A photo of the rally site at 11:00 am – oops, a little too early.

I incorrectly remembered the starting time for today’s public demonstration in the ad which was placed by the local teabag protest organizers in the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal last week. I showed up at 11:00 am. No one was there. With a little bit of follow up I found out that the correct starting time for the protest was noon. My schedule didn’t allow me to stay.

A freelance reporter who can read ads correctly passed on the following account:

Around twelve people joined at noon today in front of the Johnson County Courthouse in Warrensburg, MO for a small tea party in an attempt to protest against the current administration. Holding signs and walking up and down the sidewalks, when questioned on why they were there today they all responded with the same message: saying no to big government, big spending, and big taxes. Read the interviews here:

Freelance Reporter: Just so we can tell people, what’s the purpose of the gathering today?

Response: Okay, the purpose is to protest the government’s excessive spending. And try to get good reform in government. Make our political leaders aware that, you know, we’re tired of all the extra taxes and all the increasing bureaucracy and that we want to have a nice, smaller government, Constitution the way our founding fathers wanted.

Freelance Reporter: Yeah, some of the reports have been calling these the “tea parties.”  

Response: Yeah, this is a tea party.  

Freelance Reporter: So, where does that…

Response: We’ve got our tea bags here. We don’t have any water to dump it in but…

Freelance Reporter: Right. Just, can you explain the significance of that, I mean, I know, but just for our readers?

Response: Okay, well, back in colonial days they got tired of the British government overtaxing them and bigger government and they had the tea party, you remember the Boston thing where they dressed as Indians and threw the stuff in the water. So it’s a symbolic event. XXXXXXXXXX, do you want to add anything?

Response: I wasn’t listening to what you said.

Response: Okay.

Freelance Reporter: And your name’s XXXXXXXXXX?

Response: I think the tea party’s a good idea to get people’s attention and get a lot of different groups together who are interested in the same thing as far as taxes, big government, limiting those.  

Freelance Reporter: Why is it important to limit big government?

Response: Well, let’s see, government, what do we have, give me liberty, not death, government is big enough to give you everything you want, strong enough to take everything you have. Those signs pretty well say it. The bigger government gets, the more government is interested in perpetuating government rather than, than staying small and letting the people rule ourselves.

The next interview took place with a woman who was wearing glasses and had teabags taped to them. Speaking on more local issues related to Johnson County and Warrensburg specifically, this is what she had to say:

Freelance Reporter: Okay, so what’s the significance of this gathering today?

Response: Well, I’m not really sure but I was told I was supposed to wear my teabag and I see it’s taxed enough already. So I guess that’s the whole principle of it. Now we’ve got the school taxes. We would have had the zoning, you know, not tax but it would have been expensive had it passed. I was in, one of the main fighters against that.

Freelance Reporter: Right, so what, there’s been tax increases this year?

Response: Oh, there’s tax increases all the time. But the school tax passing really upsets me because we’re all too poor to be paying taxes. I can’t wait until they lower the evaluation on property so our taxes won’t be so high. Which should be the next step that somebody works on getting done. Johnson County, cause, as we all know, the value of houses has definitely gone down.

Freelance Reporter: Right. So, who do you hold responsible for the increases in taxes?

Response: (Laughing) That I probably shouldn’t answer.

Freelance Reporter: Why’s that?

Response: Just our standard government. Just the standard government. Seems to be a trend, they just keep taxing poor people until they can’t pay it. And then cry the blues because they don’t receive tax money because poor people are too poor to do it.

Freelance Reporter: Do you know the significance of the, like I’ve heard it called the tea parties and stuff like that, I just wondered if you, can you explain that a little bit to us?

Response: Yeah, now I’m not a historian so I’m not quite sure about any part of it other than I’m, Boston Tea Party’s what I understand. They’re going to put a tax on some tea and some people objected. Demonstration’s the only place you can get anything it seems like. They don’t listen unless you gather in, you know, multitudes.

The last interview was with a couple, XXXXXXXXXX, who were said to have helped organize the event. Here’s what they had to say:

Freelance Reporter: So what’s the protest against today?

Response: Just large government. Just the overspending that the large government’s been doing.

Freelance Reporter: Any specific overspending?

Response: Oh, you know, particularly the TARP bailouts and all the quote unquote stimulus programs. And, you know, it’s not a Democrat or Republican thing, both have been involved, it’s just…I mean we’re not here in response to any one political party, it’s just the extremely large government that we’ve created that just needs to be pulled back to what the Constitution calls for in the limited government, provide for the common defense and the things it was created to do instead of getting into everything from bank bailouts to mortgage (Laughs).

Freelance Reporter: So are you a member of the Constitution Party or do you…

Response: No.

Freelance Reporter: Are you affiliated with any party?

Response: Not at this point.

Response: We’re just here to, just to…

Freelance Reporter: Raise awareness?

Response: To call for responsible government and less spending, less taxing too.  

Freelance Reporter: So have we seen an increase in taxes this year? Do you feel?

Response: You know, nothing has really happened since last year but there’s, I mean, tax – that’s part of the tea party, it means taxed enough already. You know, and we know that there’s tax increases coming. You know, all the tax, taxing, um, that were cut a few years ago are scheduled to, you know, to, whatever, Sun Down Clause or whatever. They’re all going to come back into effect and we know that the President has promised to raise taxes on anybody making anywhere from $75,000 to $250,000, whatever. I mean, I heard it…

Response: Every which way.

Response: I’ve  heard it every which way so. You know, anyway, I’m just against any continued tax increase, there’s enough tax.

Response: We need to have more responsible spending, not more taxing.

Response: Yeah, you know we can’t spend our way out of debt. And the government has no money, it’s our money. It’s the, the money belongs to the people and the only money they have is what they take from us so…

Freelance Reporter: Um, let’s see, other questions I might have…so do you guys propose any solutions as far as…

Response: Just small
er, smaller government. You know, just to pull back to what the Constitution says about spending and taxing and you know, anything that limits the size and scope of government I think is appropriate. Rather than continuing to expand it. It doesn’t make any sense.

Smaller government, less spending, and no more taxes. That’s what the protestors have to offer for today’s outcry against the current administration. Not even in office 100 days and Obama has already been blamed for the steps that he’s taken to try to get us out of the financial mess. Obama hasn’t made any tax changes yet and the citizens are currently being taxed under the Bush Administration’s tax regulations. Taxes in Missouri have not gone up. In fact, Gov. Nixon is making budget cuts so that he doesn’t have to raise taxes. The Republicans in our MO House and Senate are blocking any legislation that is presented by a Democrat. With no solutions, only criticisms over what’s being done, it’s clear the tea partiers really have no clue what they’re upset about.