Tea Bagging

So when I got off work tonight, I walked towards Pioneer Square. And the closer I got, the sound of the unruly crowd grew louder and louder. What could this be, I thought. It is Portland, after all. Do they wish to free Tibet? Equalize marriage? Provide health care for all? Oh no no no. SO WRONG.

Pioneer Square was packed with a very, very large bunch of conservatives protesting their taxation with representation. I have only been part way paying attention to the news media these days, but apparently there is an anti-tax sentiment afoot which is hostile to the Obama recession measures. The most delightful Portlandy thing about it was watching the bearded guys in Patagonia raincoats engage and argue with the placard bearing protester guys in LL Bean raincoats. From what I could gather, the anti-tax protesters were the Ron Paul people. The rabbit has referred to them generally as "libertarian pinheads" and I think she was just about right.

The most poignant moment for me is when I could hear the megaphones and growl of the anti-tax tea bag crowd flipping out while one of the sleek new Trimet trains glided past on a new track that is running past Pioneer Square, paid for with taxes. The protest took place in a large brick public square which was an expensive public improvement constructed by the city. The protesters faced the Old Pioneer Courthouse, which houses the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Not to say all government is good government. Heavens knows I have taken to the street with a placard and a shout in my day. It's just that I really don't see what the big deal is, especially since Congress just enacted a little tax cut.

At any rate, it appears Portland is far from an ideologically homogeneous place and there are Ron Paul people here who get really fired up about The Man.