Lessons in Civility

Here's what violant, hateful protests look like, from Yahoo News.

The protesters banged on drums and chanted "Ain't no power like the power of the people, 'cause the power of the people don't stop."

The marchers included small groups of self-described anarchists, some wearing dark clothes and bandanas and carrying black flags. Others wore helmets and safety goggles.

One banner read, "No borders, no banks," another, "No hope in capitalism." A few minutes into the march, protesters unfurled a large banner reading "NO BAILOUT NO CAPITALISM" with an encircled "A," a recognized sign of anarchists.

Here's what peaceful protests look like.

Please notice which group is calling for capitalism, and which is protesting against it.

Who is the mob?

So, who exactly are these racist, Brown Shirt-wearing thugs frightening the bejeebers out of Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues?

Chilling!

Good for Heath Shuler

Not for promising to vote against a really bad bill.

But for not being afraid of his constituents. Calling your voters Nazis and thugs is rarely the path to electoral success. Shuler seems to recoginize that.

Tea Party Politics From Colonial Boston to the Obama Bailouts

Bedford's Bill Martel writes a piece on the history of Tea Party Politics in U.S. News and World Report:

Two hundred and thirty-six years ago this week, Britain's Parliament passed the Tea Act. It lowered taxes on tea.

And the Colonies were furious.

Why? The act gave a monopoly to the British East India Company on trade to the Colonies, effectively scuttling colonial tea smugglers and angering locals who had been quite satisfied with their own arrangement. As one more sign of British arrogance and meddling, it eventually sparked a revolution.

Two hundred and thirty-six years later, the very idea of taxation is no more popular. And politics are just as complicated. So it's little surprise that April 2009's American tea parties denouncing congressional spending of taxpayer dollars took their cue from patriot Samuel Adams.

Read the whole thing.

William Martel is associate professor of international security studies at The Fletcher School, Tufts University, and author of Victory in War: Foundations of Modern Military Policy.

Edited to show that Bill Martel is from Bedford, not Amherst.

Amendment X: Alabama Tea Parties

Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute writes about the Tea Party movement, and the reaction to it from traditional media sources:

But the tea parties had no angry, profanity-riddled chants against America, no community organizations busing in protesters, and certainly no liberal celebrities demanding change. Ordinary people who have never protested nor carried signs but are concerned about the future of our country and the futures of their children and grandchildren were willing to wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic just for the opportunity to stand with others and demand that our government change its ways. What happened at the tea parties was not a protest against America at all; it was a protest against Republicans and Democrats in power who are enacting laws and policies that will destroy America.

Something else seems to be at the root of the reaction of liberal elites to the tea parties, and I think it is that they loathe people who refuse to submit to the liberal agenda. Even White House spokesman Robert Gibbs acted as though nothing significant was happening around the nation stating that he “… didn’t know if the President was aware of the events.”

Amendment X: Alabama Tea Parties

Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute writes about the Tea Party movement, and the reaction to it from traditional media sources:

But the tea parties had no angry, profanity-riddled chants against America, no community organizations busing in protesters, and certainly no liberal celebrities demanding change. Ordinary people who have never protested nor carried signs but are concerned about the future of our country and the futures of their children and grandchildren were willing to wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic just for the opportunity to stand with others and demand that our government change its ways. What happened at the tea parties was not a protest against America at all; it was a protest against Republicans and Democrats in power who are enacting laws and policies that will destroy America.


Something else seems to be at the root of the reaction of liberal elites to the tea parties, and I think it is that they loathe people who refuse to submit to the liberal agenda. Even White House spokesman Robert Gibbs acted as though nothing significant was happening around the nation stating that he “… didn’t know if the President was aware of the events.”

They didn't even know what they were protesting

BUMPED and UPDATED WITH AUDIO:


Did you attend a Tea Party protest last week? If so, Ray Buckley thinks you've lost your mind.

I'm surprised by the public reaction to the Tea Party movement from leading Democrats. Rather than co-opt the issue from Republicans who lost credibility of fiscal hawks, Buckley and his colleagues have chosen to ridicule anyone standing up against out of control spending:

He ridiculed the "Tax Day" protesters who rallied last week across the state, denouncing federal spending surges and a variety of "-isms."

"They looked like they had lost their minds," Buckley said. "They didn't even know what they were protesting."

Manchester Tea Party- complete audio

The guys at Granite Grok have posted audio from every speaker at the Manchester Tea Party.

I really liked Doug and Skip's speech. They were really fired up.

The Concord Monitor has posted a picture gallery from the Concord Tea Party.

And Pajamas Media has an event site where you can submit your pictures and comments about the Manchester Tea Party.

Manchester Tea Party- web video

Grant Bosse reports on the Tax Day Tea Party at Veterans Park in Manchester:

Tea Party Coverage

UPDATE- Fosters reports on Tea Parties in Dover, Rochester, and Portsmouth
A taxing day: Residents across Seacoast express anger at 'Tea Party'' events

Dan Touhy in the Union Leader
Granite Staters say: 'Enough is enough' in 'tea party' protests around the state

Daniel Barrack in the Concord Monitor
Motley bunch at tea 'revolt'

Joseph Cote in the Nashua Telegraph
About 1,000 crowd park for anti-tax rally

Live Blog from Granite Grok

Manchester Tea Party- Charlie Arlinghaus

Josiah Bartlett Center President Charlie Arlinghaus addresses the Tax Day Tea Party at Veterans Park in Manchester:

Concord Tea Party- web video

Grant Bosse reports from the Tax Day Tea Party at the State House in Concord:

Tax protest rallies today in Concord, Manchester

Dan Touhy offers a preview of today's Tea Parties in the Union Leader, and for some reason quotes me:

The rally in Manchester is led by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition. Organizers expect around 700 people will attend the event, which is located at 119 Concord St.

The protest is one of several around the state that coincide with the deadline for filing federal income taxes with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Grant Bosse, a Republican who ran for U.S. House last year, said he would attend both the Concord and Manchester rallies.

Though speakers will criticize federal stimulus spending and corporate bailouts, it is not exactly a political rally, according to Bosse. He describes the protest as a matter of policy, not personality.

"We've had a kind of failure of the political class in both parties," he said.

NH Watchdog will be filming both the Concord and Manchester Tea Parties and plans to post video tonight if the sound comes out okay.