TEA Parties: they're kidding, right?

http://www.teapartyday.com/

I'm all for people power, but this is coming one president too late. They're trying to start an anti-taxation movement? Seriously?

I really feel compelled to point out how manipulative this whole TEA campaign really is. Let me say that I agree with the underlying premise that people should have (and should exercise!) the right to protest when they believe they are being taxed unfairly or the money is being used unwisely. But...Bush spent countless trillions of tax dollars on Iraq, and protesting against that was painted in the populist rhetoric as unpatriotic and/or treasonous. Now people suddenly care about their tax money when it's a Democrat rather than a Republican spending it?

More egregiously, this campaign openly ties taxes to abortion, corrupt unions, child pornography, and illegal immigration. For one reason alone: to fear-monger. Did Dick Cheney consult for this? Throw in gun control and the circle will be complete. Oh wait....Glenn Beck already did that. Check.

What follows are my responses to each of the TEA campaign's grievances.

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From the TEA party website:

Are you fed up with a Congress and a president who:

- vote for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it?

Okay, 1) It's not a tax bill, 2) Where do you think government revenue comes from?, 3) Just because YOU don't like the bill doesn't mean Congress didn't *read* it.

Appendix: I think you are confusing the stimulus bill for the authorization for the use of force bill that Bush shoved down everyone's throats after 9/11.

- are spending trillions of borrowed dollars, leaving a debt our great-grandchildren will be paying?

You can't be serious. ARE you serious? The biggest spenders in history were Reagan and George W. Bush, and thanks to their reckless and immoral spending, we've found ourselves in this recession. The debt our great-grandchildren will be paying is thanks to them, not Obama or Congressional Democrats. I think I'm going to make up t-shirts that say "Bush spent my grandkids' money on a marketing campaign for Al Qaeda", and then use the profit to buy stock in AIG.

- consistently give special interest groups billions of dollars in earmarks to help get themselves re-elected?

HELLO. SARAH PALIN, ANYONE???!

- want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others?

Really? Are you wealthy? I doubt it, but if so, how'd you get that way? Didn't someone help YOU somewhere along the way? The entire POINT of government is to help people help each other, not to provide incentives for individuals and corporations to claw their way to the top at the expense of others.
And sidebar: "redistribute"? Please.

- punish those who practice responsible financial behavior and reward those who do not?

You mean like the responsible behavior of AIG, Enron, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Washington Mutual? Or do you mean the savings and loans who engaged in predatory sub-prime lending?? And praytell, how does keeping people in their homes and saving the housing market amount to *punishing* you?! Do you even understand how housing markets work? How would you feel about living on a block of abandoned, boarded up homes? Would your house look so inviting? Think it would keep its value? Good for your for doing what you're supposed to do. Why not just take satisfaction in that?

- admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda?

I can only assume you're referring to George W. Bush and the GOP, so the obvious question is why did it take you this long to organize? You're a bit late to the table, but welcome.

- run up trillions of dollars of debt and then sell that debt to countries such as China?

Ditto to the above.

- want government controlled health care?

Raise your hand if you have health care. Raise your hand if your premiums have NOT gone up recently. Raise your hand if everyone you know has health care. Raise your hand if you are okay with denying care to a sick child because his/her parents are underemployed. Universal or Single-Payer does NOT have to be "government controlled." Stop using supposedly scary, ridiculously outdated rhetoric. Germany's system is single-payer, universal, and PRIVATIZED. France's "government-controlled" system is supplemented by optional supplemetal private insurance. If you're in the U.S. military, you have government-controlled health care, and I bet you're not complaining. So I'll ask again, what's your alternative to the horrible system we have now? We have the WORST health care and overall health of any wealthy industrialized democracy in the world. And you're okay with that? I suggest you do some deep introspection about what kind of person you want to be and get back to me, mkay?

- want to take away the right to vote with a secret ballot in union elections?

FAIL. That this rhetoric has hung on for this long is a joke. There is no "taking away the right to vote" or "threat to democracy" here. The EFCA is about taking control away from union-busting corporations and giving it back to workers. Period.

- refuse to stop the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into our country?

This is just so patently racist and xenophobic that it borders on fascist. "FLOW"? "Millions?" Please. Your talking points are contradicting themselves. You can't have it both ways...either our economy and political system are terrible OR things are so wonderful that everyone wants to come here and will even break the law to do so. Not both.

- appoint a defender of child pornography to the Number 2 position in the Justice Department?

The only public officials on record (as far as I know) as having an interest in child pornography are all Republican congressmen. Or were...I guess they're mostly out of office now.

- want to force doctors and other medical workers to perform abortions against their will?

Stop and think about this rationally for one second. Do you really believe that someone from the government is going to hold a gun to a doctor's head and tell them to perform an abortion or die? The "right to conscience" rule allowed doctors and clinics and hospital administrators to refuse to treat someone on the basis of that person (the health care provider)'s religious beliefs. Find it's overturning as unsavory as you want, but it was in direct violation of the Hippocratic Oath.

- want to impose a carbon tax on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels?

I have no problem with this and neither should you.

- want to reduce your tax deductibility for charitable gifts?

Ditto. My charitable giving is not motivated by tax breaks. In fact, doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of the word "charity"?

- take money from your family budget to pay for their federal budget?

Ridiculous. Do people really believe this stuff?

- If so, participate in the TEA party rally, the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party.

Oh, I'll be there with my "Bush spent my great-grandkids' money on a marketing campaign for Al Qaeda" t-shirt. Want one? I need to pay my taxes.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future