Tax Day Tea Party crowd wants end to federal growth
From our weekly issue dated April 21, 2010
Hundreds of protestors seeking changes brought by the current administration participated on Thursday, April 15. (Photos by Ali Madjdi for Illinois Valley News)
Hundreds of people swarmed in front of the Josephine County Courthouse in Downtown Grants Pass on Thursday, April 15 for a tax day Tea Party protest.
The event was one of many being held in Oregon and nationally. A similar protest in Grants Pass last year drew some 1,500 people.
Participants of all ages hoisted U.S. flags and a series of signs while drivers passing on Sixth Street honked their vehicle horns in support, and a series of speakers took to the podium.
The first speaker was Bill Waggoner, chairman of the Illinois Valley Chapter of the 9-12 Project. That group organized the protest.
Waggoner read a list of rules, urging protesters to be respectful and clean up after themselves. He then said that the rally should be focused on “what Congress just did to us“ by passing national health-care reform legislation.
Many states, Waggoner said, have filed lawsuits questioning the constitutionality of that bill (Oregon did not), and others plan to do so.
Waggoner cited some court cases to support his claims regarding the bill, and discussed the importance of elected officials upholding their oaths of office.
Ron Gibson, Southwest Oregon Mining Association vice president, shared the story of the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star Spangled Banner, in which the American flag was still standing, despite direct bombardment from British military forces.
Josephine County Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli expressed her enthusiasm for the First Amendment rights enjoyed by U.S. citizens. “Here in Josephine County, we see those rights gradually eroded,“ she said.
Citizens are being denied the chance to speak, Cassanelli said, by “ludicrous time restraints“ put on them during commission meetings.
She said that members of the press are not being properly notified of public meetings and being banned from executive (closed to the public) sessions.
After her speech, Cassanelli distributed copies of the Bill of Rights to members of the crowd.
Damon Mancuso, chairman of the area chapter of the John Birch Society, said that the Tea Party movement is “definitely growing.“
“We are witnessing the destruction of our republic,“ Mancuso said. “We“re about to lose our country, folks.“
He emphasized the importance of states“ rights, noting that county sheriffs have authority over their jurisdictions that federal authorities cannot supersede.
Jack Brown spoke as chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon. He also is a candidate for county commissioner Position 1.
“Government is like a drug,“ Brown said. “We“ve got to break the habit.“ He led a series of chants, in which the audience was asked to say No“ to more taxes, regulation, bureaucrats, government spending and “unconstitutional laws.“
“Until you do that, you“re going to get more,“ Brown said.
Bob Just, a self-declared “Reagan Democrat“ who cohosts a radio show on Medford station KDOV, said that he doesn“t normally go to political events.
“I don“t think this rally is political,“ Just said.
With the “pivotal“ November election some seven months away, Just said, “now is the time to work“ to get the right candidates elected. He asked the crowd how much time they are willing to invest during the next few months to save the nation.
Just said that the Tea Party movement is the best “hope for the country.“ He added that what the government gives, it can also take away.
“Your rights don“t come from government, they come from God,“ Just said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Sizemore said that we are in a “battle for the soul of our nation.“
“We“re either going to be socialist or we“re going to be free,“ he said. And he discussed his reasons for seeking Oregon“s highest office.
“I“m running to break the stranglehold that public employees have on the state of Oregon,“ he said. “They control it from top to bottom.“
Other speakers were Jack Feder, Barbara Gonzalez, Ron Strom, Lowell Gibson and persons representing Fourth Congressional District candidates Arthur Robinson and Jaynee Germond.
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