Eugene Robinson’s opinion of people exercising their right to freedom of speech on tax day was sarcastic, full of hate and missed the point. (April 19 column, “Mad-as-hell faction could be set to grow”). The people, who only wanted to be heard, consisted of Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents and anyone else disenfranchised with their government. Taxes were not the single issue. Perhaps “Tax Day Tea Party” was not the appropriate name for this gathering, but nonetheless, it was a chance to be heard for many who have already tried calling and writing representatives, only to be ignored.
Much of the disenfranchisement has evolved from the deficit and Mr. Robinson feels this anger should be directed at Bush. Yes, Bush and a Democratic Congress left a deficit, but Obama then doubled and perhaps tripled that deficit with spending bills that total more than our country has spent in its entire history (including all war expenditures)! This out-of-control spending, creating a debt that will be paid for by future generations, concerns many. Most importantly, the $850 billion approved in the “stimulus” bill was approved by a Congress of which the majority, if any, did not even read the 1588 page bill! This is why the bonuses for AIG were overlooked.
Obama made a campaign promise that all bills before Congress would be transparent for five days before a vote is taken. This promise was broken when the “stimulus” bill was released for perusal approximately 12 hours before the vote was to commence.
The people of these peaceful protests will continue to be disenfranchised as long as people like Mr. Robinson are divisive, using ridicule and insults, and politicians continue just collecting their paychecks. Hopefully, at some point, every local, state and federal elected official will reflectively ask themselves, “Did I do all I could do to represent the people I work for?”
Margaret Johnson
Marysville
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