Sly: Hopefully, tea parties mean more involvement

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Citizens' anger over billion-dollar automaker and bank bailouts and other big government spending programs is brewing, and will surface Wednesday at Tax Day tea parties.

There are several local versions planned as part of this national protest. The organizers are people such as Denise Choate, a Modesto mother, wife and small businesswoman who hasn't been active in politics but is increasingly concerned about government spending. She asks a question that has been showing up regularly in letters to the editor: How are we going to pay for all this?

Choate is facilitating a party from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Tenth Street Plaza in Modesto. KFIV talk show host Dave Diamond will broadcast live from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. He'll be joined by Rusty Humphries, a nationally syndicated broadcaster from Seattle. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, will speak as part of the program from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Diamond (who writes community columns for us under his real name, Dave Bowman) senses there's "a big purple mix" of people out there who believe government is stepping way beyond its bounds with the stimulus spending. The sentiment crosses party lines.

I spoke to several local people involved with tea parties and all stressed that their focus is out-of-control government spending and intrusion into private business. Participants are trying to leave contentious social issues, such as abortion, out of the discussion.

Christi Falke is organizing a tea party from noon to 2 p.m. at Central Park in Turlock. A mother of three and small-business owner with her husband, she's another newcomer to this kind of activism. She believes that the larger government gets, the less freedom individuals have. The looming federal deficit, she suggests, "will enslave us."

These tea parties are so grass-roots -- spread largely over the Internet -- that it's impossible to know just how many there will be or what kind of draw they'll have.

There's a promising potential, though, that they can tap into widespread frustration and channel it into citizens wanting to learn more about government decision making. Better yet, more people will start showing up at local board and council meetings and even running for office.

Sly is editor of the Opinions pages. Contact her at jsly@modbee.com or 578-2317.