 "Photo: Steve Rhodes")
As tax day came and went last week, it seemed to bring out the crazy in some Republicans and other anti-Obama people who wished to protest the fact they have to pay taxes to the government that protects them.
"The American taxpayers are the Jews for Obama's ovens," read a sign being held at a "tea party"-the name given by right-wing media outlets like Fox News to a nationwide series of protests during tax week. "No Taxes. Obama Loves Taxes. Bankrupt USA. Loves Baby Killing," read another, seemingly written in a stream-of-consciousness format.
Republicans have also been sending tea bags through the mail to Democratic senators and congressmen, evoking images of the Boston Tea Party. "Tea bag Obama" is the title of a Facebook group encouraging people to mail tea bags to the White House. "Our establishment will know that our freedom to succeed can no longer be sacrificed at the risk of our future," reads the description.
Regardless of the questionable word choice using the phrase "tea bag," it boggles the mind that these rabid Obama-bashers are so angry about paying their taxes, something that every American has done for hundreds of years. What, exactly, are they protesting? The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation, about England unfairly placing taxes on Americans who had no say in the way the country was run. How do these protesters expect to not pay taxes but still enjoy the parks, schools, roads and protection the money from these taxes support?
The simple fact is that most Americans are paying less taxes under Obama than they were under Bush. Unless these protesters are making hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly, it's likely they will receive a tax cut in the new budget. If the signs are any indication however, the main point of protest is their tax dollars being used to help other ordinary Americans, instead of big corporations. Where were these people holding "stop the bailouts" signs when the Bush administration was doing just that to AIG and Citi?
The socialism argument is stale. Our government has used elements of socialism for a long time. While Obama's plans may do some to expand the socialist elements of U.S. government, the idea that we're about to become a socialist nation is absurd. In an even more bizarre twist, quite a few of the signs call Obama a facist and compare him to Hitler-which obviously invalidates the socialist argument.
If Republicans and Fox News want something about Obama to protest, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize the new president. When the main stories about your political party are whackos with signs fueled by a biased cable "news" channel, maybe it's time to stop and think about the messages you're sending.
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