TEA-ing off on taxes
Riverhead plays host to eastern L.I.'s tax day protests
3 comments below
James Flinter of Ridge, a self-proclaimed Conservative, was among the demonstrators at last Thursday's "Tea Party" held on the Peconic Riverfront in downtown Riverhead. The event protested, among other things, increased taxes, government spending, bailouts and regulation.
But unlike the legendary Boston Tea Party, nobody actually threw tea into the water. TEA stands for "Taxed Enough Already," and TEA parties took place all over the nation last Wednesday -- ¬tax day to protest increased taxes, government spending, bailouts and federal government involvement in private enterprise.
"We're here in protest of excessive taxation, spending and regulation," said Vinnie Lijoy, a Middle Country School District teacher from Patchogue who attended the event.
Bob and Mary Meyer of Riverhead, the organizers of one of the Riverhead TEA parties, flank George Kelly of East Setauket, who came dressed for the occasion.
There were actually two TEA parties taking place simultaneously on the riverfront in downtown Riverhead.
One was sponsored by the American Family Association, a nonprofit organization that promotes "traditional family values." It featured mostly members of the Riverhead Republican Committee.
Glenn Beck is a FOX News analyst who promoted the TEA parties. Mr. Meyer said his group started organizing the protest on Sept. 27.
"We kicked off a grass-roots organization that's against all the spending that's taking place," Mr. Meyer said. "They're bankrupting our children's future."
Riverhead Republican chairman Martin Keller, who said he was the "head facilitator" of the AFA protest, said it was "a nationwide protest against tax increases and overspending by government, whether it be the federal government or the state government."
Mr. Keller said the state has approved $8 billion in tax increases and taken away STAR rebates, while the federal government has a $4 trillion budget and "deficit spending like we've never seen before."
He said the protest also targets bank bailouts, the stimulus program spending and government involvement in running private automobile companies like General Motors.
"It's just a matter of time before everybody will be paying this back," he said.
"The stimulus is close to $1 trillion and they are taking over banks and General Motors and everything else," Mr. Keller said. "It's not the way to run a capitalist country."
Mr. Meyer said his group didn't intend to have politicians speaking.
"We said from the get-go that this is an event for the people by the people," he said. "If they want to have politicians speak, that's OK, but we were just going to have regular citizens speak at our event."
"We want to send a message to the powers that be that this is not a partisan issue," Ms. Meyer said. "This event was organized by everyday, average American working people. People that live in the community that are just fed up, and that haven't necessarily joined a political party. For some of the people here tonight, it might be the first time they've ever attended a political protest."
"A lot of the people in this group feel that both political parties are taking us down the same road toward socialism," Mr. Meyer said. "The bailouts are unconstitutional. The federal government doesn't have the authority to pick winners and losers in the free market with our tax dollars."
Mr. Keller said many of the participants brought tea, but rather than tossing it into the river, they threw it into a giant teacup, which will be donated to the Riverhead Senior Center.
"There will be no tea bags floating in the Peconic River," he said. "We'll give it to the senior citizens so they can have tea on us."
In defense of the presidential administration, U.S. Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) said he could understand people's frustration with the recklessness that led to the housing and Wall Street collapses, but he felt the TEA revelers were misinformed about perceived tax hikes.
"As we're sitting here in April 2009, 95 percent of Americans have gotten a tax cut thanks to this administration and Democrats in Congress, and not a single person has had a tax increase," he said, noting that in 2011 the president plans to propose higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
He also said the maligned stimulus bill is providing some $5 million to Riverhead schools, thereby keeping local taxes in check and the schools properly staffed.
tgannon@timesreview.com
Editor Michael White contributed to this story.
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3 comments found
Tim Bishop comment : 4/23/2009
Once again a functionary is telling us that we are all wrong and misinformed. Tell us congressman, why you fell the need to reward greed and the stupidity with a bailout and the permanent under class you helped to engineer with yet another transfer payment of our hard earned money? In which soviet university did you attend indoctrination classes?
Tea Party : 4/23/2009
I attended this Tea Party and met folks from all walks of life... all together to express our concern about the direction of our country: massive spending that cannot be sustained, public bailouts of private enterprise, pervasive fraud, the destruction of the rule of law... To each of you I say "Thank you for your Patriotism!"
Tea Party : 4/23/2009
As Rep. Tim Bishop said, most people in the middle class are getting tax cuts. We'll all have to pay increasing taxes for the foreseeable future, because of huge deficits, demographics affecting Social Security and Medicare, the costs of the wars, bailouts, etc. That's the inescapable reality. Where were these people, the good Republicans, when Bush turned a huge surplus into a $ trillion plus deficit, as Republicans did a flip from their conservative claims and raised spending to record levels? Home sipping tea? (Or smoking it?) Throughout the country, the "tea party" stalwarts, mostly good people concerned about economic problems we're all facing, have been sadly duped by right wing forces with an apparent agenda to bring down the Obama administration by playing on people's fears. Dick Armey's Freedom Works, an organization formed by conservatives to counter MoveOn.org, provided organizational support to the nationwide ostensibly "grass roots" movement, called an "Astroturf" movement because it was fake grass roots. Claims that they largely organized the tea party movement were denied by the group. Armey,on national TV, denied his organization had provided any more than "organizational assistance" but the reporters didn't call him out on detail. The other faction of the tea party in Riverhead, your report says, " was sponsored by the American Family Association [AFA], a nonprofit organization that promotes "traditional family values." It featured mostly members of the Riverhead Republican Committee." That organization is run by the notorious Donald Wildmon, who is regarded as one of the biggest censorship advocates of the TV industry. He was behind protests of programs like "Ellen," NYPD Blue," and numerous others that didn't fit his ultraconservative "twisted Christian" view of the world. Here's a quote from the Wikipedia entry on the group: " On April 16, 2007, following the Virginia Tech Massacre, the AFA released a video in which "God" tells a student that students were killed in schools because God isn't allowed in schools anymore. The video claims that the shootings at Virginia Tech, Columbine, and many other locations, are the result of, among other things, decreased discipline in schools; no prayer in schools; sex out of wedlock; rampant violence in TV, movies, and music; and abortions' Homosexuality The AFA expresses public concern over what it refers to as the "homosexual agenda." They claim that the Bible "declares that homosexuality is unnatural and sinful." And who allied themselves with this shameful, notorious organization at the Riverhead tea party? "Mostly members of the Riverhead Republican Commitee" your story reveals. And the "head facilitator" was Riverhead Republican Committee chairman Martin Keller? Holy cow! Is this where our Republicans are coming from? Are they harmless dupes too, or cynical ultraconservatives posing as Republicans? For shame! And the innocent crowd in the larger tea party demonstration? Organized by the Riverhead Glenn Beck Meetup Group. Glenn Beck! Are you kidding? Next time, the good people of Riverhead who are unhappy over some issue might think twice before they allow themselves to be manipulated by conservative political interests who have other agendas in mind. Particularly groups like the American Family Association and Fox News' Glenn Beck. Gawd help us all!
