I listened to a statement from Representative Cohen (D-TN) in which he compared those who participate in the Tea Party Demonstrations as comparable to the Ku Klux Klan.   The only difference is that this group was not wearing robes.   He denounced those in this movement as being against any kind of diversity and proclaimed it a sin for them to stand in the Capital Mall and shout, “No, no, no,” toward the Congress as it conducted its Healthcare Bill vote on the House Floor.  

Was this crowd angry?  You bet your life it was.  Was it unruly?  Not to any evidence I have seen.  Was it belligerent to Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, John Lewis or any other members of the Congress who chose to wade amongst it hoping I believe to draw an outrageous sound bite or video clip for the evening news?  I have seen evidence of shouting and anger but I have seen no evidence of vile behavior, threats or name calling as described by some but proven by none. 

I attended a Town Hall meeting last August.  I have also attended one Tea Party meeting, the Tea Party Express when it rolled through Denver in March 2010.  Thus far what I have witnessed is a lot of seniors who remember what this country was and who remember what they were educated to understand, that our government is controlled by a Constitution, that this is our contract with our government and that through our Constitution the people provide limits to the power of the federal government as enumerated within the document and denies them the power to do anything more.  I understand that the people provide the power to the government.  It is not the other way around. 

We understand that Barack Obama does not have a Constitutional right to fire the CEO of a private company.  We understand that the federal government is not provided the ability to become a stockholder in any corporation let alone nationalize two of the major corporations in the automotive industry in order to protect the United Auto Workers Union.   We understand that our Constitution neither provides the federal government the right to mandate that people buy health insurance nor the power to punish those who don't.  Many of us also understand that the Constitution provides the federal government no right to become an insurance company or a retirement investment company and similarly we understand there to be no provision in the document for the federal government to redistribute the earnings of one citizen to another.   And yes, as a result many of us are angry at the prospect of additional government interference in our lives that we regard as unconstitutional.  We also rebel at the thought of Cap N Trade legislation that threatens to tax the energy industry and its consumers without justification and again, without authority.  Nowhere in the Constitution is there the right for the federal government to punish an entire industry and its consumers to the benefit of only a few.  We understand the impact this has on American jobs and we are disgusted by this Congress and this Administration.  Yes, we are angry and we have a right to be angry as we see our liberties trampled by our government.  We react negatively when we hear Senator Alcee Hastings (D-FL) say, “There ain't no rules here... When the deal goes down ... we make ‘em up as we go along..”   John Conyers, (D MI) Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee cited the “Good and Welfare Clause” of the Constitution as the authority for the federal government to enact healthcare legislation.  Perhaps someone reading this can tell the rest of us where this “Good and Welfare Clause” can be found by Article and Section within this document.  http://politifi.com/news/Constitution-Schmonstitution-The-Law-Is-What-I-Say-It-Is-377811.html

Representative Phil Hare (D-IL) was interviewed by Michael Cannon with startling results.  Despite his oath to protect and defend our Constitution the good representative from Illinois declares in this clip that he doesn’t care about the Constitution.

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2010/04/02/constitution-schmonstitution-%e2%80%94-the-law-is-what-i-say-it-is/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Cato-at-liberty+%28Cato+at+Liberty%29

He apparently is concerned about anecdotal stories that should never be used to create public policy.   Public policy must be created based upon what is best for the nation not what is best for one person, one family or one organization.   Representative Hare proceeds to identify the portion of the Constitution that he relies upon for authority to enact this Healthcare law as his belief that the Constitution provides us a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  It was immediately pointed out to the representative that this is a part of the Declaration of Independence.   He didn’t care, “either one,” he said.  Where did Illinois find this Representative Hare?  Did they pull him out of a hat? 

Add to these malfeasant Congressmen the sheer number of Congressmen and women that voted for that Healthcare Bill without having read and studied the contents.  There were and still are Congress People who as a result of their not having studied the legislation that incorrectly described what it would and would not do.  Congressional leaders refused most  opportunities for Republicans to contribute content.  They limited debate and modified parliamentary rules to enable passage.  The Senate Majority Leader openly and with no remorse bribed Senators to reach cloture and together with the Speaker of the House dogmatically insisted on this legislation despite a growing discontent among the American public.  75% of the public wanted to can the bill or start over.  In light of these facts there is plenty of reason for the ire of the American public to be openly expressed at Tea Parties as well as Town Halls.

But let us examine who constitute these Tea Parties.   First and foremost there is no single structured or organized Tea Party.   Tea Parties are attended by persons who are for the most part traditionalists who have awakened to the need to defend the freedoms fought for by our forefathers.  Two thirds of us are fiscally conservative.  Four out of ten of those attending Tea Party Events are Democrat or Independent.  http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/90541-survey-four-in-10-tea-party-members-dem-or-indie  Many are voicing their political opinions for the first time in their lives.  They are typically more senior and more educated than the normal activist.  I don’t make these statements as a result only of what I have seen but as a result of demographic data accumulated and reported by others.  I will however mention that this is confirmed by what I have seen.  Despite this makeup, look at how they are spoken about by persons like Representative Cohen as originally mentioned in this article.   We are called racist.  We are confronted by angry mobs who throw eggs at buses and we are beaten for our opinions as was done in St Louis by bully members of the SEIU.  Representative Maxine Waters, (D-CA) calls the Tea Parties vulgar and denounces those who deride President Obama saying he is not American.   She denounces this rhetoric as hateful and she further denounces Republican Congress People without mentioning who but I presume she refers to people like Michele Bachman (R-MN) and John Boehner (R-OH) for “egging them on.”  She does this without consideration for her own hateful rhetoric and the “egging them on” she did with the organization Code Pink, calling President Bush a liar in 2007.  She further denounces these citizens for outrageous behavior because they laugh, they shout and they aggressively wave their flags.  http://www.therightscoop.com/maxine-waters-tea-party-protesters-are-outrageous-because-they-shout/

Still, the one thing that all Tea Parties thus far have in common is that the group is loud but orderly.  We are guilty of aggressively waving our American Flag with pride and with a spirit of protection for that flag.  We are guilty of pledging our allegiance to the flag, of singing our National Anthem and of singing and/or listening to performers sing songs of praise for our country and our nation’s heroes.  We laugh at jokes that are at the expense of this Congress and this Administration because truth is often the most humorous and because humor helps us retain our sensibilities.  We converge on a small number of acres of land and leave that land as clean as it was when we first entered the grounds.   We are not disruptive.  We are not destructive.  We are defensive as demonstrated by those who screamed at the House Speaker and the Congressmen on the Capital Mall but we are not threatening as depicted by many of the media and we are not unlawful.   Might there be exceptions to this?  Probably so.  But as a movement as a whole, if there is any doubt about our deportment, look to the manner in which the police are dressed who are asked to maintain order at these events.  They are in shirt sleeves and they are definitely not threatened by being in a crowd of patriots.   Compare this to the standard riot gear worn by police at demonstrations against the World Trade Organization and other leftist demonstrations. 

A recent example of leftist tactics was in Los Angeles at a book signing event of Karl Rove.  Rove had it exactly right when he lambasted Code Pink for their disruptive behavior and for recognizing that the 1^st Amendment was only sacred to them when they spoke.  They cared not for the rights of others to speak or to hear someone whom they had paid to see and hear.   http://www.grasstopsusa.com/codepinkkarlrove.html 

Civil discourse is something we should all wish to see in our government but this must be practiced by both sides of political arguments and the Tea Parties are a shining example of a group dedicated to civil public discourse.  All civics students should review and learn from these Tea Parties.  Those activists on the left like Code Pink, the Westboro Baptist Church, PETA and other leftist organizations who wish to exercise their rights by denying the rights of others would also do well to follow our example.     

So again, the question in the title of this article is appropriate.  When members of the media and politicians refer to Tea Party Activists as criminal and their conduct as deplorable, who is kidding who?