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| BUFFALO: WNY Tea Party organized to protest state government policies |
| 2009-03-27 |
| Albany, hear this: Western New York is mad as hell and we're not gonna to take it any more. The Western New York Tea Party kicks off at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Terminus of the Erie Canal. The guest list includes any and all residents who've had enough of Albany's "insanity." Jean Kiene of Lockport plans on attending with "carful" of like-minded neighbors. They already have their tea bags, property tax bills and lists of grievances about state government packed for the trip. Tea Party organizer Rus Thompson wants 'em all thrown in a trash can and delivered to Gov. David Paterson personally. "This state is in shambles. We're all saying goodbye to our kids. ... Imagine the faces of the politicians in Albany if they saw thousands of people on TV waving tea bags and signs. Do you think they'd take notice?" he said. Thompson, who's known for relentless protest of Thruway tolls at Grand Island, is organizing Western New York Tea Party as an offshoot of the tea parties erupting nationwide to protest the "stimulus" legislation recently approved by Congress and President Obama. The target of the protest is New York state. A new state budget is due April 1, and Thompson suggested it's more important this year than ever that Western New Yorkers pay attention to what's going on. Considering the way Albany really works, he said, they're on their own trying to fight higher taxes and ever-more bloated government. Now-quashed budget proposals floated by the Legislative majority expose the chasm between everyday people and their government: Instead of measures to downsize bureaucracy and the state's vast reach, it backed new taxes on soda pop and bowling, health insurance and health club memberships, even a $10 charge to file paper income tax returns. Paterson already took most of those off the table, but he also turned to "sweeps" of cash from quasi-independent public agencies like New York Power Authority -- which then turned around and promptly proposed a hydropower rate increase that would have hit millions of upstate residents had it not been derailed this week by massive public outcry. NYPA insisted state law, not the cash sweep, drove talk of a rate hike. The episode merely served to make taxpayers angrier than they already were. "The governor had his highest (popularity poll) ratings when he talked about the need for everybody to bite the bullet. Now look where he is," Thompson said. "It turns out everybody is biting the bullet except the state. They're not looking inward at all, they're just looking to taxes to increase revenue. The status quo makes money off the way things are." Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, all Democrats from New York City, exert nearly complete control over the Legislature. Consequently, Thompson said, "we have no representation in Western New York any more. Members of the minority (party) are shut out completely; our Democratic legislators go along (with downstate preferences) blindly, because the party will punish them if they don't. "We have to break down that power structure. ... It's not a party thing, we want our representation. Our birthright was a constitutional republic, and we don't have it." The tea party will feature speakers including regionalism advocate Kevin Gaughan, WBEN-AM show host Kathy Weppner and other reform-government activists. Not welcome at the microphone, according to Thompson, are elected representatives of government at any level, from either side of the aisle. It's time the politicians stepped off to the side and listened, he said. According to Thompson, party-goers are expected from as far away as Rochester and Syracuse. The act of trashing tea bags and tax bills may seem melodramatic, but if it's the lure that draws people together to protest the state of their state, Kiene says it's just right. "If I sat home and watched this on TV, I'd say 'shame on me.' I really feel as though every voice counts," she said. "If a number of people join together, it makes for an important statement: Enough is enough. Our government leaders have to do something different. ... Any elected leader who thinks raising taxes is the answer should be removed from office." The Terminus at the Erie Canal is next to the Naval and Military Park, behind the old Memorial Auditorium. For more information about the tea party and directions to the Terminus, visit Thompson's Web site. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 D *** NG IT, ITS NOT REAL TEA NOR FUTURE [post-Amerika]CHINESE = IRANIAN PROVINCE HAWAII [-istan], NOW IS IT!? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-03-27 22:40 |
| #4 I Googled tea party and got directed to trailing wife. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-03-27 17:08 |
| #3 Googling tea parties in my state, I get a mixed bag. The site that looks most likely isn't responding, unfortunately. Another is actually protesting cigarette taxes; snother's registration sheet is full of obscenities. This last is a craiglist item talking about a march on the state capital on Tax Day. And other sites are party supply stores. Interesting mix. |
| Posted by: mom 2009-03-27 10:15 |
| #2 The adelsverein continues! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-27 09:16 |
| #1 San Antonio's Tea Party is set for April 15th. Website is here, and a planning meeting set for Sunday afternoon - me, I am coordinating news releases for it. The guy who kicked it all off is another military veteran and San Antonio blogger. The website for it is here. I think this is going to be huge. I have talked to some of my neighbors, who are nice retired ladies... and they are interesting in turning out. A lot of people who had never before thought of going to a protest are going to make an exception for this one. I don't believe the legacy media will be able to ignore them, after the 15th. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2009-03-27 09:15 |