Wetumpka Tea Party President tears up during opening statement at IRS hearing. 'I'm not here as a serf or a vassal, I'm not begging my lords for mercy,' your job is 'to preserve American liberty...and you have faltered'

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6/4/13, "Wetumpka, Ala. Tea Party Pres. Tears Up During Opening Statement," Washington Free Beacon

"Wetumpka, Alabama Tea Party president Becky Gerritson teared up Tuesday during her opening statement before the House Ways & Means Committee.

Gerritson recounted the invasive and intimidating requests by the IRS and said their actions indicate they were specifically attempting to stifle a particular point of view:

"BECKY GERRITSON: [...] The individuals who sought to intimidate us were acting as they thought they should, in a government culture that has little respect for its citizens. Many of the agents and agencies of the federal government do not understand that they are servants of the people. They think they are our masters, and they are mistaken. I am not interested in scoring political points. I want to protect and preserve the America that I grew up in, the America of the people who crossed oceans and risked their lives to become a part of. And I am terrified it is slipping away. Thank you.""

More from Ms. Gerritson at the hearing:

6/4/13, "Tea party witness chokes up: ‘I’m not begging my lords for mercy. I’m a born free American woman’," Daily Caller

"A tea party witness from Alabama launched into emotional testimony Tuesday as she described her group’s political abuse at the hands of the Internal Revenue Service.

“We peacefully assemble. We petition our government. We exercise the right to free speech. And we don’t understand why the government tried to stop us,” Wetumpka Tea Party President Becky Gerritson said during her opening statement before the House Ways and Means Committee.

“I’m not here as a serf or a vassal,” she went on, beginning to choke up. “I’m not begging my lords for mercy. I’m a born-free American woman, wife, mother and citizen.” 

“And I’m telling my government that you’ve forgotten your place. It’s not your responsibility to look out for my well-being and to monitor my speech. It’s not your right to assert an agenda. Your post, the post that you occupy exists to preserve American liberty. You’ve sworn to perform that duty. And you have faltered,” Gerritson said."

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