RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Wearing a sandwich board as he stands in the throng along Olentangy River Road protesting the pending health care bill outside the Columbus office of Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy is Steven Carr, president of the Columbus Tea Party.
The board on his back reads “This bill is corrupt. Are you, Ms. Kilroy?†On the the front board is a magic market rendering of the US flag with pink stripes and a gold hammer and sickle in place of the stars. The words 'Kilroy was here' are written below the flag.
“We just want to have an open dialogue. There are so many people just sitting at home screaming at the television. Well, we want to put it out there so the communication can flow.â€Â
Stooping slightly to press his preschool-age daughter protectively to his side as the honking-to-stop-Obamacare traffic streams by, Carr says he wants columbusteaparty.com to be a Huffington Post-style site where “liberty groups†can post videos and get their voices heard.
Carr says the healthcare reform bill is ridiculous. As some people in the crowd chant “kill the bill,†he says Obama and members of Congress want to impose on Americans a healthcare plan that they themselvesâ€â€the politicians-- won't sign onto.
“If it's such a great thing for America, why can't they pass it? Why won't the Democrats even vote for it? It's corrupt on so many levels, they had to buy it through the Senate with Nelson and with the 'Louisiana Purchase.' The had to buy off the unions with the 'Cadillac Tax.' Throughout the campaign, Barack Obama said 'you'll be able to keep your insurance and your doctor.' On our website, we have Barack Obama now saying 'something got worked in there and you may not be able to do that anymore.' â€Â
Carr says Obama is going against his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class.
“The 'Cadillac Tax' on insurance is going to do that, but he gave an exemption to all government employees and unions. It's so corrupt. How can you vote for something like this?â€Â
Carr says 300 million Americans are not likely to agree on the issue of healthcare or other issues.
“There's going to be people who want socialized medicine. That's fair. But you don't do it in a back-alley way. This is America. Get it out in the open, discuss it honestly, and then we decide as Americansâ€â€no backroom deals.â€Â
Carr says the $787 billion economic stimulus packageâ€â€whose official name is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-- gave rise to the Tea Party movement by reaching a tipping point.
“We're not professional political activists. Most of us are just family members. Most of us have never done this before, but we had to get involved because, basically, our future and our children's future is at stake. It (government spending) has gone too far. The line has been crossed.â€Â
There was no Tea Party movement to protest about the national debt in response to the Bush tax cuts in 2000 and 2001 or the spending on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because people had not yet reached a tipping point, says Carr.
“The Tea Party is non-partisan. We think that both parties have screwed us royally. Both have put us into debt beyond belief. It's not the last 8 years. It's not the last ten years. This has been going on probably---since FDR definitely.†Carr guesses that the Tea Party movement would probably have formed even if McCain were president.
He says getting corporations and very wealthy people to pay more taxes would not fix the national debt.
“Taxes are not going to get us out of the hole we're in. Pretty soon the interest on our debt will be insurmountable. In order to get out of this, Americans are going to have to do both: cut spending and there will have to be taxes. We're not going to want to do that. But also throughout history---Reagan has shown that if you lower taxes more businesses will develop, will invest in themselves, will hire more people, and those people will pay taxes. The top one percent don't pay their fair share ? They pay 33 percent of all taxes. You can look that up on any government site. However, if you keep taking more and more from them, it causes them to become ' I need to hide this. This is my money and people are taking it.' So it causes people to do things which are unscrupulous to protect their property. Their money is their property.â€Â
Carrs says the United States will have to address tax issues, but that we should first focus on cutting government spending. He emphasizes that the Tea Party movement is non-partisan.
“ Both parties, for their own power, have successfully divided the country into two camps. So, instead of looking at the politicians who have been doing this for how many decades, we're saying, 'oh, no, it's their side' (that's to blame)...They have us bickering back and forth. I'm entrenched on my side, so I'm keeping my people in office. The other side is entrenched, so they're going to vote for their people. So, we're just perpetuating the system and dividing ourselves as Americans.â€Â
This sounds like someone from the Green Party saying the Democrats and Republicans comprise two branches of the same party.
“That's probably the only thing I have in common with the Green Party,†Carr says and laughs.
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.