"Pucker Up Mr. President!"
Illinois Congressperson Jan Schakowsky attempting to seduce Candidate Obama...
In recent days two reps from the people's body, the U.S. House of Representatives, have made ludicrous statements about the millions of people who participated in more than 2500 Tax Day Tea Parties. (Several hundred also happened prior to Tax Day, and new ones are being planned from as early as this coming Monday, all the way through July 4th.)
When 4000-6000 voters are showing up in towns as small Madison, Wisconsin, and 100,000's showing up in cities like Sacramento, California, or San Antonio, Texas... it is a problematic thing to be sure for elected officials whose policies are being protested.
So what's their answer?
Demonize those who are doing the protesting. Thus Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi fancied herself witty this week
by implying that the efforts of those who came with one voice and spoke out were insincere. She labeled them astroturf. Doing so implies that they are the fake grassroots, propped up by some other force.
Congressperson Jan Schakowsky from Illinois has taken it
one step further sliming the participants as "despicable" and "shameful":
"The 'tea parties' being held today by groups of right-wing activists, and fueled by FOX News Channel, are an effort to mislead the public about the Obama economic plan that cuts taxes for 95 percent of Americans and creates 3.5 million jobs," Schakowsky said in a statement.
"It's despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt," she added. "Not a single American household or business will be taxed at a higher rate this year. Made to look like a grassroots uprising, this is an Obama bashing party promoted by corporate interests, as well as Republican lobbyists and politicians."
The problem being that she either has really poor researchers working for her before she publishes a statement, or just prefers to believe everything she hears on MSNBC.
Fox News was not responsible for organizing a SINGLE tea-party event. They chose to cover the events of the Tax Day tea parties, and even at that they covered only 4 of the more than 2500 gatherings that took place.
In addition Jan Schakowsky should NAME the "corporate interests" that did the so-called organizing. She can't because she knows that Corporate companies had nothing to do with them.
Jan Schakowsky lied through her teeth in making her statement, anyone who saw the tiniest bit of coverage, or knew the tiniest bit of information about the Tea Party events knows this.
But that's not the only untrue thing her statement projects. She repeats the campaign trail lie that was never true of President Obama that 95% of Americans will receive tax cuts.
You can not receive tax cuts if you are not paying taxes, which now barely fifty percent of Americans do.
And fyi Ms. Schakowsky... the Tea Party that I've been asked to keynote this coming Monday at Bowling Green State University is being run by students, self-organized, self-funded, and because of you even more highly self-motivated.
Andy Hooser and students on campus who happen to believe that higher taxes aren't all that great for their future are speaking out, as they have the right to.
So a pox on you Ms. Schakowsky, for attempting to make the decent people of this nation feel guilty for not wishing to be poor paupers begging their neighbors for help, but rather independent producers who wish to provide for their families and determine their futures for themselves.
A pox on you and yours...
(By the way you can express your thoughts directly to Congresspersons Pelosi and Schakowsky by dialing their offices at 202.224.3121.)