Thoughts on Tea Parties

Alex Charyna of PAWatercooler writes on the idea of tea parties – such as the one to be held in Harrisburg on Saturday – saying they are a far cry from throwing ship full of imported tea into the Boston Harbor. Joe Collins also weighs in on the ideas that these don’t seem very professional (note this runs counter to the Playboy piece, since retracted, claiming these were a carefully orchestrated, well funded plot of the vast right-wing conspiracy).

My response is posted here, but the gist of it is that the Sons of Liberty were prepared to break the law, and to engage in armed rebellion against their government – and did so shortly thereafter. Protesters at today’s tea parties are not yet to that point. I also echo the sentiments of Instapundit, who writes that these protests are naturally amateurish – they are ordinary citizens getting involved, often for the first time. These aren’t the well-orchestrated political rallies, where party operatives have prepared all the “home-made” signs in advance to match the campaign theme.

These gatherings aren’t going to suddenly persuade politicians that their decades of overspending where a mistake, but represent a first salvo.

I also let Alex know that under his definition, the real patriots are Obama’s cabinet appointees, who refuse to pay their taxes.