4th of July TEA Party Speech in Northville

Happy birthday, America!

Fellow Patriots, welcome to our 4th of July TEA party!

After the TEA Parties on April 15th, President Obama said he was unaware of them. I need your help during the next 30 seconds to make Mr. Obama aware of today's TEA Party. At the same time, we can give America a very loud birthday salute. So, please join me in making this familiar chant loud enough to be heard in Washington. (Lead U-S-A chant).

Did you hear that, Mr. President? There's something happening in America!

233 years ago today, patriots just like us gathered in the old State House in Philadelphia. Just like us, they objected to a distant and intrusive government. And just like we're doing today, they documented their complaints for the world to hear.

It is fitting on this 4th of July that I quote from the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson's ideas fundamentally changed the relationship between sovereign individuals and their governments. His powerful words inspired the creation of the greatest nation on earth. I therefore recite the following with reverence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it."

Jefferson went on in the Declaration to document the complaints of the colonies against the oppressive government in London. Those complaints were so serious that patriots 233 years ago were compelled to bear arms and revolt.

And so here we are today. Once again, we are burdened with an oppressive government, this time in Washington. Once again, we are documenting complaints that are severe enough to cause us to rise up and challenge our leaders. I present now just two of these complaints:

1. Complaint #1: This administration is imposing on us a public debt beyond all comprehension. Here are a few examples:

a. Obama's budget deficits in just four years will be greater than the combined deficits of all the other presidents over the course of 233 years, from George Washington to George W. Bush.

b. The national debt at the end of Obama's first term will be greater than our entire annual Gross Domestic Product.

c. The true deficit of the federal government is actually $65 trillion, if you include total unfunded obligations like social security and Medicare. This exceeds the annual GDP of the entire world.

d. This reckless spending is destroying our "Triple A" credit rating and driving interest rates up. It now costs more to buy credit default insurance on U.S. government bonds than on debt issued by McDonald's. In other words, a hamburger joint is now considered a safer investment than the United States of America.

e. Since the world is now reluctant to buy our government bonds to cover our debts, we are essentially printing money to buy our own bonds. This means that future inflation will devalue the assets of every American.

2. Complaint #2: This administration is establishing socialism in America. Here are a few examples:

a. They are nationalizing the banking, finance, and automotive industries. They are appointing CEO's, setting compensation levels, and acquiring equity in private companies. This is the very definition of socialism.

b. GM and Chrysler dealership owners have been summarily relieved of their profitable franchises and their property rights by the government. We will hear more about this later today in the form of a letter from dealership owner and former POW Marvin Tamaroff.

c. They have established 22 czars to take control of our lives and our economy. That's more czars than the Romanov's in Russia appointed.

d. They are ignoring bankruptcy law. 2000 families who own GM bonds will get nothing, even though they are secured creditors. Instead, the UAW, which is an unsecured creditor but a political patron of the administration, will get partial ownership of the new GM.

e. The mainstream media have essentially nationalized themselves into a fourth branch of the federal government, like Pravda was in the Soviet Union. ABC broadcast a special on nationalized health care directly from the White House for free, while refusing paid airtime requests from opposing groups.

Electing Obama and the socialists was not a four year mistake, it was a forty year mistake. It will take generations to repair the damage they are doing.

A monumental change is taking place in the relationship between the state and the individual in America. We are rapidly descending from a Constitutional Republic of limited government and free and independent citizens to a European Socialist state that is larger and more oppressive than the European monarchy we revolted against two centuries ago.

Thomas Jefferson said, "Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." He was very prophetic. We are at a dangerous tipping point. Roughly fifty percent of eligible voters pay federal income taxes, and the remaining fifty percent don't. Eventually, taxpayers could be exposed to an electoral majority that will simply vote their wealth away. We are starting to see that happen now, with the elected socialists in Washington spending a trillion here and a trillion there.

I want to speak directly to the middle class now. Too often, our political discourse is about the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak. Too often, the middle class is just a pawn used by politicians for the benefit of victims and bureaucrats. It is time for middle class Americans to be heard. It is time for you soccer moms and football dads to flex your political muscle. You are the backbone of this country. You work hard every day, you nurture your families, and you build your communities. There are enough of you to control the political fate of this country.

The socialism that is descending over America will affect you, your children, and your way of life for decades to come. Obama has proposed over $8 trillion in new spending in his first term. The rich don't make that much money. The middle class is going to pay for it, either through increased taxes or through inflation. If the government confiscated 100% of the income of every person making $75,000 or more, it would barely have enough to cover 2009 expenditures. That means they're eventually going to raise taxes on the middle class.

But increased taxes are not the only clear and present danger. Here are three other imminent threats to every single person in the middle class:

o Threat #1: Your retirement is going to be far more difficult than you imagined. Here are a few reasons why:

o The government has already spent your Social Security contributions. There is not a single penny for your retirement in the trust fund. And since there are fewer and fewer workers, and more and more retirees, the government will have to raise social security taxes, or reduce social security benefits. One or the other will happen.

o A proposal is being floated to eliminate your 401(k) tax deduction. Apparently, the government doesn't like it when you save your own money for your own retirement.

o Nancy Pelosi has proposed a Windfall Tax on all stock market profits, including retirement funds and 401(k)'s. When asked how these new tax dollars would be spent, she replied, "We need to raise the standard of living of our poor and unemployed." So, after saving your entire life, you will be forced to hand it over to someone who didn't.

o Your retirement savings will be indirectly confiscated through inflation. As the government prints more and more money, your retirement assets will be worth less and less.

o This administration is going to cause you to work longer, to retire with less, and to hand over your assets to someone less responsible than you.

o Threat #2: Your energy costs are going to sky rocket. Here are a few reasons why:

o They are creating new bureaucracies and new taxes to "save" us from carbon dioxide, which is a gas we naturally exhale and a gas plants naturally use for food.

o Therefore, energy costs will be higher as "cap and trade" carbon emission fees are imposed and the government forces conversion to more expensive alternative energy sources. Cap and trade will cost a typical family $3000 per year, according to the Heritage Foundation.

o The government is preventing drilling for domestic sources of oil. This will drive the price of gas to record highs when the world economy recovers.

o Every commodity that requires energy to be produced and distributed will cost more, especially food. The cost of doing business will go up, which will drive more jobs overseas. Ironically, these jobs are likely to go to India and China, where they have 2.3 billion people who exhale carbon dioxide and who are not implementing cap and trade regulations and themselves.

o Threat #3: Nationalized health care will result in higher taxes and fewer choices. Here are a few reasons why:

o The program will cost at least $1 trillion dollars. Here are two of the taxes being discussed to pay for it:

- A tax on health care benefits is being considered, but without the $5000 credit that McCain proposed. Interestingly, union workers will not be subject to this tax.

- A Value Added Tax is being considered. This will increase the cost of everything you buy.

o Socialized health care will cost you more than money. Here are some unfortunate side-effects:

A government bureaucrat will come between you and your doctor. This bureaucrat will ration health care and, ultimately, determine who lives or dies. In countries with socialized medicine, old age is increasingly being used as a reason for denying access to expensive procedures. Soccer moms, heads up: In England, the most effective treatments for breast cancer are no longer covered, because they are too expensive.

To see how ineffective socialized health care will be, consider how government involvement has fared in other areas:

o The government gave money to banks and car companies, then used this as an excuse to make decisions for them. When they pay for your health care, they will use the exact same excuse to make decisions for you and your family.

o Think about how the Secretary of State office is run. You will take a number, stand in line, and wait for health care, too.

o Think about the horror stories of poor quality health care provided by the Veterans Administration. If the government can't even properly care for veterans who risked their lives for us, what kind of care can your family expect?

White House, Congress, and Federal employees will not be required to participate in the plan. That alone should tell us everything we need to know.

The middle class will be taxed more, its energy costs will skyrocket, its wealth will be stolen by inflation, its healthcare will be rationed, its employers will be hounded out of business, and its golden retirement will vanish into the nothingness of a bankrupt socialist state. To get a glimpse of your future, consider what is happening in socialist states like California. California is on the verge of issuing IOU's to vendors and low-income seniors, because their government has run out of money. You can't feed a family with an IOU.

This is a momentous time. We are witnessing the opening acts of the most profound restructuring of our political system since 1776. We will be making great choices for ourselves, our children, and our nation. We are choosing between:

o Individual rights versus subservience to bureaucrats

o Individual responsibility versus chronic dependence on the taxpayers

o Limited government versus a nanny state that intrudes in every aspect of our lives

We have 100 senators, 435 congressmen, and 1 president. 536 politicians, in a nation of 300 million citizens, are responsible for the predicament that we're in. The problems in our civil society exist because these 536 politicians are focused on the next election, not on the next generation, and not on our founding principles.

Abraham Lincoln told us, "We the people are the rightful masters of the congress and the courts, not to overthrow the constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the constitution." Given the disaster confronting us now, we have no choice but to follow Lincoln's advice and throw the tyrants out of office!

But do we have the will to do it?

There are examples of brave people around the world revolting against their oppressive governments. Young students in Iran are risking their lives for a precious yet intangible thing called liberty. They are truly courageous, and they deserve our admiration and support.

But make no mistake. No one in the world knows the value and the cost of liberty more acutely than we Americans. Many times over, we have bought and paid for our liberty with our blood and our lives, on American battlefields called Yorktown and Gettysburg, on Normandy beaches called Omaha and Utah, and on Pacific islands called Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. Liberty is ours by right. Liberty is ours by the blood of our fallen soldiers. Liberty is something we will never surrender to socialists who are betraying us in Washington today!

I had an epiphany on election day last November. After seeing the results, my wife and I couldn't believe what had happened to our country. We shed a few tears and fell into a depression. But later in the evening, we had a revelation, a spiritual conversion, sort of like Saul on the road to Damascus. We realized that we had not earned the right to feel sorry for ourselves, because we had not fully participated in being citizens. Sure, we had voted, but voting on election day is like going to church on Sunday. Just as being a true Christian requires participation every day, not just on Sunday, being a true citizen requires participation between election cycles, not just on election day.

We decided to become true citizens. So, here I am, an average taxpayer and a father of eight kids. I'm up on this stage because I refuse to leave the world to them in the mess that it is now. Our fathers and forefathers left our generation a priceless jewel of a country. It is on the verge of being destroyed. It is up to every one of us to save it.

Will this battle be difficult? Of course. But think about the difficulties the original patriots faced. When they signed the Declaration of Independence, 30,000 mercenary soldiers were landing in New York harbor to put down the insurrection. Signing the Declaration was like signing their own death warrants. Some of them were killed in the years that followed, and some lost their fortunes.

Ronald Reagan told us, "No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women."

So, free men and women, get ready to make your voices heard, because I have four simple questions for you. Please answer these questions loudly:

o Are we going to surrender our liberty to big government in Washington?

o Are we going to allow our government to nationalize our industries and our health care?

o Are we going to allow our government to spend and tax the middle class out of existence?

o Are we going to allow our government to transfer wealth from successful businesses and hard-working individuals, to failing businesses and irresponsible individuals?

Well then, I hope you'll join the battle and sign up to help. As for me, I'm all in. I'm all in for the U.S. Constitution, for limited government, and for sovereignty of the individual. I'm all in for doing whatever it takes to preserve liberty in America. I'm all in, just like our brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be free. I'm all in, just like our forefathers who committed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor on a 4th of July many years ago to give birth to America. I'm all in, just like Patrick Henry. If you'll recall, he had something important to say about situations like these.

He said, "Give me liberty, or give me death".

It's tea party time in America!

Thank you!

James R. Keena is the author of "Insurrection Resurrection", a novel of religious and political satire, and the pro-liberty website http://www.pathlessland.net