My Tax Day Tea Party Experience

CNN, MSNBC, Others Completely Mis-Represent Reality

Today I attended the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party Protest at Dirksen Federal Plaza in Downtown Chicago.  The event had been planned along with hundreds of other Tax Day Tea Parties nationwide.

First, I wish to extend my kudos to the Chicago Tea Party event organizers.  The event was well planned with a solid agenda and good speakers.  As non-partisan events go, it was really well done.  More than 10,000 people attended filling the Dirksen Federal Plaza to capacity, overflowing onto the streets.

People that I had the good fortune to speak to were a mix of those that identified with the Democrat and Republican parties with a fair sprinkle of "Independent" voters mixed in.  All of whom came together because they're concerned about the explosive growth of the Federal Government, government intrusion into our daily lives, and the fact that the Federal Government has for years spent our hard-earned taxpayer dollars foolishly.  This was the overarching concern expressed by speaker and attendee alike - many of which brought their children to this event.

As rally's and protests go, the crowd was exceptionally well behaved.  People were friendly with each other, talked about the creativity of all the signs, why they were there, and often taking pictures of the event.  There was a sense of history, the 'spark' that's about to light the wildfire that I think we all sense coming.

There were also a number of reporters covering the event from most of the major news networks as well.  Photographers went about the crowd snapping pictures, TV crews took footage while reporters conducted interviews.

One interview that happened right behind where this writer was standing, was done by CNN's own Susan Roesgen.  Susan spent some time wandring around the south-end of Dirksen Federal Plaza, commenting aloud for many to hear how "stupid" and "ignorant" she viewed those in attendance.  In the footage you are about to see below, Susan Roesgen interviews a gentleman who brought his two year old son to the rally.  There were many children ages 2-12 or so that came down to the city with their Parents, and this was what I'd call a 'family friendly' event.  There was a sense of history in the crowd, a sense of tradition that is the American Experience in that we have the right like no other country, to voice our opinion when we believe our Government is out of line.

But rather than conduct an interview, Susan Roesgen's liberal bias is instantly apparent.  As she argues with the gentleman she's 'interviewing' those who could hear her begin booing her.  It's only at that point that Roesgen 'retreats' and claims an "anti-CNN bias" before sending the broadcast back to the CNN studio.

But here's what you won't see on camera: Roesgen walking around the crowd being rude and belligerent to rally participants and challenging them to debate her on CNN.  Roesgen spent more than 15 minutes within earshot of this writer trying to goad various rally participants into going on the air.  To the credit of those in attendance, none bit as it was apparent what she was up to.  We all saw it. 

As Roesgen began arguing with her interview subject, those of us around her who had witnessed her behavior before the interview began booing her. 

And CNN wonders why their ratings are completely in the tank?  Look no further than Susan Roesgen's behavior, which is typical of the liberal elite media.  They after all know better than we do, don't they?

(CNN Reporter Harassed at Chicago Tea Party?  Hardly.  She came in with an agenda and failed in executing it.)