Like other Tea Party groups, the Richmond (VA) Tea Party has played by the rules. They paid permit fees to hold their rallies, they paid for the extra police and portajohns that such rallies demand. In all, they’ve paid $10,000 for their rallies to the local government.
The occupiers? Not so much. In fact, they haven’t filed for any permits and they haven’t paid a dime.
So the Richmond Tea Party, seeking fair treatment, has invoiced the Richmond city government to get its costs reimbursed. This is a brilliant move that other Tea Party groups should follow, if for no other reason than to highlight how the so-called 99% continue to mooch off of law-abiding citizens.
Or failing that, apply for a permit to hold a rally where the occupiers are currently squatting. Let the cities figure out what to do about it, or explain why Tea Partiers can’t rally with permits where occupiers are occupying without them.
Update: More from the AP:
The political organization is sending the city an invoice for the charges incurred for three rallies held in Kanawha Plaza over the past three years. The Occupy protesters have been camped in the plaza since Oct. 15.
Richmond Tea Party spokeswoman Colleen Owens says it’s not fair that her group had to pay fees for permits, portable toilets, police presence and emergency personnel. The group also had to purchase a $1 million insurance policy.
Other Tea Parties really should follow suit on this.
Stroke of genius that should be followed by all Tea Party groups with an OWS rally occupying their city.
Tea Parties across the country should apply for permits to hold events in every city center or public park with an “Occupy” encampment squatting in it.
Brilliant idea!
Although there is not even a remote possibility of getting that money back, to bring attention to the double standard in the local media has value in and of itself.
This just helps Richmond Tea Party ‘Occupy’ the minds of Media, local Government and the citizenry.
I don’t care. The tea partiers are the racist terrorists. MSNBC told me…so it must be true.
This is where you use the law to go after the left just like they do for the right. Well played. And if you are not reimbursed then apply for a permit where the current squatters are.
Great idea! Put the city officials between a rock and a hard place. Maybe they’ll finally realize they have to treat the squatters as law-breakers.
seems to me the city officials are as much lawbreakers as the squatters are
Also, the OWS folks cannot use lack of funds as an excuse after they’ve advertised that they are taking in so much money in donations.
Will the ACLU represent them since they are being discriminated against by the city? The city treats First Amendment free speech rights of one group (that the mayor agrees with) differently from another group… Wouldn’t that be a hoot? Is the Southern Poverty Law Center still around?
Practically speaking you can forget about any Leftymoocher group being held to the same standard as the Tea Party. Not gonna happen. And that being the case how do you get at the political establishments that kowtow to the lefties. In the big cities they have pretty much welfared themselves into permanent control. If you can’t vote ‘em out the only thing I can see to do is cut off their money. Question is how?
They have a geographic consolidation of a power base. We are smart and organized. We play taxes. We vote with our feet and geographically consolidate our base. It used to be called “White Flight.” But being much more diverse than the MSM will ever admit, lets coin another term. I submit ” Blite Flight.”
Here is Richard Sherman singing the Chimpanzoo song which was written for Mary Poppins but never used because of time considerations:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvxCe9Yz47k