Frivolity Meets Politics
Anti-Tea Party Mob Storms Bozeman
By Allen M. Jones, 7-03-09
For my money, there are few sins so egregious as the taking of yourself too seriously. I mean, really, what’s the point? We’re all going to eventually kick the bucket with an equal amount of kicking and screaming. Might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here. So I knew I’d met a kindred soul when I ran into Brian Leland yesterday morning in downtown Bozeman. A local master electrician, he’s also the founder and organizer of “The Green Coalition of Gay Loggers for Jesus,” a tongue-in-cheek, don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously counterpart to a Tea Party demonstration being held in Bozeman the morning of July 4.
The Tea Party, a conservative movement initially organized to protest “out of control spending at all levels of government,” will be marching on Bozeman’s Main Street at 10:30 am, closing the thoroughfare to vehicle traffic. The GCGLJ will be holding its own march an hour earlier.
Ironically, the Tea Party (given their position regarding government spending), will have the costs of their demonstration paid for by the city of Bozeman, by the same tax payers whom they would ostensibly like to champion. The GCGLJ, however, is footing their own bill, and more. Soliciting donations and selling T-shirts in order to support the demonstration. As a courtesy to local commerce, they’re also holding their march an hour earlier, avoiding further loss of vehicle access to Main Street.
Leland told me, “I feel it’s a patriotic duty to pay your own way. The Tea Party’s not paying for anything. We’re paying for the city to set up barricades and then, after the Tea Party, take them down, drive them back to city shops. At the end of the day, we’ll be paying for the majority of the costs of the Tea Party event as well. The city’s telling me that Bozeman will end up having to only pay about $400.”
Leland’s initial goal, prior to marching, was to raise $1,100. He has met his goal, and more, and will be donating the overspill to the Gallatin County Food Bank.
Daniel Person of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle wrote, “Organizers of the Tea Party – who have said they do not oppose Leland’s march – do contend that it would set a dangerous precedent to require protestors to pay for a demonstration, since it is a constitutionally protected right.”
Leland’s own position seems to be as much of a reaction against the city of Bozeman as it is to any stance taken by the Tea Party itself. Irked by what he sees as a lack of openness and procedural missteps on the part of the city of Bozeman (the permits for the Tea Party’s event were approved in a meeting that apparently wasn’t publicly noticed), he has written, “…the initiating spark for our event was the Bozeman City Commission’s complete disregard for the Montana Open Meeting Law. When faced with an angry, out-of-town mob looking for a government bailout, commissioners folded like a cheap suitcase and ignored the laws they swore an oath to uphold.”
Since organizing his group, Leland has faced a wide variety of reactions from the community at large, both approving and condemning. Some of the strongest reactions have come from those who don’t see anything at all funny in using Jesus’s name in this particular context. Leland has an answer to this as well: “As to the cries of indignation over the religious reference in our organization’s name, look at an aardvark or a duckbilled platypus and tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor.”
I want a T-shirt. Where can I get one? I wish I could attend their rally.
Comment By eukaryote, 7-03-09Mr. Jones will want to think twice about claiming to be a kindred spirit to Mr. Leland. All you are doing is making a fool of yourself. Leland is well known by locals as a ne'er do well, know it all, loudmouth, pseudo-patriotic crackpot who doesn't represent anything or anybody. His entire schtick is to abuse his rights to speech, and to abuse city government and city services, and hold up traffic on main street just to promote his own petty personal political agendas.
Having failed twice, (miserably), to be elected to office on the county commission, (last time he ran as a "green republican", sound familiar), he pesters the community with any number of sour grapes letters to the editor and stupid, hyperbolic political expressions just like this.
His concern over "complete disregard over open meetings laws" is just so much know it all, nit-picking nonsense. I think that our city commission is erring on the side of free speech and that allowing the tea partiers to party on Main could prove to be the lesser of two evils. Sadly they seem to feel they need to guard themselves from Leland as well.
It's not fair to the Main street merchants or to the community to close the street so that a single anti-social curmudgeon can press his self centered political agenda.
The tea party protesters are almost as crazy as Leland but at least can claim to be able to show up in sufficient numbers to justify closing the street so that they can "express themselves." Though in his application he promised "2000" marchers, the fact is that Leland is just a lone nutcase, even if he sold a few tee shirts to uninformed internet columnists.
You should do your research before you identify yourself with Leland. I can't resist...
"Something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones."
Eukaryote,
Thank you for your comment, but no need to resort to personal insult. A couple of points...
Main Street was going to be closed for the Tea Party prior to the involvement of the GCGLJ. The Main Street merchants whom I know are all irate that a group advocating ostensibly for a free market would take away a measure of their business on one of the most profitable days of the year. They're supporting this tongue-in-cheek political movement more as a reaction to the lack of consideration on the part of the Tea Party as from any position on the behavior of the Bozeman City Commission. I myself take no stance with regard to the Commission's missteps, or lack thereof.
No matter his background or his political opinions, Leland is paying for a substantial portion of the demonstration, raising funds that would otherwise come out of my own pocket as a Bozeman tax payer. For obvious reasons, I approve of that. I also approve of his donations to the community food bank.
I personally find the Tea Party's argument that paying for their own demonstration would be an infringement on free speech to be fatuous and self-serving. You can choose to pay for your own demonstration, or not. Choosing to pay expenses would have supported their position without in any way eroding the right to free assembly. They need to have that pointed out to them.
For these reasons, I am happy to give coverage to this absurdist exercise in political demonstration, regardless of Leland's personal motivations, political aspirations, or background.
Mostly, though, I just like the t-shirt.
I hold the “The Green Coalition of Gay Loggers for Jesus,” much higher on an intellectual value scale than the "Tea Party" who are philosophically closer to the Munich Putsch than anybody in this country since the Sgebrush Rebels of Northern Nevada...
Comment By Old Timer, 7-04-09We have socialists running the Federal Government. It is totally against the Declaration and the Constitution, what they have done in the last 60 years and are doing now. The destuction of the Constitution is high on the list of the President (listen to his 2002 radio talk and read his books). The Tea Party people may seem different to some, but they are supported by most Americans. God Bless them and God Bless America.
Comment By free spirit, 7-04-09Mob?
Storms?
try and exaggerate a little more, okay NewWest
Read the first part of this article and it seems the author's stance is stick your head in the sand, be prepared to take it from behind, but go ahead and have a good time while you do it. Well problem is we have had our fill, and we choose to be responsible citizens and let these idiots know we are tired of their ineffectiveness and government waste, abuse of authority. What we need is less dimwits like this guy. Oh the gay loggers cost what, well lets see, how many gay loggers did that represent. I am amazed at the stupidity of some people, let's see if this guy is OK with the government waste as it is he can go ahead and cover my taxes for me. and Mr. Remand sir you are a qualified idiot. morons like you are a big part of what wrong with our situation today.
Comment By Eukaryote, 7-04-09I don't see where I insulted you Mr. Jones, but I think you should do your research and think this through, especially before you declare yourself a "kindred spirit."
Leland is abusing and mocking his rights to free speech. There's no reason why a single person should be able to shut down Main Street just to push his own petty political agenda, and pick fights with his political enemies, regardless of his willingness to pay for it.
Without question, the tea partiers are misguided in their own right, but will no doubt turn out in sufficient numbers to justify closing the street. Politically, I could not be more alienated from our local right wing. But they do have speech rights and I am gracious enough to pay for them. Pushing the point that they are hypocrites by refusing to pay for their $1500.00 protest is simply shabby. Yes, they are hypocrites....let's move on.
Leland and the tea partiers represent political fringes. The city commission has just taken the policy of holding both "groups" at arms length and giving them what they want, just to avoid further trouble from any of them. Leland is not a group and has no point to make. He's just wasting the city's time with frivolous nonsense.
Do you really think we should close down Main Street just because you like the stupid T shirt that says nothing?
Brian Leland estimates about fifty people participated in the GCGLJ march this morning. According to Leland, a total of $2500 was raised. The city of Bozeman will see $1,100. The county food bank will receive a donation of $1,400.
Comment By hellpig, 7-04-09I am a democrat and have attended 4 Tea Parties The Tea Paries are non-partisan
But being the total idiot you are I can see how your SRM (State Run Media) talking points have clouded your perception.
If you don't like the tea partiers, then I must assume you are for big government control and the loss of freedom that come with it. Or you must be a deadbeat loser who pays no taxes and relies on government handouts. I suggest that you move to Iran or Venezuella if you want to be a big government slave. Americans, and I mean real Americans who value their freedom and opportunity to make something of their lives aren't go to put up with Big Brother. If you are not part of the solution then you must be part of the problem.
Comment By the real mike, 7-04-09Well, there you go; "hellpig" and "Smashicus" have spoken and lived up to their names in the process. I'm impressed; let's all let them set public policy.
Comment By Bill Croke, 7-04-09Jedediah, All over the map. As usual, you smear the Right by comparing them to Nazis, whereas Stalin and Hitler were cut from the same cloth. Stalin, early on made it Comintern policy to demonize all opposition by branding them as fascists, and this was his official propaganda tool, useful during the Spanish Civil War, which he gained from while simultaneously losing, etc. The American Left inherited this political modus operandi and have used to great effect, as a whole generation of dimbulb Jedediahs spews their hate. Sadly, this is the future of political discourse. But I think the Bozeman Tea Party guys should have paid for their own party. But even if they did the Dimbulb Jedediahs of the world would still despise them. Why don't you get together with Mikey?. You might come up with something better and simultaneously raise your collective IQ to 24 or 25. Read Orwell, Silone, Whittaker Chambers, et al. Happy 4th of July. And PS--Allen Jones, Thumbsucker.
Comment By iowa barr, 7-04-09Ah, yes, the t-shirt is oh so cool! GCGLJ garb would definitely top the Che! and Free Mumia garb you already own. You are one more in a long list of know-it-all journalists who over paid for that elite college education that taught you absolutely nothing except to love the Left.
And your man raised money for a cause -- his intentions were good, after all. Making mockery of the average man's right to free speech is understandable. John W. Public, is just ... so... pedestrian.
Go ahead, poke fun at citizens who are fed up with paying atrocious taxes and seek to exercise their right to assemble and protest. Okay, I will give you that is absurd that the taxpayer footed the bill for the protest -- which is exactly why I question the veracity of the statement. Somehow I think you are twisting things or stretching the truth.
Huxley said it all in his forward to the Brave New World:
"A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors and schoolteachers... The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished, not by doing something, but by refraining from doing. Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about the truth."
So go ahead, Mr. Jones, snicker all you want. Enjoy your t-shirt and your serfdom.
Good grief, we easily got much more rational comments from "hellpig" and "Smashicus" and, to the best of my knowledge, they aren't even upstate New Yorkers, probably with mailbox money, masquerading as western writers from Cody. Hell, I bet iowa barr isn't from Iowa either.
Comment By iowa barr, 7-04-09My apologies, Real Mike. I forgot, Huxley is probably above your reading level. I should have kept it to "Give me Liberty or give me a t-shirt" and maybe you would have gotten it.
Comment By the real mike, 7-04-09Yeah, I covered Huxley's fiction as pleasure reading on my way to collecting over 230 semester hours and advanced degrees in technical fields that you wouldn't understand and I probably did it long before you were born, you little snot. So, we already know that your soulmate, Croak, is just phony liberal arts dropout with pretensions; but, are you really from Iowa or not?
Comment By Bill Croke, 7-05-09Mikey, Sounds like you have lots of new friends to play with. 230 semester hours? Wow!! You and Jay. Boy I'm impressed. Definitely an Alpha. Though I think your brains were damaged by too much soma.
Comment By iowa barr, 7-05-09Real Mike,
Hmmm...230 hours. A technical degree I wouldn't understand like what? Ghostbusting, perhaps. As Dan Akyroyd said having been evicted from University premises: "Personally, I liked the University; they gave us money and facilities, we didn't have to produce anything. You've never been out of college. You don't know what it's like out there. I've worked in the private sector--they expect results..."
You are just another over-educated jerk searching for meaning.
Get a life, Mikey.
Iowa or bust, my Friend.
Real Mike: 230 semester hours and advanced degrees in technical fields... really? Jeepers! Golly!
You poor thing, you are actually proud of that.
I sure do wish the Tea-baggers (their term--not mine) would explain exactly who is paying higher taxes. And where is the socialism and marxism controlling our government? I'm not seeing it...
It couldn't be the huge transfer of billions of dollars to the richest bankers on Wall Street (Goldman Sachs must be hardcore Commie, since 2008 was its best year ever!)?
Is it the government bailouts of Gm and Chrysler? How much money has the guvmint wasted through the department of defense during the last 20 years alone? Uncompetitive bids and massive over payments make having a controlling interest in huge American industry while it recovers makes more sense than just having the money over--and not terribly socialistic either...
Tea-baggers at the Billings Tea Party claimed that they had to drop cable TV because of tax increases. Not sure what tax increases these were, but it might good if they watched less cable TV...
You know, John W. Public would be a hell of a lot more impressive as a mascot if:
a) He had anything to do with the paranoid nitwits holding "tea-parties" with all of their other wingnut friends, pretending to be "grassroots".
b) He wasn't fundamentally opposed to the positions the tea-baggers hold.
c) The tea-baggers weren't a bunch of mouth-breathing idiots whose sum understanding of politics, policy, and reality could be contained by an unenflated water-balloon.
d) There really was a shadowy, illuminati, Skull and Mason-ring, Marxist, New World Order, Black-Helecopter plot to turn the United States into a socialist, fascist, big business, huge government, uber-dystopia.
In comparison, Leland seems practically inspired.
Okay, so the Billings Tea Party folks no longer support the United States Government because tax increases are standing in the way of their cable TV and iowa barr's best intellectual defense is to quote a Dan Akyroyd line from an old slapstick comedy that was written specifically to appeal to grade school kids in the hopes they'd buy Ghostbuster lunch pails? I guess "hellpig" and "Smashicus" really are the brains of this gang.
Comment By NavyVet, 7-06-09Wow, Jimmy, aren't you quite the wordsmith? What big words you used to spew your hatred! Too bad 'unenflated' isn't ACTUALLY a word in the real world (even spell check couldn't have helped you there, buddy) but you don't appear to be anywhere near reality, so I guess you get a pass. Leftists always seem to get a pass in life. Why is that? Because of the completely unfounded belief that they are the ones "looking out for the little guys". What they really do is take from those of us who actually WORK for our money and give it to those who aren't "really into the 9-5 gig" (a quote from a homeless 21 year old man). The truth is, the left are the biggest racists, and purveyors of legislation and propaganda that keep the "little guy" down. The "soft bigotry of low expectations" is their crime against humanity. Call someone a dog long enough, they'll believe they are. Presto! A reliable voting block!
Take a deep breath, big boy, your guy won. It's only the country that lost. But you weren't backing the country anyway.
I guess if I walked up to these tea party people and asked them to "take me to your leader" I'd end up in a bowling alley? Would some guy be there pounding on a TV bolted to the wall and cussing about how the cable channels aren't coming in? Let me guess again; are "hellpig" and "Smashicus" really taxidermists who work out of the back of a small town gas station and across the street from a butcher shop that sells strange meat? Give me liberty or give me roadkill?
Comment By Jimmy, 7-06-09Why, NavyVet, it's so kind of you to concern yourself with my spelling. I'm sure that the status of the word "uninflated" is entirely relevant. Perhaps I should make use of a different word (which spell check assures me is indeed correct): 'overinflated', as in the manner in which you are behaving, or the paranoid delusions of the wingnut press.
Since we are speaking in generalities to attempt to couch our poorly understood ad hominems in a social acceptable manner, I shall reply in the same suit. Right-wingers, being possessed neither of the sense God gave chickens or the intelligence to avoid demonstrating this fact, have a poor grasp of the economic-policies they critique. The acolytes of the religion of the free market incorrectly understand the massive harm their psychotic economic philosophy would inflict on the US should they ever be taken seriously. Aside from their constant attempts to undermine the functional distribution of wealth, by advocating a policy that would cripple the economy by moving all of the money in the economy out of the hands of consumers and into the hands of investors, their lack of understanding of the need to stabilize unstable markets and ensure the stability of the business cycle demonstrates that they care more about the religion of Ayn Rand then the well-being of their nation or its people.
Of course, because I belong to the crypto-Marxist-Fascist-Illuminati-Muslim-Liberal conspiracy, I couldn't possibly care about the well-being of the United States. Your paranoia is laughable.
My guy did win... You know why? Because your guy was a lunatic old-man supported by people so out of touch with reality and good sense that they thought Redneck Barby was a great choice for Vice President.
Mikey,
Real men and women serve their country. The other guys go to school to get 230 semester hours in some vague technical field we plebs don't understand. I'm guessing frisbee physics. The Ghostbusters comment spoke to those who make University the end of their existence rather than a means to an end.
I'm not the one who made this personal -- you did. You called me a snot. I'm probably older than you are.
Your comments about taxidermists, bowling, gas station attendants, and butchers demonstrate the contempt with which you regard the working people of this country. I guess that would be fine except that you want to tell everyone how to live via your big government because you are "na-na-na-na-na" smarter than we are AND you expect them to pay for it with their hard-earned dollars.
By the way, I already made the play words with the Patrick Henry quote. Find another Founder to twist.
Okay, I'll stop being personal (although it wasn't really all that personal by comparison) and sarcastic (although I was amusing myself with it) and let's actually discuss the topic.
I tend to find it hard to take the tea party advocates seriously for a number of reasons, the egocentric combination of swashbuckling bravado and childlike naivete of characters like "hellpig" and "Smashicus" being only one of them. Seriously, what would you think of a protest of the government because you demand your right to cable TV? I know; that was just one kook in the crowd; but, the impression is still there.
Now, look at the underlying serious protest. The tea parties are, by and large, based out of the Republican wing of the political spectrum (come on now; some in the crowd may think they are Democrats; but, the organizers are out of the Republican end of the spectrum and just happy to have those confused little dumplings as faces in the crowd). The protests are allegedly over government spending. Well let's look at it. First, the biggest deficit spender in history, comparatively speaking was Reagan and nobody at the Republican end of the spectrum complained about him. Let's look at more recent history. Most of the recent spending that the tea parties are protesting is actually spending that was set in motion by Bush in the form of Iraq War costs, then the financial bailout was pretty much a done deal by the time Bush and Paulson left. I don't even blame them for the bailout costs, it honestly had to be done or our very currency would have been at risk and we would be in even worse shape and you can imagine how it must gall me to not blame a Republican for anything.
Sure, Obama pushed through the stimulus package to slow the rise in the unemployed and give the economy time to absorb them through more desirable private sector spending; but, 1) his stimulus spending has only been about 60% of the Bush bailout spending that was done deal before he ever got there; 2) Obama's stimulus was meant to keep the working stiffs that you claim to be defending from losing more of their homes; and 3) did you guys really want all those people out of work and looking for shelter.
Yes, Obama is looking to revamp the healthcare system; but, I've got news for you; he really has no choice. This depression is deeper and will last longer than people think or are being told and, again, those working stiffs that you claim to be defending will be in a world of hurt when they haven't had a decent job in two years and their kids get sick. Giving them some sort of coverage outside of increasingly nonexistent employer largesse that the current system no longer supports is the only decent thing to do. Yes, those of us who still have good jobs and solvent investments will pay with our hard-earned dollars. I've done it all my life. I'd like to spend the money on other things; I like toys too; but, when unemployment goes as high as it is and will be, then it just isn't a matter of holding people accountable for not finding work; it's a matter of keeping decent, although often not as bright as I would like, working stiffs and their families afloat. It's common decency extended from one American to another. Yes, I work for a living, probably work longer hours, make more money, and pay more taxes than you would imagine; but, I'll make my money back when times are better and those working stiffs that you claim to be defending can feed their kids again. As for the tea party people, they just don't get it; they're being used by cynical political operatives. Americans are only supposed to be selfish up to a point; then they're supposed to dig in and help hold the Nation together.
Jimmy- how do you know who I voted for? Another assumption. You're welcome for the spelling tips.
Obviously, you do not want the facts to get in the way of your opinion--you are only interested in letting everyone know how much hate you have in your heart. It has worked--we can all see it now. And I'm 'paranoid'? Lighten up, Francis.
P.S. Try 'deflated', sport.
re: my earlier post:
"Is it the government bailouts of Gm and Chrysler? How much money has the guvmint wasted through the department of defense during the last 20 years alone? Uncompetitive bids and massive over payments make having a controlling interest in a huge American industry while it recovers makes more sense than just HANDING the money over--and not terribly socialistic either..."
Handing instead of "having".
If I were to assume anything, I would assume that Navy vet voted for Ron Paul--everyone's favorite outspoken racist.
Its also funny how teabaggers claim "facts" while calling the current government "marxist"...
Yeah well Henry Kriegel needs to abandon the Tea Party antics and get back to his Communist Jewish roots.
Comment By hedgehog, 7-09-09Nobody in his right mind is FOR big government, but the Tea Party folks are predominately ignorant and hypocritical. Many others have soundly delineated the latter already, but allow me to explain the former: George W. Bush actually INCREASED government spending by 40% over the Clinton administration. Where was the tea party then?
Comment By drew, 7-09-09Jesus christ, look at yourselves. Seriously, start from the top and read these posts as if you were an outsider. I've seen more sophisticated arguments taking place on a playground over who gets the last fruit snack. Now take a deep breath, bitch-slap yourselves, and get on with your damn day. This baseless--utterly senseless--bickering about cliched quasi-ideals is nauseating, and your inability to hold polite discourse in the consequence-free environment of the internet is shameful. The reason the governement is broken (and it IS broken), is because people like you all have lost the ability to disagree. The story (remember, where this all began?) is simply that. A story. An opinion story. You're not required to like it, agree with it, or, for that matter read it at all. None of you have proven anything except to further my belief that this country is being devoured by an unwillingness to accept eachother as equals. Get a life, and get grip. You're all equally pitiful.
Comment By badangme, 7-09-09I just want one of these really cool T-Shirts, Where do I find this Gem?
Comment By Desertographer, 7-09-09"For my money, there are few sins so egregious as the taking of yourself too seriously." That's Jones' first statement in the article. Then comments, from beginning to end minus ByDrew miss this point. Talk about a bunch a self-serving egomaniacs. Get a grip, people. You are all taking yourselves way too seriously.
Comment By iowa barr, 7-09-09"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over lousy fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world’s great civilizations before they decline has been 200 years. These nations have progressed in this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to Complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage.
Your statement puts us somewhere between Complacency and Apathy on the decline meter. You'll wake up one day and say, "Dude, where's my car?" Or not.
Gosh, looks like we're pretty much back to where I came in. It looks like we truly did get much more rational comments from "hellpig" and "Smashicus" and, I guess, ought to just let them set public policy. Whatever...
Comment By iowa barr, 7-21-09There you go again, Mike, taking shots at my intelligence. What we have here in this little string of comments is a reflection of the larger political discourse in this country:
The Right sees growing government as the problem;
The Left sees government as solution;
The Apolitical or Apathetic who just don't get what all the fuss is about.
I think the Tytler quote I posted last pretty much sums up the situation.
When it comes to setting public policy, I'll take Smashicus and Hellpig over Frank and Dodd any day. Having destroyed the banking system and the housing market via CRA legislation and their pet GSAs Fannie and Freddie, they are now moving on to the Health Care system because "they have no choice". Good luck with that -- let me know how it works out for you when some bureaucrat tells you the medicine you need is too expensive or you are too old for a hip replacement.
Change your name to "Allah" instead of "Jesus" and see what a mob looks like. Free speech is for Liberals only? Yes, the Chicago Alinsky rule, demonize, isolate, ridicule......except it's Middle America rising up for American core beliefs and values, against Socialism and Fascism. This is just getting started, 2010 will see a political readjustment in Washington. You've gone too far.
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