Posted by
The CL Project on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 7:09:52 PM
On the day millions of taxpayers drop their tax returns into the mailbox, thousands of those same people showed up in states from California to Kentucky to Massachusetts. Here in Sacramento, it is estimated that 5,000 people stood at the doorstep of California's Capitol Building.
The people weren't demanding universal health care.
They weren't demanding higher union wages.
They weren't asking for any government handouts.
In fact, they weren't even protesting President Obama - though that was a focal point. Intead these citizens were asking for a restraint to the out of control tax and spend policies of government on all levels. They were protesting policies put in place by both Republicans and Democrats that see to make people beholden to their government. Speakers at the Sacramento Tea Party, including Mark Williams, Eric Hogue, Fox News' Neil Cavuto, talk radio personality Michael Reagan, Armstrong and Getty (KSTE 650) and Rep. Tom McClintock, rallied the crowd all afternoon. There was no shortage of signs, including "No on 1A" signs. Prop 1A is the ballot measure on the May 19 special election to create state spending restrictions and extend state tax increases by $16 billion.
At times the plethora of signs made the event reminiscent of a WWE event, but this wasn't a Vince McMahon promotion pitting Right against Left. Instead it was an event about Right vs. Wrong. It was a peaceful and respectful rally by people who are against building a debt for future generations. It was a gathering of mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandchildren alike standing united protesting the wreckless spending of an ever growing State and Federal government.
The message was simple: Americans of all political persuasions have grown weary of politicians forcing taxpayers to pick up the tab for their wasteful spending instead of working together to make the tough fiscal decisions Americans are forced to make each and every day. They've had enough of seeing their hard-earned tax dollars wasted on pork-barrel spending that won't create jobs, rebuild their savings, or get our economy moving again. This is the message of the tea party movement.
Part of what drives the Tea Party movement — not just taxes today - but all of the spending that will eventually require crushing taxes to resolve. The Obama administration plans a 
spending spree unlike anything outside of world wars in our history, and wants to sell a fantasy that only the rich have to pay for it. It’s ridiculous on its face. The amounts are staggeringly high, and even 100% confiscation wouldn’t begin to cover it.
After an $800 billion stimulus bill, the Obama budget increases spending by $1 trillion over 10 years, includes an additional $250 billion placeholder for another bailout, and calls for a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) law while astonishingly violating that rule by $3.4 trillion. Additionally, the 25% spending increase in the Obama budget represents the largest non-war government expansion since the New Deal and people realize that spending money we do not have is not the answer.
Remember, if government spending got us out of recessions, why would we ever have recessions? We’d just spend our way out of everything.
Enough is enough. It's time for the Federal Government and the California Legislature - Democrats and Republicans alike - to live within their means.
Liberty is all the stimulus we need. Liberty, the root of what meant to the Founders' generation "liberal," describes freedom from control and interference, particularly by government. People want their freedom first. And they cannot have it if government forces dependence on them through the bondage of excessive taxes forcing them to work just to keep up with the mounting debt.
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