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A Taxing Day
Author: BobR    Date: 04/16/2010 11:11:31

Yesterday was Tax Day, when traditionally there's a pandemonium at the Post Office, as people across the country rush to get their returns postmarked in time. Nowadays, eFiling online has become popular so the post office rush is becoming an anachronism.

This year has seen a new sort of craziness on Tax Day: Tea Party protests. A mixed bag of angry people gathered at various points across the country to register their displeasure of taxation with representation, apparently preferring representation without having to pay for it.

In DC they met in Freedom Park, which is ironic because it is a DC City park, across from DC city hall. The residents of DC have been mounting campaigns to get representation in Congress, because - unlike the complainers in the park - they actually DON'T have representation when it comes to how their federal tax dollars are spent.

They're also confused about what they're complaining about. Like representation, they seem to want government services, they just don't want to pay for them:
In follow-up interviews, Tea Party supporters said they did not want to cut Medicare or Social Security -- the biggest domestic programs, suggesting instead a focus on "waste."

Some defended being on Social Security while fighting big government by saying that since they had paid into the system, they deserved the benefits.

Others could not explain the contradiction.

"That's a conundrum, isn't it?" asked Jodine White, 62, of Rocklin, Calif. "I don't know what to say. Maybe I don't want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security." She added, "I didn't look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I've changed my mind."

They also don't seem to understand that what they want - lower taxes - is what President Obama has already given them:
President Barack Obama said Thursday he's amused by the anti-tax tea party protests that have been taking place around Tax Day.

Obama told a fundraiser in Miami that he's cut taxes, contrary to the claims of protesters.

"You would think they'd be saying thank you," he said.

At least they've begun to figure out that the racists and freaks in their ranks are giving their "movement" a bad name. They've started dis-inviting the undesirables, such as Oily Taintz, white supremacists, and coat-tail riders. Realizing you have a problem is the first step in the battle, so perhaps they will clean up their act.

What's interesting is the simmering contempt between the GOP and the tea party folks. They know they need each other, they know they're cut from the same cloth, but yet - you find interesting dichotomies, such as the tea party not inviting prominent Republicans to speak. At the same time, Republican fund-raising operatives use the movement to raise funds for Republican candidates. The bird cleans the alligator's mouth, and the alligator doesn't eat the bird...




 

19 comments (Latest Comment: 04/16/2010 23:16:48 by trojanrabbit)
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