nayjevin
04-14-2010, 09:10 PM
Tea party rally slated for Thursday in Joplin
Organizers favor ‘fair tax’
By Susan Redden
Globe Staff Writer
JOPLIN, Mo- — A crowd is expected Thursday for a tea party rally that will end at the Joplin post office with the mailing of “virtual tea bags” to national lawmakers.
“If last year is any measure, we think there will be a big crowd,” said John Putnam, an organizer of the Southwest Missouri Conservative Network, one of the sponsors of the rally.
Putnam cited crowd estimates of more than 1,000 at a similar event a year ago, and he said the tea party movement is growing, especially in the wake of passage of federal health care reform.
He made the remarks in a phone interview while he was attending a tea party rally Tuesday in Jefferson City. The rally at the Missouri Capitol featured conservative talk show host Michael Reagan, a son of former President Ronald Reagan.
Speakers at the Joplin rally will be Putnam; Carl Bearden, former Republican state representative and state director of Americans for Prosperity; Melanie Abrajano, executive director of the Missouri Club for Growth and former political director for the McCain-Palin campaign in Missouri; and Charlie Davis, a small-business owner in Joplin who is running as a Republican for the 128th District seat in the Missouri House.
The Joplin gathering is among tea party rallies being held across the country to coincide with Thursday’s deadline for filing federal income tax returns. Local groups supporting a change in the nation’s tax system will sponsor the event, which will start at noon at the Dr. Donald E. Clark Public Safety and Justice Center at 303 E. Third St. Those attending will march to the post office at First and Main streets to mail “virtual tea bags” to lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
“Last year, we tried to mail real tea bags, and they ended up in a warehouse somewhere because of security rules,” Putnam said. “This year, we’ve taken a picture of a tea bag and put it on a postcard.”
The cards will be mailed to U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and the U.S. senators from Missouri, Republican Christopher “Kit” Bond and Democrat Claire McCaskill.
In addition to the Southwest Missouri Conservative Network, organizers of the event are Americans for Prosperity of Missouri, the Missouri Club for Growth, Missouri FairTax Inc., Newstalk KZRG radio station, and other residents who support the Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act in the state Legislature. That measure is the state version of national “fair tax” legislation, which would eliminate the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.
Putnam, who is chairman of the Jasper County Republican Central Committee, said groups involved in the rally believe in more personal responsibility, and “less government intervention, debt and taxes in our lives.”
He said the rally is open to other residents who are attempting to get their elected officials to be more accountable.
“We invite peaceful, like-minded citizens to come out with their signs and flags to demand redress of our grievances, and join up on a short march to the Joplin post office,” he said.
Putnam said the movement is growing because people are realizing that fewer people are paying income tax.
“The statistic I’ve read is that 48 percent of the American public is not paying income taxes,” he said. “So the productive, hardworking people who are carrying the load have decided they had better get involved.”
Check out this spin. Says the movement is growing because not enough people are paying income tax. Uh.... thought this was about LESS taxation?
It's an (un)FairTax ploy. Forget spending! We need more revenue!
Some people aren't pulling their weight for the war effort! They'll say. And critics will see it for what it is - incompassionate Republicanism of the Huckabee/McCain/Romney/Gingrich variety (neocon RINO liberals for big government).
Then it's so easy for the other side to label them 'uncompassionate teabaggers' and the like.
Organizers favor ‘fair tax’
By Susan Redden
Globe Staff Writer
JOPLIN, Mo- — A crowd is expected Thursday for a tea party rally that will end at the Joplin post office with the mailing of “virtual tea bags” to national lawmakers.
“If last year is any measure, we think there will be a big crowd,” said John Putnam, an organizer of the Southwest Missouri Conservative Network, one of the sponsors of the rally.
Putnam cited crowd estimates of more than 1,000 at a similar event a year ago, and he said the tea party movement is growing, especially in the wake of passage of federal health care reform.
He made the remarks in a phone interview while he was attending a tea party rally Tuesday in Jefferson City. The rally at the Missouri Capitol featured conservative talk show host Michael Reagan, a son of former President Ronald Reagan.
Speakers at the Joplin rally will be Putnam; Carl Bearden, former Republican state representative and state director of Americans for Prosperity; Melanie Abrajano, executive director of the Missouri Club for Growth and former political director for the McCain-Palin campaign in Missouri; and Charlie Davis, a small-business owner in Joplin who is running as a Republican for the 128th District seat in the Missouri House.
The Joplin gathering is among tea party rallies being held across the country to coincide with Thursday’s deadline for filing federal income tax returns. Local groups supporting a change in the nation’s tax system will sponsor the event, which will start at noon at the Dr. Donald E. Clark Public Safety and Justice Center at 303 E. Third St. Those attending will march to the post office at First and Main streets to mail “virtual tea bags” to lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
“Last year, we tried to mail real tea bags, and they ended up in a warehouse somewhere because of security rules,” Putnam said. “This year, we’ve taken a picture of a tea bag and put it on a postcard.”
The cards will be mailed to U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and the U.S. senators from Missouri, Republican Christopher “Kit” Bond and Democrat Claire McCaskill.
In addition to the Southwest Missouri Conservative Network, organizers of the event are Americans for Prosperity of Missouri, the Missouri Club for Growth, Missouri FairTax Inc., Newstalk KZRG radio station, and other residents who support the Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act in the state Legislature. That measure is the state version of national “fair tax” legislation, which would eliminate the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.
Putnam, who is chairman of the Jasper County Republican Central Committee, said groups involved in the rally believe in more personal responsibility, and “less government intervention, debt and taxes in our lives.”
He said the rally is open to other residents who are attempting to get their elected officials to be more accountable.
“We invite peaceful, like-minded citizens to come out with their signs and flags to demand redress of our grievances, and join up on a short march to the Joplin post office,” he said.
Putnam said the movement is growing because people are realizing that fewer people are paying income tax.
“The statistic I’ve read is that 48 percent of the American public is not paying income taxes,” he said. “So the productive, hardworking people who are carrying the load have decided they had better get involved.”
Check out this spin. Says the movement is growing because not enough people are paying income tax. Uh.... thought this was about LESS taxation?
It's an (un)FairTax ploy. Forget spending! We need more revenue!
Some people aren't pulling their weight for the war effort! They'll say. And critics will see it for what it is - incompassionate Republicanism of the Huckabee/McCain/Romney/Gingrich variety (neocon RINO liberals for big government).
Then it's so easy for the other side to label them 'uncompassionate teabaggers' and the like.