act.
This is great. I’ve thought for years that one of the Republican Party’s biggest mistakes is to campaign on conservative values, then shift to the left in an effort to gain favor from the mainstream media. It’s always seemed to me that these politicians think “I’ll give a little to get the press on my side, then I’ll have some flexibility to implement a conservative agenda.”
The problem with this line of thought is the mainstream media will never embrace a conservative agenda. If fact, they will always embrace the more liberal of two candidates, policies, etc and attack the more conservative. The mainstream press is simply too deeply infiltrated with hard-line liberals. They’ll play this game all day long, only they play it to win. Each compromise (shift to the left) by a conservative is exploited as a weakness in the political right’s argument, then used to bolster the argument of the left.
Just look at the treatment of John McCain. When he ran against Bush in 2000, he was hailed as a hero and Bush a villain by the media. This year, that same media couldn’t seem to differentiate between the two.
Question: How can conservatives get their message to appeal to voters if it’s consistently shredded and distorted by the conduit from the messenger to the audience?
Answer: They can’t if they continue to believe the solution lies with gaining favor from the left-dominated mainstream media.
That’s why I’m impressed by Senator DeMint’s willingness to distribute his message through a new conduit–the blogosphere. Last month it was reported that Fox News and the Internet are the most trusted news sources according to a Zogby poll commissioned by the Independent Film Channel (I bet that made them sick.) This is amazing when you consider the non-stop rants charging Fox News with right-wing bias on virtually every other TV network and major newspaper in the country. So Senator DeMint has the right idea–stop letting the mainstream media distort his conservative message and get it in front of the people from sources they trust.
That message will be received by bloggers and groups like Rebuild the Party and Top Conservatives on Twitter whose members will then distribute it to voters and motivate grassroots organizers through their blogs and personal contacts.
Thank God we finally some have conservative leaders like Senator DeMint who get it!
Still No Big 3 Bailout….yet
Great job folks! Evidently your pressure on U.S. Senators is encouraging those opposed to transforming the USA into the USSA (United Socialist States of America) to stand their ground. Let’s keep it up.
Continue to call, write, and email US Senators who refuse to reward corporate irresponsibility and subsidize incompetent management. They need to know we stand with them.
$14 billion auto bailout dies in Senate
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – A $14 billion emergency bailout for U.S. automakers collapsed in the Senate Thursday night after the United Auto Workers refused to accede to Republican demands for swift wage cuts.
The collapse came after bipartisan talks on the auto rescue broke down over GOP demands that the United Auto Workers union agree to steep wage cuts by 2009 to bring their pay into line with Japanese carmakers.
…(Read full article)
Here again is our “Gang of 6” who’ve publicly announced their opposition to the bailout. Be sure to let them know it’s appreciated.
Sen. John Ensign, R-NV
Senator Richard Shelby, R-AL
Senator Jim DeMint, R-SC
Senator David Vitter, R-LA
Senator Tom Coburn, R-OK
Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY
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