Hippies hijacking tea

Allegedly, ACORN (American Communists ORganizing Neighborhoods)/only-slight-sarc leftwing activists are circulating petitions in favor of communism at TEA parties. If true, it simply reinforces the wise advice that one should never sign a piece of paper that one has not read.

TEA party organizers in Dayton, OH are billing the events as a bipartisan effort. From an email:

A Tea-Party is Coming!

Are you ready to make history? Please come on April 15, 2009 and join together with people from all over the Miami Valley to send a message to Washington - "Stop wasting our money!"

April 15 Rally

In an attempt to bail-out the East India Company the British Parliament passed the Tea Act. This legislation effectively gave East India a monopoly on tea sales in the Colonies. Like the U.S. Federal Government is doing today, the British Parliament was wrongly interfering with free markets.

And so, on December 16, 1773, fifty colonists, led by Samuel Adams responded to the Crown's incursion by disguising themselves as Mohawk Indians and throwing an entire ship-load of tea into Boston Harbor. This marked a critical point in history and sent a message to King George III - "No government bailouts!"

April 15, 2009 will mark another critical point in United States history. Grassroots organizations in over three-hundred cities across the country are planning tea parties on April 15. We in Dayton are not alone. And at over 2500 RSVPs and counting, YOU will not be alone either! So come along and help us send a message to Washington."Support Free Markets. Respect the Constitution. Downsize the Government and exercise Fiscal Responsibility."
April 15, 2009
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Courthouse Square (Downtown Dayton at 3rd and Main)

Remember, this is not a Republican issue and it is not a Democrat issue. Both sides of the aisle are spending like it's going out of style. Big government is an equal opportunity abuser. Let's all make sure Washington knows that we are not going to take it any more.

Hence, there will probably be a broad spectrum of groups attending TEA parties. Presumably, everyone will not agree 100% on all issues. Not all non-GOP TEA partiers are ACORN agents. If people are protesting in good faith, then I don't believe that they should be excommunicated.

Conversely, if agent provocateurs are there to astroturf, they should not be welcomed:

ACORN and others planning to infiltrate the tea parties by carrying racist signs to make the tea party protesters appear racist.

The above could be a an effort to help self fulfill a leftwing prophecy, since, allegedly, smearing TEA parties as racist is the new MSM meme. If people show up with wacky 3 sigma signs, I'm not certain what you can do about it without starting a kerfuffle.