St. Paul Tax Day Tea Party features Bachmann, smaller crowd
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:50 am
Hundreds gathered at the Minnesota Capitol on Thursday for a Tax Day Tea Party to express their displeasure with President Obama and the economic policies of Democrats. While no politicians were invited to speak, Rep. Michele Bachmann was allowed to phone in a message to attendees in which she called Democrats “piggies” who look at Tea Partiers as “chumps.”
The rally marked the second year of April 15 Tea Party protests on the Capitol lawn (non-Tea Party tax protests have been ongoing for a number of years), and this year’s crowd paled in comparison to last year’s large number.
Minnesota Public Radio put the number at “hundreds,” the Minnesota Daily counted “more than 500,” and the Associated Press guessed it could have been “several hundred.”
By contrast, last year’s event drew 8,000 people, according to the Minnesota Daily, and 2,000, according to the Strib, while KARE 11 put the number near 10,000.
Many bloggers, concerned citizens and leaders of nonprofits and government watchdog groups took the the stage to express their anger over the passage of health care reform, decry higher taxes and vow to defeat the Democrats in November.
The highest-profile Tea Party figure to speak was Bachmann, who phoned in a speech between votes in Washington, DC.
“The tea party patriots of today are exhibiting the exact same spirit as the tea party patriots of Boston Harbor,” she said. “You are not chumps. You are not going to be played as fools by this government.”
She advocated for constitutional conservatives in government. “We need replacements in St. Paul, Minnesota, in our state house, in our state legislature, but we desperately need to pull that gavel out of Nancy Pelosi’s hand. And she will be done as speaker of the house.”
She continued, “And so what we have to do now is to take matters into our own hands, which we are doing, and this November we will peel back their numbers. And so we are going to say, ‘All you little piggies, you need to leave. You need to leave Washington D.C.’”
According to the Pioneer Press, Bachmann asked to address the crowd even though politicians were excluded from the speaking list. Emcee Toni Backdahl said they agreed to honor her request because “she stands up for our core values.”
Hand-made signs were prevalent at the event. Here are a few examples:
19 Comments
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 8:52 am
The sign usurping Zach De La Rocha’s band is especially ironic.
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 9:46 am
“Tea Baggers” are a classic validation for the the bell curve. There are political non-participants on one end, the great majority in the middle and nuts, like the Tea Bag movement on the other end. These people need to be put on lists and kept under surveillance by law enforcement to prevent these political terrorists from being a danger to others.
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 10:43 am
More fat, stupid white people. When they die out, will they be replaced by their fat, white kids? I can hardly wait…
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 11:07 am
Hey Michele you insignificant,proudly ignorant,cynical opportunistic,pathological liar.I don’t usually resort to name calling,but you are as relevant as a fart in a den full of skunks!!
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 11:48 am
Ladies and gentlemen, the fringe of American politics! Paranoid and crazy as ever!
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 12:27 pm
Bachmann’s been phoning it in to her constituents for years.
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 12:34 pm
You have to admit the “Not a skinhead” sign is rather funny. The thing about the TP is it is naturally self-destructive. As TP leaders are trying to push their “we’re just average folks wrongly misrepresented by the liberal media” pitch, their own members turn out with birther nonsence, Hitler/Mao/Stalin comparisons, and the famous misspellings. Well, I hope they had fun.
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 1:38 pm
I was there. I’m not surprised these people are angry if they believe even half of the lies and distortions I heard. I would be too. However, as a rational human being with a modicum of common sense I was able to discern when a speaker was being less than truthful.
All in all I’m not really worried. I’ve been to MUCH bigger rallys in far worse weather. Between 17:30 and 20:30 at the capitol yesterday I would put max attendance at about 300. Maybe.
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 3:55 pm
Meanwhile Bachmann now claims that the federal government “literally owns banks” and half of all home mortgages. What I’m still unsure of is the full extent to which she’s delusional, ignorant, and a liar.
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 4:36 pm
What Bachmann says here is true:
“You are not chumps. You are not going to be played as fools by this government.”
The tea partiers are being used as chumps and being played as fools by some on the right who will never fully and truthfully inform them of any government policy because it would not be in their best interests of gaining seats in Congress this November.
Bachmann and others like her don’t realize that being truthful and getting to work crafting legislation that solves some of our problems would make them more competitive in the eyes of voters.
Comment posted April 17, 2010 @ 10:22 pm
You may ridicule Tea Party but these are the true Americans, not cheap communist imitations dominating DFL or fat egoists
of mortally wounded (by W) GOP. Just because they are genuine, the=re are so few of them (yet). Give it time. Public outrage will grow, fueling strength of this movement.
If with all issues of burning priorities president chose to address the gays in military his future is sealed. Unless, that is, we are completely stupefied. Just remember one of “O’s” first endorsements came from the Communist Party of USA. I bet you did not know that Communists only endorse their own. So, we have only 2 options – either send O’s crew packing to have them test their brilliance in some remote, unpopulated areas (like Siberia). Or, we can get ready to embrace Communism.
Tea Party is our best shot to rebuild America.
Comment posted April 18, 2010 @ 9:01 am
Another picture of the man holing that “arrogant kenyan” sign… http://www.flickr.com/photos/fibonacciblue/4526046180/
Comment posted April 19, 2010 @ 9:42 pm
Apparently it really doesn’t bother them that so many of their beliefs are based on fiction, it’s okay with them because they are on the right team, like it’s freakin’ football or something.
It used to be funny that these people throw around “communism” and “socialism” and others without any knowledge of what they mean. Now it’s just pathetic.
Comment posted April 20, 2010 @ 9:25 am
Holy crap…Bachmann made it for a vote! Little do they remember that Obama campaigned on health care and still won the vote. Sit down and shut up Rethugs.
Comment posted April 21, 2010 @ 10:20 am
The party is about over. The crowds have deciede the corporations are running the tea parties, that guy that just wrote the book on the movement is working for the Koch bros, EXXon and R.J. Reynolds. Hopefully the true patriots will realize the indendent party is the real party of change.
Comment posted April 24, 2010 @ 9:06 pm
>>>> These people need to be put on lists and kept under surveillance….
And leftist turd bags said Bachmann was crazy for her comments about the census; the fact is she’s got their number. Americans are becoming wise to the ways of the Marxist.
As Barry’s intellectual bankruptcy becomes more and more apparent the left will continue to splinter. Infighting will destroy that movement from within. The tea party will once again clean up the inevitable mess of tyranny.
Comment posted May 10, 2010 @ 11:23 am
Tea Party all “hateful” & “violent”. They are “political terrorists and are close to “being a danger to others”.
How many people were shot on Saturday afternoon in broad daylight at the Tax Cut rally?
How many people were shot on Sunday afternoon in broad daylight at the Cinco de Mayo celebration?
Comment posted May 10, 2010 @ 11:28 am
Chayanov,
All mortgages backed by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac – are Government backed loans. So yes, it is a fact that the majority of single family residential mortgages are held by the Federal Government.
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