Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

Over 1,000 people gathered at noon and protested during Ventura County Tax Day Tea Party at the Ventura Government Center.

Here is Catherine Saillant’s, a reporter with the Los Angeles times, piece about the protest.

In Ventura, more than 1,000 people gathered under blue skies to vent wide-ranging concerns, from over-taxation and government spending to condemnation of a recent Homeland Security report tracking a rise in violence among right-wing groups.

Holding signs such as “Abolish the Federal Reserve,” and “We are Obummed Out, Stop Spending, No More Taxes,” the crowd was in a celebratory mood, loudly applauding each speaker and cheering as a small plane droned overhead pulling a banner that said “I’m Tea’d Off!!”

In an interesting note: I had not seen Catherine since 1994 or so when she used to interview me when I was an active participant in Ventura County GOP politics as an officeholder and candidate. I always found her to be a fair and balanced reporter.

The Photos:

California Republican Assembly Candidate Jeff Gorell talking with Camarillo, California GOP City Councilman Mike Morgan

Jeff Gorell addressing the Tea Party Protest throng

Flap’s Twitter friend @erickbrockway

Twitter friend @pir8gold sporting her #TCOT Top Conservatives on Twitter T- Shirt

There were many hand-made signs at this grassroots protest

Well, not so much.

• Mitt Romney, a top contender for the 2012 nomination who has been cautious in his criticism of President Obama, will not attend a tea party, said his spokesman.
• John Boehner, the House minority leader, will attend a tea party in Bakersfield, Calif., with Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
• Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, is on official business overseas and won’t be participating.
• Eric Cantor, the House minority whip, is in his Virginia congressional district with no public events today, said a spokesman.
• Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who will likely consider a 2012 run, is out of town and not participating, according to a spokesperson.
• Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, last year’s GOP VP nominee and a potential 2012 contender, won’t be attending any tea parties “that I’m aware of,” said a spokesperson.

The Tea Party movement is not about the GOP, in any case. But, the GOP better get the message.

It is finally official.

Toomey, who stepped down Monday as president of the Washington-based Club for Growth, appealed to his conservative base in a statement released just before 8 a.m., while Toomey made a series of TV appearances in the Philadelphia area.

“Pennsylvanians deserve a voice in the U.S. Senate that will honor our values and fight for limited government, individual freedom and fiscal responsibility. I will be that voice,” Toomey said.

Early polls show Toomey ahead of the 79 year old and four term United States Senator Specter.

And, the funny thing is that the Tea Party protests are not so much about TAXES but how the Obama Administration and the Congress are spending the tax money.

Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies — dubbed “tea parties” — to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no political party behind these rallies, no grand right-wing conspiracy, not even a 501(c) group like MoveOn.org.

What’s most striking about the tea-party movement is that most of the organizers haven’t ever organized, or even participated, in a protest rally before. General disgust has drawn a lot of people off the sidelines and into the political arena, and they are already planning for political action after today.

Cincinnati organizer Mike Wilson, a novice organizer who drew 5,000 people to a rally on March 15, is now planning to create a political action committee and a permanent political organization to press for lower taxes and reduced spending. Tucson tea party organizer Robert Mayer told me that his organization will focus on city council elections in the fall as its next priority. And there’s lots of Internet chatter about ways of taking things further after today’s protests.

This influx of new energy and new talent is likely to inject new life into small-government politics around the nation. The mainstream Republican Party still seems limp and disorganized. This grassroots effort may revitalize it. Or the tea-party movement may lead to a new third party that may replace the GOP, just as the GOP replaced the fractured and hapless Whigs.

Michelle has more on the history of the Tea Party Movement.

So, will this movement survive past tax day?

Yes, fiscal conservatives have found the power of the internet and social networking genrerated grass roots organizing. The tax and spend mantra of the Tea Parties will united like minded individuals in a call to action that will translate into local political action and beyond.

Stay tuned…….

Today is Tea Party Protest Day.

Are you going?

Here is the information for Ventura County, California to be held at noon today.

Ventura

When: April 15, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Where: Sidewalks adjacent to Ventura County Government Center
Map: Click Here
Contact: EMAIL (Carla Bonney) 805-652-0667
Contact: EMAIL (Dale DeHart) 805-312-2800
Website: www.teapartyteams.com
Facebook Group: Ventura County TEA Party
Facebook Event: Tax Day Rally

Here is a link for the nearest California Tea Party to you.

See you there and please send your photos, videos and Tea Party stories to Flap. Contact information is above.