Tax Day Revolt: Tea Party Rails Against Taxes
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Hundreds of fed-up Rhode Islanders poured on to the State House lawn Friday evening to rally against taxes, the General Assembly and, most notably, Governor Lincoln Chafee.
The third annual Tax Day Rally put on by the Rhode Island Tea Party featured a slew of current and former politicians, revolutionary-era outfits, live bands, and dozens of creative signs that mostly mocked Chafee, liberals or the idea of raising of taxes.
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State Tea Party Leader Lisa Blais was among the number of speakers who blasted officeholders for being out of touch with everyday Rhode Islanders. She loudly criticized House Speaker Gordon Fox for giving raises to staffers in the General Assembly.
“You know those salary increases that got passed for all the staff in the General Assembly,” she asked the crowd of supporters. “That was only a few days ago and I tell you they have short attention spans.”
Young Republican Blasts “Infiltrators”
The crowd cheered loudly when speakers blasted the governor and his proposed sales, screaming “Chafee! Chafee! Chafee!” in hopes he might join them on the steps of the State House.
But not all crowd members were supporters of the Tea Party’s ideas. A handful of young activists carried signs mocking Tea Party ideals and the event itself. Travis Rowley, chairman of the Young Republicans, made note of the opponents during his five-minute speech.
“Some of the infiltrators that were here today from Ocean State Action and the public sector unions were holding up signs mocking this crowd with a sign that says, ‘We don’t want education for poor people.’ Are you kidding me? What have these people done to Central Falls High School,” Rowley said.
Rowley drew loud cheers for criticizing the teachers unions.
“Those people that run our education system sentenced minority students to lives of poverty and desperation,” he said. “Those people that say you don’t want to give education to poor people, these people have been in charge of and have enslaved them for lives of poverty and desperation.”
Salon Owners Unite With Tea Party
Among the other speakers was Richard Bump, who leads the group of salon owners who came together to fight against Chafee’s proposed sales tax. Bump said his group, “Rhode Island Salons United Against Taxing Services,” now has 520 members.
But he warned the battle is not over yet.
“The fight is not over by a long shot,” Bump said. “We need the courage and the resolve and the stamina to last 15 rounds. After all, there’s still a $300 million budget deficit that must be resolved, and who know what tricks Governor Chafee and the General Assembly still have up their sleeves.”
Message Loud And Clear
Former gubernatorial candidate John Robitaille was not among the half dozen or so speakers, but he spent much of the rally chatting with supporters in the crowd.
Robitaille, who nearly defeated Chafee in November, said he still hasn’t made a decision regarding his political future, but that he would not run in 2012. He said the focus of the day should be the Tea Party’s message.
“The message has been loud and clear,” he said. “We do not need to raise taxes a single dime.”
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