Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "tea party"

2nd Amendment Day

2011-09-11T05:49:03Z

“We have to fight to protect the Second Amendment” said Sam Parades, member of the Board of Directors of Gun Owners of America, to a group of gun enthusiasts who gathered to express their second amendment rights at a “2nd Amendment Day” event, sponsored by TDS Guns of Rocklin.

Craig, co-owner of TDS Guns, said they put on this event “to show our support for the Tea Party and the Second Amendment.” “People don’t take responsibility”, said Craig, when asked about the purchase of firearms for unlawful reasons. “It’s not the gun’s fault, it is the individual.”

Several guest speakers spoke at the event, including Eric Hogue, VP of Advancement at William Jessup University, Sacramento area talk show host, and radio commentator. Hogue reflected on his upbringing being exposed to guns and how his Great Grandfather taught him everything he needed to know about the use, danger, and proper way to use guns, “so why on God’s green earth, do I need a government to tell me more than that”.

Nearby, two protesters used their First Amendment rights to peacefully express their views on the subject of gun control. “We have been able to point out our beliefs about how accidental deaths from guns are unacceptable and there are too many in a modern society” said one protester.

Also on hand today was Miss Capitol City, Rachel Walter, who is vying for the Crown of Miss California in 2012. TDS Guns is one of her sponsors for the pageant. When asked about her goals for the competition, “my goal as the future crown holder is to help promote education in the state that she loves; after all, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to the next.

Mark Meckler, Co-Founder and National Coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots inspired the crowd with his thoughts, “It is critically important that we come out on days like today and support the Second Amendment. It’s critically important that we read the Second Amendment, that we read the entire constitution, and that we understand the rights given to us by the founders”.

In America, we have been given the right to express our opinions openly and honestly. We can march, we can protest, we can even criticize our leaders as well as hold events like today’s, as long as we stay in the boundaries of the law. There are issues we may not agree with that are neighbors see differently and for the most part, we agree to disagree. Some issues such as the 2nd Amendment can polarize people in a way, which is very hard to find common ground, but the majority of us seem to be proud, we have that right to do just that.

Tea Anyone? First Person – Sacramento Tea Party Rally on 9/12

2010-09-14T21:06:27Z

In the background, you could hear former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s voice as it rang out over the public address system and declared to the crowd, “Can you hear us now? Can you hear us now?! Can you hear us now?!!” The crowd’s cheers built with each chorus roared by the Tea Party’s biggest name.

There were two patriotic events going on this weekend in the Sacramento area - the military air show at the old Mather Air Force Base and, ironically, the other event was at the once proud McClellan Air Force Base, which is now a thriving business park.

The 9/12 Rally entitled “United to the Finish”, an event sponsored by the NorCal Tea Party Patriots, was held on Sunday at the old base located in North Highlands. It was one of three large rallies that were held across the country simultaneously on this day to draw more attention to the movement and to ready the troops for the upcoming elections in November. One was here in Sacramento, one in the heart of the Midwest was being held in St. Louis and the other in Washington D.C. Those three, plus many more small gatherings across the country, were being held to help motivate voters and encourage them to believe that they can make a difference.

The theme was a three-pronged approach at what some see as a solution to a growing problem. Fiscal responsibility, limited government through adherence to our Constitution and support of the free markets were the main topics of discussion throughout the crowd and from the folks that gathered to speak from the stage on a beautiful late summer day. Among the speakers was Judge Roy Moore, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, Congressman Tom McClintock, Assemblyman Ted Gaines, Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Tax Payers Association and Mark Meckler, the co-founder and National Coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots.

Meckler led the rally cry as his voice boomed over the loudspeakers.

“The heart of America is not in Washington D.C. We are covering America by being in Sacramento, CA, St. Louis, MO and just in case they don’t hear us, we are right there on the mall in Washington D.C. as well! There are tens of thousands of people and smaller groups of hundreds all across the county that are united at this moment.”

Tea Party Patriot Co-founder Meckler was one of many in the crowd that are believed to have attended Glen Beck’s rally at the feet of the Lincoln Memorial just last month. While visiting the historic area, Meckler was emotionally and spiritually moved.

“The night before Beck’s rally, I was standing with my family at the feet of Lincoln and wondered if it was worth it. Abraham Lincoln felt like he had an obligation – greater than that to his family, greater than that to his community – that he had an obligation as a human being to pay witness to what was going on in the United States and to step up and do what he could do to make that change.”

And like every person stepping out on a limb, trying to reach others with an impact that could shake their foundations, he was faced with the eternal question. Is it worth it?

“We all have other things to do”, Meckler stated. “As you are writing that one more email or forwarding that one more email no matter how tired you are . . . I can tell you, it is. For me, that reason is that every morning I get up and I go to that breakfast table and I see my children. There have been great leaders in history that have done the same thing. When they looked at their children they said if I don’t do this now, if we don’t take care of this now what will be left for our children.”

Meckler passionately continued.

“So I ask you to look at the children. Look around at the kids that are here and when you have doubts, when you think that maybe you just can’t do this or you can’t make a difference . . . I ask you to ask yourself. What is it that you would do for those children? More importantly, what wouldn’t you do for those children? So I ask all of you to stand together for our children because the future of our country is for our children. We have an obligation to those children to provide then at least the county that was delivered to us. Are we going to do that? Are we willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen?”

As I looked around in amazement, the crowd was so focused and dedicated and also so polite and positive at the same time.

Early on, Tea Partiers felt like they had to stand in the shadows. A movement that started back in February 2009 when a television reporter at the Chicago Stock Exchange said that is was time for another Boston Tea Party. After that, it was on.

Consider this: The first organized Tea Party event in Sacramento in February of 2009 where, besides the event’s organizers, about 150 other folks came to the steps of the California State Capitol. At the time, only FOX News covered the event. Most didn’t deem it newsworthy.

Move ahead to the beginning of this year. As of January 2010, there were about 1000 Tea Party chapters. In June there were about 1500 and at the start of July of this year about 2000.

These days, considering that as of September 1 there are over 2800 local Tea Party groups started up by average folks from all around the country, it’s a lot easier to find someone willing to speak their mind and about how important this movement is to them.

This Tea Party event was a little different and it shows how times have changed very quickly. At least three of the four local stations brought a reporter and camera crew to film the happening. It also got people out and about looking for like-minded people.

Christine English traveled from Belmont, which is near the Bay Area, to come share in the revelry and find others with her views.

“I believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” English said. “We need limited government, limited taxes and limited control as to what the government can control in our everyday lives. You know, Big Brother is watching us and that has got to go.”

The Tea Party Patriots try and make it easy to remember what they are trying to accomplish. Repeal, reduce and restore is the mantra of the day and the future as they see it for these constitution loving people. They want to repeal the bad laws. Most would include President Obama’s health care bill in that group as evidenced by the many signs relating to Obamacare as it is often called. They want to reduce the size of the federal government along with reducing the federal deficit and the budget. And, of course, they would love to restore this country to its constitutional roots.

Amongst the crowd, I ran into a family that wanted to get their daughters opinion on paper. Elizabeth Spectman, after being prodded by her mom and dad, was willing to share her feelings on being at the rally.

“I heard that this was a really growing party,” Spectman declared, “so I might be interested in learning about it and just wanted to check this out. What matters most to me is fiscal responsibility. There is a lot of mismanagement with the government and with the budget and that is something I can really stand by.”

I met a 21-year old in Blake LaChappell. LaChappell traveled from Grass Valley to mingle with others that shared his view on the current state of the union. The fact that sitting Presidents don’t often repeal acts from previous administrations is one notion that gets under his skin.

“Look at President Obama,” decried LaChappell. “He hasn’t repealed anything that former President Bush put in place and it’s going to be the same thing for the next Republican that get in power. It’s all a facade . . . that there are people behind the curtain that are really pulling the strings. It’s the same strings that people pull for Republicans or Democrats – it doesn’t matter!”

As I wandered throughout the crowd, I came across a man standing alone. His name was Val Hagar. His eyes were focused upon the stage. His hat, proudly atop his still military style haircut, declared where he had been. He was wearing one of those black ball caps with the name of a ship on it and the words “Pearl Harbor” below the logo. The ship on the hat was the USS Arizona. Its story is infamous. You see, he wasn’t on the Arizona on that fateful day but on another that was ported at Pearl Harbor at the same time. He had returned to Hawaii to find almost every ship on their side – destroyed by the Japanese attack. I would think that this man would have some perspective on what life in our country used to be like and could become again.

“We’ve got to do something to take our country back,” quipped Hagar. “The Tea Party brings back all the values we had in the past. As you know, I’m an older person and at one time we had all these freedoms and liberties and it seems like they are giving everything away without any effort (to keep them) on the part of our politicians.”

Most of the people I spoke with were all for change. Change as in changing things back to the way they feel they used to be. Tea Partiers would love to go back to a time when we had less government, less taxes and more personal responsibility. If you are talking about the kind of change that is going on in Washington now, they have three words for you.

Keep the change.

Tea Party Expansion

2010-06-24T02:01:37Z

The group that produced the “Tea Party” on the steps of the California State Capital building on both April 15, Federal Tax Day, of 2009 and 2010 is expanding that effort. Someone else can argue about the number of people in attendance, but don't be distracted. There were thousands of citizens at both work-day events.

Estimates are that there are currently 200+ separate Tea Party groups in California, and polls record that 30 percent of citizens relate to the grassroots movement. The organizers are not paid and volunteers do the setup and cleanup. Donations fund expenses such as portable toilets, PA systems, barriers, etc.

“NorCal Tea Party Patriot's function is to provide an umbrella of support, training, motivation and information to its members and other TPP groups in the Northern California area and beyond," according to the group's literature.

On this past Saturday, a vary professional three-hour training session, including a binder of text materials, was conducted by Ginny Rapini in a local conference room. Following her talk was a one-hour Q&A for the 50 people — young, old, female, male — in attendance. A video of the training session will be available.

General leadership principles were covered, as well as topics specific to the Tea Party movement and issues unique to peaceful political protest. Communications with strict independence from other organizations outside TPP was stressed. They summarily reject any notion of starting a third party.

The lecture was upbeat and positive. TPP's stated motive is not to take over but to influence votes. Their ambition is to affect legislative elections and therefore change the outcome of various bills on spending, debt, and taxes. Groups are autonomous and individuals are encouraged to maintain their personal core values above all.

Geographic diversity and no individual in a national central command is an intentional advantage for TPP. Routine efforts of character assassination by the opposition is made difficult if they cannot focus on one person to destroy. TPPs know who the suspects are, those who have lost the argument and typically resort to ad hominem attacks.

Through the Looking Glass. . .

2010-04-17T16:48:28Z

"Don't forget your pitchfork!" - a friends response when informed that I would be attending a Tea Party.

Over the past year, I have heard a lot about the Tea Party movement, much of it negative, some positive. I do, from time to time, listen to conservative talk radio.

The Tea Party bashers would have you believe that these events are akin to that very famous tea party in "Alice in Wonderland." I'm talking about the cartoon classic here, not the Tim Burton rehash. A few irrationally fearful lunatics, totally out of touch with reality, brought together by nonsense: "Unbirthdays" in one, "America's rapid deterioration into a Marxist state" in the other. And the Tea Partyers' solutions to the "problems"? Cutting government tenfold, ending federal income tax? Why, that's like fixing a watch by taking the wheels out and replacing them with butter, jam, sugar and tea. But never mustard, don't let's be silly!

Of course the Tea Party supporters harken back to that other famous tea party, the one that took place in Boston some 230-odd years ago. A bunch of educated patriots, including some of the greatest men of their time, lashing out against an unjust and tyrannical government. Back then, it was Sam Adams and Paul Revere leading colonists (many dressed as Indians) in revolt against King George and the British Parliament after the passage of the Townsend Acts. Today, it's Sarah Palin and Sean Hannity leading Americans, many dressed as colonists, in revolt against King Obama and the Congress after the passage of the health care bill and stimulus package.

Which is it? Are they moronic, racist, fear-mongering homophobes spewing disinformation and conservative rhetoric? Or are they true patriots, the watchdogs of freedom, sounding the alarm before it is too late? Or could it be that the truth lay somewhere in between?

I decided Thursday that it was time to see for myself. I headed down to the Capitol at noon, ready for anything and everything. And that's about what I found.

I arrived at the West Mall just as the rally was set to begin. The lawn in front of the stage was teeming with people. The Tea Party organizers, who had predicted more than 10,000 spectators, were overly optimistic. The evening news reported 2,000 in attendance, a gross underestimation. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say there were close to 5,000 people. Keep in mind, I don't count crowds for a living, but I had almost 2,000 people in my high school. I know what 2,000 people looks like, and this was at least double that.

Jess and I began milling through the crowd, keeping a keen eye out for the racist rhetoric, angry protesters and general redneck buffoonery we had been warned to expect. I hate to disappoint the "Through the Looking Glass" crowd, but we found none of the first and very little of the latter two.

A lot has been made of the tea partyers being a bunch of middle-age, racist white males. Several well educated friends of mine warned me to expect to witness overt racism at the party. I witnessed none, overt, covert or otherwise. As far as the attendees being white, the majority may have been, but it was far from a homogeneous crowd. Maybe it didn't look like a Benetton ad, but other races were well represented, and without incident. On the other hand, Larry Elder, a libertarian radio host from Southern California, who is African-American, did begin his speech with a "Hello, fellow racists," so maybe there were some there, I'm not sure. Larry would know better than I.

Were there a lot of men in attendance? Absolutely, but there were also a lot of women. And families. This was not a boys club.

What of the furious, combative protesters? A man on stilts dressed as a cross between Uncle Sam and "Where's Waldo," preaching loudly about what an "Obamanation" America has become, made Jess a bit uncomfortable. But I think that had more to do with the stilts than the angry rhetoric. And it certainly didn't help that his "feet" (stilt shoes?) were skeletal and creepy as hell. The Uncle Waldo experience was the closest we came to a frothing protester, and it wasn't very close.

I asked a group of mounted police if they had had any trouble from the protesters. I got a "I think there may have been one arrest this morning."

How about the "morons" who make for such great soundbites and video clips with their inability to speak intelligently when pressed on why they feel certain ways? I'm sure there were some there, but when you have a group that large, they're not all gonna be Rhodes Scholars. I did see a couple of signs with "your" instead of "you're." Kinda kills you're credibility. (you see what I did there?)

All told, I was there about two hours. I would have stayed till the end but the guy onstage started talking about political action committees and I almost swallowed my tongue. When I can't sleep, I don't count sheep, I count PAC's and I'm out like a light.

I saw a lot of funny costumes, heard some cheesy protest songs ("Obama, Keep the Change" by Boo Reed, available now on iTunes) and witnessed a few less-than-tasteful signs. I'm not a big fan of pasting "choose life" and "former fetuses" stickers on the side of your toddler's wagon.

Mostly what I saw was a lot of people from all walks of life getting together to voice their displeasure with the state of affairs in this country, as American a practice as ever there was. Dismissing the Tea Party movement as a lunatic fringe is clearly a mistake. Janeane Garafolo and Keith Olberman may disparage them as a bunch "of racist tea-bagging rednecks", but they're either misinformed or deluded. (And they have had far too much fun with the "teabag" double entendre. It was funny for a minute, but we're not in junior high. Grow up). These are basically "normal" Americans. Maybe comparing them to the Boston Tea Partyers is a bit of a stretch. But then again, maybe not. I mean, the Boston Tea Party wasn't always the "Boston Tea Party." It once was just a bunch of yahoos who dressed funny and were pissed off about taxes.

Tea Party April 15 2010 at the California State Capitol

2010-04-16T21:01:21Z

I don't want to make any big generalized Political statements here, I'll let the photos do that, but I WILL say that the whole thing seemed devoid of any sort of Joy or optimism. Calling the State Capitol "That stupid building" over and over again seemed a little excessive and more than a bit regressive and M.C.s Eric Hogue and Roger Hedgecock seemed more interested in fomenting anger than in putting forth any sort of answers to the "issues" they purported to address.

The Party Politic

2009-08-29T06:07:34Z

People gathered Friday afternoon at the Capitol Building to protest the Democratic Party platform, as well as to voice opposition to AB 32 (AKA the "Global Warming Solutions Act."

Tea Party Protest at the Capitol

2009-08-29T03:12:59Z

About 1,500 people gathered on the west steps of the State Capitol Friday afternoon to express their anger with state environmental regulations, which they said were responsible for increased unemployment in the state.

Present at the event were talk radio hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty, Congressman Tom McClintock and Mark Meckler, head of the Sacramento Tea Party Patriots and the event's organizer, as well as several business owners and a representative from the National Tea Party Patriots organization.

In addition to the protesters on the west steps, many tractors, big rigs and other trucks carrying signs and honking in support of the protest were on the streets around the Capitol.

Speakers at the event condemned state laws designed to protect threatened species of fish by reserving portions of the water supply, saying that the laws would ruin productive farmland and put farmers in the San Joaquin valley out of business. They also spoke against government regulation in general, with Meckler leading the crowd in chants of "Government is the problem," and "No more government." Speakers also cited the impact that environmental regulation has had on the timber and mining industries as evidence in favor of deregulation. Environmentalists were characterized as radicals who did not speak for the population, with one speaker saying, "Today's environmentalists were yesterday's communists."

Environmental regulation was not the only topic addressed – several speakers also inveighed against health care reform, calling it socialism, and congratulating the protesters and attendees of town hall meetings for slowing down any changes.

Members of the crowd carried signs reading "Farm water = jobs," and "If you like foreign oil, you'll love foreign food." Others carried posters calling the Obama administration communist, describing the United States as a Christian nation and advocating the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Also present at the event were representatives of the American Independent Party, the John Birch society and many other causes, including tort reform, tax relief and the legalization of marijuana.

The Tea Party Patriots organization also organized national protests on April 14, calling them 'Tax Day Tea Parties.' Many of Friday's speakers were also present at Sacramento's Tax Day Tea Party protest. While Friday's demonstration was not national, the group is planning another round of nationwide protests on Sept. 12, with a march on Washington, D.C., as the day's centerpiece.

The California Republican and Democratic parties were contacted, but as of press time neither had responded with a statement on the protest.

Photos courtesy of Ed Fogle, Maverick Photography www.maverickphotography.us.

What's happening at the Capitol: July 4 through July 8

2009-07-03T18:21:37Z

Saturday, July 4

11 a.m.- 3 p.m. Americans for Prosperity and Mark Meckler, organizer of the Sacramento Tea Party, will be holding an Independence Day Tea Party on the west steps of the Capitol. About 500 people are expected.

Noon- 1:30 p.m. Kevin S. Carter will be reading poetry on the north steps of the Capitol. Though he will be reading through a sound system, it is unknown how many people will attend.

Sunday, July 5 through Wednesday July 8

No events are scheduled.

Sacramento's Tea Party protest

2009-04-16T04:47:51Z

Approximately 5,000 people gathered at the State Capitol Wednesday in a "Tax Day Tea Party" protest organizers said was aimed at fiscal irresponsibility in the form of Bailouts, the stimulus bill, increased taxation, and government waste. Speaking at the event were a mixture of media figures, politicians, and organizers, including State Representative Tom McClintock, talk radio hosts Mark Williams and Armstrong & Getty and others.

The protest officially started at noon, but the crowd began gathering long before that. Many of the protesters were not Sacramento residents, traveling from Roseville, Grass Valley and other surrounding towns to be heard. The size of the crowd necessitated a giant-screen television to let more people see the speakers.

While a few protesters dressed in costumes of Revolutionary War soldiers or carried boxes full of tea bags, many expressed their displeasure with government policy through handheld signs, with messages ranging from, "Don't Tax Me, Bro" to "I Am not your ATM" to "Liberalism=Communism." Many of those in the crowd carried signs decrying what they viewed as a government slide into either socialism, fascism, or both.

One woman present, who gave her name as Diane, said that the protests were "an opportunity to bring some information to people that don't follow the news, don't follow politics, show them what sort of state we're getting into." She went on to say that she favored less spending and lower taxes on smaller businesses.

Another protester who did not give a name said that the protests were for the generations of Americans who would have to pay off the deficit. "I don't want taxpayers paying for my grandkids, I want to take care of my own family," she said. "I'll be long dead, and you'll still be paying for these spending programs."

The protest was one of many across the country, and one of several attended by Fox News personalities. Neil Cavuto, host of the business news program Your World, hosted his show from the West Lawn of the State Capitol, in the midst of the crowd.

The Sacramento protest was organized by Mark Meckler, a local attorney and consultant. In addition to organizing, Meckler spoke at the event, calling those present patriots and stressing the importance of the Tea Party protests, calling them the "greatest citizens’ grass-roots movement in the history of the country."

Radio hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty of the Armstrong and Getty show made numerous appearances at the podium over the course of the protest. They said attendees of the protests had been represented as wealthy "fat-cats," rather than average people. Getty described the crowd as being honest and hard-working, in contrast with the corporate recipients of government bailout funds.

While the speakers remained mostly focused on the theme of fiscal irresponsibility, many of those in the crowd promoted other messages, carrying signs or wearing T-shirts with anti-abortion slogans or religious messages. A small group of protesters were supporters of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, while others handed out leaflets for causes as diverse as immigration reform, gun ownership and the abolition of the Federal Reserve.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-4th District) remained on-message, saying, "You can't tax your way to prosperity," and, "The Obama budget relies on the biggest federal tax increase in our history."

McClintock cited California as an example of the failure of these policies, calling the state "a basket case." During his speech, the crowd frequently interrupted McClintock with chants of, "We've had enough."