by Mona Gallagher

Created on: May 05, 2009

The national tea parties held across the United States on April 15, 2009, were not based on the same principles as the Boston Tea Party of 1773. April 15th protesters were not protesting the payment of taxes, or taxation without representation, or even the governments right to tax them; they were protesting the collectivist philosophy behind the distribution of taxpayer money.

The mock tea parties of April 15, 2009 were a populist backlash.

The significance in the mock tea parties was the notion of personal freedoms based on Constitutional and amendment rights. The bailouts are ultimately perceived to be a power grab by the Federal Government. In that way, they bear semblance to the Boston Tea Party, where King George III used the tax situation to maintain control over the colonists.

Tea party protesters didn't approve of bailouts when Bush signed the TARP stimulus, and they didn't approve of the bailouts when Obama signed the ARRA stimulus a few months later. Both stimulus bills were advanced through scare tactics. The arguments remain the same: distribution of funds for the culprits who caused the economic meltdown and the phenomenal growth of government inherent in the bailouts.

Is the right to protest and freedom of speech important? Not everyone in DC thinks so and collectivism goes back a few years. "We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans." President Bill Clinton. So how did the protesters find the energy and inspiration to protest on April 15 th?

Inspiration for the tea parties:

Rick Santelli is the icon and inspiration for the tea parties. He, in many of his on air rants, said on CNBC that the Obama administration was rewarding bad behavior by bailing out those who helped create the economic meltdown. Watch his February 19, rant on Youtube

The American people agreed with him as they watched his rant. Within a day, the video went viral over the Internet with millions of viewers and his message reverberated with viewers who felt helpless with how our government took over the role of big daddy to Wall Street, auto industry and the housing industries pouring billions of taxpayer money after bad.

We witnessed giant banking institutions like AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac and others receive huge bailouts because they were "too big" to fail. Then came the auto industry and the mortgages. Santelli remarked "We might have a Chicago tea party in July." It happened sooner than he predicted.

Tea party protesters were angry that

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