This Saturday is, of course, Independence Day. It was also scheduled to be "Round Two" of the tea bag protests. But their planned protest seems to be fizzling like a wet firecracker. At least in the media's view, so far. Perhaps scheduling protests on one of the worst news days in the year is responsible for this inattention?

To refresh your memory (like a hot cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage of choice), the tea bag protest movement (out of solidarity with any group organizing protests, I will refrain from calling them "teabaggers") had their first public rallies across the country on April 15, or tax day. Now, this was a dandy idea -- protesting on the day most Americans hate and dread, when you have to file your income taxes. Feelings about April 15 may run deep, but they run deeply away from patriotic love of country. In other words, a good day for protesting.

Even though I didn't agree with the protesters back then, I wrote about their cause back in April, in an article titled "Tea And Sympathy." As I said, I respect protesting per se independent of whatever's being protested, because I know how hard it is to get anyone's attention (read: the mainstream media, the general public) by yelling in the streets. Yelling in the streets is an American tradition, guaranteed us by the Bill of Rights, and I have to respect it on that level alone.

I did question their use of tea bags back then, and their attempt at appropriating the message of the Boston Tea Party, since most Americans don't really know the true history of that seminal historic event.

But the most impressive thing back in April was that the protesters had a de facto corporate media sponsor for their events, as Fox News devoted their entire day's coverage to the numerous protests. This media attention (although I haven't watched much Fox News this week, so I could be wrong) seems non-existent this time around. Two days before the second round of tea bag protests was supposedly scheduled, there isn't much media attention on the upcoming events.

This, I believe, was due to a tactical error by the protesters. This tactical error was made on two levels -- one practical, and one emotional. On the practical side, July Fourth is just about the worst news day in the year to schedule a protest (if you want the media's attention, that is). Nobody watches the news on Independence Day, because most people are out at barbecues, parties, or watching fireworks. Adding to this disinterest, this year the Fourth falls on a Saturday. Saturday, for those who are unaware of media schedules, is the slowest and worst news day of the entire week. Even news junkies take the day off from watching news on Saturday, in other words. Saturday night (even when not a holiday) is not the night people pay attention to the world around them. And when a big holiday happens that (even when not on a Saturday) people celebrate by getting out of the house and turning off the television, the news will be filled with the boilerplate holiday stories (Ooo... look at the pretty fireworks, holiday deaths on the roads, patriotic parades, etc.). When the two merge, with a national holiday falling on Saturday, it's a double-whammy.

But the second reason this was a tactical scheduling error is even more important than the first. Because the Fourth Of July is a holiday about celebrating America. It's about as diametrically opposed to "tax day" as you can get. People are in a good mood on the Fourth. They're proud of their country, and proud to be celebrating its birthday. Even those not caught up in patriotic emotionalism are still in a good mood on the Fourth -- much more interested in eating fried chicken, burgers, hot dogs, and potato salad than in protesting the government. Call us a callous lot, but people are much more interested in drinking a beer and having fun than they are in angry protests on this day of all others.

Which, as I said, may lead to a serious fizzle of Tea Bag Day, Part Two. I'm sure there will be groups who will gather and wave their tea bags in anger and frustration. The media may even cover some of them. But, in terms of impact, the protest's scheduling decision will likely not get an "Oooh!" or an "Ahhh!" from the crowds, but rather have the same effect as a firework that turns out to be a dud.

-- Chris Weigant