Tea Party on Monday

The Mission Viejo Tea Party will take place on Mon., Apr. 16, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the corners of La Paz and Marguerite. It is the fourth annual Tax Day protest. While the official Tax Day is Apr. 17 this year, rallies will continue throughout a three-day period.

Last week, a Tax Day Protest in Los Angeles was canceled. The L.A. event was unrelated to the Tea Party in Mission Viejo. Tea Party groups are independent, and most of them don’t rely on outsiders for help. According to the L.A. group, such reliance led to the cancelation of their Tax Day Protest.

A five-page letter on the L.A. group’s website details how an outsider infiltrated their Tea Party committee. After weeks of preparation, the organizers canceled the rally, concluding they should have done a background check instead of operating on blind trust. The lengthy description was posted on the website prior to being shorted to a summary of the lesson learned

From the inception of the Tea Party movement in 2009, it has been based on conservative ideals of constitutionally limited government, free markets, lower taxes and personal freedom. Another objective of the national 2012 Tax Day Protest is to unite various factions who want to unseat liberal, big-spending politicians.

Community members who drive by the Mission Viejo rally on Monday will see protest signs. The acronym TEA stands for Taxed Enough Already, and it reflects the spirit of the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

The Mission Viejo event will include patriotic music during the warm-up led by Jeff Morrow. Tom Speiss, the group’s vocalist for most of the rallies, passed away in December after battling lung disease for several years.

Speakers during the Tea Party will be introduced by Todd Spitzer, who also emceed the event a year ago. Spitzer as a former Assemblyman championed issues important to Mission Viejo’s residents. During the 2007 wildfires that threatened 2,000 homes in Foothill Ranch, he was on the front lines, trying to get four National Guard helicopters into action during the crucial early hours of the fire. While bureaucrats said it was the wind that kept the helicopters grounded, subsequent information showed it was red tape.

Speaking during the Tea Party will be GOP County Chairman Scott Baugh and Karl Heft, vice president of the California Republican Assembly. Other speakers include leaders of conservative groups.

Attendees are invited to bring protest signs or American flags to wave.