“Don’t Tax Me Bro”

On Friday February 27, 2009 conservatives from all over the United States gathered together in cities across the nation to protest the bailout plan that President Barack Obama has proposed. The premise of the protest was a modern day version of the 1773 Boston tea party.  The slogan “no taxation without equal representation” which was prevalent during 1763-1775, was heard throughout the day as well as a more modern version “Don’t Tax Me Bro”.Brooks Bayne, the #1 top conservative on #tcot’s Twitter list, helped organize the event. After the spark was ignited for the idea by CNBC’s Rick Santelli, websites like Top Conservatives on Twitter , Smart Girl Politics, the #DontGo Movement, Americans for Tax Reform, the Heartland Institute, and American Spectator Magazine joined forces to announce a “Nationwide Chicago Tea Party”, to be held on Friday, February 27 at 12pm EST. 

Micheal Leahy, the head of TCOT, put the call out to his community and Brooks threw the question out on Twitter.  A conversation regarding setting up an LA event quickly unfolded and plans were set in motion. Tony Katz, the MC, and Gary Aminoff were also contacted and helped get the movement up and running.

@brooksbayne: @tonykatz why r we not having an l.a. teaparty? #tcot 7 days ago

@brooksbayne: @sugarjones @stephenkruiser @allapparel got a commitment from @tonykatz too. #tcot #teaparty #CAteaparty it’s on! 7 days ago

@brooksbayne: l.a. tea party confirmed. santa monica pier, 9 am friday. http://grf.me/w5ZCg #tcot #hhrs #dontgo #sgp #teaparty plz retweet 5 days ago

Around 200 people from various political backgrounds gathered around with signs of protest. Some in 1773 costumes, others with bags of tea, all wanting to make sure their voice is finally heard. The group that refers to themselves as the “silent majority” cheered together at the end of the Santa Monica pier “President Obama can you hear me”.

Regardless of your political stance on this subject I think it’s important to notice how social media is constantly changing, integrating and improving our world. One of the first major changes we experienced was President Barack Obama using Twitter to gain not only online followers but real political followers. Conservatives have also found a place to unite through Facebook and Twitter by creating the Top Conservatives on Twitter community. Brooks Bayne, when asked about organized this event, stated that it absolutely would not have been as successful without the reach and the network of friends that had already been established on Twitter.

Justin Smith, who also helped organize, is passionate about reaching out to and promoting political leaders who are embracing twitter and other social media outlets. He feels, as many others do, that Senators and members of Congress need to get involved and have a presence in social media. Utilizing these tools is a whole new way to reach out to fellow Americans that are passionate about politics but have the restriction of a 9-5 job.

Imagine the level of connection and communication that would emerge from all people, all ages, all professions interacting together at the same time through social media. If you could log on and directly reach your senator, co workers, cable guy, professors ect. Could we ever be so connected that you could basically IM anyone you needed to talk with?  Could my hopes and dreams of having a constant twitter stream on a touch screen monitor in my car actually come true?