Lessons on Tax Protests from a British Cousin
AID: What do you think of the tea party movement?
Mathew Elliot: What I most admire about the tea party movement is the spontaneity of the organization. People talk about how Obama used the Internet to mobilize his grassroots. The tea party movement has learned this lesson. These protests can’t be micro-managed by organizations in Washington. They require volunteer organizers, whose activism also demonstrates the grassroots nature of the protest.
AID: What would you say if I participated in the tea party movement partly due to your organization’s efforts in the UK?
Mathew Elliot: I’d feel privileged that our campaigning in the UK had inspired activism in the U.S. I’m over in Washington, D.C., at the moment to learn from the TPA’s sister organization that has spearheaded the tea party movement in the U.S. Groups like FreedomWorks, Americans for Tax Reform, and the National Taxpayers Union all deserve credit for inspiring and facilitating this spontaneous uprising across the country.
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The last question was not a sycophantic one on my part, though it might seem so. I have attended at least one TPA event in the UK and thought that a similar type of event in the U.S. would be a good thing. The success and influence of this organization all across the UK is testament to its emphasis on grassroots/local events rather than merely meetings in the seat of governance. It’s fine to have a strong presence at the national level, but it’s local networks that get things done.
I was unaware that Matthew was in the U.S. meeting with organizations not unknown to those of us who helped plan the tea parties in the U.S. I am sure that he was well-equipped to give them advice on how to move the movement forward and what national organizations can do to help the grassroots organizations. I am also sure he was able to advise them how to avoid the pitfalls of too much intervention from the above. There were many in the movement leading up to to April 15 who were rather perturbed by such pressures on their local events from national organizations.
There were others who were less diplomatic in their efforts to influence outcomes of the April 15 tea parties. We are still hearing tales in this regard from various outlets for the national movement. Much of it is very useful and assists new organizers on how to avoid such situations.
Let’s hope that tea party organizers, coordinators, and national partners all listen to what Elliot has to say about the TPA’s experience with organizing tax protests.
Fantastic! Indeed, we the people are tea’d off. I don’t play golf but my brothers do and they could get together a tee party in a hurry. Matthew is right, we need the events to be fun. July 4th is not too far away!
Protest in front of the TV stations and newspapers- then they cannot ignore you.
I am looking forward to what July 4th will bring.Of The two parties I attended on April 15, 09, the one in Manchester NH had more of the element of fun the British interviewee discusses. It was also informative.
I thought the point about keeping the Tea Parties “fun” and positive is worth noting. Whenever the Tea Party movement takes on the look of a Prop 8 mob, a Code Pink takeover or heaven forbid, an ACORN rally full of screaming people and hate-filled speeches, we’ve missed our opportunity.
Show Obama, Reid and Pelosi the tea party protests were not “astroTurf” but they were the beginning of a massive movement against massive Government growth and the control that comes with it. Tell them to Empower Individual Americans to take responsibility for their own lives and for the individual to have control over the direction of our country Sign the petition for Individual Empowerment!!! http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Indv1776/petition.html THE ONLY THIS WILL WORK IS IF YOU COPY AND SEND IT TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT YOU HAVE THE SAME OPINIONS AS YOU. ALSO COPY AND POST IT ON OTHER NEWS SITES, BLOGS, EMAIL IT TO ORGANIZATIONS ETC
Good pointes here. The Tea Party movement is slamming the opposition on many fronts, and the media is scared. If they think they are not a threat, then why are they investing so much emotional energy into mocking tax-and-pay family slaves?
I don’t think this articles author quite understands. The protests are not fundamentally about, or in response to, any one concrete action (such as taxes). They are about individual rights and opposition to ALL infringements upon them. Taxes are only one such manifestation. These protests would be necessary even disregarding taxes as the government has so rapidly increased violating our rights in the past year or so.
RSP I don’t think you can actually say that. . The specific aim on tax day was to focus on taxes. Everything that government depends on money, your money, you reduce the amount they have, there is less they can do.
Heuydoc: We are protesting at MSNBC
5/25/09 @ 12:00
Directly in front of their studios
1335 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10019
There are other groups looking to do the same thing at other studios as well.
CNN is next!!!
Andrew…nice interview