Sunday, October 18, 2009
Matthew Dunn, of Highland, Kan., joined the St. Joseph Tea Party protests Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Frederick Boulevard and the Belt Highway.
It was noisier than usual on the corner of Frederick Boulevard and the Belt Highway Saturday morning, as more than 70 people stood in protest as part of the St. Joseph Tea Party.
Displaying homemade signs with statements such as "Keep your hands off of my Health Care," "Yellow Journalism" and the protest's title, "Can You Hear Us Now?" each person expressed his or her reason for protest at the 11 a.m. event.
Showing their distaste for the war overseas, David Edwards of King City, Mo., and Nancy Murphy of Guilford, Mo., had poster boards asking for the troops to come home.
Holding a sign that read "Send Congress to Afghanistan. Every last one of them," Mr. Edwards said he was divided on whether to attend.
"I wasn't going to do this because I thought, really, it's not
going to solve anything and it could lead to a civil war," he said. "I'm like, 'Well, if I do it, I'm going to need a slogan.' Instantly, this popped into my brain."
Mr. Edwards said bringing the troops home wasn't his only reason to be at the rally. "That's a small fraction of it. I'm not for the health care, I'm not for anything Barack's doing, really, and I think they can do better," he said.
The name "Tea Party" is a reference to the Boston Tea Party, and protests nationwide have sought to evoke images, slogans and themes from the American Revolution. The letters T, E, and A have been used by protesters to form the slogan "Taxed Enough Already."
Chuck McConnell, a politician from Colorado who was visiting relatives, took the government to task over fiscal issues.
"It doesn't take a lot to know that we are spending our way into, I guess, an economic abyss," he said.
Don Sweeney of St. Joseph disagreed with the taxes as well as the politicians behind them.
"Anymore, we're not being represented," he said. "We're being taxed, but nobody really wants to listen to us or work for us."
St. Joseph Tea Party co-organizer Virginia Weigum said one of the points of the protest is to rein in government spending. On Nov. 3, the Tea Party will begin a new campaign, "Throw the Bums Out of Office," protesting politicians who encourage excessive government spending.
"We're going to start Nov. 3 to throw the bums out of office who have voted for health care, cap-and-trade and the stimulus," she said.
More protests similar to Saturday morning's are expected, Ms. Weigum said, but there are no set dates.
Andrew Gaug can be reached
at andrewgaug@npgco.com.
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Harley_Blackwell says...
Looking at the picture, you can barely see the puppet strings from Fox News.
October 18, 2009 at 7:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gunner81 says...
Harley, you sound like one of those brainwashed MSNBC followers.
October 18, 2009 at 7:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Trixie says...
Aren't there people on the Plaza in KC demonstrating about something or other every weekend? Why couldn't these folks go there with their signs instead of making St. Joe look goofy?
Did they need to get a permit for this activity?
October 18, 2009 at 8:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gunner81 says...
Yea, right. Then the Democratic government can decide who gets a permit, with only pro-Obama supporters getting their say. That is kinda the point of why they are protesting, because they don't want the government controlling everything, including who can and can't protest. You people that support this liberal agenda are just sheeple that can't think for themselves, or maybe you just like the the government doing everything for you so you don't have to think.
October 18, 2009 at 8:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grandpacory says...
The purpose of the protest was to draw attention to the crazy fringe groups that think the media is full of "godless learned city folk" bent on worshiping the President.
As if the every media source changed hands when Obama was elected. Where was this outrage for the last 8 yrs? It was there but completely ignored and no one whined about being cast aside by the evil liberal media.
This is further proof that old white people are easily shaped with fear.
By the way, I was at this "protest".
October 18, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
scrubnurse says...
What's funny is most of the people they interviewed were not even from St. Joe!!
October 18, 2009 at 9:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomama says...
No one takes these protesters seriously except those misinformed by fear mongering by the right same as in war fear mongering only now they're on the 'other side' & NOT using their brains, talk about unfair and unbalanced Faux news followers. Watch ALL news, not just one station. When there were protests against the Iraq war, we were called unpatriotic, what would YOU call this fringe group? Many protesting government 'public option' are those enjoying Medicare benefits. If 1% of the Bush taxcuts would be removed, healthcare reform is paid for; consider the billions wasted on a war for oil plus the devastation to our brave military and their families & mistreatment post return during Bush years. Medicare cost of living increase was voted down by Republicans. Cutting off their noses to spite their face continues in ignorance - YEP!
October 18, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
incendiary1 says...
Make St Joe look goofy??!! Look around you, Trixie
October 18, 2009 at 10:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grandpacory says...
Scrubnurse:
I asked around for the organizer, Maggie Siegmund, and multiple people told me she was "out of town" at a prior engagement. My bet is that she isn't a St. Joe resident.
When a woman asked why I wanted to speak w/ her I responded, "I want to meet the community organizer because I've never met a real communist before." I don't think the inquiring woman grasped the irony.
October 18, 2009 at 11:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomama says...
Unfortunately Maggie IS a local whackadoo; of course, she didn't have the guts to show up. This far NW MO non-sheeple Lutheran, farm-raised, German doesn't worship POTUS, but has total respect & admiration for a man who's taken on the HUGE diverse problems in our country. My only complaint is not releasing all the dirt on the Bush administration with prosecution although understands quite sadly, there are many more important things to REPAIR first.
October 18, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mm1967 says...
Picture is worth a thousand word look at the goofball in this picture and what's on his head.I bet they did attrack alot of attention.
October 18, 2009 at 1:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bigbob says...
zoomama, I was ok with your idea till you got to "prosecution" I don't think our country can stand criminal action every time political power changes. I think it was a mistake to impeach Clinton, and would be even worse to jail every one who voted for military action in Iraq. We need to move back from the politics of personal destruction. Let history record the truth, humans make mistakes.
October 18, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomama says...
Bigbob....in rationality, I agree with you, however am not yet over my anger at the downfall/shame Bush brought on our beloved democracy, freedom of religion based country; was angry enough to remove the flag bumper sticker post-Katrina debacle. You are in alignment with the POTUS on no prosecution in moving forward. I am in sync as well with your last statement despite my hesitance in believing that GWB is a decent, humane person.
October 18, 2009 at 1:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rkcubed says...
Where were these clowns 7 years ago, when our civil liberties was ripped from us?
Let me see GW:
1. Guantanamo Bay
2. The Bush administration is reclassifying previously declassified documents, sidestepping the FOIA.
3. It starts with the president's complaints about "activist judges," and evolves to Congressional threats to appoint an inspector general to oversee federal judges.
4. The State-Secrets Doctrine
5. Government Snooping
6. Extraordinary Rendition
7. Abuse of Jose Padilla
8. The Military Commissions Act of 2006
9. Whenever the courts push back against the administration's unsupportable constitutional ideas-ideas about "inherent powers" and a "unitary executive" or the silliness of the Geneva Conventions or the limitless sweep of presidential powers during wartime
10. If the war in Iraq was unfounded on good information the there is no war powers.
October 18, 2009 at 2:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ApparentlySo says...
More than seventy people (but apparently less than 80), in a metro area that is well over one hundred thousand, doesn't say much.
October 18, 2009 at 2:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cartoonist says...
People are right to be angry -- but ruralites coming in from the sticks, wearing lobster caps and waving "King George" signs won't win any hearts and minds, unless their patient audience believes that every Saturday should be Halloween.
October 18, 2009 at 2:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grandpacory says...
There was an actual clown there. I saw him in full clown getup.
October 18, 2009 at 3:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
painter says...
1. Most people are tired of paying and having thier taxes raised.
2. Most people are tired of the run away spending, that has not helped the reccesstion one bit.
3. Most people are tired of Nancy, Harry and BHO trying to take over 1/6 of the economy.
4. For something that just started in St. Joseph 70 people is not a bad turn out.
5. Just like anything else you always have some extreme indivuals.
October 18, 2009 at 6:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sugarlake says...
Hooray For the 70 plus Great American people for standing up for the freedom of all people, permits, thats what we are trying to do away with now, to much big goverment now.
October 19, 2009 at 10:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
chara says...
it doesn't take a crowd of 70 or 80 pepole to make this town look goofy. just read some of these postings, enough said.
October 19, 2009 at 10:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
10377586 says...
My family always knows I'm serious when wearing my clown suit and lobster hat.
October 19, 2009 at 11:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )