POCATELLO, ID – The nationwide Tea Party movement is stirring up quite a bit of controversy, some of which comes from a lack of understanding about what's motivating so many American citizens to take to the streets in protest of what their government is doing. Some critics have jumped to conclusions and made wild speculations about the Tea Parties being driven by Republican sore losers, corporate astroturfing, or even racist ideologies.
 
The nonpartisan, liberty-loving Pocatello Tea Party understands that reactions ranging from curiosity to alarm deserve an explanation. Why has this spontaneous uprising that's happening all over America attracted an assortment of opportunists who pretend leadership and an even wider variety of participants from all walks of life?
 
Chris Stevens, one of the local participants, said, “The Tea Parties aren't about left and right or black and white. I don't think there's much difference between left-wing socialism and right-wing fascism or any other liberty-denying ideology. I have found that most Americans agree with us if they can see past the divisive name-calling that creates needless hostility between neighbors.”
 
Here is a short list of common concerns from the Tea Party. They say these issues cross all party lines and have nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin:

• Since its inception in 1913, the Federal Reserve has helped to devalue our dollar by 95%.
• During the recent economic crisis, the Fed has poured trillions of dollars into the economy with no oversight, made secret agreements with foreign banks and governments, and has refused to tell Congress who is getting the money or to give it the details of what deals are being made.
• The federal government is rapidly increasing the national debt, borrowing and spending trillions of dollars around the world, burdening future generations of Americans with a debt they didn't even get to vote on.
• The federal government has strayed far from its constitutionally enumerated powers, seizing increasing amounts of power over local government and the lives of the people.
• The executive branch has failed to enforce our immigration laws, but they are increasingly blurring the lines between federal and local law enforcement against American citizens.
• Politicians who have erected an unsustainable bureaucracy are now seizing control of the largest private industries, including banks, automakers, energy producers, and health care.
• No matter how frugal and responsible a state like Idaho is, the IRS confiscates increasing amounts of the wealth we produce to pay for all of the above and more.

“'If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention,' is a popular slogan. I think it has more to do with the media you pay attention to. There are a lot of choices, a lot of distractions, and a lot of biases” said Stevens.
 
Grassroots anger at the inability of Washington to live within a budget has been building for some time, and began to boil over in 2008 as the Bush Administration and Treasury Secretary Paulson abandoned their claimed free market principles to bail out automakers and Wall Street banks through TARP.
 
When newly-elected President Obama and his allies in Congress passed the $780 billion debt stimulus plan in February 2009, the controversial and wildly popular Tea Party demonstrations against out-of-control government spending took to the streets. On tax day, the Tea Party movement began in earnest. The Independence Day Tea Parties continued to build the momentum.
 
Until now the movement has remained at the local levels. No longer will that be the case. The movement is going to Washington on September 12, 2009 for a march and rally at the U.S. Capitol. The event will kick-off on September 10th and 11th with various events throughout Washington, including grassroots leadership training and Capitol Hill visits. The three-day event culminates on September 12th as taxpayers march on the Capitol building.
 
Who's responsible for the centralization of power in Washington D.C.? The president always gets a lot heat because of his position, but it goes a lot deeper than that. The people of the several states elect the lawmakers who make the laws.
 
Another local participant, LaRae Oram, said, “I'm a Pocatello Tea Party Activist because I believe in the American Constitution and when we have elected officials who blatantly vote against our Constitution, they vote against us! It's time to vote them out!”
 
America has come a long way since the Declaration of Independence. Some say those principles are old fashioned and the Constitution is outdated. Not the Tea Party. They say that principles of liberty are timeless and the American experiment with freedom should continue. They believe that the oppression common to other places and times should be repudiated by Americans.