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Tea Party’s European Vacation

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Posted on Sep 9, 2010
Flickr / TheArches (CC-BY)

Anti-tax organizers in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe are getting advice and assistance from the same well-funded astroturf groups that helped launch and control the tea party movement on this side of the Atlantic.

But as the Guardian’s Michael White points out, “Europeans are not so easily inclined to hate the state or socialised medicine.”

The Guardian:

Libertarian US Tea Party organisations attended a conference in London today to share tactics with British and European taxpayer lobby groups, and described their activities as “an insurgent campaign” against their government’s tax and spending policies.

The move reflects an increasing desire within rightwing circles to establish a British version of the Tea Party “uprising”, and a growing belief that expected union action against the coalition government’s programme of cuts could be harnessed to mobilise vocal counter-demonstrations. The Taxpayers’ Alliance also believes that public anger at the Revenue & Customs blunder that has left 1.4m people facing backdated tax bills could fan the flames of a wider anti-tax revolt.

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By Mike3, September 10, 2010 at 11:20 pm Link to this comment

Some sensible posts here. I think this American propaganda will only take off, if at all, with those dumb Brits who buy this crap. The picture certainly looks like a group of British political morons taking a cream tea.

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By Tobysgirl, September 10, 2010 at 10:02 am Link to this comment

I think what Patrick Henry and mrfreeze say is very true, but then think of the case of Finland. Last I heard, they were enthusiastically embracing neoliberalism because they didn’t want to pay for “those” people. I truly hope that Europeans are not stupid enough to destroy their social benefits; they must have sent most of their stupid people to the U.S.

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By PatrickHenry, September 10, 2010 at 6:23 am Link to this comment

The Europeans have a civilized system compared to ours.

To ask them to give it up in order to save a few bucks will go over like a fart in church.

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By mrfreeze, September 10, 2010 at 12:53 am Link to this comment

I happen to be in Europe right now and every time I have a discussion with my Italian
relatives about taxes, social programs, universal healthcare and the simple notion that
PEOPLE matter I realize just how ridiculous The American worldview has become. Not
every problem can be addressed by reducing it to a simple for-profit formula. The
mistake that Americans make about Life is that pretending to be a wealthy tycoon (as
so many Americans consider themselves) is nothing more than a fantasy, a distorted
fetish with wealth.

The tea baggers will find that Europeans understand what a middle-class is and they
will take to the streets before giving up their social systems.

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