Tea Party Confidential: Live From the September 12 Taxpayer March on Washington

Are the Tea Party protesters a small group of radical freakazoids or a large crew of taxpaying regular joes who are fed up with government spending, Democrats and Republicans, and business as usual?

Reason.tv fanned out through the crowd and the backstage of the September 12 Taxpayer March on Washington, the controversial anti-government protest that drew somewhere between 75,000 and 1 million people, according to press reports.

We talked with folks from all over the country and snagged interviews with speakers and media including Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), CNN's Jeff Greenfield, actor Steven Baldwin, FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe, and many more.

What we found was a group of people united in their calls for less government spending and their disgust at the Republican and Democratic pols who made it all happen.

Interviews by Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, and Michael C. Moynihan. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg. Approximately 6 minutes.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• reasontv
• reason.tv
• reason
• tea party
• september 12
• rally
• washington d.c.
• nick gillespie
• matt welch
• michael c. moynihan
• jim demint
• mike pence

[NoEoAoRo]

Are you happy that the Obama administration has unrepentant tax cheats, and lobbyists in it's ranks? Are you happy that the US debt and deficit are at record highs? Do you care that Obama has broken most of his promises despite saying he was bringing change to US politics? Do you like corporate welfare (bailouts)? Do you like gov'ts wasting billions so that stupid home buyers will have higher property values? Do you like the fact that Obama is continuing the Patriot Act, Iraq and Afghanistan?

[sillycandie007]

@billybob101013 here's whats even stranger they dont have the guts to say there racist in the open

[TheYouwontgetit]

i guess they are normal americans... ...sadly...

[mdstalla]

Is there any doubt that the Left is bringing this country down?  In fact; with little prodding I’m sure you can get any Liberal to agree, emphatically that their role is to knock the US down a peg or two. A Conservative can talk about America’s extraordinary/unprecedented history in defending the right, promoting freedom and creating wealth…while all the Left will see is inequality and bigotry. There comes a time when we have to start treating cancer like a disease.

[210daved1]

tea party people.. it was the gop who voted against lowering your taxes. the dems passed the stimulus bill with tax cuts for 95% of americans and the gop voted against it so they voted against lower taxes.

[billybob101013]

@NoEoAoRo dont you think its strange nobody was mad till a black men got in the white house?

do you really believe your not racist ? why didnt you say anything about bush? is it because he was white?

i will be fare i bet my life as soon as a white men will replace obama all you racist whites will go back home

an be happy no matter the he does its all about race

[Jude1and3]

"...Drain the Swamp..." I love it

[greenghost2008]

2:56 ASSSSSSS

[DoomHippie]

@Prytanus

Cut Bush-era spending programs, cut Obama-era spending, break up bank cartels, end prohibition, which is a huge drain on law enforcement money, end bureaucracies, especially the ones with poor performances, like HUD, and end the wars.

There are many areas where we could cut spending. However, no politician seems to actually want to do it.

[Prytanus]

@DoomHippie

Thank you for the reply.

So which would you do? Repeal the Bush era entitlements (especially pharmaceuticals for seniors) causing the majority of the problem (as seen in that article), or allow the Bush era tax cuts to expire, or both, or neither?

[DoomHippie]

@Prytanus

Bush era reckless spending does not make Obama era reckless spending justifiable. Remember, Reason.Tv, and most of the people who subscribe to it, are Libertarians, not Republicans. Yes! Bush spent us into the ground! But that does not mean that Obama should drive us even deeper.

You probably don't realize this, but the First Tea Party was in 2007, during Bush's reign, and before Obama was even nominated.

The Party is against reckless spending, Democrat or Republican.