OK, I’ll admit, I did not attent the Raleigh Tea Party, perhaps it is a sad excuse, but, the Carolina Hurricanes were playing the NJ Devils (my team) in the first round of the Playoffs at 7:30pm, had responsibilities to get food and beer. As I am sure quite a few other people had, as well. Like Devils fans, Canes fans put the fanatic in fan, so, that makes this that much more impressive, since the Tea Party was to run from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Several thousand people turned out for a pair of “Tea Party” protests with a very clear message on Wednesday in Raleigh.
“President Obama, you need to stop spending,” Wake Forest resident Tim Long said.
The second rally was loud and well-organized, with a sea of signs covering the lawn of the state capitol.
Supporters of the Tea Parties say it was no coincidence that they planned their protest for Tax Day.
Organizers say they don’t approve of the federal stimulus package or the slew of bailouts that have dominated headlines for the last few months.
“The goal is to let the government know that we’re sick and tired of it,” Raleigh resident Mark Thomsen said. “$12-trillion of debt in 70 days is not in anybody’s best interest.”
Thousands, huh? That’s strange, because that bastion of liberalism, the Raleigh News and Observer, claims there were around 250. Russ, Just Russ, reports at least 2500, and also has lots of photos.
As expected, so many of the local news media, such as  WTVD, attempted fair and balanced, and, instead, painted the protesters as angry haters of President Obama, with quotes from some of the more extreme, and from the Obama Zombies. The show that they do not really get the protests, do not want to get the protests, and will cover their ears and say “la la la la la” if anyone tries to explain it to them, just like with most Liberals. They are not about reducing taxes, except maybe a tiny bit. They are not simply about taxes, which the News and Observer tries to portray. They are a protest against the massive increases in spending that occured during the Bush years, about TARP, about the stimulus/porkulas/Generational Theft Act, the Omnibus bill, and the $3.57 trillion 2010 budget. It came to a head when Democrats said “hey, you think spending was out of control during the last 8 years? Well, hey, y’all, watch this!” And those of us in the South know what comes after that phrase. It leads to increases in ta…..nope, not going to explain it. You either get it already, so do not need to read it, or don’t, and I would be wasting my time.
Especially with this guy, who seems to be so disengaged from the country that he wasn’t even aware of them.
Michelle Malkin has a massive roundup
A few stolen photos from Russ
 
This is part of MY problem with the tea parties. They’re supposedly about the massive debt that has been amassed since the beginning of the Bush years, but NO ONE mentions Bush. It’s ALL blamed on Obama. Our national debt nearly doubled under Bush. Bush also started some of the bank bailouts. Still, no mention of how this is Bush’s fault. It’s all Obama.
I’m not going to disagree with you. Bush bears responsibility, as do the Dems and Republicans in Congress during that time (since Dems held the Senate for 4 years, and the House for 2, during that time.)
But, it has come to a head with the even bigger spending and stuff, which includes massive pork and unnecessary spending, money to far left groups like ACORN, no real help for the economy, etc.
But, you will not catch me leaving Bush out of the mix. He bears a large responsibility.
I agree with Teach. Bush needs to be included in the mix here. When he was elected, he was going to cut spending and lower taxes. Well he lowered the taxes, but where was the decreased spending?
The massive spending bill that BO and the libs passed was the last straw. The people see that government spending is completely out of control, especially when the spending that BO pushed through was not read or questioned by Congress, it was rubber stamped. If someone had read it they would have asked about things like the AIG bonuses and the other pork that was included in it that provides to relief to the troubled US economy.
Americans know that there is no way to sustain the spending that the Congress has passed without raising taxes, regardless of what BO claims.
And I agree wholeheartedly with MBP. What say you, Reasic?
Some of my wife’s co-workers actually attended the event in Madison, WI, and they can confirm that this was not a strictly “Republican” event. They stood on the steps of the capital and can confirm that there were just as many Democrats there as republicans. In fact, the cross section of people in attendance represented every race, religion, and political leaning. And yet, when asked about it, the Governor’s spokesperson dismissed the entire thing as irrelevant and not representative of what the people of the state and the country want (which is why our state is almost $5 billion in the red and about to tax everything they can get their hands on).
We’ll see in a year and a half when they are up for re-election.
My response is twofold:
1. If you also blame Bush, where the f*** where you for the past eight years? Where were the tea parties as he was doubling our national debt? The timing here is suspect.
2. It’s nice that you say you blame Bush as well, here in the obscurity of your blog, but where are the anti-Bush posters in the tea parties? The majority of the stuff I’ve seen has a very distinct anti-Obama, anti-tax message. It seems like a carry over from the campaign, when conservatives were really pushing the message that Obama would increase taxes.