Americans Have The Right To Protest

Floor Speech

AMERICANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROTEST -- (House of Representatives - April 23, 2009)

(Mr. FLEMING asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, last week I joined thousands of citizens in my district to protest the reckless disregard Washington has shown for the taxpayers of this Nation and their hard-earned dollars.

People are angry, they are frustrated, and they feel that Washington is not listening, so they came together to protest in the same manner as our forefathers. Their message was simple. Stop spending our money, taxing our families and borrowing against the future of our children.

How did the media and our Democrat leaders here in Washington respond? They were dismissive.

The Speaker of the House, in fact, referred to this grassroots effort as Astroturf.

At the same time, Homeland Security released a report labeling political opponents of the administration as potential terrorists. The right of citizens to speak out against their party in power is at the heart of our democracy.

For a party that carps about bipartisanship and freedom of speech, the Democrat leadership should back their words with actions.

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