Local media didn't ignore Saturday's Tea Party at Milwaukee's lakefront. It had to hurt, but they did report on it.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Conservative pundit and best-selling author Michelle Malkin told several thousand anti-tax protesters gathered in Milwaukee on Saturday that their movement is about pushing back "against the culture of corruption in Washington."
"I've never been so proud in my lifetime to be part of this angry mob," Malkin said in a fiery keynote address at a Taxpayer Tea Party event at Veterans Park along the city's lakefront.
Malkin criticized political leaders and other figures, including President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, Attorney General Eric Holder, government 'czars,' "Republican sellouts" and union "thugs."
"The tea party movement is about calling the White House out . . . about calling out President Obama for misinformation," Malkin said.
Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group, spearheads the tea party movement. The Wisconsin chapter has held rallies in Madison, Sheboygan and Fond du Lac, using social networking and talk radio to reach its audience.
Mark Block, Americans for Prosperity's state organizer, said his group has 40,000 registered members in Wisconsin.
"What I saw in April was fear," Block said of those who have attended the rallies. "Over the summer, it turned into anger. Now when you talk to people, they feel threatened by all government programs."
Mike Tate, the Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman, downplayed the impact of the tea party movement.
"These are extremist elements pulling together, distinct vocal minorities that frankly don't believe in this country," Tate said. "They don't want to see more people have access to quality affordable health care; they don't want clean air and water. They fundamentally don't understand how the American government, economy and capitalism work."
Of course, the Wisconsin Dem Party chairman is going to put a negative spin on the event.
That's politics. But it's really dirty politics for Tate to say that Tea Party attendees "don't believe in this country" and to suggest they don't care about people in need.
It's just the opposite. They do believe in this country. They love it, and they don't like what Obama and his flunkies are doing. They don't like the direction the country is going. That didn't just start with Obama's inauguration, though he certainly exacerbated the problem with his blitzkrieg of Leftist policies. That's why they bother to gather and be heard.
Obama and the Dems are in charge now, completely. Of course, when the people rise up against government, there's going to be some criticism directed toward them.
For Tate to say that the protesters don't understand the fundamentals of the American government, the economy, and capitalism is as extremely condescending as it is wrong. It's because they understand that they're reacting they way they are. They see what's happening. They get it.
...Hundreds of those who showed up in Milwaukee brought along handmade signs with slogans that showed opposition to Obama's policies across a range of issues, from taxes to health care to global warming.
That's right. This is a grassroots movement. Individuals made their own signs and expressed themselves. They weren't handed placards or encouraged to print out ready-made signs from a website, like Obama's "Organizing for America."
...One issue that seemed to unite the protesters was former President Jimmy Carter's recent statement that an "overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American."
"It's Not Racism To Disagree With the Ideology," read a sign carried by Sharon Resz of Milwaukee.
"Fifty-six million people didn't vote for Obama. It doesn't mean we're racist," Resz said.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who addressed the rally, said in an interview that Carter's comment was "way off base."
"I'll tell you one thing, people don't want a president they can't criticize," Clarke said.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker also spoke at the rally, saying that he saw parallels between the tea party movement and the recall effort that erupted seven years ago after the Milwaukee County pension scandal.
"People have decided that if they do something, they can make a change," Walker said in an interview.
Just as the Milwaukee County pension scandal outraged people and motivated them to become involved, people are reacting to the extremism of the policies of Obama and the Dems.
It's so sleazy to attempt to silence this genuine dissent by playing the race card. Jimmy Carter is a disgrace.
Naturally, people are offended by such attacks on their characters.
The fact is the Tea Party movement isn't a band of wingnuts. It's a group of Americans coming together, united in their opposition to the government's intrusion into their lives.
Obama and the Dems have overreached in advancing a far Leftist agenda. Now, they're reaping what they've sown.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Wisconsin Taxpayer Tea Party" photo gallery
Tea Party roundup:
WISN coverage
TMJ 4 coverage, video
CBS 58 coverage, video
Video, FOX 6 News
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