Tea Party group plans rally targeting GOP

Dan Egtvedt (L) and Jim Griffin (C) listen as James Manship reads from the U.S. Constitution during a Tea Party Patriots rally on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Election Day November 2, 2010 in Washington, DC.

/ Photo by Rod Lamkey /Getty Images

Leaders of the Tea Party Patriots are planning a rally in Washington, D.C. next week to protest House Republicans' willingness to compromise on spending cuts in the federal budget and demand that Republicans "make the tough decisions we sent them there to make."

"On Thursday, March 31, 2011, Tea Party Patriots will be holding a Continuing Revolution Rally on the East Side of the Capitol Building from noon to 1:30pm," reads a note on the group's Facebook page. "While the Congress continues 'business-as-usual' with their short term continuing resolutions, we will be there to Continue our Tea Party Revolution and demand they make the tough decisions we sent them there to make."

Mark Meckler, co-founder and National Coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, told CBS News the rally is intended to hold Republicans to a series of campaign pledges - including the Republican "Pledge to America," which promised to cut $100 billion from the federal budget in the 2011 fiscal year.

"The point of the rally is to do as we promised: stand with the people who are willing to make the hard choices and do the difficult work of getting spending and debt under control," Meckler told Hotsheet. "There are 54 people who voted against the short term [continuing resolution to fund the government], and they need to know we stand with them. For those that voted for it, we need them to know we are here, and we want them to join with the 54 and do the right thing, instead of the easy, short term thing. So this rally is intended as both a carrot and a stick."

House Republicans passed a spending bill in March that would have cut $61 billion from the budget, but it failed in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Democrats and Republicans have since compromised on a pair of short-term spending bills (or continuing resolutions) to fund the government while they continue negotiations on a long-term budget.

Meckler argues that rather than compromise, Republicans should let the chips fall where they may in the face of a budget stalemate.

"It's important that folks understand that this is the President Obama/ Harry Reid shutdown," he said. "The Republicans passed a [bill] out of the House that included $61 billion in cuts. If Harry Reid can't pass that in the Senate, and the President won't sign it, any consequences belong to them. They are obstructing the will of the people to get serious about cutting spending."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner argues that Republicans are doing the best they could in the face of a Democrat majority in the Senate.

"Washington remains a Democrat-controlled town and congressional Republicans are the only thing standing between the American people and more 'stimulus' spending, bailouts, and Big-Government takeovers of the private sector," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement to the National Journal.

Still, the Tea Party Patriots say Democrats' power is no reason Republicans can't follow through on their promises.

"We sent them there to be BOLD and yet their actions are showing otherwise," the group's Facebook note reads.

When asked about the Tea Party Patriots' position on Libya, Meckler said that "our membership has not asked us to take a stand." He added that "from a fiscal perspective, the money must come from somewhere, and though the president has said it will come from currently allocated funds and will not add to our deficit, I'd like to see that demonstrated conclusively."

[noloyalisti]

Yes for the billionaires and the giant corporations who created and back the Tea Bag Klan, even the Republicans are not moving fast enough to destroy the Middle Class. They want them to finish the job of turning America into a third world nation of debtors and worker slave while a few people like Rupert Murdoch and the Koch Brothers wallow in shameless robber baron luxury.

[mary-miami]

Conservative republicans thought that by supporting early TeaParty efforts they would gain votes; all they did was feed the little serpent that grew into a snake. The Teaparty used the GOP to gain traction. All they want is to disrupt the republican party with the hopes of eventually getting into power and then becoming a fascist government. To this end, they want to destroy our First Amendment because it is the base of freedom. It gives us free press, which keeps us informed good or bad. It gives us free speech, which lets people say what they want without fear of persecution. It gives us the freedom to worship as we please, or not worship at all. It gives us the right to assemble, protest and petition the government. If they take the First Amendment away then there is no free country. The United States of America is a free country. Let's keep it that way. Re-Elect President Obama in 2012.

[Anonymouse100]

WE INTERRUPT THIS RALLY TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM DAVID KOCH...

BUY BRAWNEY. BUY SPARKLE. BUY MARDI GRAS. AND THE SPECIAL NORTHERN QUILTED TOILET PAPER TO WIPE YOUR A$$E$ ON.

WE'RE THE TEA PARTY. AND WE CAN BE BOUGHT! WE'RE PEOPLE FOR SALE!

[Anonymouse100]

WE INTERRUPT THIS RALLY TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM DAVID KOCH...

BUY BRAWNEY. BUY SPARKLE. BUY MARDI GRAS. AND THE SPECIAL NORTHERN QUILTED TOILET PAPER TO WIPE YOUR A$$E$ ON.

WE'RE THE TEA PARTY. AND WE CAN BE BOUGHT! WE'RE PEOPLE FOR SALE!

[klilly]

And let the canabolism begin. I knew these far right and extra far right clowns would not be holding hands, singing love songs for long. With the 2012 GOP candidates and now this, 2011 is going to be painful for REPUBS everywhere. lol

[quietus28]

Nice to see the Tea Party finally acknowledging that they are pretty much an extremist branch off the GOP tree.

[jimbom121]

by inketolstoy March 25, 2011 1:48 PM EDT
Glad to see all the progressives showing up here to attack the tea party for trying to hold their candidates accountable. Meanwhile, their party of choice that ran on hope and change requires a microscope inorder to identify the characteristics that seperate it from the Bush/Cheney regime they so loved to hate before. Economy running on empty. Corporate welfare. Ever growing deficits. Back door political deals. Yuo keep writing train schedules as they ship your people to the Gulags.

-----------------------------------------------

The tea baggers have voted FOR corporate welfare to continue. Was that part of their pledge? No one has an issue with people holding them accountable for campaign pledges. But when their campaign pledges hurt the country, we care.

[inketolstoy]

Please show me an instance where the Dems and the President stopped the corporate welfare, or where tea party representatives voted for it. You need to keep your candidates accountable, instead of being their storm trooopers. When will you care about being played by your party?

[pubsrtoast]

The two biggest Tea Party organizations, Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, are fully funded by the secretive billionaire David Koch, who with his brother Charles is tied for the 25th richest person in the world (George Soros is only 35th).
----------------------------------------------------------------

In fact the "Tea Party Express" was founded by and shares the same offices as Republican front group "Move America Forwar". You remember those clowns, they were the guys that launched the bus tour (sound familiar?) to prop up support for Bush's war in Iraq when the public started turning against it. Grass roots my ass.

[inketolstoy]

Glad to see all the progressives showing up here to attack the tea party for trying to hold their candidates accountable. Meanwhile, their party of choice that ran on hope and change requires a microscope inorder to identify the characteristics that seperate it from the Bush/Cheney regime they so loved to hate before. Economy running on empty. Corporate welfare. Ever growing deficits. Back door political deals. Yuo keep writing train schedules as they ship your people to the Gulags.

[josephp5]

I couldn't agree with you more about needing a microscope to see the difference in the current "hope and change" President and the Bush/Cheney regime.

If only the left had a bunch of rich billionaire that could secretly fund front groups to challenge Obama (George Soros doesn't count---despite the accusations from the Right, he mainly funds progressive organizations).

[inketolstoy]

Maybe I am not as jaded as you yet, joseph. The rich can only own those who rent themselves out. There is still room in our political system for grass roots movements, and that will be driven by belief, not money. Tea partiers are not following the money, but it appears the the progressives are right now.

[josephp5]

The tea partiers were always dupes anyway.

The two biggest Tea Party organizations, Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, are fully funded by the secretive billionaire David Koch, who with his brother Charles is tied for the 25th richest person in the world (George Soros is only 35th).

The Koch brothers' goal was to convince a bunch of naive people to vote for Republicans, who would then pass pro-corporate policies that would only end up hurting those same people, like union bashing, cutting benefits, repealing health care, removing anti-pollution regulations, etc. Whether Tea Party people get wise to the fact they are just stooges for the rich and powerful is anyone's guess. But I personally doubt it.