Tea Party Brewing in Augusta

Augusta, GA—Not in the last, oh 236 years, have this many Americans come together for a tea party. That time, Boston was the headliner. This tax day, there are reportedly some three hundred events across the country.

At state capitols, and in neighborhoods and city amphitheatres, protestors are claiming they have been Taxed Enough Already, or “T-E-A.“

“I think they’re great. Grassroots movements, people get to express themselves. Nobody likes taxes,“ says Political Science professor Dr. Ralph Walker.

Walker says the return of the tea party is a great idea…though he doesn’t think it’ll make a difference when it comes to banks, bailouts, or big tax bills. “It’ll make the news. It’s a nice story, but nothing will come of it. They’re not going to do away with income tax. They’re not going to do away with property tax, which is the most hated tax by the way,“ he says.

Radio show host and tea party participant Helen Blocker-Adams says the success of the grassroots effort will come not so much from a tax cut or a code change, but in the involvement of voters and accountability of lawmakers. “Find their place, find their niches, find, whether it’s getting involved with a political party, making a decision to run, or paying more attention to our leaders, holding them accountable, that to me is a success.“

If that happens, she says, perhaps the massive spending bill being run up will not exist down the road. “If the young people that are involved with this event all over the country, if they stay engaged and make our elected officials more accountable, maybe 20, 30, 40 years down the line, the problem won’t be as severe as it is now.“

The tea party is at the Jessye Norman Amphitheatre in downtown Augusta from 5 pm-10 pm Wednesday, Tax Day.