On Wednesday, from 5 to 7 p.m., We the People are holding a Tea Party on the south lawn of the courthouse. This rally is not a Republican event. If anyone were to do their homework, they would know that those involved are, in fact, outsiders to any party. If they were to do their homework, neither party wants this party.
We are tax-paying Americans who have had enough of the run-away spending in Washington. We are tax-paying citizens who are tired of the repeated increases in federal and state budgets while our take-home share consistently decreases. We pay income, sales, property and other taxes.
We have looked at the fiscal condition of our nation and have dared to ask the question, "If we just spent $1,000,000,000,000 that we don't have, how are we going to pay for it?"
We are men and women who realize that if we (the ones who blew the $7 trillion over the past nine years) lived (and worked) until we were 100 and paid 50 percent taxes on that income, we would not have come close to paying off the debt we have incurred.
No, we are not Democrats. We are not Republicans. We do not want entitlements, giveaways, stimuli or tax-cuts. We want a future without unfair tax levels. We want our voices to be heard, we want Washington to start reflecting our values. We want our country back. (Go to www.IOUSAtheMovie.com and see if you can watch that 30-minute video without becoming alarmed.)
But for those who are still confused about what this Tea Party is about, why don't we start with what it is not. It is not a call to repeal taxes. It is not a movement to kill the federal government. It is not a covert Republican operation. It is not a bad Democratic idea. It is not a party about tea.
It is about the increasing and unfair taxes. It is about government spending. It is about waste, about logic, about frustration, representation, debt and about our future. It is about taking the Declaration of Independence seriously and taking on that "duty," should this mess in Washington not end immediately.
Since your article ran on Saturday (April 11, 2009), I have been approached by many, many people who are excited about this Tea Party. I am excited to see so many people care about their country once again. It is exciting to see the reactions of politicians to this idea that we have had enough. It is time for those of us who own this government to take it back, and if Washington can't hear us out here in Warsaw, let's bring those fat cats back to the Midwest, dethrone them and let them find a real job, working 40 hours a week for $25,000 a year.
