Brad Shannon:
The Politics Blog

Brad Shannon maintains this blog. He is political editor at The Olympian and can be reached at 360-753-1688 or bshannon@theolympian.com.

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Here come the TEA Party folks to Olympia on Saturday

• Published June 27, 2009

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The so-called Tea Party movement descends on Heritage Park in Olympia later this morning (Saturday). I've gotten calls and email from activists who say the "Taxed Enough Already" effort is more than the anti-tax protest that their event's name declares.

Callers say it's more like a rally against government actions that, they think, are against the U.S. Constitution. Promoters claim they'll get 6,000 people this Saturday and 20,000 on July 4.

None has explained convincingly what the Obama administration has done that is unconstitutional. But the activists are worked up and are convinced it is so. One polite caller said the cap and trading system for carbon-fuel emissions approved Friday by the U.S. House is unconstitutional. She also pointed to majority Democrats' health-care proposals as unconstitutional, but could not explain why.

Here is detail about the two rallies:

n Saturday, June 27, at Heritage Park: Doors open at 10, speakers start at 11 and the main acts run from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Bob Basso of YouTube fame is bringing his Thomas Paine act at 1 p.m. Also expected: anti-tax initiative promoter Tim Eyman and longtime political operative Floyd Brown, who graduated from Olympia High in 1979 and later had a number of political triumphs. One was his television ad hit-piece in the 1988 presidential campaign, dubbed the "Willie Horton ad," that helped derail Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis. For details, go to go to: www.olympiateaparty.com.

n Saturday, July 4, on the state Capitol steps: The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For details, go to http://olympia.reteaparty.com or to www.patriotmarch.us.

Ken Morse, an organizer, put a target on health-care reform in a news release about this weekend’s event, saying:

"Declaring Our Health Care Independence" is the theme of Fourth of July celebrations across the country. "Keeping our right to make our health care decisions without government interference and fighting the imposition of a government-mandated, -run, and -administered health care system is our immediate goal," says Olympia organizer Ken Morse. "We’re also fighting the passage of the massive 'Cap-n-Trade' bill driven by the unproven and controversial global warming theory. If passed, this legislation will impose an energy tax on every aspect American life and endanger any potential financial recovery."