While I try to figure out whether I ought to be astonished at the display of ignorance or just more amused at the spectacle, I figured I should offer my take on the Tea Party that occurred in Sioux Falls - my take on it as a dangerous, radical, liberal activist that is.
1. You really need to familiarize yourselves with popular euphemisms. This is a
not safe for work link that will describe tea bagging in it's more popular, connotative meaning. Next year, I don't want to hear about tea bagging, Cincinnati bow ties, rusty trombones, or anything of the sort in connection with a political protest.
2. I'm going to give you some credit. From almost all accounts, this event was well-attended. That's the hardest part about organizing any event - getting people there. And hey, even though you probably don't have a populist bone in your body, you certainly tapped a nerve and figured out how to scare/agitate/rile/motivate people into doing...well, into getting out of their house and holding pre-made signs. (Activist note: if you plan on using more than one sign, don't have one person make them all - we can recognize handwriting. It detracts from the effectiveness of the message.)
3. If you're going to hold a partisan rally, call it one. Now, I'm sure you're touting that you had Republicans, Libertarians, and some Independents out - that's hardly non-partisan. It's not even bi-partisan. It's biased. And when I see Ted Nugent on Fox News, any hope of calling it anything other than a right-wing propaganda orgy of jingoism, scare tactics, talking points, and old white dudes is out of the question. Besides,
http://teaparty.gop.com kind of gives it away.
4. Learn what socialism is. If government monies go to prop up a capitalist system, it's not socialism. If corporations have the opportunity to buy back the shares purchased by the Federal government, it's not socialism.
This is a link to an article explaining to you what socialism is. It's similar to what's going on, but it ain't it. And secondly, what about this sounds like a bad idea? I know that many Americans were raised in the Cold War era and were inherently indoctrinated against socialism because our enemy, Russia, was a socialist nation. The Cold War was not fought over economic ideology, it was fought over geopolitical gain and empirical control of land, resources, and goods.
5. Stay true to the original idea. The real Boston Tea Party was caused by taxation without representation. Not only has President Obama and the Democratic Congress cut taxes for 95% of Americans, nobody - not even the richest 1% of Americans - will see any changes to their taxes until 2011. So chill.
You have representation, you just lost - that's all. And hey, when the guy you don't like wins, he's probably going to do things you don't like. Believe me, I know. The Founders would shake their heads at your misguided re-enactment.
6. Finally, stop your whining. Taxes pay for essential services like roads, public hospitals, schools, police services, fire services, 911 emergency and first responder services, the military, and all sorts of wonderful things. Oh, and libraries and the mail. If you don't use any of these services and don't ever plan on it, you are free to criticize and complain. If not, you're a gigantic hypocrite who needs a lesson in public administration. Paying taxes is patriotic. It's your duty. It's part of the social contract. You say "Support Our Troops"? I say, pay your taxes so our troops can be paid and supported.
And I mean, come on...tea bagging? I thought you were joking at first...then I thought it was just...sad.