Tea Party Coloring Book Teaches Kids That A High Tax Rate ‘Takes Away Jobs and Freedom’

Calling it a “wonderful book of The Tea Party for Kids,” a St. Louis-based publisher has sold “many thousands” of its Tea Party Coloring Book for Kids! The book, complete with “puzzles, mazes and connect the dots,” promises to teach kids about “Liberty, Faith, Freedom and so much more!” “We’re not really making a political statement,” publisher Wayne Bell told CBS News, though the book contains a good deal of far-right rhetoric. For example, it warns that government-run healthcare “cannot be the only choice,” and that “[w]hen taxes are too high, the high tax takes away jobs and freedom.” “In 1773 we had a Tea Party and this led to freedom from high taxes,” the book explains to kids. “Today we are having another Tea Party and this will lead to freedom from high taxes again!” (Nevermind that tax rates in 2009 were actually the lowest since 1950). The tea party coloring book:



While Bell said he is not a member of the tea party movement, activists seem to love the book, forcing Bell to print new copies every day to keep up with demand. The coloring book seems to be latest scheme of tea party profiteering. From for-profit tea party web forums, to Fox News host Glenn Beck’s Goldline scam, to a convention that cost $550 per ticket with a primary goal of making money, the movement has been characterized by people looking to exploit others’ political grievances for personal reward. Indeed, asked about his his affiliation with the movement, Bell said, “I’m a salesman, okay, first and foremost. I sell coloring books for crying out loud.”