I heard about this song and video on the Glenn Beck program today.
H/T Hopenchangery
Showing posts with label tea party movement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tea party movement. Show all posts
Setting a Liberal Straight About the Tea Party Movement
"It would be comforting if a clear political diagnosis of the Tea Party movement were available — if we knew precisely what political events had inspired the fierce anger that pervades its meetings and rallies, what policy proposals its backers advocate, and, most obviously, what political ideals and values are orienting its members."
It is clear that he makes no effort or very little effort to understand the Tea Party movement, and the reasons for the participants' anger because if he really wanted to find out the movement's core princples all he had to do was perform a simple google search and he would have located multiple sites which state the basic political philosphy and/or the core princples of the Tea Party movement.
On TeaPartyPatriots.org one can easily find out that the three core principles of the Tea Party movement are: fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets. At TeaParty.org, the movement also calls awareness to any issue that challenges the security, sovereignty, or domestic tranquility of our nation, the United States of America. In addition, the TeaPartyPatriots.org website clearly states that the Tea Party movement adheres to principles of personal responsibility, national sovereignty, and The Rule of Law. The site also shows Glenn Beck's 9 Principles and 12 values to follow for the 9-12 movement which were created to help guide the Tea Party movement.
He clearly believes in a metaphysical collectivism and has an infatuation with the collective. He believes in handing over more power to the federal government, and is willing to cede individuals' decision-making abilities and indivdual responsibilities to the government, and is willing to give up individual freedom and liberty so that we can be indebted to an all knowing God-like central government. Tea Partiers believe in the opposite. Tea Party members want to return a more decentralized government, curb the spending, reduce the deficit, and to have more individual freedom and liberty and not rely on the government to make certain decisions for us. We believe in the right to bear arms and protect ourselves from harm whereas big government types who rely on laws and the police, rely on an institution to protect them, meanwhile calling 911 may not be enough to save a life or lives. We do not believe in restrictive laws that give the state even more power over our lives. We believe in common sense laws and returning a sense of morality back to our society. Without God their can be no return to a civil moral society.
I am inclined to believe that this author is for the health care law and having the government decide what medical procedures are necessary or not, rationing in order to save costs while Tea Party folks would rather keep our health care between us and our doctors, leave the decision making as to what is medically necessary up to our doctors, and we would rather spend more for quality health care and have much less rationing than occurs under centralized governents or with socialist health care. Liberals seem to think having 350 million people on socialist government health care is going to be the same as having 100 million on medicare, medicaid, other federal programs for our military and federal employees. In addition, many individuals on medicare have an extra private supplemental insurance because government insurance (medicare) is not enough to cover certain procedures and the costs of medical care. Big government policies and rampant corruption within Fannie and Freddie caused the financial crisis. Liberal compassion consisted of forcing the Community Reinvestment Act down the bankers' throats to hand out loans to people who evidently couldn't afford to pay their mortgages which is what caused this financial crisis. Government trying to enforce compassion via legislation is what causes persons insurmountable heartache and ruins lives.
Would this guy be upset if he asked his spouse to fix something, his spouse ignored him repeateedly, the problem worsened over a period of several months, then refused to fix the issue, and purposefully made the issue worse since she disagreed with how to solve the issue?
If you replace the spouse with the government and the guy with the American people, replace several months with 20 years and that explains and justifies the Tea Party's anger. Tea Party is directed at how the government has ignored citizens' concerns for many years. There has been an expansion of government control, and our government has exacerbated problems over the years while citizens' concerns have fallen on deaf years, and politicians have even blasted full speed ahead in the opposite direction than we the people consent to so we have every right to be angry.
The three branches of the government have undergone a metamorphosis and morphed into far reaching tentacles that has spread like a horrible disease infecting the United States. Liberals want our government to mirror European-style socialist government while our Founders instituted a Constitutional Republic to avoid a centralized government type of government like that of Europe that would greatly reduce citizens' freedom. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence which proclaims that all men are equal in rights, regardless of birth, wealth, or status, and that the government is the servant, not the master, of the people. The problem is that Today liberals are trying to make the government our servant instead of it being the other way around. This author thinks that Jefferson wouldn't have been agreed with the way citizens acted at townhall meetings but I believe that Jefferson would have been proud of these people who are standing up for individual citizens against the enslavement of the government. Townhall attendees and Tea Party participants have been displaying righteous anger in the face of an out of control government. I believe that Thomas Jefferson would have been appalled at how our politicians are mistreating citizens and the likes of SEIU members who threaten, are violent and beat up individuals like Kenneth Gladney, a black conservative who was selling patriotic merchandise outside a townhall meeting.
Pittsburgh Tax Day Tea Party-- Rose Tennant, Declaration of Independence Explained & Pastor C.L. Bryant
Here are a few videos of me attending the Pittsburgh Tea Party:
There were two buses heading from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C., and Reverend C.L. Bryant actually rode on our bus part of the way to D.C. It was exciting!! He was so insightful into the politics of Barack Obama and talked about the difference between Obama's Czars and Bush's Czars. He also shared how he became involved with the Tea Party movement. He is such a brilliant and inspirational speaker!!
There were two buses heading from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C., and Reverend C.L. Bryant actually rode on our bus part of the way to D.C. It was exciting!! He was so insightful into the politics of Barack Obama and talked about the difference between Obama's Czars and Bush's Czars. He also shared how he became involved with the Tea Party movement. He is such a brilliant and inspirational speaker!!
Tax Day Tea Party Time!
I am feeling better today so I will be attending a couple Tea Parties today. First, I am attending our local Pittsburgh Tea Party. Then, I will be heading on a bus and attending the D.C. Tax Day Tea Party. Everyone have a wonderful time and beware of "Party Crashers" at your local Tea Party. One suggestion: Inviting the Tea Party Crashers to find out about the Tea Party movement or ignoring them may prove to be more effective than getting into an argument and yelling ensuing.
My Thoughts on Liberals Using the Race Card, & The Incendiary Language that Black Conservatives Endure
The liberals that are making false accusations about Tea Partiers must stop!! This is dirty, outrageous, and wrong!! The Democrats and liberals in the media have consistently entered into a smear campaign of tactics consisting of false accusations, hateful rhetoric, and incendiary comments. One particular brand of false accusations that comes to my mind is how the liberals recently have been making charges that Tea Partiers are racists without having one iota of proof to back up their claims. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Tea Partiers are not racists!! We have political disagreements but they are not based on racial differences. Liberals are the ones using blacks for their own benefit in advancing their agenda. The Democrats are the ones who claim to represent the black community while keeping many African Americans and others dependent on government programs. Why doesn’t the black community prioritize their outlook about themselves, refer to themselves as American citizens first and foremost, instead of focusing every little detail or policy on the fact that they are African Americans? Or a different ethnic group? The representatives of the black community are being racially divisive by putting so much focus on a person’s skin color. The Tea Party movement is primarily concerned with fiscal responsibility, rising debt in our country being caused by our government, and individual freedom and liberty for all Americans.
I believe that making false accusations of racism without any proof might make that person who made those false charges a bigot or even a racist if they purposefully make a false claim to score points with a particular community in our society. Why is it that democrats are so infatuated with race and race-based politics?
I would hope that there are some decent liberals out there that would denounce the derogatory language being spewed by liberals in Congress, our Left Stream Media, and by other liberals across America. Do liberals that call black conservatives such derogatory terms as “Oreo” or “Uncle Tom” and “Traitors” know that these are derogatory terms? These terms are extremely inflammatory, incendiary, and must be denounced. Maybe, its just that black liberals couldn’t care less? I don’t know. Have African-Americans and other liberals been misled or are they just ignorant to this fact? Or have they been desensitized by the black community’s acceptance of those terms even though these are in fact bigoted, incendiary, and hurtful rhetoric? Black conservatives are not sell outs to the black community. They care for all people and not just blacks. How do you know the Democrats really care about and speak for African Americans? Is it because they give government handouts? IMO, it is kind of arrogant of the democrats to think that they own a particular set of peoples’ in our society, or speak for them. I found it quite odd, interesting, and good to find out HERE, that there are no derogatory terms specifically targeting black liberals in our society. Is there a reason for this? Are liberals in general more hateful with their rhetoric than conservatives? It sure seems like it to me. But, part of the reason for this is that democrats or liberals play identity and group politics to try to pin certain groups against one another. Liberals like to play favorites towards one particular sect of society against others. Conservatives do not do this. Conservatives look at each individual as an American and we treat everyone the same instead of treating a certain group differently because of their skin color. We do not play economic warfare just because a person’s more successful than another person, and that person may happen to be of a particular ethnic group. Liberals play racial warfare and are causing a great divide in our country while conservatives want everyone to succeed, and don’t blame another ethnic or racial groups for their problems. Every individual in this country has the chance to succeed in life. I hope every person does their very best and succeeds in all their endeavors.
Caller Rallies for Everyone to 'Engage' & Rush Praises Listener's Call To Action
This is a very articulate caller who is calling on everyone to be more engaged in politics and concerned with the direction that this country is heading. The Tea Party movement has really awakened the sleeping giant.
Left Stream Media Completely Ignores Harry Reid Supporter Who Screams Tea Partiers 'Can Drop Dead' at Town Hall
This is abhorrent and yet the Left Stream Media ignores these type of outrageous threats being made against the Tea Party movement and conservatives. The Left Stream Media is silent while aiding the Democrats in spreading their flames of fabrications and distortions of so-called threats of violence (nonexistent threats) within the Tea Party movement.
Lib Malloy Calls for Deaths of Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly; Silent MSM= ILLEGITIMATE Pimps R' US
For many years the MSM in its pitiful negligence ignored the Left's threats against President Bush while he was in office. And, now the MSM is touting far and wide their false propaganda that the few who have gone off the deep end somehow makes up the totality of the Tea Party movement when there is no empirical evidence to even suggest that any of these displays of violence are in fact connected to the Tea Party movement in any way, shape, or form. The MSM has violated its ethical obligations. Their needs to be a clean sweep of ALL of the MSM and some real ethical jouranalists need to be brought in as their replacements. Below, I will show you the pictatorial evidence I obtained from ZOMBLOG. There is further evidence of the death threats that were made against President Bush at ZOMBLOG. Obama and the Democrats are intent on destroying the very Foundation of our ountry and shredding the U.S. Constitution. And, as citizens of this great nation we must abide by the Constitution, start the new Revolution at the ballot box in November and vote out both the RINOS and Democrats peacefully. God Bless the USA!!!
H/T Gateway Pundit for video
MSNBC Unhinged: Dylan RATigan Goes Berserk
Dylan Ratigan goes totally nuts!! He exemplifies the term loony left. I love how cool Mark Williams acts through this whole ordeal.
Oh!! What Beautiful Paintings From a Patriot
I am reposting a wonderful blog post from Andrew33 at K.O.O.K's Manifesto. This post is of an American patriot who is using her fabulous artistic ability to spread the message about the Tea Party movement. These are very detailed and excellent paintings/sketches.
From where I perched on the stone monument walls that cloudy day ( just under the south end of Grants horse) I witnessed the green lawns and the granite malls fill with so many patriotic Americans that no matter what direction I looked to, north, south, east or west, was a sea of peaceful protesters, singing, chanting, waving signs and furling flags, etc......I get goose bumps just recalling the awe and exhilaration I felt then and there in the midst, and, middle of it all. One of the few published photos in the Washington papers actually has the top of my head (dont look at my roots) in the bottom of the photo. And thanks to "Bear" my traveling partner, and, Ron and Mary Rakovich for their generous accommodations, I was right smack dab in the middle of it all.
The many videos circulating and the thousands of posted photos each show a glimpse of 912, a small fraction of the million plus individuals who traveled there, each with their own message, question or concern. Each demanding to be heard and listened to. Not spoken down to or disparaged. Washington tried writing us off as Astroturf.....well I have a message for the most devicive person ever in DC ..... "I Am A 12th Generation American, my family goes all the way back to 1635, and, so help me God, DO NOT talk about me and my family in that way!"
Yes, my great,g,g,g,g,g,g,g,g,g, grandfather emigrated from the repression of England's monarhcy, loss of individual property rights and imposition of religious oppression arriving on the "Speedwell" in October 1635 (374 yrs ago) in New England. His name was Richard Smith. He became known as "BULL" Smith and he later founded Smithtown, NY on the Northshore of Long Island in 1665. Him and my other ancestors built this country before it was founded into the United States of America and they are all rolling in their graves at what is taking place in the country right here and right now. It is, therefore, incumbent upon me as their proud descendant to do something, to take charge, and make action happen.
So here I am America, I am here to do my part, to take charge of my destiny ( thats another story) and to get involved in the retaking of this great country back from the corrupt and insidious clenches of the twisted 'progressives.'
While my own history may be different than yours, we are all united on the issues and causes that are violating our constitution and belittling our bill of rights,and the out of control and wreckless spending that is bankrupting our nation into collapse. OUR issues are of equal importance to us all and will ultimately effect us all- and immeasurably so - if we do nothing. I am particularly concerned for my children and the future generations of this great nation for they are clueless as to what I see going on here. We must not become the United Socialists States of America, we must preserve the United States of America as the best and FREEIST of the FREE world.
Before I left my humble little apartment and set off with strangers for the trip to DC I said to my daughters (23 & 21 yrs) "this may be the most important thing I ever publicly do for you." And four months later after watching their mother work tirelessly, day in and day out on artwork that I was doing out of passion for my country, they are beginning to understand. Why is it taking so long for our youth to recognize what is going wrong....because the history they have been taught in school is minus a whole helluva lot of truth.
Well call me sentimental but as an artist I am often inspired by lifes experiences and moved by my emotions. I am blessed to have found some of my most worthy creativity through profound events in my life. Such is the case with my 912 experience.
With that in mind I embarked on a grand undertaking to accurately render, in pen, ink and full color, a montage of the events, venues, people, groups, messages, causes and questions representative of the 912 March on DC, that was not captured in any print media I have seen. The movement and my experience is what I wanted to preserve because we cannot count on the educators to do it, we must do it. Just as I was compelled to overcome huge obstacles just to get to DC and participate and be heard........I was compelled to do this "commemorative artwork," it is where my passion lies.
So I began sketching and I thought well maybe someone else may feel the same way, maybe there are others who are so irked by the lamestream media thumbing their noses at us and turning a blind eye towards us ( and I am not making fun of the blind by any means) that they too would want to relive this experience, perpetuate it for our posterity and remind congress, the administration and all elected officials that "We the People,...We are Back".
The "We the People,...We are Back" original is 3' high by 5' long and it contains renderings of the FreedomWorks meeting/speakers at the Armory, the Tea Party Patriots 912 Press Conference at Capitol Hill, the Physicians for Reform Rally, the FairTax rally at the IRS, and of course the 912 March on DC multiple views: West Lawn, North Lawn, South Lawn, views up Pennsylvannia Ave and East view to the Washington Monument.... I was going to solicit advertising space in the boarder because I desperately need to earn a living and then I thought more appropriately would the artwork be if it was wrapped in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, the beginnings of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And, Vahwhallah I did just that. Although I remained unemployed as a displaced construction exec/business owner going on a few years now (and never eligible for unemployment) I hoped, just maybe, my fellow patriots would see that I have reinvented myself as a serious artist, maybe even as a Political Protest Artist.
Lately I have been meeting so many amazing people, I simply don't have time to write about them all but this one is special. Meet Susan. She has been up and down the corporate ladder, much like many of you, but has decided to take her amazing gift and use it to support the "liberty" movement. When I say her gift is amazing, that is doing her a horrid injustice as her talent as an artist is so good it's hard to put it into words. The only thing stronger than her artistic talent is her love for this country so she has gone into business selling her patriotic artwork. When I saw her stunning hand drawn poster, literally spent my last dime to buy one and get it customized with the blog name as well as friends I attended with included. Here is a link to her site: http://www.susanlsmithartist.com/ and her story about how she became inspired to use her talent to support the Tea Party Patriots. I will put up some pics of her art in this post and hope that you will support her, as her art is easily worth infinitely more than she charges.
It is my belief that the "Tea Party" will be considered a major historical event in the USA and buying a $20-50 piece of art will not only support a patriot doing her part but will get you a patriotic picture that will be the centerpiece of any room you choose to put it in. So check out her stuff and giver her some blogger love. If you can't buy one of her pics, then drop a Washington or a Lincoln so she can keep blessing us with her art. I'm sure for a small donation, she'd be willing to do a logo or a header for your blogs. So here is her story and some samples of her art to go with it!!!!
here is quite a story behind all this and Im sure the left would love to trash me for it so with that in mind Im not gonna make it easy for them to smear me - they have to work for it! But for my 912 experience it went like this
No doubt that the 912 March on DC was a phenominal and historical event, especially for all of those in attendance. The lack of 'lamestream' media coverage further reinforces that their heads are, well...., where they should not be! I am no mathematician, however, I can count and I have attended enough 500,000+ person events at the Ft Lauderdale Air and Sea Shows in days gone by, several 70,000+ person Professional Football games and many 100,000+ person Rock Concerts to know that the sea of people that Marched on Washington DC on 912 was far greater than 70,000, or even hundreds of thousands, it was a million plus, and plus more. I put the number at about 2.6m, that is 2,600,000 live breathing tax paying patriots! And, if you count the masses that protested all across the country that day, and, those that were stuck on the highways leading into DC well the number swells even more. So let this stand as a correction of sorts to those that thumbed their noses at us and turned a blind eye to our protests. "We the People,...We are Back"
From where I perched on the stone monument walls that cloudy day ( just under the south end of Grants horse) I witnessed the green lawns and the granite malls fill with so many patriotic Americans that no matter what direction I looked to, north, south, east or west, was a sea of peaceful protesters, singing, chanting, waving signs and furling flags, etc......I get goose bumps just recalling the awe and exhilaration I felt then and there in the midst, and, middle of it all. One of the few published photos in the Washington papers actually has the top of my head (dont look at my roots) in the bottom of the photo. And thanks to "Bear" my traveling partner, and, Ron and Mary Rakovich for their generous accommodations, I was right smack dab in the middle of it all.
Yes, my great,g,g,g,g,g,g,g,g,g, grandfather emigrated from the repression of England's monarhcy, loss of individual property rights and imposition of religious oppression arriving on the "Speedwell" in October 1635 (374 yrs ago) in New England. His name was Richard Smith. He became known as "BULL" Smith and he later founded Smithtown, NY on the Northshore of Long Island in 1665. Him and my other ancestors built this country before it was founded into the United States of America and they are all rolling in their graves at what is taking place in the country right here and right now. It is, therefore, incumbent upon me as their proud descendant to do something, to take charge, and make action happen.
So here I am America, I am here to do my part, to take charge of my destiny ( thats another story) and to get involved in the retaking of this great country back from the corrupt and insidious clenches of the twisted 'progressives.'
While my own history may be different than yours, we are all united on the issues and causes that are violating our constitution and belittling our bill of rights,and the out of control and wreckless spending that is bankrupting our nation into collapse. OUR issues are of equal importance to us all and will ultimately effect us all- and immeasurably so - if we do nothing. I am particularly concerned for my children and the future generations of this great nation for they are clueless as to what I see going on here. We must not become the United Socialists States of America, we must preserve the United States of America as the best and FREEIST of the FREE world.
Before I left my humble little apartment and set off with strangers for the trip to DC I said to my daughters (23 & 21 yrs) "this may be the most important thing I ever publicly do for you." And four months later after watching their mother work tirelessly, day in and day out on artwork that I was doing out of passion for my country, they are beginning to understand. Why is it taking so long for our youth to recognize what is going wrong....because the history they have been taught in school is minus a whole helluva lot of truth.
Well call me sentimental but as an artist I am often inspired by lifes experiences and moved by my emotions. I am blessed to have found some of my most worthy creativity through profound events in my life. Such is the case with my 912 experience.
So I began sketching and I thought well maybe someone else may feel the same way, maybe there are others who are so irked by the lamestream media thumbing their noses at us and turning a blind eye towards us ( and I am not making fun of the blind by any means) that they too would want to relive this experience, perpetuate it for our posterity and remind congress, the administration and all elected officials that "We the People,...We are Back".
The Democratic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Are Plotting a Smear Campaign Against Tea Party Movement
When tea party, 9/12 and townhall protests and rallies first erupted on the national scene, they were derided by national politicos as astroturf or a small fringe movement. Lefty journalists at MSNBC, CNN and elsewhere laughed away the movement with derogatory, pornographic references.
Then, Scott Brown won election to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. No one is laughing anymore. In fact, Democrats are facing political annihilation this November. Not only do Democrats face the possibility of losing their congressional majorities, massive losses in state house races could jeopardize redistricting next year and set back the progressive agenda for at least a decade.
So, the Clinton Empire is planning to strike back.
Big Government has learned that Clintonistas are plotting a “push/pull” strategy. They plan to identify 7-8 national figures active in the tea party movement and engage in deep opposition research on them. If possible, they will identify one or two they can perhaps ‘turn’, either with money or threats, to create a mole in the movement. The others will be subjected to a full-on smear campaign. (Has MSNBC already been notified?)
Big Government has also learned that James Carville will head up the effort.
Obviously, there is no love lost between Obama and the Clinton machine. It may at first seem odd that Clinton would rush to Obama’s defense, but the tea party movement poses a threat far beyond the immediate goals of the Obama Administration.
The tea party movement could evolve into a new political realignment, one founded on a belief in limited government and less government interference in the economy. The Progressive agenda, which has been painstakingly built up over the last three decades, could be left in tatters.
As the Clinton’s know, “politics ain’t beanbag.” Expect the counterattack soon. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
H/T goes to BigGovernment
Sarah Palin's Redemption: CBS News anchor and 60 Minutes correspondent Katie Couric sliced to pieces by Tea Party leader Michael Johns
This is a fabulous interview by Katie Couric interviewing Tea Party Leaders, Michael Johns and Kellen Guida on the Tea Party movement. Please, grab some snacks and drinks, and enjoy this fascinating but lengthy interview.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
For this week's installment of @katiecouric, CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric spoke to Tea Party leaders Michael Johns and Kellen Guida about their movement and the frustrations of those who identify with it.
The Tea Party movement, Johns said, was a "visceral reaction" to the idea that "our federal government was growing too large, that too much power was being centralized, and government bureaucracies that the American people were over-taxed, in some ways over-regulated."
"And that the genius of the American dream, the genius of American liberty as enunciated by our founders was always a belief in individual liberty and individual freedoms," he continued.
Johns, a health care executive and former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, added that "it's a hugely patriotic movement." He said the direction of the Obama administration is "an antithesis in many respects of what our founding fathers envisioned."
Guida, an unemployed architect who organized a New York City tea party, said his activism grew out of the bank bailouts. He said that while he didn't believe the government should have let the banks fail completely, he was bothered that midlevel banks and small businesses were allowed to fail while big banks were given a bailout.
Small businesses are "not seeing any lending," he said. "They're the ones that do the actual hiring for the economy. So when you have the government saying, 'We need to get lending again so we can create jobs, and we're also gonna give the government some money to create jobs,' at the end of the day, the real economic driver of this country, the small businesses, are standing there with nothing still."
Johns went on to say that central to Tea Party beliefs are "the defense of our country, the defense of our borders."
"It's astonishing to most Americans that we can put a man on the moon, but we can't defend our southern border against illegal immigration, and that's troubling."
He also slammed health care legislation, complaining of a "lavishly expanded" government role, and called for the proposed "Enumerated Powers Act," which would require Congress to show where each new piece of legislation is justified in the Constitution.
He called for "reducing the tax burden on American people," saying because of government intervention it's reached a point "where it's become not a particularly great country to do business in too many cases."
Couric asked Johns whether the Tea Partiers were focused on social issues as well as fiscal ones.
He said that while his pro-life views have been "generally embraced," the movement is decentralized and "the uniting factor is fiscal responsibility."
H/T goes to CBSNEWS
Watch CBS News Videos Online
For this week's installment of @katiecouric, CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric spoke to Tea Party leaders Michael Johns and Kellen Guida about their movement and the frustrations of those who identify with it.
The Tea Party movement, Johns said, was a "visceral reaction" to the idea that "our federal government was growing too large, that too much power was being centralized, and government bureaucracies that the American people were over-taxed, in some ways over-regulated."
"And that the genius of the American dream, the genius of American liberty as enunciated by our founders was always a belief in individual liberty and individual freedoms," he continued.
Johns, a health care executive and former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, added that "it's a hugely patriotic movement." He said the direction of the Obama administration is "an antithesis in many respects of what our founding fathers envisioned."
Guida, an unemployed architect who organized a New York City tea party, said his activism grew out of the bank bailouts. He said that while he didn't believe the government should have let the banks fail completely, he was bothered that midlevel banks and small businesses were allowed to fail while big banks were given a bailout.
Small businesses are "not seeing any lending," he said. "They're the ones that do the actual hiring for the economy. So when you have the government saying, 'We need to get lending again so we can create jobs, and we're also gonna give the government some money to create jobs,' at the end of the day, the real economic driver of this country, the small businesses, are standing there with nothing still."
Johns went on to say that central to Tea Party beliefs are "the defense of our country, the defense of our borders."
"It's astonishing to most Americans that we can put a man on the moon, but we can't defend our southern border against illegal immigration, and that's troubling."
He also slammed health care legislation, complaining of a "lavishly expanded" government role, and called for the proposed "Enumerated Powers Act," which would require Congress to show where each new piece of legislation is justified in the Constitution.
He called for "reducing the tax burden on American people," saying because of government intervention it's reached a point "where it's become not a particularly great country to do business in too many cases."
Couric asked Johns whether the Tea Partiers were focused on social issues as well as fiscal ones.
He said that while his pro-life views have been "generally embraced," the movement is decentralized and "the uniting factor is fiscal responsibility."
H/T goes to CBSNEWS
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