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Chucking Privacy
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Chuck Grassley, King of Pork
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Another Perspective
Will You Join Us?
Tea Partiers have been able to do something that most political activists fail to accomplish.
As we draw closer to November’s midterm elections, some voters are beginning to express their optimism about the chances of sending a fiscally responsible majority to Washington. In the 2008 Presidential election, Americans begged for a change from the business-as-usual mentally that plagued the nation’s Capitol. We yearned for accountability. We yearned for restraint. We yearned for sanity. So many of us voted for what we thought was a return to less spending, lower taxes and more economic prosperity. Instead we got more of the same — more reckless spending, more fraudulent waste, more burdensome regulations, more government in general. Two years later, we hope that things will be different. This time, we expect that those who use the guise of fiscal conservatism will truly practice what they preach. But, if history has taught us anything, then we should recognize that what Americans can really expect out of their candidates is more of the same.
Every election year, candidates from both political parties promise voters that they will go to the Washington and act differently. They say that they will be more careful with taxpayer dollars; they say that they will limit the influence of special interests; they say that they will bring about unprecedented levels of bipartisanship or transparency; they say that we can trust them. Every politician promises that he will change the culture in the nation’s capitol. President Bush promised to do it. Nancy Pelosi promised to do it. President Obama promised to do it. And for some reason, we want to believe what they are telling us. We want to believe that a new era of government is only a vote away. We want to trust that our representatives won’t say one thing and do another. And we always end up in the same situation, stuck in the iron clad political equilibrium that trades our freedoms and our dollars in exchange for the political ambitions of those in power.
We all fall for it. Republicans fall for it. Democrats fall for it. Independents, Conservatives and Libertarians want to believe it, too. We are working people who are too busy to get caught up in the game. We just want to be left to live our lives. We hope that the government will simply do the few things that it is supposed to but otherwise leave us to prosper. That isn’t the case. Instead we get the same tired promises and the same failed outcomes. Challengers running to unseat the establishment make these promises. Even incumbents running from their own personal records make these promises. This time, they assure us, they will be different. They will not do what they did before. They will not use the appropriations process as a personal reelection fund. They will not help well financed special interests game the market to their advantage. They will stop spending money that we don’t have on programs that we don’t need. But they don’t stop. They kick the can further down the road knowing that they will be out of office before it is time to clean up the mess. And the worst part is that we let them do it again and again. We go back to our lives and our jobs and forget about our lawmakers in Washington. We forget until things in D.C. get so bad that it draws us out of our homes to the voting booth to push back against a political process noticeably out of control. Then, once we vote the bums out, we go back to our lives and our jobs and hope that the newly elected Washington elites are better than the old establishment Washington elites.
They never are.
The political class is again left to its natural tendencies. The people who we elect to represent our interests go back to their old ways. They use our money to win favor with voters. They use our money to pay back the campaign donors who wrote them the big checks. They use our money to ensure their own reelection. And to some extent, they do it with our permission.
The American founders believed that their system of government depended upon the participation of the people. They believed that once the public loses sight of government action, it opens itself up to the threat of tyranny. By neglecting to pay attention to those who make decisions on our behalf, we facilitate their abuses. Even the best public servants are manipulated and perverted by privileged interests when they lack the support of an attentive electorate. Inevitably, they too fail and fall without our encouragement.
Why then do we neglect the political process and, by virtue of our own indifference, allow politicians to commit such atrocities? It’s because we are willing to accept the naive notion that public officials leave their self-interests behind when taking the oath of office. If we just elect the right people, we believe, they can be trusted to do the right thing regardless of the political consequences. And so we keep waiting for the perfect leader to take charge and bring the real change that we have been promised time and time again. We keep hoping that he will go to Washington and reform our overgrown government from the top down.
The truth is that there is no such thing as the perfect leader. There is no such thing as a selfless politician who forgets his own ambitions and constantly does what is right for the public. If we want things to change, we need to bring about that change ourselves. The culture in Washington won’t change. The candidates who promise to take Washington by storm won’t change. That has never been the answer. In order to change the culture inside of the Beltway, we must first change the culture outside of the Beltway. We need to change the culture in Tacoma and Seattle and Boston and Philadelphia and Boise and Little Rock. We need to start in our hometowns and spread across the country. We need to change the culture in America.
That is what makes the Tea Party movement so unique. Unlike past uprisings against an out-of-control political establishment, this revolt is from the bottom up. It is built on a coherent, unifying set of principles. Its core values are American values. They go back to the revolutionary traditions of our nation’s founding. It is built around traditions of respect, humility and hard work. Tea partiers welcome everyone and discriminate against no one. We are made up of individuals from every walk of life and we come from every state in the Union. We protest peacefully but with a passion and intensity unmatched by any other political movement. We have used our decentralized grassroots revolution to gather disparate citizens and form a cohesive community. The Tea Party movement is not a political party. Tea parties are not political conventions. They are social gatherings. Attend any Tea Party hosted event and you will notice its fun and celebratory nature. Tea parties are welcoming and inviting.
Tea Partiers have been able to do something that most political activists fail to accomplish. We have established a feeling of community amongst our members. Although we come from different pasts, we share the same hopes for the future. We are united — like a family — around the principles that bond us together. That is why Tea Partiers have been able to successfully take our emerging movement from what I call “political space,” a space regularly populated by a tiny percentage of the Americans who devote their lives to the political process, to a broad “cultural space,” where the rest of America lives. That is why the Tea Party message is resonating with average Americans. It is the difference between being spoken down to by a self righteous elitist and being spoken sense to by a common man expressing shared concerns. We are a community in the fullest sense of the word.
That is what makes our movement unlike other movements. That is what makes our movement sustainable. Our ever growing community is willing to do what it takes to change the culture in every other corner of America, not just Washington, D.C. We are done with ignoring the political process. And unlike the political movements of the past, we will be there long after the first Tuesday in November. We are ready to hold our newly elected public officials accountable not just for their promises but for their actions. The time has come to change the culture in America and we have finally recognized that if we want change, we must bring it ourselves.
Will you join us?
Letter to the Editor View all comments (87) | Leave a comment
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Kenny| 8.24.10 @ 7:12AM
"We yearned for accountability. We yearned for restraint. We yearned for sanity."
All true, but what you need to realize is that a large segment of today's population is basicaly parasitic, and this group most definitely does not want fiscal sanity.
And when speaking of the parasite class, I don't just mean those directly on welfare. I also include many of those employed by the various levels of government.
Government employees are parasitic to the degree that they are 1) too many of them for what needs to be done and 2) grossly over compensated for what they do.
JimH| 8.24.10 @ 10:57AM
Do not forget those who pose as businessmen and defenders of free enterprise. But when viewed closer derive most of their income from business with the government or are protected by tariffs, subsidys or other maket distorting government intervention.
Ned| 8.24.10 @ 11:55AM
I recommend "The Clancy Option". It involves a 747 and the occurs during the next State of The Union spew. Jack Ryan winds up President.
Blackwatch| 8.24.10 @ 6:30PM
Clancy hasn't been readable since "Red Storm Rising" and "The Hunt for the Red October. "
I'd prefer a Vince Flynn "Term Limits" era.
Alan Brooks| 8.24.10 @ 3:08PM
Understood, but I will NOT join you; the tea party is a rightwing, not conservative, movement. However it entirely understandable you want your families to claw way up the food chain-- the higher you go, the better you can play the percentages.
None of you are fools; that's all I care about, in my lifetime things will only improve materially, so we have to do what we have to do to survive and live rea lives-- not merely exist.
Others just stumble through, esp. in third world cesspools.
I want to be the opposite of Jimmuh; where Carter was a mush-headed fool, I want to be Nobody's Fool. Even those who detested Bush secretly respected to some extent his being a winner, his family were and are winners. They are set for life. As Patton said, "Americans will not tolerate a loser", for any reason. Which is why religion is so important, religion/spirituality is the veneer to cover a world that is of Darwinist rewards, Darwinist punishments, and universally so-- you cann't escape it no matter how you con yourself. Absolutely guaranteed. you-- that's right, you-- are not Superman. We can delay, but we can never truly escape.
Quartermaster| 8.24.10 @ 7:27PM
I can't see any point to your post Mr. Brooks. I can understand why something as centrist as the TEA Party would seem right-wing to a certified leftist nut, however.
Sure, a fallen world is "Darwinist" as you put it. Eventually reality slaps us in the face when we try to fool Mother Nature, so to speak. The Tea Party is simply fed up with both of the profoundly leftist parties that want fiscal responsibility as long as it doesn't gore their Ox. That is far from right-wing. That's down right centrist. But, then, the founders are right-wing kooks compared to the most sane of the so called conservatives of today. The description of the founders relative to the Dimocrats is simply unprintable. But, you wouldn't understand anyway, because you are everybody's fool.
froggy57| 8.24.10 @ 5:29PM
Every other person in this country is either working for city, county, state or federal government.. military, etc.. or employed by a
company that provides goods or services to city, county, state or feds.
There are at least three of these people whose jobs are totally unnecessary.
In other words, parasites.
froggy57| 8.24.10 @ 5:30PM
Sorry... that would be 'three people for every necessary job title.' In other words, two out of every three employees is a non worker.
Joe| 8.24.10 @ 10:14PM
"Government employees are parasitic......"
Why do you hate the military so much? They are government employees. Why do you hate law enforcement so much? They are governement employees. Wy do you hate firemen so much? They are government employees. And the list could go on and on about those government employees you hate so much.
LiveFreeOrDie| 8.25.10 @ 2:18PM
Here we go, trot out the policeman, the fireman and the soldier as if you care. For every one of these honorable and VITAL professionals there are a hundred non-essential, worthless gov't scabs.
Joe| 8.25.10 @ 9:14PM
I happen to be a policeman right now and was a carreeer military person. You are probably one of those that only give lip service to seving your country, but never had the cajones to actually do any of that sevice youself. Always relying on others to keep you cowardly ass safe.
Audrey| 8.24.10 @ 11:07PM
Published in the Prager Zeitung of 28 April 2010.
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to
have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of
fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.”
Ouch...
SIRJASON | 8.25.10 @ 5:47PM
Kenny, you are too kind. The parasites you refer to are composed of poor, uneducated, unskilled people of all races who will not or cannot work to earn money for their own survival. Not to mention providing for a family of likeminded individuals.
The others have been gaming the 'WELFARE' system for three generations and dare NOT take a job an illegal alien will take.
The "WELFARE" system was designed by "The Great Society" by Lyndon Baines Johnson and adopted by the 'parasitic' you refer, Kenny.
As a result the black and white
Kenny, you are too kind. The parasites you refer to are composed of poor, uneducated, unskilled people of all races who will not or cannot work to earn money for their own survival. Not to mention providing for a family of likeminded individuals.
The others have been gaming the 'WELFARE' system for three generations and dare NOT take a job an illegal alien will take.
The "WELFARE" system was designed by "The Great Society" by Lyndon Baines Johnson and adopted by the 'parasitic' you refer, Kenny.
As a result the black and white families have been destroyed.
Russ Nickerson Jr| 8.24.10 @ 7:18AM
Awesome in it's characterization and sentiment
Alan Brooks| 8.24.10 @ 3:15PM
I know you will reject what I say about the TP, however I do not reject the TP itself, only the countless opportunistic members.
I wont oppose the TP, but in America we fight about everything all the time, and the TP will have to fight every step of the way--
with many casualties.
Set up your triages.
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 4:43PM
Ya gonna shoot us with your finger ObamaBoy Brooks.
Pray to Darwin , We don't sic our Killer Attack Pigeons on ya.
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.24.10 @ 7:37AM
Matt,
Very well written. Thank you.
I am a proud member of the Houston Tea-Party Society.
Heh, and I have NEVER been a "joiner".
Alan Brooks| 8.24.10 @ 3:32PM
I was active in politics in the past, but no more. do what you all have to do-- leave those who want to be noncombatants out.
It hurts you think so many don't know what the game is about.
joli| 8.24.10 @ 4:07PM
Then what are you doing here?
Albert| 8.24.10 @ 7:04PM
"leave those who want to be noncombatants out." Is is precisely because LEFTISTS do not leave others out, that we are in this mess and why the Tea Party exists. Leftists in government come after us, to take our money, brainwash our kids, put criminals in our neighborhoods. We bar doors and windows and buy monitored security systems because leftists in government deliberately and purposefully put criminals in our midst and allow them to be freely armed, while WE the People are disarmed. We put our kids in private schools because leftists in government have ruined the public school system, forcing us to pay TWICE for our kids' education. Urban decay can be directly traced to massive welfare programs given to us by leftists in government, which guarantee multigenerational poverty. And leftists in government tax us to death (and beyond) so they can hire more government employees as paid Democrat voters. Leftists refuse to leave us "noncombatants" alone. The Tea Party exists not to take power so WE can have the spoils of politics, it exists to STOP the spoils of politics throught enforcement of the Supreme Law of the Land. Leftists in government have made everyone a "combatant" in politics.
Margie| 8.24.10 @ 8:12PM
Superbly said!
DB| 8.25.10 @ 5:14PM
Bam! Well said, Albert.
Impeach Don't Wait| 8.24.10 @ 10:13PM
Without the rightwing the left will grow the government... and grow it... and grow it... and grow it... no end in sight. There's no way to end this by accommodation or negotiation, it must simply be stopped. To be a noncombatant is to be no less than complicit. Moderates aren't going to stop it because there's no reasoning with the left in this matter. It requires major surgery which requires major opposition to the status quo.
There I've said my piece! :)
Stephanie| 8.24.10 @ 8:03AM
"We protest peacefully but with a passion and intensity unmatched by any other political movement" And THAT is why the left hates us.
I can see November from my house! And will be in DC on Saturday next, the 28th. Come join us.
RCV| 8.24.10 @ 6:43PM
I for one don't "hate" you or anyone else involved in the tea party movement. I'm always glad to see citizens get involved in the affairs of government. As long as you realize that you don't always win elections even though you feel strongly about them. That's the problem I have with so many on the right: they lost in 2008, and those of us who did work tirelessly to elect our candidate and won are no less committed to maintaining that victory and feel just as strongly as you do, I assure you.
Radegunda| 8.24.10 @ 7:13PM
So you're committed to maintaining 10% or higher unemployment, unprecedented deficits and foreclosures, lowest home sales in many years, higher energy costs, a government class that keeps getting bigger and fatter at the expense of a the productive class, looming medical shortages at higher prices, race-and-gender quotas in the financial service industry (as if that will make it sounder!)--not to mention a tighter government grip on many aspects of our lives.
That's one strange set of principles. You must be on the government payroll.
RCV| 8.24.10 @ 7:44PM
... and they didn't "nationalize health care" either.
Texas Mom| 8.25.10 @ 4:52PM
Not to mention deliberate destruction of jobs.. Closing profitable dealerships, Drilling Moratorium, Health 'Care' fiasco, Regulations as far as the eye can see!
Albert| 8.24.10 @ 7:13PM
I seem to recall that the left lost in 2000 and 2004. Yet there was no "realization" that the left had lost and they then launched a massive propaganda campaign supported by the major media. When do leftists accept defeat and go home to wait for the next election? And I pity any poor soul who would "work tirelessly" for that fraud President Bozo. I do not want to take your retirement money. But that Bozo you "worked tirelessly" to elect wants to take mine! He is considering nationalizing private 401k investments, something the US government has aboslutely ZERO legal authority to do, but then the US government has absolutely ZERO legal authority to nationalize health care too, but that didn't stop them.
Texas Mom| 8.25.10 @ 4:56PM
They better bring a tank if they plan to seize our 401K $$$ that we were able to save in spite of being part of the 1/2 of the country that pays income taxes... Social Security will not be around when we retire! I suggest a $5/year tax on everyone living in the US. See we could raise 1.5 trillion and everyone would finally have skin in the game.
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 8:12PM
It's 2010 LawBoy , not 2008 and you'll get your chance to match your " feeling " thing against our Can of Whip Ass .
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.24.10 @ 8:30AM
I hope they succeed. I want them to succeed. All of us need them to succeed.
But there's a dirty crowd inside the beltway composed of greedy politicians, entrenched bureaucracies and bureaucrats, both of whom have the devoted support of 1984 type media loyalists. You are fighting 3 separate armies.
In essence, it's war, and it's only Manassas.
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.24.10 @ 9:32AM
Bill O'
I noticed you used the words, "they" and "them"
Make it "we" and "us", and you are halfway home, Sir.
When you start praying for us, you are home.
God bless
Alan Brooks| 8.24.10 @ 3:34PM
"In essence, it's war, and it's only Manassas."
You are no fool whatsoever, 'O.
Politics is not about the love of Jesus Christ-- that is for sure.
Margie| 8.25.10 @ 11:40AM
Alan,
Just a thought: no, politics isn't about the love of Jesus, but one's politics certainly reflect your beliefs to a large extent, wouldn't you agree?
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 9:10AM
We Tea Party Rebels are "Tanned , Ready and Rested " for The Post Labor Day Ramp Up to The Midterm Tsunami .
We are our own Leaders and We neither need nor want designated Leaders .
The Rebellion Escalates .
Rise Up !
Alan Brooks| 8.24.10 @ 3:36PM
No doubt, but you are temporarily forgetting another November ...Nov. of '12.
And you know that:
When You Snooze, You Lose.
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 4:38PM
Go Feed The Pigeons In The Park ObamaBoy Brooks .
RCV| 8.24.10 @ 6:45PM
Time, do you ever have a substantive point to make other than reciting silly slogans and calling people juvenile names?
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 7:50PM
Who's Time , LawBoy?
Louis Jenkins| 8.24.10 @ 9:11AM
I too am a member of the Tea Party. Yes, B H O'Stalin, it's only Manassa # 1. There's a heck of a lot of fighting yet to be done. Only this time the outcome must be different. Even if Nov. 's outcome isn't to our total satisfaction we must keep fighting. And fight we will.
serfer62| 8.24.10 @ 2:20PM
NO Louis, this fight will pass '10 & '12. No political party has ever untied Americans as the TP. This unification will rally against any perception of Old Politics causing greater grief to Kommies * Rinos.
Target; 30 plus Kommies up for election in '12...
Donna| 8.24.10 @ 9:22AM
Join us in Washington D.C. on September 12th...lets surpass last year.......it is a great experience......September 12th
DB| 8.25.10 @ 5:18PM
I'll be there on 9/12, as I was last year. This year, I'm bringing my whole family, including 3 kids. Beyond time to truly educate them about what it means to be a a Patroit. It's time to fight(peacefully), and never let up again.
Clinton nee Publius | 8.24.10 @ 9:37AM
My fear is that, in the end, it will not matter. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and the American experiment in democracy and the ultimate expression in free-market economics (so far at least) will come tumbling down in a sea of failure due to government overspending.
Intentions don't matter.
Constitutional prohibitions don't matter.
Reforms don't matter.
As long as we use the same structure and the same way of doing things we cannot avoid the outcome of a complete failure. You cannot control spending and we have more than $107 trillion in unfunded liabilities that tell us we have now exceeded our ability to pay for any of this ridiculous government.
It all sounds nice and I am an ardent Tea Party supporter and will never cast another vote or write another check for any other cause again, but as long as we are stuck on the idea of using taxation to pay for government, we are doomed to a spectacular government bankruptcy and complete failure of our private-sector economy. We don't have to worry about the Terminator and Skynet destroying all of mankind; we'll do it all to ourselves by writing checks we can't cash. That's the real issue and as long as we are willing to do things the same way, we'll get the same outcomes and these outcomes only benefit journalists and politicians.
serfer62| 8.24.10 @ 2:23PM
Clinton...stats prove that elected people are pre-Americans until their 6th year then progovorment.
The thing to do is replace them with new blood often; the worst first...
Derek Leaberry| 8.24.10 @ 9:41AM
Dick Armey is an open-borders cultural agnostic. Not only is there no way to join him in common cause, I reject his attempt to hijack the Tea Party movement. When was this libertarian creature asked into the Tea Party movement?
Emma| 8.24.10 @ 10:53AM
My thought exactly. The instant I saw his picture here my question is: What does Dick Armey have to do with the Tea Party? In my opinion, nothing. He's just trying to push his way on to a train which is leaving the station.
Derek Leaberry| 8.24.10 @ 12:19PM
Bill Kristol hinted at the same sort of hijacking a few weeks ago. Jumping on board the Tea Party bandwagon, little Bill hinted that part of the Tea Party essence was support for the Bush policies in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have yet to read or hear a Tea Party member address Afghanistan or Iraq. Kristol and Armey are but dishonest political functionaries.
That last line of yours is exactly true.
Smirking weasel| 8.24.10 @ 1:23PM
Absolutely correct. Kibbe is of the same (synthetic) cloth, as is Palin. The 'Tea Party'
will be drowned by these leeching professional
Republicans, becoming more 'Pee Party'.
Derek Leaberry| 8.24.10 @ 2:53PM
As a sidenote, have you ever wondered why so many congressmen like Richard Armey don't go home after they've " served" in Congress? The list is long. Tom Daschle. George Mitchell. Jack Kemp. John Breaux. Trent Lott. The Doles. More proof of the decadence of our public men.
serfer62| 8.24.10 @ 2:26PM
Ignore establishment Pols, the DC GOP & its commentators. As soon as armey proclaimed the TP as his I saw a phoney...no leaders, just mutual enthusiastics...
Petronius| 8.24.10 @ 9:55AM
The trash elements of society finally have the government they want. It confiscates our wealth to subsidize their sloth. If we do mange to get one house of Congress and put a halt to it's profligacy, the ants will march and they will draw blood. Their goal is material equality. And that means dragging us down to their level. Civilizing this collection of lowlife will not be accomplished by casting a ballot.
Emma| 8.24.10 @ 10:51AM
"So many of us voted for what we thought was a return to less spending, lower taxes and more economic prosperity. Instead we got more of the same --"
you voted for obama? or what?
This is a confusing line. Even if I had wanted to "identify with" or understand the reasons for those 63 million votes, I would never have thought it had anything to do with less spending or lower taxes. Maybe you were tuned in to a different campaign.
froglegs| 8.24.10 @ 10:52AM
I will join you in spirit. There are I believe many like myself from an early baby boomer class that share the feelings and emotions of the Tea Party movement. We hate crowds and can't stand to participate in groups larger than a dozen or so. We hate all speeches, especially those longer than the Gettysburg Address. We don't attend school board meetings because we are afraid that we will say what we really think.
But we know that something is terribly wrong with our government and we are mad as hell. Unless something changes for the better quickly, we see a revolution coming but suggest that it will not be like 1776 again, but rather like 1789 France. France had its aristocracy, clergy, and third order. We have our politicians, public employees, and country people. Madam LeFarge has knitted the names of the corrupt politicans in her sweater. All we need is a spark. This is not we want but what we fear if nothing changes for the better in our government.
We like what we hear from the Tea Party, not because we agree with them, but rather more importantly, because they agree with us.
Bob Grant| 8.24.10 @ 9:16PM
Will this revolution be fought by 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 year olds or by 20 - 35 year olds? The tea parties I attend are STILL too top heavy with the former. We cant' win without the latter!
Ross Kaminsky | 8.24.10 @ 11:52AM
Matt,
I think one of your most important points is that the Tea Party movement is indeed built on a core set of principles.
One of the most common criticisms of the Tea Party by liberals who don't actually know anything about it except what they learn on MSNBC is that it is without any foundation or unifying principle.
I spend a fair bit of time re-educating such people, though it's probably a fool's errand on my part.
In any case, I think this idea that while the various Tea Party organizations are independent and a true grassroots, bottom-up manifestation of political interest and anger, they DO indeed have a common thread which binds them (us) together.
dcd| 8.24.10 @ 12:34PM
It's all well and good to talk about how wonderful and coherent the movement is, and it may well be. But sure as shootin' the group will tear itself apart before too much longer. Everone has some little saphere that they want to control and dominate. Maybe its telling other countries what to do or other people how to worship (those darn atheists keep insisting that its a parents job to teach their children about religion not the government's). And alot of people love their subsidies: crop subsidies or road subsidies.
When the constituent groups realize realize how much they dislike each other, it will shatter.
joli| 8.24.10 @ 4:27PM
I don't understand your inference--telling other people how to worship? Who is advocating that?--other than atheists, who are trying to tell us we can't worship at all unless we pull all the blinds, lock the doors, and worship in the dark so as not to offend someone who doesn't believe. As a Bible-believing, born-again Christian, I agree that it is the parents' job to teach their children about religion, not government's. It is also NOT government's job to censor my children when they express their religious views in the classroom. Separation of church and state means government workers (teachers) can't impose their religious views on their students. Freedom of speech means that students may discuss their religious views without censure, within the bounds of civility.
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 12:59PM
Tea Party Patriots Mission Statement and Core Values
Mission Statement
The impetus for the Tea Party movement is excessive government spending and taxation. Our mission is to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets.
Core Values
* Fiscal Responsibility
* Constitutionally Limited Government
* Free Markets
Fiscal Responsibility: Fiscal Responsibility by government honors and respects the freedom of the individual to spend the money that is the fruit of their own labor. A constitutionally limited government, designed to protect the blessings of liberty, must be fiscally responsible or it must subject its citizenry to high levels of taxation that unjustly restrict the liberty our Constitution was designed to protect. Such runaway deficit spending as we now see in Washington D.C. compels us to take action as the increasing national debt is a grave threat to our national sovereignty and the personal and economic liberty of future generations.
Constitutionally Limited Government: We, the members of The Tea Party Patriots, are inspired by our founding documents and regard the Constitution of the United States to be the supreme law of the land. We believe that it is possible to know the original intent of the government our founders set forth, and stand in support of that intent. Like the founders, we support states' rights for those powers not expressly stated in the Constitution. As the government is of the people, by the people and for the people, in all other matters we support the personal liberty of the individual, within the rule of law.
Free Markets: A free market is the economic consequence of personal liberty. The founders believed that personal and economic freedom were indivisible, as do we. Our current government's interference distorts the free market and inhibits the pursuit of individual and economic liberty. Therefore, we support a return to the free market principles on which this nation was founded and oppose government intervention into the operations of private business.
Texas Mom| 8.25.10 @ 5:01PM
Awesome!
Joe D.| 8.24.10 @ 1:32PM
Excellent article, Matt Kibbe. This is not a weekend get together. This is long drawn out process to change America and DC.
Oldefarte| 8.24.10 @ 1:40PM
Matt, As a senior, I've observed firsthand many of those broken promises of which you speak; and truly feel that now, things are entirely different and that people have actually awakened to the corruption and fraud from their political leaders. As the old saying goes, WE AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE! It is absolutely essential for people/voters to become/stay politically educated and to then VOTE. Government is like a huge private corporation without administrators/managers/supervisors, whose employees can do anything/everything they damned well care to [since their mistakes/incorrect behaviors will not be reprimanded by same]. Political leaders don't have to answer to a boss/superior as do private company employees, since their bosses are the public. These politicians, once elected, can lie, cheat ,steal and get away with it [since there is no one to answer to]. They can BULLEXCREMENT the public/voters at election time since they are usually backed up/supported by the corrupt MSM press that daily brainwashes the public with its written BS in support of these politicians. The public now has awokened due to the dire straits currently facing this country, and realize we have to get and stay involved to monitor, manage, administer [and be the boss of] these politicians constantly. We need to stop reading the MSM's BS, begin obtaining our news from alternative sources [ie TAS, etc], use same to intelligently vote at election time to promote hard working politicians doing the peoples' business [ie Christie of NJ] and to fire/terminate those who do not [Pilosi, Reid, Obama, Schumer, Rangel, Waters,etc]. JOIN FORCES AND GO AFTER THEM ON NOVEMBER 2, 2010; AND LET'S ALL END THIS EXCREMENT!!!!!
David| 8.24.10 @ 1:55PM
We need to call out politicians while they are in office, not just when they are running for office. Hopefully the Tea Party will remain vigilant even after the election to make sure the candidates they supported remain true to their word.
Tom Osterman | 8.24.10 @ 10:33PM
David, you get it! The left has deployed "the Permanent Campaign." It's past time for the People to do the same.
DB| 8.25.10 @ 5:23PM
When my new Congressman Rocky Rockowski defeats incumbent Pelosi lap-dog Gary Peters, I will be watching his every vote and position and contacting him directly and timely about my approval or disapproval thereof.
Mark Hammell| 8.24.10 @ 2:50PM
From now until November 2018, never reelect an incumbent -- regardless of party, regardless of performance, regardless of popularity. After eight years of never seeing an incumbent reelected, the lobbyists will be emasculated, the parties will lose their influence and we will have what was described as liberty -- the government afraid of the people. And it is legal, peaceful, requires no laws to be passed and is democratic.
Alan Brooks| 8.24.10 @ 4:14PM
"Then what are you doing here?"
Now that Buckley is gone and NR is turning into Gergen-Speak mush, AS is the premier voice of those who are not terminally naive.
Joe Oliva| 8.24.10 @ 4:18PM
The answer to this predicament of who to trust to run our government is really simple. Rather than doing the same old thing and then expecting a different result, why not actually do something different?
Do what you say? I say this: Get off your duff and run for office yourself! With so many of us unemployed, it should be a simple matter to find 435 individuals to take over the House where much of the power resides since it controls the money.
If you really want to get it done, visit the website where there is a real plan to make this happen, GOOOH.COM, which is 'Get Out Of Our House'. If you are just too busy to become a citizen legislator as the founders intended, then you will get the government you deserve; corrupt party loyalists, PAC and union controlled and guided by the money grubbing lobbyists that inhabit DC.
Also, while you are at it, sit your kids down and explain to them how you were too busy to serve your nation, so you once again entrusted the future for freedom to the corrupt elites who will sell out the nation to the internationalists who hate America. Teach your kids about how the New World Order/One World Socialist Utopia will give them everything they need EXCEPT freedom.
Good job, keep talking, keep posting your opinions and your thoughts, and when it all crashes down, remember that you had a chance to participate but you just couldn't be bothered.
All this chit chat and talk is sickening. Get off your fat asses and DO SOMETHING!!!
jrjr| 8.24.10 @ 4:40PM
I believe that one of the more important parts of this struggle will occur after the 2010 election -- when we see that not enough valuable Americans understand what this is all about. I am convinced that there still are too few voters that understand what the liberals, Democrats, Obama, progressives, etc., are trying to do. Logically, it should have stopped after after WWII and FDR but it has been getting worse each year. Trading Republicans for Democrats, and vice versa, hasn't stopped anything of that sort. Each day, month, and year it worsens. My burning question -- what is it going to take to make some restoration to civility and good clean government? As one of we posters said -- it only takes 6 years to turn around a government representative that we thought we could trust. Maybe 6 is the magic number for politicians.
Nancy| 8.24.10 @ 5:18PM
I am also a member of the Tea Party, and although I can't be in Washington I will be supporting the movement in every other way that I can -- with money, emails and attendance at the local Tea Party.
Washington needs an earsplitting wakeup call and a thorough cleansing. Rest assured that 2010 is only the beginning for me and many more like me.
Politics as usual may not be dead but it's in for the fight of its life.
froggy57| 8.24.10 @ 5:42PM
For 70 years I have seen them come and go.
You will never have any real change in government, because any who would run, have to be vetted by the ones in power. If it is determined that they will not play ball after getting in, they will not be allowed to run. Sure you are give a choice of people to vote for, but they are already corrupted, having promised to play ball when they get in office, or they won't be allowed to run for office..
Those are the facts. Nothing will ever change until we get rid of political parties and let anyone who wants to run, run.
There are plenty of retirees who will serve as volunteers. Make all political positions unpaid.
Alan Brooks| 8.24.10 @ 6:12PM
"Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 4:38PM
Go Feed The Pigeons In The Park ObamaBoy Brooks ."
Timmie writes like a guy in Special Ed (we can't say 'retard' anymore). What, are you 24 year old, Timmie? we knew the public schools were bad...
Fredrick Ward| 8.24.10 @ 7:02PM
I wouldn't spout off too much about proper grammar, and sentence structure until I practiced it if I were you, Alan. You may not like what he said, but if all you can pick on is his grammar then you may want to make sure your particular reply is flawless before posting it.
Conservative Bob| 8.24.10 @ 6:23PM
It is always easy to find fault and it is without question that some of the political class will run to get to the head of this parade… McCain comes to mind among many.
Divisions may come and groups may split off it is the nature of human interactions particularly political interaction.
What most agree on are broad principles of limited government, limited taxes, government living within it’s and our means. The narrower we focus the more chance we will not agree on some particular issue. But we agree that our government is out of control and it has to change. Rather than finding fault with any particular individual, Army, Kibbe, Palin Kristol etc , to the extent that they lend a useful hand in our struggle why not accept their labor?
We did not get to this point in one or two or three election cycles we got here one step at a time. It is going to be a very long hard struggle to turn things back. The underlying point being made in the article is that we the people must change our habits if we are to change our government. There will be those among us to seek personal interest who will seek to capitalize on our efforts. But if we stay focused on our core principles and hold accountable those who we elect and stay engaged we will prevail. Those that are dishonestly trying to ride the wave will expose themselves and we can hold them accountable as is appropriate.
I am not a joiner, I do not subscribe to any cult of personality, however we are in a fight for the life of this nation and if these and others wish to join in our cause why should we not accept.
The strength of this movement is that it is driven not from some vain leader but by the deeply held common beliefs of our fellow citizens. We know that something is wrong we know that things have to change and we are of our own volition leaving our comfort zone to act to make things right. When we have secured Liberty for another generation we will have plenty of time to pick nits.
Until then let us welcome those who are willing to lend a hand in this most important fight.
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 6:24PM
What are you Darwin ObamaBoy Brooks ,four years older than dirt .
Aaaand Old Prune , since I'm a Private School graduate , I never had to attend one of your Crappy Public Indoctrination Camps .
RCV| 8.24.10 @ 6:52PM
Thanks goodness you didn't name the private school and ruin its good name forever.
Tim*| 8.24.10 @ 7:20PM
Thank goodness I didn't name your wife and ruin her name forever.
Tater Salad| 8.24.10 @ 7:45PM
He is still blaming Bush #43:
http://therealrevo.com/blog/?p=31158
Osamas Pajamas| 8.25.10 @ 1:38AM
I'll be there, with my teeth in Uncle Sam's throat, yo ho ho ana bartle a rum!
wayne| 8.25.10 @ 1:58AM
The statement that the new elites are never any better than the old is not true, IMO. Who can deny the the change in Congress in '94 was better than what preceded it? I don't really think the author really has made his peace with the reality of our situation in this country, and that while it is not perfect, it is not completely hopeless. Even yet.
Michigander| 8.25.10 @ 9:04AM
Carefull all! In Michigan the state Democrat machine has hijacked the tea party movement and intend to use it to split the Republican vote.
The evidence is now surfacing that the state Dem leadership was behind the recently registered "The Tea Party" and it's retired UAW worker "party" candidates. Funny they are only filing in strong Republican state house seat districts. www.mackinac.org
So in Michigan, at least, there's the tea party and there's the official "The Tea Party". If it's happening here...........
Vic| 8.26.10 @ 1:13AM
Uphill does not even begin to describe the current situation. The republic is all but history even now. The only way we will ever get it back is through armed revolt. Sadly, no people in mans bloody history has restored liberty once lost without resorting to it.
Do we want it that bad? No, not enough of us. We want to keep our government funded goodies and deprive others of theirs.
We all hate the congress according to polls but somehow, the same faces reappear, election after election. It is always someone else's rep that is the problem, not mine! Arizona republicans just renominated McCain, just as my state and district always reelects the incumbent, and then we wonder why our representatives ignore our wishes when they get to DC.
After the inevitable crash, the destitute people will be crying to government with their hands out, and thus despotism will arrive just as the globo-Marxist had planned all along, tea party or no.
RCV| 8.26.10 @ 12:11PM
Thank you, tea partiers, for doing the seemingly impossible: putting Alaska into the column of possible Democratic Senate gains. What you did for Nevada, you've done again for Alaska! Keep it up!
Christian Louboutin | 6.23.11 @ 4:08AM
As we draw closer to November's midterm elections, some voters are beginning to express their optimism about the chances of sending a fiscally responsible majority to Washington. In the 2008 Presidential election, Americans begged for a change from the business-as-usual mentally that plagued the nation's Capitol.
Adult toys | 7.4.11 @ 3:36AM
l like the space.support.
thank you.