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West Newsmagazine
is West St. Louis County's exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper. |
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‘Tea Party’ protestors say stimulus funding is not the answerby Casey Godwin
 The goal had been 50 people. To the surprise of organizers, more than 1,000 turned out on the frigid 30-degree Friday morning in February. The crowd had gathered to spread one message – they had had enough.
Head organizer Bill Hennessy, of Ballwin, calls his following the “tea party.” The demonstration, which was held in protest of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act that the U.S. Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law last month, came one day after Missouri received its first federal stimulus check. At the rally, protesters dumped tea leaves into the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis to simulate the original Boston Tea Party protests of 1773. In the original protest, American colonists dumped imported tea from ships in the Boston harbor in protest of unfair British colonial taxes. Similar protests to the one held here on Feb. 27 were held throughout the country at the same time, with an estimated 40,000 people participating. Hennessy said this was just the beginning of what he calls a “10-round fight.” “The goal is to have a fiscally conservative House of Representatives as a result of the 2010 elections,” Hennessy said. Conservatives came out in droves, and Hennessy said he expects that the next protest, planned for April 15 (tax day), will bring an even larger number. The April 15 protest likely will be held in the evening near Kiener Plaza but the final time and place have not been determined. “We’re not just trying to clear our throats and tell people we’re mad, we want to make real change,” Hennessy said. Unfortunately, Hennessy, who also runs a political opinion blog (hennessyview.com) said he does not think Congress is listening. He said virtually no state lawmakers were in attendance and said he would be shocked if a U.S. representative would even be brave enough to show his or her face at one of his rallies. Former Missouri Sen. John Loudon, a Republican from Chesterfield, did make an appearance and his wife Gina spoke at the rally. “I think people are in shock at the radical abuse of the (economic) crisis being conducted by the President and this Congress,” Loudon said. “People are going to be fired up when they see the argument used for stimulating the economy as a cover for socialized medicine and pork-barrel projects. No one can believe the government can afford it and we’re horrified.” Loudon said he has seen no indication that the federal government is listening. “Both major parties need to wake up and see that people are choking to death,” Loudon said. The fiscally-conservative solution seems to take a radically different approach to fixing the economic turmoil compared to the way Congress is handling the situation. “If you’re going to obligate billions on something and you want to improve the economy, the two quickest ways to do this is to cut the capital gains tax to zero and put a three-year moratorium on all corporate income taxes,” Hennessy said. “Those two things will stimulate the economy so fast it will make people’s heads spin.” Loudon agreed. “History has told us that when you cut taxes, revenue goes up,” Loudon said. “The whole force of the problem is over-spending by people getting sunk into debt they can’t afford. When they see the government sink into debt and suck capital out of the system, you see a downward spiral. So the solution is shrinking government spending.” With no happy ending in sight, those who dislike the federal government’s handling of the economy have no other option than to take to the streets, organizers said. Hennessy said to expect to see these large protests happening on significant dates, including election days, Memorial Day and Independence Day. Specific times, dates and locations of future protests have not been determined yet. Information for future rallies can be found at taxdayteaparty.com.
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