Tax Day Tea Parties Officially Endorsed By Republican Party

There has been much disagreement in recent days over whether the tax day tea party movement is grassroots or astroturf, a right-wing crusade or a spontaneous outburst of nonpartisan popular fury over government spending and taxes. However it got started, it's clear where it's headed: to an honored place within the mainstream Republican party.

The Republican National Committee, via its website, GOP.com. has officially endorsed the protest movement with a page where tea partiers can sign up to send a "virtual teabag" (e-bag?) to President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, or Harry Reid.

Here's what your e-bag to the president would say:

I do not believe that it is patriotic to pay more taxes. And I do not approve of the $1.4 trillion in new taxes, $636 billion in higher energy taxes, the staggering redistribution of wealth and wasteful spending you are prescribing as a cure for the economic crisis.

To hold the Democrats in Washington accountable for their record tax, spend and borrow schemes, I am sending a virtual tea bag to protest your plans to raise taxes on every American this Tax Day.

RNC chairman Michael Steele may have been denied a speaking spot at the Chicago Tea Party (he says he never asked for one), but that hasn't stopped Steele from embracing the cause. He blasted an email to supporters with the subject line "Enough is Enough: Send a Tea Bag." Here's the letter:

Dear Jim,

Vice President Joe Biden said during the 2008 campaign that it is patriotic for Americans to pay more in taxes. Since taking over control of Washington, the Obama Democrats have decided we should all be more "patriotic" having passed or proposed more than $5 trillion in new spending and $1.4 trillion in new taxes.

I don't know about you, Jim, but I don't believe there is anything patriotic about giving more of your hard-earned money to the government to bankroll the liberal Democrats' agenda to increase spending to record levels, change the tax code to redistribute the wealth of working families, and destroy the savings of millions of middle-class Americans.

So on this Tax Day, April 15, the Republican National Committee is asking you, along with hundreds of thousands of grassroots activists across our country, to assert a real patriotic act by sending a virtual tea bag to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the tax, spend and borrow Democrats. Let them know enough is enough and you don't approve of their plan to pass the largest tax hike in American history.

And when you send your virtual tea bag today, I hope you will also take this opportunity to make a secure online contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500 or $1,000 to the RNC today to help fund our efforts to resist the massive tax and spending increases Barack Obama and the Pelosi-Reid Democrats are attempting to ram through Congress.

The $1.4 trillion in higher taxes is just the tip of the iceberg for the Democrats. The proposed cap and trade program on carbon emissions Obama wants would impose at least $646 billion in new energy taxes -- $3,100 for every American family a year. And the President wants to raise taxes on small businesses -- the very engine that provides 75% of our economic growth.

Jim, Americans will pay more in taxes this year than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined and it is still not enough for Barack Obama and the liberal Democrats. Let them know you already pay enough in taxes by sending them a virtual tea bag by clicking here.

And when you do, please also make a secure online contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500 or $1,000 to the RNC today to fight the Democrats' efforts to take advantage of America's present economic difficulties to force through their reckless agenda.

Your participation in this project is vital to holding the Obama Democrats accountable for their destructive higher tax and spending policies. Please send your virtual tea bag today. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Michael Steele
Chairman, Republican National Committee

P.S. Jim, let Obama and the liberal Democrats know enough is enough. Send them a virtual tea bag this Tax Day to protest the liberal agenda to raise your taxes and those of every American. And please take this opportunity to make a secure online contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500 or $1,000 to the RNC to support and elect Republicans who believe in the principles of lower taxes, limited government and personal responsibility. Thank you.

Hat tip: The New Argument

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Comments

[prog]

12:53 PM on 04/15/2009

Excellent! I also think Bush's bailout of the banks was a poorly executed giveaway.

[ecoe]

12:34 PM on 04/15/2009

So the GOP officially endorses the protests against the Bush era taxes. Good one!

[pewty]

12:24 PM on 04/15/2009

sigh.... Again I am forced to ask any tro.lls: Where was all your outrage during the Boosh years of drunken spending? At least President Obama is going to spend on a good purpose...repairing the country. What did Boosh spend on besides destruction? Please respond tro.lls.

[BigJim716]

12:21 PM on 04/15/2009

Ok all, gotta get ready to go to the Orlando Tea Party. It has been fun debating with you. You are all patriots and hope to see some(hopefully at least 1 or 2) of you involved in our movement. I can assure you it is not how it is being portrayed by the liberal media.

[pewty]

12:30 PM on 04/15/2009

Oh, we will miss your divisive insight.

[PleasantSurmise]

12:57 PM on 04/15/2009

Bye, don't let the door hit you on the way out...

[INTUITE]

12:17 PM on 04/15/2009

The Republicans are suffering from Minority Hysteria or insanity, you choose.

[chicobo329]

11:52 AM on 04/15/2009

Just a simple bastardization of what is one of the most integral events in American history. I'm awful shocked these guys have bent it around so much just to get at a 'tax and spend' liberal. The original Boston Tea Party was more than just that and I'll be damned if any of these guys so much as read their high school history textbooks. I'm all for freedom to gather and protest and all that, but I really think if it's taxes they want to complain about, then dump this stupid theme.

Now that the GOP officially supports these (which last I checked I still haven't seen covered on CNN or MSNBC), they risk yet another backfire on these generally crazy ordeals and adds to yet another pile of 'big risks' which is all the GOP have been doing ever since Obama took office.

[jnah]

11:25 AM on 04/15/2009

a virtual tea bagging or an e-bagging. god do they realize the spoofs they just started

[Grunty1]

11:21 AM on 04/15/2009

Its about time that the Rushpublican owned up to their own events.

[BigJim716]

11:20 AM on 04/15/2009

You know I went to the mailbox yesterday and met one of my neighbors who had an Obama sticker on his car. I found out he was a concrete worker who had lost his job of 12 years on Friday.

I asked him how he felt about Obama giving money to the autoworkers. He said he did not like it and agreed to attend the Tea Party with me in Orlando today.

Thats 5 down and 66 million more to go. As far as Florida goes the Bush Bailouts and Obama so-called stimulus package does not appear to be helping. But hey, at least the autoworkers in michigan still have jobs.

[GlenRast]

11:51 AM on 04/15/2009

Here's a clue for Orlando. Unemployed people be they auto workers or anyone else can't take their families to Disney World on vacation can they? You live in an area that makes it living off of vacationers charging up their credit cards. Guess what nobodies doing that either because all the credit card companies have tripled their interest rates. They can do this because they're unregulated yet part of your protest is against regulation. You're all clueless and self defeating.

[BigJim716]

12:04 PM on 04/15/2009

That is pretty much out of Obamas talking points. Now the people working on the missile defense projects that Obama will cut won't be coming to Disney World.

But hey, at least the Autoworkers in Michigan will still have jobs.

I have been one of the original members of this Tea Party Movement and can assure you we are not against regulation. Many of the liberal media and Dem Party are portraying these events as something they are not. It is disappointing to me since I voted for Obama. We do not like the unbelievable spending and the higher taxes. From both Bush and Obama.

And you may say why we did not protest Bush. I will say we did that by voting for Obama.

Lastly when I was a teenager I attended an anti-war rally. There were people there that did not share our opinion but at least the media portrayed us as anti-war, which is what we were. We are being wrongly portrayed yet it makes me want to get involved even more.

[theBUSHdemocrat]

12:36 PM on 04/15/2009

The Autoworker bailouts . . . and all of the bailouts . . . started with the Bush Administration; you can't blame ONE president for the solution that was supported by TWO.

[gallimaufry03]

10:09 AM on 04/15/2009

"enough is enough" ... pfft!

It's only been 3 months. PACE YOUR RAGE!

[Tom Joad]

10:00 AM on 04/15/2009

...at least the LGBT Tea Party had table cloths...

Mr. President, please let my gay friends marry.

[BeyondKen]

10:30 AM on 04/15/2009

Come to Iowa.

[jnah]

11:24 AM on 04/15/2009

come to mass. unfortunately it will take more than mr. obama, to have the systemic denial or american citizens, ended. it will take the supreme court

[larmar]

09:58 AM on 04/15/2009

Rupert "Mr.Burns" Murdock endorses tax-cut welfare for the rich & lucky. No surprises here.

[BeyondKen]

09:52 AM on 04/15/2009

Apparently the $10.62 trillion debt the Republicans left us was not 'enough'.

[BigJim716]

11:21 AM on 04/15/2009

you are right since Obama plans on doubling this debt and tripling the debt Bush created.

[Alison DeLuca]

11:33 AM on 04/15/2009

Bush? Who's that - Ohhhhh, right. The mayor of Baghdad.

See, Obama wants to spend the money on AMERICANS, see.

[GlenRast]

11:53 AM on 04/15/2009

According the GOP which we all know has no agenda

[deadskunk]

09:37 AM on 04/15/2009

The GOP only cares about the rich. The 'Tea Bag" stunt is a sad attempt to create support for keeping the Bush tax cuts for the rich. 95% of us got a tax cut. What about the corporations that do not pay taxes? What about the off-shore tax cheats? The folks we should be protesting are the GOP leaders whose policies got us in this mess and who refuse to take a constructive role in helping the new administration clean it up.

[BigJim716]

11:40 AM on 04/15/2009

95% get the tax cut this year then nothing. Oh yeah, that money will pay for a fraction of Obamas Cap and Trade tax that will be permanent.

But what is $3,000.00 per year per family when we can give money to people that bought more house than they could afford.

[Rogan]

12:12 PM on 04/15/2009

Okay, you win. I'm convinced: Rush is always right. Will you go away, now, so I can read the comments here without being assaulted by angry lies every two inches?

[PleasantSurmise]

12:34 PM on 04/15/2009

As long as housing prices continue to reach new lows, everyone suffers - especially homeowners whose biggest chunk of net-worth was tied to their house. Stabilizing the housing market, and helping it to recover, is a net positive for all Americans - especially home owners.

Is your argument that housing prices should crash further? If not, what's your solution to stabilizing the housing market?

[psfurlong356]

08:32 AM on 04/15/2009

This is one colossal corporate creation, all compliments of your favorite Fox all stars.

[Indie2008]

09:19 AM on 04/15/2009

Yes. If this is just a spontaneous uprising of citizens, how did they manage to restrain themselves during the past eight years while the Bush Administration ran up unprecedented defecits and allowed the corporate greed that contributed to the recession to flourish? This sudden "outrage" would make one think that Barack Obama has just instituted the Federal Income Tax in 2009

[larmar]

09:57 AM on 04/15/2009

Rupert "Richy Rich" Murdock endorses tax-cut welfare via the tea bag party. No surprises here.