‘Tea party’ speakers urge Valley to ‘take back government’

CANFIELD — For two hours, a half-dozen speakers stood in the gazebo on the Canfield green and called on folks from the Mahoning Valley to “take back government” from the Obama administration and other Washington politicians.

“Now he wants health-care legislation pushed through before anyone can read it,” said Dr. Donald K. Allen of Boardman, a veterinarian who’s planning to run next year as a Republican against U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-6th, of St. Clairsville.

“It can’t be Chicago politics as usual. We need to put the brakes on [health-care reform] before we experience the greatest train wreck in history.”

Allen drew applause from the crowd of about 500 people on the perils of health care reform, but the crowd attending the Tri-County “Tea (Taxed Enough Already) Party” also cheered when Allen talked about the cost of frivolous lawsuits, which he said clog court dockets and jack up the cost of health- care premiums.

He said anyone who works in a hospital can tell you how hospitals are overwhelmed by people who don’t have health insurance, don’t know how to take care of themselves and use the emergency room because they know it will be free.

“We already pay for these people now. How will nationalized health care change that except to lead to bloated health-care bureaucracy?” he asked.

In countries with government health care, the length of time between seeing a specialist and having surgery is three months, Allen said.

Obama, on television this week, has countered that fears about health-care reform are being blown out of proportion by conservative talk show hosts and that he is only calling for a government health care option, not elimination of private health care.

Henry Nemenz, who operates 17 area Save-A-Lot stores and three IGA stores, said he blames the government for failing to control monopolies such as Wal-Mart the way it used to, and the result has been lost jobs among Wal-Mart competitors and suppliers not willing to meet Wal-Mart price demands.

Goshen Township farmer Roger Martig said life on a farm taught him fundamentals about living within his means that Obama and others don’t seem to understand.

Many people have worked on his farms over the years during their high school years, and they frequently stop to see him now and tell him “‘How you doing, Uncle Roger? You taught me how to work,’ and I am proud of that.”

He added that members of Congress are the ones with the health problem. They can’t read because they don’t read the legislation they’ve been approving, can’t add and subtract (“I know you can’t borrow yourself rich), they’re blind (“They want you to go green, but green’s not green. It’s going to make everything red) and they’re deaf (“They can’t hear the people like us.”)

“This country has seen moral decay,” Martig said. “Look at young people. Look at Congress. Nobody tells the truth.”

Bill Johnson of Warren called on Americans to get involved so that the health-care legislation and the cap-and-trade provisions of the energy bill designed to cap the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by companies don’t become law.

“We’re taking it [government] back for the highest-ranking people in the land: we the people,” he said.

“They are spending at a rate which will leave our great grandchildren to pick up the tab.”

Nancy Young of Cortland said she thinks events such as the “tea party” should alert more people to the expansion of government intrusion in Americans’ lives.

“I think too many people have no idea what’s going on. We need to be in the streets, in Washington.”

Perry Chickonoski of Struthers said the he’s concerned that a proposal for cap-and-trade provision in the energy bill that would require energy audits on homes would destroy property values in places such as“Chickonoski said the idea of conserving energy and reducing greenhouse emissions is a good idea, and he tries to do his part, but Congress should not “force people” to conserve energy.

Ron Seidle of Columbiana said after the TEA Party was over that discussions such as the one in Canfield on Friday are necessary because of the cost of the legislation being approved.

“I’m angry at all the insane spending,” he said.

runyan@vindy.com