Debbie Dooley has emailed Mayor Kasim Reed demanding that the Tea Party Patriots receive the same treatment that OSW Atlanta’s hippie horde has received. Apparently they’ve followed up with a written request and Mayor Reed pledged to review requests on a case-by-case basis.
Here’s a suggestion, based in part on a comment by “ted in bed” that in order to be able to sue the City of Atlanta over unequal treatment, the TPP need to establish legal standing by delivering a fully-filled out and compliant permit application.
So here’s my suggestion: “Tea Party in the Park.” Lawyer up and start planning a Tea Party event in one of Atlanta’s parks and when the inevitable permit denials come down, take the city to court.
It’s a win-win scenario. If permits are issued, the TPP can hold an event to rival the Tax Day 2009 in one of Atlanta’s parks. Instead of a third-rate downtown pocket park, however, I’d suggest either Centennial Olympic Park or Piedmont Park as both offer better amenities.
You could do a family-friendly weekend Tea Party Palooza with a band or bands, kids’ activities, organizing seminars for TPP members, a strict noise limit at a reasonable hour, and at the end of the weekend, leave the park in better shape than when you came. I bet you could even get a conservative talk radio show to broadcast live from the park.
Should the city deny the permit, you have two or three years of litigation to use as a platform for media and fundraising. Either way, you’ll be calling Mayor Reed’s hand.
[UPDATED] The AJC is reporting that the 52 occupiers arrested in Woodruff Park are to be released on signature bonds and they’re to return to court on March 9, 2012 for arraignment. According to the AJC “Atlanta Police spokesman Carlos Campos issued a statement at mid-morning saying that the park was closed and that anyone entering the park would be arrested.”
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I suggest ‘Peach Pundit in the Park’. No permits needed, lets just plan a camp out for this weekend. We can invite the GGA to join us and blog for 48 hours straight.
Do we have to get a lawsuit going just to prove a point?
I totally agree with the point…the action by the mayor has been unfair and biased. (and frankly it just plain stinks…literally…I have to go to Broad St. for lunch quite often and those folks have created a scent down there) However, I’d rather the TPP make the point that the mayor is biased, yada yada yada in the public and hopefully prevent this type of blatant unequal application of the rules in the future than actually have to see protests being allowed by every group under the sun for the rest of eternity without following any of the regulations.
The point should be to have the law followed or overturned(please, no!)…not to apply a “timmy got to ride the pony without paying so I want to ride the pony without paying too or I’ll throw a temper tantrum” rationale.
Maybe I’m being a conservative grinch…but I just want the park back to how it was…pretty clean, charming, and a daily mix of homeless and white collar workers. Oh…and I want the city to stop wasting $$ on police, upkeep, etc. for these urban campers. By the way, if they are begging for money, doesn’t that violate the city’s panhandling laws? I swear I’ve read articles that they are asking for money from passer by’s.
“I’d rather the TPP make the point that the mayor is biased, yada yada yada in the public and hopefully prevent this type of blatant unequal application of the rules in the future”
Really, dude? Let me know how that works out for you.
I really don’t even know what you are implying and what your point is with that response, although I appreciate being called ‘dude’ whenever I can earn it.
The point with my quotes, and maybe you missed it trying to think of clever ways to address me in my post (dude? Really? Was “chief” taken?), is that we have other ways of rectifying unequal treatment in this country based upon view point besides litigation…its called the political process and the court of public opinion.
Regardless, you focusing on one statement misses the entire point of my comment…they don’t need a lawsuit to make the point the treatment wouldn’t be the same for all view points and I don’t want any other group, yahoo’s or not, allowed to break the ordinances.
Let’s look at this for a second though….
What is the harm they suffered? That they have to follow the law and the other boy didn’t? Oh…Boooooooo Hooooooooo. I’m so sorry that you have to follow laws and ordinances and that Timmy didn’t. Tough pa-tooties.
They’ve been discriminated against, but they haven’t been harmed one iota. A lawsuit over that is bullcrap and litigious and flies in the face of most of what conservatives believe about the justice system and frivolous lawsuits. They haven’t suffered any harm. They are no worse off than they were three weeks ago. Stop threatening frivolous lawsuits when it suits your purposes and decrying them when it doesn’t. (Translation: Someone needs to tell Debbie to grow up.)
The political process doesn’t always work. No amount of clever press will get The Man to follow the rules if he doesn’t want to.
“They’ve been discriminated against, but they haven’t been harmed one iota.” That’s why they should apply for a permit and absorb a little harm.
An I’m of the opinion that a lawsuit to make a government follow the law is seldom frivolous. We’ll just have to disagree on that one.
“And I’m of the opinion that a lawsuit to make a government follow the law is seldom frivolous.”
Except when the person threatening to file the lawsuit is an ideological and political opponent of the person that he (or she) is suing, and the sole purpose of the suit is political. And please keep in mind: you yourself recently dedicated a whole entry to claiming that the ethics charges against Nathan Deal were similarly politically motivated and without merit.
But the lawsuit isn’t because they are NOT following the law, it would be because they are following the law with the TPP. That’s the point.
If Debbie wants to file a lawsuit on behalf of the friends of woodruff because the law wasn’t followed for damages to the park, be my guest. But what she is saying in that email is “if you follow the law with us, I’ll sue.” that’s bs.
No, she is saying if you don’t apply the law equally, we’ll sue. That’s demanding fair government without making exceptions for groups that the may like or being harder on groups that they may not like. I don’t think that attitude is unreasonable.
False.
Read the email.
“In the future, Atlanta Tea Party expects to receive the same “benefits” or waiving of fees, permits, restrictions that you have accorded the Occupy Atlanta protests. If we don’t, we will seek legal action..”
She is not asking for equal application of the law…she is asking for equal non-application of the law.
I’m not saying that she shouldn’t hold the gov’t accountable or demanding fair government…in fact, that’s exactly what I said. My point is that threatening a lawsuit if the mayor doesn’t bend the rules for her group too is…anyway, i’ve said plenty.
“Apply the law equally”
= true
Think about the statement.
If the law isn’t applied equally, court is a great place to bring that up to seek remedies.
And that, my friend, is what the hip-hoppers call “droppin’ knowledge” and/or “layin’ the smack down.” (Or at least that is what they used to call it 15 years ago when I was still listening to that brain-rotting stuff.)
Seriously, the “base” of the Tea Party is outside the perimeter (physically, ideologically, demographically) and they are rather proud of that fact. These are the same folks who – in 99.99999% of the other contexts – can’t let us know loudly enough or often enough how much they despise Atlanta. So, SURE they ARE JUST DYING to hold an event in a place where 95% of them never set foot in and wouldn’t even drive through at night. (Well, that is unfair. So make it 92% so we can include the Braves and Falcons fans. And those who take the wrong exit on the way to Buckhead.) My guess is that there is as much LEGITIMATE demand for a Tea Party rally in downtown Atlanta as there is to play those HBCU “classic” type games (you know, when FAMU, Tennessee State, Southern, Grambling et al come play and everyone fondly remembers what a GREAT TIME segregation was and all that …) to Forsyth County. I mean seriously, all those “Atlanta” based conservative talk show hosts including types like Sean Hannity that have gone national … how many remotes, events, book signings etc. have they had downtown? When GOP candidates come to Atlanta to raise money, when do they go downtown? Please. They head straight to Buckhead, Cobb, Gwinnett, Sandy Springs etc. where the talk oft inevitably leads to (I would imagine) how awful the city and its residents are.
Just an attempt to play partisan political games with a Democratic mayor. That’s all any “lawsuit” would be designed to accomplish.
Rense-
Don’t confuse my frustration with frivolous lawsuits to be any sort of anti-tea party or pro-occupy Atlanta rant. I just don’t want any crazies in the park any more (beyond the regular ole homeless)
As we might have said a while back…
#occupydeeznuts
Of course you ignore the fact that it was a permit issue that ultimately the Mayor acted on
They ultimately acted on the prohibition of being in the park between 1 AM and 6 AM. Nobody was charged with anything having to do with a permit.
What ultimately provoked the confrontation was Occupy Atlanta insisting on continuing an unpermitted event.
Hey if Debbie and the gang want to go camp out in a park for a few weeks, I’ll enthusiastically support them.
If they try to stage an event like you describe unpermitted then I’ll support their ejection.
Because that’s exactly what happened to Occupy Atlanta.
was the original owp spokesman george chidi arrested?
I don’t think any Tea Party gathering would the same “threat” to public safety that the Mayor was basing much of his newfound concern over Occupy. And I don’t think the organizers would employ the same tactics that got Occupy under the Mayor’s skin.
Well, I can see Tea Partiers make things a little uncomfortable for some of the Mayor’s staff if they showed up at the park.
When the levitation threats started rolling in, it was time to act.
Yeah, if that building had of tipped over when it was that high off the ground, all kind of folks would have been hurt, not to mention the property damage. It was really windy out that afternoon. Glad the mayor acted when he did.
I keep wondering why the Koch brothers are targets of all the hatred. What about Soros – all of his currency manipulations should get him some conspiracy theories and Hobbit references.
Koch brothers give to Repubs, Soros to Dems. One is evil, the other is a white knight in shining armor riding to the rescue of the less fortunate and down-trodden. Surely, you know this Chuck.
Congressman Hank “Savior of Guam” Johnson is doubly glad.
Don’t invite him….the park would tip over.
So the Tea Party wants to camp out in the park like a bunch of dirty drugged-out commies?
Sure, why not? Be my guest!…
I don’t know who’s advising Ms. Dooley, but there are SO MANY more bigger fish to fry than demanding that the Tea Party receive the same treatment as a bunch of wacked-out marxist pinkos with poor hygiene.
If its a poor use of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund the costs associated with Occupy Atlanta, then why would the “Tea Party” ask the Mayor for the same treatment? Does this group pledged to guard taxpayer funds believe its ok to blow that much taxpayer coin so long as its on them? Doubtful the rank-n-file voter that associate themself with the tea party would agree with this “two wrongs make a right” policy rationale.
Point of clarification:
C.O.P. is maintained by the State of GA.
Piedmont Park is owned by the Piedmont Conservancy.
Personally I have no problem with the Teabaggers camping in the park for 2 weeks. Frankly, I doubt most of the could last 6 hours without a beer or DWtS, but it would be interesting who has more ‘staying power’, old whites or young ones. Maybe a ‘tailgating’ event?
They would probably march to the King gravesite and protest tax money putting sidewalks in front of the property or something, idk.
But in the end, you won’t find anyone with Teabagging attitudes caught anywhere near “N***er town” as my Teabagging parents so eloquently put it.
I love this idea; there’s nothing funnier than misspelled Tea Party signs and rampant displays of racism.
You’re so right Cosmic, those OWS rocket surgeons have got it all figured out. By cracky, I think they’re the smartest folks around. Let’s just cede all governmental (and private industry while we’re at it) functions to them and they’ll be putting free gas in our tanks and paying our mortgages in no time. Hell, we won’t even need jobs when they’re in charge! They can take stuff we want from the evil people that actually own things and give to the masses.
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