Spokane7
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September 18, 2009 in City
Small-government backers rally
Protest marked anniversary of the U.S. Constitution
Outside the Spokane Opera House Thursday, Don Stone attends a Constitution Day rally sponsored by the Tea Party organization of Spokane.
(Full-size photo)
The people who gathered in the breezeway of the Spokane Center got a smorgasbord of national and local issues to cheer or jeer Thursday afternoon, and they clearly knew what they were in favor of, and what they were against.
The Constitution, the Second Amendment, veterans, smaller and more accountable government and state Initiative 1033 all went in the “for” category. President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, ACORN, health care reform, the Federal Reserve and Spokane City Proposition 4 definitely went in the “against.”
As some 250 people listened, held signs or waved flags at a rally sponsored by the Tea Party of Spokane, a nonprofit advocacy group, a series of speakers urged them to stand united in defense of the Constitution, which was signed 222 years ago that day. It’s not a guarantee of success, but a protection against tyranny, said Leah Southwell of the John Birch Society.
“The federal government was to have limited powers,” Southwell said. The federal departments of energy, education, homeland security, agriculture and health and welfare are unconstitutional, she said, as is the Federal Reserve.
Some government leaders, whether Democrats or Republicans, don’t understand accountability, said Joe Fitzpatrick, a Marine veteran: “You’re their boss. You hold them accountable.”
In the crowd, some held American flags while others carried the Gadsden flag, a yellow, historical American flag that depicts a coiled rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” logo. Signs covered a range of issues: Free Men Don’t Need Permission To Own Guns; Hands Off Health Care; No Socialism in America; and one that carried a photo of Obama, with the slogan, “Evil Commie Muslim/Soon on trial and in jail.”
There were some signs against Proposition 4, a proposed change to the City Charter also known as the Community Bill of Rights. The nation already has a Bill of Rights and doesn’t need another one, said Sheryl McGrath, who insisted the ballot measure was really “a bill of wrongs.”
Too many people are uninformed about some of the nation’s big issues, such as health care reform or cap and trade, said Darin Stevens, a local businessman who arrived at the microphone wearing an Obama mask.
“Get involved and get informed about what’s going on,” said Stevens, who urged the crowd to vote against Sen. Maria Cantwell in 2010. The crowd cheered, not realizing, apparently, that Cantwell isn’t up for re-election until 2012.
Romney/Paul split weighing on county GOP 
SteveZemke on September 18 at 3:44 p.m.
What these people don’t seem to realize is that I-1033 is a complex measure and will actually make things worse for many of them.
I-1033 proposes to freeze public spending and transfer tax dollars over this year’s budget level to pay property taxes for property owners.
If any of these people are renters they will still pay the same taxes but will get no rebate. It only goes to property owners. But not everyone owns property. The US Census Bureau says that 35% of households in Washington State are not owner occupied.
Last year sales taxes accounted for 57% of state revenues. The rebate is also not in proportion to the sales taxes you pay but to the property you own. So big corporations, real estate developers and shopping mall owners will do fine. Business already has a tax exemption for sales taxes paid for goods they resell. It’s renters and small property owners that will suffer with this wealth transfer scheme.
Maybe these people would be wiser and better off if they read I-1033 and understood what it did before they vote.
spokelooneh on September 19 at 1:17 a.m.
Nutjobs on parade. As I’ve always said, the reicht-wingers are fading, but they won’t go away without making a big and futile stink.