Santelli on Tea Parties

CNBC “Squawk Box” co-host Joe Kernen asked Rick Santelli – who may have given birth to the Tax Day Tea Parties in an on-air rant Feb. 19 – what he thought of the “cultural phenomenon” he inspired.

“I don’t know about cultural phenomenon, but I’ll tell you what,” Santelli said. “I think that this tea party phenomenon is steeped in American culture and steeped in American notion to get involved with what’s going on with our government. I haven’t organized. I’m going to have to work to pay my taxes, so I’m not going to be able to get away today. But, I have to tell you – I’m pretty proud of this.” Santelli also defended the tea parties from attacks from MSNBC, who called the movement “astroturf.”

“I think from a grassroots standpoint, I’m sure some of the media out there is not going to peg it that way, but isn’t it about as American as it gets – for people to roll their strollers and make their signs and go voice their opinion about the direction of the country?” Santelli said. “Good, bad or indifferent – that’s a great thing. There’s not a lot of countries, of course, that afford their people that, that type of right. It’s a great thing.”