The Red and the Blue

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-230164

April 15 is always a great day for Republicans because they can use people’s (warranted) frustration, anger and confusion with the IRS to score political points.

Yesterday conservative groups across the United States staged “TEA” parties, many of which drew upwards of 1,000 people.  The “Taxed Enough Already” protests were aimed at drawing attention to the “excessive government spending and bailouts,” and were organized via Twitter and Facebook—apparently Republicans have finally realized the effectiveness of Obama’s modus operandi.

It’s a little hard to tell, based on the pictures, whether this was a populist movement spurred by angry taxpayers or a political opposition movement sponsored by Fox News. The protesters all seemed so delighted that other people showed up that they sort of forgot what they were there for.

I’d be more impressed with the Republican Party’s creativity if British protest groups hadn’t done the same thing over a month ago, before the G20 summit.  Ironically, many of the British protesters were nearly socialist while the American protesters were mainly conservatives opposed to Obama and his supposedly socialist policies—at least both groups have a sense of history.  Of the two, I’d much prefer attending the British tea party protest, where the protesters actually served tea—as far as I’ve been able to tell, the American protesters just marched around in a variety of historical and populist garb, chanting the innovative catchphrase “NObama.” D.C. protesters couldn’t even evoke their revolutionary forebears by throwing a million tea bags onto Lafayette Square because the National Park Service said they failed to acquire a permit.  Oh for good old days of colonial rule, when protests weren’t mired down with environmental regulations.

I’m delighted conservatives have finally realized spending beyond one’s means is a bad thing. Funny how Fox News and company didn’t seem to care when it was their party running up the tab. Lest we forget, the public’s share of the national debt doubled under George W. Bush’s administration, and he never once managed to balance a budget, even when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. But hey, that’s history.

Lauren Burdette Uncategorized Fox News, protest, Republican, tea party