Crowd gathers opposed to spending and taxes
By ANDREW POTTER, TIMES-REPUBLICANArticle Photos
Hundreds gathered Tuesday on the Marshall County Courthouse lawn to hear speakers vent about government spending and policy.
The Marshalltown TEA Party, which stands for Taxed Enough Already, showed area residents are heated at what they feel are tax and spend politics and felt the need to take back their country.
The night included several speakers who talked about wanting less government control and also bashed the current healthcare and energy proposals.
"I want the government control turned back to 'We the People,'" said speaker Shelly Tilton.
Several other speakers compared this TEA party with the one that occurred in Boston at the dawn of the country.
They related to the people of the time then who felt they had "taxation without representation."
Recent healthcare reform meetings throughout the country have led to rowdy crowds but Tuesday night the anger seemed to be focused on voting out those elected officials not listening the public.
"I came hear expecting to see a lot of rowdy people," Dan Hassman told the crowd. "I guess I see a lot of neighbors and friends."
Dave Stineman said politicians "have been intoxicated with their power, their positions and influence and have forgotten who put them there."
Peter Rogers echoed Stineman's comments saying "our representatives are not representing us."
Though billed as a non-partisan event, it seemed the Democrats took the most heat on the night including President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Event organizer Jane Jech was happy with the turnout that nearly filled the lawn.
"They came out to get their voices heard," she said.
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Contact Andrew Potter at 641-753-6611 or apotter@timesrepublican.com
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RoseMraz
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08-15-09 9:14 PM
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I believe this group is aptly named.
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Johnny
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08-13-09 12:41 AM
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Johnson,"shirking their own education." I think that's what makes me angry, people you see everyday in this town that have never even tried to get a high school degree, now are going to get "free" health care. Nothing's ever free, and I don't want to pay anything extra for those type of people. I would rather the government supplement small business, so they can then give their part time (or anytime) employees health care. That way, if you want health insurance..GET A JOB!
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bestofbothworlds
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08-12-09 11:43 PM
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Johnson said: "The Tea Party folks are so naive. They complain about the money spent in our own country, but don’t complain about the money we’re spending in Iraq." Well we couldn't let them get away with attacking us on 9/11 could we? ;)
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bestofbothworlds
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08-12-09 11:39 PM
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And yes. Yes this is about healthcare reform. The nut jobs have them so scared.
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bestofbothworlds
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08-12-09 11:38 PM
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they look like elderly people just enjoying the company and the fresh air. Didn't look like any of them cared about politics. Or maybe they are there protesting the "death tribunals". You right wing nut jobs have these people scared to death about something that doesn't even exist and isn't even suggested. I'll bet Hannity, Limbaugh and all those other "entertainers" out there own tons of stock in the insurance companies. I know. You say that lots of retired people own insurance company stock and would also lose with reform. I say they would gain much more than they would lose.
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Johnson
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08-12-09 3:55 PM
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People gripe about taxes and spending, but they have no idea what their government spends money on. The average voter thinks foreign aid consumes 24% of our federal budget. It's actually less than 1%. And don't even ask them about cabinet members: seven in ten think Napolitano is a three-flavored ice cream. Only about half of Americans are aware that Judaism is an older religion than Christianity? That's right, half of America looks at books called the Old Testament and the New Testament and cannot figure out which one came first. People can be talked into anything, like wars, and can be talked out of anything, like health care. There's a lot of anger directed towards Washington, but you know who citizens should be most angry at? Their fellow citizens for shirking their own education.
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morsecoderain
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08-12-09 1:57 PM
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I also love the quote from WHO Channel 13: "I'm not in favor of government run health care in any way, shape or form," says Darrell Eaton. So Darrell Eaton is against Medicare and the Veterans Administration? And the protesters want us to believe these are mainstream views? Good luck with that.
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morsecoderain
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08-12-09 1:01 PM
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To paraphrase a Monty Python sketch: All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what has the government ever done for us?
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Johnny
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08-12-09 12:14 PM
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Very nice turn out and a good begining! If "we" can keep this going, I would be very proud of this town.
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Johnson
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08-12-09 12:09 PM
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The Tea Party folks are so naive. They complain about the money spent in our own country, but don’t complain about the money we’re spending in Iraq. Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz estimates the cost of the war in Iraq at $3 trillion. It only takes $1 trillion to pave the interstate highway system in gold. $1 trillion could provide a free college education for every American who’s currently in high school. A trillion dollars is more than enough to buy every human being on earth an iPod. With a trillion dollars, we could cover the cost of enough cancer screenings and vaccinations to save about 100,000 American lives per year. And just think of what prevention or early detection of diseases could save us in Medicare costs! We could also provide prescription drugs for our seniors, clean the air, and build parks. A trillion dollars could make every American baby a multi-millionaire by retirement age. Naw, let’s waste it on Iraq!
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Johnson
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08-12-09 11:07 AM
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I used to complain about taxes, but then I felt guilty about driving on the streets, so I built a dirt track in my backyard and now I just drive around in circles back there and I can ***** all I want.
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AverageAmerican
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08-12-09 10:56 AM
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Clearly a group of rowdy white supremists, KKK, community anarchists and agitators... Just as Obama, Pelosi, Hoyer, and other Dems claim!!! Did anyone see the little old lady with blue hair selling swastikas?
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MtownGuy
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08-12-09 8:28 AM
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Folks sitting in lawn chairs and listening to their fellow-citizens exercise their First Amendment rights. I guess Nancy Pelosi would call these folks "un-American" as they express their views about more Big Government.
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