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With the Tea Partiers
Whither the Tea Party?
When rallies are no longer enough — that’s when things get serious.
Following the Tax Day tea party rallies this past April, people began wondering if the Tea Party movement had peaked: the number of rallies was down, and the crowd sizes were in many places a fraction of what they’d been in 2009. Of course, since April 16, 2009, the left has been predicting the demise of the Tea Party movement, more believing its own press clippings than the actual reality of what was, and is, taking place. Almost as much as the left, establishment Republicans have also been wondering when the “crazies with pitchforks” will go away and let them return to the status quo of capitulating to the latest Democrat bill in between finding very little to cut from bloated government budgets.
So I asked Tea Party leaders from various parts of the country to share their thoughts about the current state of the Tea Party movement. Jason Hoyt, of the Florida Alliance (a statewide coalition of a 100-plus tea parties), told me, “In the beginning, rallies were necessary to let everyone know we’re here and announce to the rest of America that you’re not alone in your frustration. In the summer of 2009 we attended town halls, and by the beginning of 2010 we began engaging candidates. And as the amazing results from the November election suggest, we had learned and actively participated in GOTV [get out the vote] activities by the summer of 2010.”
Ken Emanuelson, of the Dallas Tea Party, had many of the same sentiments. “Listen, there’s a reason the 2011 rallies were smaller: rally fatigue. The large rallies of 2009–2010 represented the outpouring of decades of frustration. People had a need to vent, and they vented with a vengeance. Soon enough, however, most tea partiers realized that rallies, by themselves, would change nothing,” he said. “Further, there’s only so many ways you can say ‘We’re screwed’ before it gets tiresome. Yeah, we’re screwed. And? Starting in 2010, the true ‘movers and shakers’ of the movement (maybe 20 percent) went to work figuring out how to pull the access panels off ‘the machine’ and find its vulnerabilities. They were the same people who were organizing and promoting rallies a year earlier. Come 2011, most of the core activists simply had too much on their plate to worry about political circuses.”
It’s becoming evident tea partiers are demonstrating political savvy: rallies fundamentally change nothing, so they’ve begun asking what does cause change, and then going out and doing those things that bring it about. Tim Dake, of the Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty, laid out what he and the other allied Tea Party leaders are doing in their state: “In Wisconsin we are currently evolving from helping the legislators’ bills to writing and pushing our own. Some legislator leadership still tries to screw us over but we are finding ways to resolve that too. Next up will be trying to figure out how to rewrite the legislative rules.”
Dake and the other leaders in Wisconsin, though they helped promote and organize the February 20 rally in Madison with American Majority in support of Governor Walker’s Budget Repair Bill, are not focused on rallies. They played an instrumental role in the recent state supreme court race, touching tens of thousands of doors on behalf of Justice Prosser, and also drove much of the successful signature collecting for the recall efforts against Democratic state senators. So what Dake and other leaders across the country have really done is asked—and resoundingly answered—their own question: “Why do meaningless rallies when there’s real political work to be done?”
Lesley Hollywood of the Northern Colorado Tea Party perhaps put it best. “The outlet of activism has shifted, just as it would with any movement. Hosting and attending rallies served its purpose at one time: it built relationships, engaged the public, grew the movement, and gave interested individuals a place to get connected. But after two years and numerous rallies, members are ready for something different and they are putting their energy into more effective outlets,” she said. “Here in Colorado we are fighting redistricting, we are focusing on municipal elections and issues, and we’re watching the state legislature and gearing up for 2012.”
As to where they plan on going in 2011 and 2012, Jason Hoyt noted, “The level of participation at monthly meetings is staying steady while we’re gearing up for a very big and creative summer of recruiting and educating the public. As we see it, November 2010 was a mere practice run for 2012. Just wait till you see what happens when we implement what we’ve learned.” Ken Emanuelson, demonstrating how truly effective leaders are going local to bring national change, said, “We’re busy at the City Hall fighting against the crony corporatist ‘sustainable development.’ We’re busy at the County Commissioner’s Court making local commissioners famous for their thuggery. We’re busy at the state capitol working to pry the dirty fingers of the crony corporatist old-boy network off the levers of power.”
Perhaps even more intriguingly, Ken added, “I’m confident that the Tea Party’s best days are still ahead, whether it calls itself the Tea Party, or something else. If you want to see a true revolution, just wait until the center-right grassroots finally succeed in making common cause with the center-left and minority grassroots against the public/private crony corporatist establishment. If and when that happens, game over. I think the proper term is, ‘sea change.’ ”
Jason related that he speaks at many non-Tea Party events, and will ask the audience to raise their hands if they consider themselves part of the Tea Party. In one women’s Republican group, only three or four raised their hands. Then Jason asked one of them what her definition of “being a part of the Tea Party” was. She stated the core principles of the Tea Party movement (limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free enterprise) perfectly. Jason then asked, “Based on that definition, who here believes they are part of the Tea Party?” Everyone present raised her hand. And contrary to what many on the left or the Republican establishment hope for in the next few years, I believe more and more Americans will be raising their hands and saying, “I am the Tea Party movement.”
About the Author
Ned Ryun is the founder and president of American Majority, a political training institution. His “With the Tea Partiers” column run each month in the The American Spectator’s print edition. You can follow him on Twitter @nedryun.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (118) | Leave a comment
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Clint| 7.19.11 @ 7:32AM
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.
Our Philosophy
Tea Party Patriots, Inc. as an organization believes in the Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets. Tea Party Patriots, Inc. is a non-partisan grassroots organization of individuals united by our core values derived from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, the Bill Of Rights as explained in the Federalist Papers. We recognize and support the strength of grassroots organization powered by activism and civic responsibility at a local level. We hold that the United States is a republic conceived by its architects as a nation whose people were granted "unalienable rights" by our Creator. Chiefly among these are the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Tea Party Patriots stand with our founders, as heirs to the republic, to claim our rights and duties which preserve their legacy and our own. We hold, as did the founders, that there exists an inherent benefit to our country when private property and prosperity are secured by natural law and the rights of the individual. As an organization we do not take stances on social issues. We urge members to engage fully on the social issues they consider important and aligned with their beliefs.
Sandy| 7.19.11 @ 8:43AM
The Tea Party Patriots is a libertarian national Tea Party group, whose main goal is to get Ron Paul elected. Sorry to say but, most voters have rejected Paul, and his positions in two previous presidential elections. Very very few of their approved and litmus tested candidates have gotten past primaries. They are weeded out before they can wreak their havoc on the country, state or locality.
In my district, the GOP does not even announce when or where their meetings are held, because they went through the constant disruption of the young and rude Tea Party activists that were coming even from outside the district. The local GOP puts value on traditional social values, and national security issues, as well as fiscal discipline. Hopefully more districts will follow suit, at least until the riff raff is weeded out.
Nancy in NC| 7.19.11 @ 10:37AM
As one of the riffraff, I wonder if this kind of thinking will mean the demise of our country or at the GOP. In my district, the GOP enthusiastically supports and welcomes the tea party members.
What part of the platform that Clint outlined do you disagree with? We, the riffraff, happen to agree with the premise of limited government and fiscal responsibility, for government and individuals.
Contrary to your statement, many candidates supported by the tea party were elected, such as Marco Rubio and Allen West.
Diss the tea party folks at your own peril.
masly | 7.20.11 @ 2:56AM
Sheesh, don't folks realize the gun thread in the comments above is a delibrate attempt to discredit tea party supporters as rednecks and potential terrorists? Please people ignore the trolls.
I am a 28 years old doctor, mature and beautiful.and now I am seeking a good man who can give me real love , so i got a username Andromeda2002 on--s'e'ek'c'ou'ga'r.c óm--.it is the first and best club for y'ounger women and old'er men, or older women and y'ounger men,to int'eract with each other. Maybe you wanna ch'eck 'it out or tell your friends!
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 12:26PM
Thanks for the input! With folks like you in the G.O.P., no wonder we're often referred to as "the stupid party".
Your comment about "riff-raff" gives you away as either:
a) A left-wing dumb-ass trolling this forum and posing as a Republican to stir-up trouble, or...
b) An establishment-type GOP weenie.
Let's be kind, and assume the latter...
The Tea Party movement is NOT dedicated to getting Ron Paul elected. That's because there is NO centralized, formal structure to the Tea Party. It's members form a diverse group of citizens who are dedicated to Constitutional principles and concerned about the direction our country is moving towards.
If anyone could be said to be a "Tea Party favorite", it would more likely be Michelle Bachman than Ron Paul due to her early, enduring, and outspoken support of the Tea Party movement.
But then again, ding-bats like you don't like Bachman, either. You prefer the go-along-to-get-along types like McCain and Romney...In other words, losers.
As far as rudeness is concerned, I can't speak to what you describe, but I have my doubts. Establishment GOP-clowns describe anything that threatens their political power as rude and disruptive, so I take your description with a big grain of salt.
The old ways of doing business within the GOP are OVER. If you clowns try to foist another brain-dead RINO on us in 2012, the GOP will be effectively over as a political Party. In other words, we're not playing games with you RINOs anymore. We're NOT supporting your candidates to be "good little soldiers". Next year, you will support OUR candidates, or you can jump-ship and vote for Obama. Your choice.
And to all the left-wing morons who think the death of the GOP would be good for them...think again! If the GOP goes down, the emergent TEA PARTY will be stronger and more effective...and we will crush you, too.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 1:46PM
" ... we will crush you, too." Care to elaborate?
Does this involve firearms? "Re-education" camps a la the Khmer Rouge? Forced watching of Ronald Reagan or Michele Bachmann speeches a la 1984? Re-introduction of the public stocks for those who dare to disagree?
Be specific about your threats.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 1:54PM
Well...think of it this way.
The left HATES the second amendment.
Therefore, most private gun-owners in this country are not likely to be card-carrying leftists.
In addition, most of the folks in the military hail from red states, or red parts of blue states. That also makes sense, since the left are un-American, unpatriotic swine.
So, if push ever comes to shove...
Well...you get the picture, don't you?
Threats? Hardly. More like a guarantee.
Specific enough for ya', Davey?
You Libs better be damn careful what you wish for...
Or you might just get it.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 2:21PM
Name the time, place, and weapons, you phony-tough Ollie North wannabe. Put your lilywhite ass where your mouth is.
I am a lifelong gun owner, hunter, and defender of my right to same. Doesn't mean I read the 2nd Amendment the same as you do.
I have a Ruger M77 .30-06 and anything or anyone within 150 yards of me is out of luck from a 180-grain Federal bullet. Or if that's not manly enough for you, I'll meet you with my LeFever 16 gauge shotgun. I provide the details lest you think I just picked up this information from a Cabela's flier.
Yeah, some liberals know firearms, know how to use them and know how to call the bluff of bullsh1tting Right-Wingers like you.
Or, and GREAT job on validating every stereotype of the Right Wing, by the way.
Bill| 7.19.11 @ 2:41PM
A Ruger M77 in .30-06? Nice average large-caliber firearm, nothing to write home about, though.
And there are more of us than there are of you.
Bill| 7.19.11 @ 2:45PM
P.S. And now we know what you've got.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 3:08PM
Oh, you want a piece of this, too? Name the place and time. As for knowing what I've got, well, it's how it's used, isn't it?
Ground Control| 7.19.11 @ 3:22PM
Take a chill pill, please. Violence is not needed on these pages.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 3:24PM
And your advice applies to the original threatening post as well?
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:06PM
...But faux violence from left-wing poseurs IS fun!
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:06PM
Yes, LOTS more.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:05PM
I'm REAL scared...
...and highly amused.
The paradox of being an admitted Liberal AND a proponent of the 2nd Amendment is odd.
So how DO you read it, Davey? Upside-down?
BTW...I have a B.A.R. that my Uncle shipped home from Vietnam piece-by-piece, so anytime you wanna' bring your wussy l'il pistol and shot-gun by for a look-see, let me know, tough guy!
Nice bluff. I can read about "firearms" on wikipedia, too...
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:12PM
BTW...Good liars never give too much detail. It sounds rehearsed.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 4:38PM
Amuse yourself with this, Right Wing poseur.
Unless you were being ironic - which is not likely as irony is reserved for higher species - the Ruger M77 is a rifle, not a pistol. But, gee, seems you're the one reading wikipedia, isn't it?
Hmmm and a BAR in Vietnam. Antique weapon. It's amazing what a man will do to compensate for a lack of endowment.
August 6, 2011, at 1 p.m. CDT
Mammoth Springs State Park near Mammoth Springs, AR
There's a caboose next to the Frisco Depot. Be there.
Put up or shut up.
Drunken Sailor| 7.19.11 @ 5:04PM
Defensive much? I would like to know how a gun-toting liberal views the 2nd amendment though.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 5:58PM
DS, long time no talk. I do enjoy contending with you.
I still don't understand why a liberal gun owner is considered so unusual. Shooting is a difficult skill and it's fun to work on it. I do have to say that I distinguish between killing game and killing people. Maybe that's the start of the disagreement? I know I was turned down for Conscientous Objector status during Vietnam because I owned guns.
I know I shocked the snot out of 2 city cops that I was chatting with recently when I had my Golden with me and told them he was a great hunter (he is).
But, as I am so often reminded, let's go to the text of the amendment: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." (Yes, the punctuation and capitalization varies some between the version passed by Congress and the ones passed by the states but this is close enough.)
To me, nothing is clearer when you read the entire thing. Again, as I have so often been lectured on doing so in some of these posts: You can't just pull out the parts you like. So, unlike the whimiscal decision reached in D.C. v. Heller, I still tie the keeping and bearing of arms to a militia. And I take that to mean that the state has an interest in who keeps and bears arms. Now, back in the days of the Posse Comitatus' infestation of Wisconsin, its argument was that every white male over 16 was obliged to be part of the that "well-regulated militia." And I suppose some folks might still believe that. I guess the folks of Kennesaw, GA, by REQUIRING gun ownership for every citizen also subscribe in a roundabout way to that idea.
Interesting cautionary tale about the Posse and reading law in its entirety: the Posse claimed all sorts of powers - including the licensure of spacecraft - because it was authorized by federal law. Turns out the only remaining mention of Posse Comitatus is in a 1878 statute restricting the use of the Army for law enforcement.
Anyway, I don't recall ever signing up for the Wisconsin National Guard. And I do oppose mandatory conscription.
That said, I see nothing contradictory between private ownership of firearms and their legal use and being a liberal. If anything, I would think the Right would support the inventorying of firearms in a community so that the local militia would know, as Bill taunted me above, "what you've got."
I vigorously oppose any plan to limit ownership of "long arms" by persons who are sane and not convicted felons; those used most often and legitimately for hunting. (And I do love venison and grouse.) On the other hand, I don't see any purpose in private ownership of automatic weapons - long, short, or otherwise. I do recall a tribal police office bringing in a deer that he had killed with 18 rounds from his AR-15. Not much left.
That brings us to the slippery slope of self-defense, handguns and innovations like the famed "Talon" bullet.
I really don't think anyone is any safer armed with an AR-15 than with a shotgun. I don't think you're going to protect hearth and home any more effectively with a bazillion-round clip in your Glock than with a revolver. I mean if you don't hit your assailant with the first 1 or 2 rounds, you're kinda out of luck anyway, aren't you?
Frankly, DS, mock me all you like but I don't have an answer for handguns. I believe that way too many handguns exist solely for the purpose of killing people. BUT.
BUT.
I can't think of, and I have never heard of, any scheme to limit handguns that doesn't endanger the basic principle.
skip| 7.19.11 @ 6:00PM
"Such anger and hatred is most often the result of fear. What are you afraid of, skip, that you lash out in this way?" (David Wilhelms 7.18.11 @ 4:58PM)
16 gauge? 12 gauge have too much kick? Pussy.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 6:04PM
Oh, I shouldn't. But I will.
I have a 16 gauge because it was my grandfather's and I honor his memory every time I pick it up.
Granted, since you can't identify your paternal line, I would understand that you don't get that connection.
skip| 7.19.11 @ 7:18PM
"There's no one that I can name that you would accept. More's the pity, skip. and that's my last word to you. In the words of another Right Wing Blogger, "I refuse to engage with Liberals any more because they can't be engaged with."" (David Wilhelms (7.18.11 @ 11:43PM)
Say what you will about liberals, they never bend when it comes to 'principle'.
At least you didn't attack me for making a ridiculous statement along the lines of 'a 16 gauge has 33% more kick than a 12 gauge, dummy'.
Giving the devil his due, you've given a damn good reason to use a 16 gauge.
However, that 'paternal line' crack gaurantees my paternal grandfather is kicking your grandfather's ass, as well as the asses of any other direct line male ancestor of yours who isn't cowering, he can find, even as I type this.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 7:24PM
August 2, 2011: Baltimore, Md. Corner of Light Street and Pratt Street. High noon.
Be there with your little girl's "rifle" and be ready to duel, or you're admitting to everyone that you're a total fraud and a leftwing little punk.
I'll be the one with the B.A.R. It's sound will make you wet your pants, so bring some extra underwear.
See how stupid you sound, L'il Davey?
Quartermaster| 7.19.11 @ 7:59PM
Like it or not, a gun owning liberal is an oddity. Just understand that Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and other founders really were liberals, but today's variety is nothing more than Socialist trying to hide behind an honorable name. Today's liberals have nothing in common with those great men.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 8:25PM
I threw the gauntlet first and you're the coward for not accepting.
But sure, Baltimore works.
Chicken Sock Puppet| 7.19.11 @ 9:14PM
I've got $20 that says Wilhelms never shows; at either location.
He already screwed the pooch on what a militia means, Constitutionally speaking that is. Let's ask the Founding Fathers, shall we?
"...I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body, and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun, therefore, be the constant companion of your walks."
-Jefferson, 1785
Hmmm... seems the guy who wrote the Declaration doesn't agree with ya, Davey...
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 10:03PM
Wow. Wildly irrelevant while striking inappropriate. I agree with you, nutcase, about the role of the gun in American culture.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 10:02PM
Yeah, I'll be waiting...
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 10:04PM
Obviously, since the 2nd is a Tuesday, I'll have to take some vacation as you're unemployable.
Doctor Right| 7.20.11 @ 9:54AM
Uh-huh...
Not sure that "workin' at the car-wash" between 8th and 9th grades counts for you as "employment", but whatever...
Clint| 7.19.11 @ 5:44PM
Dr.Reich Is A Lapsed Catholic/Anti-Catholic Asshole,Who Apparently, Doesn't Understand What We Tea Party Patriots Are All About Or He Wouldn't Be Fixated On His Ongoing Agenda Against Our Tea Party Co-Favorite & Presidential Candidate Dr. Ron Paul.
"Tea partiers in two camps: Sarah Palin vs. Ron Paul
Palin, who topped the list with 15 percent, speaks for the 43 percent of those polled expressing the distinctly conservative view that government does too much, while also saying that it needs to promote traditional values.
Paul’s thinking is reflected by an almost identical 42 percent who said government does too much but should not try to promote any particular set of values — the hallmarks of libertarians. He came in second to Palin with 12 percent.
When asked to choose from a list of candidates for president in 2012, Palin and Paul also finished one-two — with Palin at 15 percent and Paul at 14 percent. "
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
Carpe Diem.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 7:29PM
Clint is a repressed closet-case who thinks he can cover-up his desire for other men with uber-aggressive rhetoric and 8th-grade put-downs.
He also thinks Ron Paul will be President, which is even sadder. And like all deluded Paulies, he thinks he's a Conservative.
In short, Clint is a joke.
Clint| 7.19.11 @ 7:59PM
Uh Oh !
More Queer Talk From Dr. Reich.
The Lady Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks."
"Does the Tea Party Make Ron Paul Mainstream?
Ron Paul was Tea Party before Tea Party was cool.
The rise of the Tea Party movement offers Mr. Paul an opportunity to be embraced as a kind of mainstream candidate that he never was while running last time around.
And despite Mr. Paul’s remarkable ability to raise millions of dollars from his committed followers, it remains unclear whether he could raise tens of millions — if not hundreds of millions — from the nation’s wealthiest interests to compete with his Republican rivals and, ultimately, President Obama.
But there is no ignoring the sense that Mr. Paul’s timing may be spot on for the political times. And running for president gives him a national platform for the issues he has cared about for decades, as well as a chance to spotlight the new leaders of the movement, including his son, the new Republican senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul.
The new energy in the Republican party appears to come from the Tea Party activists whose primary issues are close to Mr. Paul’s: a rabid desire to cut government spending, a fear of the mounting national debt, a dislike of the politics of compromise and a distrust of the Republican establishment that goes almost as deep as their disgust with Democrats.
In 2012, Mr. Paul enters a presidential race that is, if anything, even more unsettled than the 2008 Republican campaign was at the same point in time.
His supporters say he is poised to make a more serious run at the nomination. Drew Ivers, a member of the central committee of Iowa’s Republican Party, is a committed supporter of Mr. Paul’s.
“The spending. The war. The financial crisis,” Mr. Ivers said recently. “That’s how snowballs develop, you know. They start small, and they get bigger as they roll downhill.”
The Tea Party Escalates.
Carpe Diem.
Jacobite| 7.21.11 @ 12:09PM
The Founders did not ratify the Constitution to limit government. They limited the federal Govt. The 1st Amenment guaranteed States the freedom to establish an official religion without Federal interference. State laws made sodomy, blasphemy, and debasing coins capital offenses. Let's not forget fornication, libel, slander, adultery, and criminal conversation. Voting was restricted, generally, to some combination of free, white, male, property-owning Christians. That was what the Founders intended for the Constitution to guarantee. A Libertarian would have ended up in the stocks as quickly as any Tory. And rightly so.
Sandy| 7.19.11 @ 8:31AM
It is not surprising that more recent polling has Tea Party support on the downslide, and it will continue going down. Once enough people realized they were being led by a bunch of mostly libertarian leaning young inexperienced people, who only recognize one leg of Reagan's conservative stool, they backed off. Most middle aged to older conservative voters, who have been engaged in the political process for years, had the opportunity to live in the Reagan years, realize that there is an important tie in between, social and national security issues, as well as fiscal issues. With the increase in radical islamist activity, the fact that Obama has made us very unsafe with his bowing and appeasing our enemies, it can't have a positive outcome. If you did a survey or a poll, and asked people to rate what is important to them, you would find that safety and security of our citizens and our country would rank very high. There are those Tea Parties who continuously call for more and more cuts to the defense budget, even after Obama has stripped it, are doing no favors to the country, and, are actually willing to put us in greater danger. If there are any federal tax dollars that should have first dibs, it is for our military and defense. It is the presidents first responsibility, according to the constitution, that he keep us safe from both foreign and domestic enemies, and our list of enemies grows with every day that Obama is in office.
CrackerHound| 7.19.11 @ 9:43AM
Sandy...if that is your experience with the Tea Party, you don't know the same Tea Party that I do. Most T.P. citizens that I know have lived through the Reagan years and are anything BUT rude unless confronted with lying politicians and then it is loud and forceful but respectful.
The T.P. is for a strong national defense but there is room for cuts in that budget as well. We should NOT be funding the defense of nations that despise us (this includes Europe) nor subsidizing Jihadist countries while our own economy burns. Do you think the founding fathers would have approved of the "foreign entanglements" we find ourselves in now?
I have changed my views in this regard due to the prompting of the TP to educate and re-evaluate. I was strongly behind Bush in everything after 9-11 and still believe he did the right thing but now, due to the circumstances, it is time change course. I am a US Army veteran so I DO support the military whole heartedly. If done smartly we can cut waste and improve defense. You have to admit that many expenditures are designed to enrich contractors and do not necessarily enhance the miltary. All of that aside, the TP is for a strong military and believe it is a priority but if we are asking for cuts in entitlements....cuts in defense should be on the table.
If we fight a war we should make that decision wisely (Libya?) and fight it to WIN and nation building is never appreciated by the recipient therefore....we don't do it. Hell, we could have saved billions by leaving Iraq after we handed Saddam over and the results would be the same as we have today.
The difference between the TP and citizens such as yourself is we realize the seriousness of the situation we are in economically and with respect to our slide into socialism and loss of liberty. This is NOT the America as it was founded. Every right enumerated in The Constitution is in serious jeopardy.
irish19| 7.19.11 @ 12:20PM
What he said.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 1:56PM
Okay, since many posters here proudly proclaim that the Tea Party is not one entity, not one coherent monolith, how do you know Sandy's experience isn't correct?
Seems like you can't have it both ways - either you're one big organization with shared principles, positions, and a philosophy or you're not. So choose.
Storage Steve| 7.19.11 @ 2:26PM
I think we can get an idea from his response to "we will crush you" and automatically seeing it as a physical threat. This leans to someone who sees everything through a PC lens. There is nothing wrong with a group of people getting together to further their political goals and if those same people didn't want to "crush" the opposition then they are like those that protest for change but when you ask them what they want to change they answer vaguely that they just want it to be different. I'd rather have groups that see a goal and want to attain it. I also think getting back to our founding fathers ideas for this country is a worthy goal. This would allow us each to live as we wish morally as long as we don't infringe on others.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 3:10PM
You did read the good doctor's response, didn't you?
"Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 1:54PM
Well...think of it this way.
The left HATES the second amendment.
Therefore, most private gun-owners in this country are not likely to be card-carrying leftists.
In addition, most of the folks in the military hail from red states, or red parts of blue states. That also makes sense, since the left are un-American, unpatriotic swine.
So, if push ever comes to shove...
Well...you get the picture, don't you?
Threats? Hardly. More like a guarantee.
Specific enough for ya', Davey?
You Libs better be damn careful what you wish for...
Or you might just get it."
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:09PM
Yeah, he read it. And he's right, you little PC troll.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 6:04PM
Coward.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 7:32PM
Lol! And you're soooooooo tough, right? Telling everyone "I've got guns!"
You're a joke.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 7:32PM
Lol! And you're soooooooo tough, right? Telling everyone "I've got guns!"
You're a joke.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:11PM
Sorry, we don't accept your ill-informed premise, so no answer is neceesary.
Either you're an uninformed, left-wing lemming who's ignorant of history and economics, or you're an uninformed, left-wing lemming who's ignorant of history and economics.
So choose.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 1:59PM
Here's a few words of wisdom for you and your RINO-buddies to contemplate, Sandy...
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude more than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!”
- Samuel Adams
canuckistani| 7.19.11 @ 2:06PM
That applies precisely to anyone that does business with China, including buying their products as a consumer.
Think about it.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:08PM
Nice non-sequiter, Craplakistani...
You don't try hard to be dumb, do you?
Drunken Sailor| 7.19.11 @ 5:05PM
It's a gift.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 6:35PM
Coward.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 7:34PM
Your mommy is calling, Davey...
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 8:28PM
August 2, it is, asshole.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 10:07PM
Cool. I'll look for the kid with the "Hope and Change 2008" t-shirt.
I'll be the large, angry looking black guy with the doo-rag and the low hanging pants. Let's agree to a special code before we get started; you approach me and say "Hey boy! I eff'ed your mom!". Then we'll get started.
David Wilhelms| 7.20.11 @ 9:38AM
Gee. Funny how you can get misimpressions. Here I had you pegged for a short, old white guy with the flag T-shirt stretched over your considerable belly and a deer-in-the-headlights expression.
Doctor Right| 7.20.11 @ 9:55AM
Not short, not old.
Here I had you pegged as a pimply-faced teenager play-acting as an adult...
...and I was right!
David Wilhelms| 7.20.11 @ 10:48AM
Okay, that narrows it down.
Tallish
Youngish
Foolish
Clint| 7.19.11 @ 8:20PM
Uh Oh !
The Israel Firster Screwball Sandy-Sybil Is In The Building.
"The tea party movement, which established its power last year by defeating Republicans who didn’t meet their idea of what a conservative ought to be, is shifting to a more policy-driven focus as its leaders try to expand its growth and effectiveness.
The strategy appears to be working, both on the presidential campaign trail, where most candidates are eagerly embracing tea party priorities, and in Washington, where loyalists are setting the terms of the debate over taxes and spending.
On Capitol Hill, congressmen elected on the tea party wave of 2010 have helped grind to a halt negotiations over raising the debt ceiling with their objections to any deal that includes more taxes. The more vocal among them question the establishment wisdom that a default on federal debt would precipitate an economic catastrophe. And they have pushed many of the presidential contenders to adopt similar points of view."
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
Carpe Diem.
russel| 7.19.11 @ 8:37AM
We're witnessing the real Republican in McConnell . An old white-haired get-alonger careerist our Founders worked so hard to avoid . They're finally an endangered species . The white-hairs will be replaced with the younger and energized forming a remodeled GOP or another party ( TEA or otherwise named ) . Then we can attack the old guard in the socialist party ( Reid , Pelosi et al ) with a nuclear arsenal . Ordinary folk working for each other the way our Founders intended .
canuckistani| 7.19.11 @ 2:39PM
Baloney. The founders had no interest in "ordinary folk working for eachother".
Each and every founder had a material financial benefit in the movement from the articles of confed to the constitution. The Brits choked off trade in their ports and the Spaniards were fighting a proxy war with the indians along the Mississippi, and states were levying taxes to stop interstate robbery to the dismay of the founders. Daniel Shay's moves were also alrming to the new elites so recently unsexed of their Westminster obligations.
"Ordinary folk" got hosed before and after the founders had their way.
It was the rule of law, a necessary civil war and legal remedies over the subsequent centuries that made this country strong. I do credit the founders for selecting independence as their release valve for their greed and avarice. They could have selected other means.
Tea partiers are simple equivocators like George Mason, wanting a utopian society but refusing to accept tough reforms into their own lives. Classic NIMBYism.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 3:34PM
See, this is why "original intent" as it applies to the Constitution gets a bad rap.
The Founders (if you define them as the men who wrote and/or defended our original documents and those who actually fought) were a very small minority. I can't quote the source but I believe the consensus among historians is that about 1/3 of Americans supported the revolution, about 1/3 opposed it, and about 1/3 didn't care/were neutral.
As for "Ordinary folk working for each other the way our Founders intended," canuckstani is a bit overblown in his riposte but he is essentially correct. The Founders were, nearly to a man, wealthy, proprietied, and educated and certainly had their own interests in mind as well as those of the emerging United States. If the tone of the debate in the Federalist papers is to be accurately judged, there was more than a whiff of suspicion about us "ordinary folk."
So if russel, with his whimsical, romantic, and wrong view of history, were suddenly put in charge of the worshipped original intent in interpreting the Constitution, the country is, indeed, deep trouble.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:18PM
"The Founders were, nearly to a man, wealthy, proprietied, and educated and certainly had their own interests in mind..."
Yeah, and they also had the MOST to lose by supporting the revolution, and many lost a LOT by doing so.
But they did anyway.
Gee...Maybe they were willing to risk everything because they believed in the righteousness of their cause..?
If they were thinking primarily of themselves, they would have propped-up the status-quo.
You're not much of a critical thinker, are you?
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 6:01PM
Coward. No answer from you about August 6.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 7:36PM
Dummy.
Still waiting for an answer to August 2.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 8:28PM
Coward. August 2, it is.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 10:08PM
See above post.
You've never touched a weapon in your life.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:20PM
"Greed and avarice"??
You have NO clue what you're talking about.
If the Founders were greedy, why would they have supported the revolution, thus putting their property, their citizenship, and their lives at risk??
We REALLY need to close the dang borders...
Steve B | 7.19.11 @ 8:38AM
Good article, one quibble: You said, "rallies fundamentally change nothing."
Nope. Rallies, like seemingly trivial activities like envelope-stuffing parties, build cadre solidarity and allow a natural leadership to rise to the top, i.e. those willing to do the scutwork.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 3:26PM
"Cadre"? "Cadre"? Ain't that a commie term, there, sport?
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 4:21PM
No.
The new way to refer to Communists is "Democrat".
Quartermaster| 7.19.11 @ 8:03PM
Cadre is a military term usurped by the left.
Lullabys, Legends and Lies| 7.19.11 @ 8:43AM
The main reason why you don't see the Tea Party out protesting every day of the week is, we're busy working and trying to make our own way through life. I've been to the two protests in Washington D. C., in 2009 & 2010, and it takes a lot of work (and a lot of money too, especially driving a Town Car) to do that. For the first one, I was on leave from Iraq for two weeks, I got home and drove from FT Bragg up to New York to pick up my Niece and Nephew, and then drove straight back to D.C. to protest, and then drove back to New York to drop them off (talk about tired). Welcome Home!! The next one, I had to put in a milage pass, I left FT Bragg at 0300 to get up to D.C. in time, protested, and then drove back here again, because I had Tee times early the next morning, it's not easy protesting you Government (or playing Golf)!!
Normal life, and work get in the way of protesting all the time, but I don't think the Tea Party's going anywhere, we're just doing things below the radar now, and getting ready for the next round of battles in 2012.
Mike 3/505| 7.19.11 @ 8:36PM
L,L&L,
Howz the golf course at Bragg these days... Haven't hacked my way around it since 1986.
Lullabys, Legends and Lies| 7.20.11 @ 8:33AM
Airborne Mike: Third Brigade, huh? Me too!! Styker & Ryder are still great, you can get in a round in under four hours, they're always in good shape, they're cheap, and you can always get a good Tee time on the weekends too. Can't complain about that!! Plus, I love taking my Joe's out there and kicking their asses (I can't beat them on the runs anymore, so this is all I've got left). The course on Pope was closed last year, which sucks, because that one was my favorite. But then again, I don't think we needed three golf courses on one Base anyway, even if it is a really big Base, it was a little excessive.
loulou| 7.19.11 @ 9:07AM
I and a lot of Tea Partiers have never attended a rally.
Rurik| 7.19.11 @ 9:34AM
Some uf us need to take a momentary respite. We have devoted ourselves full time, some of us since the March 2007 Washington confrontation with Code Pink/ANSWER. Now we have personal and family demands which need attention. But we will be back when the main campaign resumes. And meanwhile we still keep our sympaties and vote. For now we are the Tea Party's strategic reserve. Those of us who are more interested in the cause itself than careers or ego fulfillment, think it is healthy for the movement to nurture a new generation of leaders; by definition, the Tea Party don't need no steenking leaders anyway.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 1:57PM
Ever hear of the weekend? Or are you working 24/7? (Doubtful.) Seems a lot of the protests in Madison were on Saturday and Sundays. Sounds like your politics are very convenient.
Quartermaster| 7.19.11 @ 8:05PM
Much of tho temper tantrum in Madison was also on working days when the teachers were supposed to be in classrooms. Instead they lied and went to their thug rallies to try to intimidate the legislature in doing what they wanted.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 8:32PM
QM, you seemed so reasonable. Were you there? Did you see the "thugs" handing out candy? Or did you just blindly accept what FOX dished out to you?
I suppose you'd equate the Madison demonstration with those "babies" in Concord Square in 1775 for throwing a tantrum?
A "temper tantrum"? I suppose, yeah, the folks who signed your precious Constitution were having a tantrum?
That's what democracy looks like, QM. It's big, it's messy, it defies control. And it's ours. Yours, mine, and ours.
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 10:13PM
"Your precious Constitution"????
You've given yourself away, dummy.
You're no gun-toting Liberal from the 60's. You're a little pissant teenager who spends too much time reading Rolling Stone and spanking your monkey.
You've never held a weapon in your life, and wouldn't know what to do with one if you did.
Yeah, dip-stick...the Constitution is precious.
And like I said earlier, careful what you wish for, little boy.
Punk.
David Wilhelms| 7.20.11 @ 9:40AM
Just when I think you can't stoop any lower, you just wallow into the filth further.
CharlieEcho| 7.19.11 @ 9:38AM
I too would raise my hand and I have never attended a rally. We are watching and writing. I stay in contact on issues with my elected representatives. It's tough living off your own earnings and trying to attend rallies. Perhaps if I were on the dole I might, well I'm not a hypocrite, or.
kerry| 7.19.11 @ 10:11AM
The tea party movement is very engaged with elections, voter fraud, the education/school system, state level politics and legislation.
Just because we are not having protests doesn't mean the tea party is withering. Here in Virginia we are well past that. Protests and rallies were very important, but we are not dunces. All politics is local, we are getting involved at the state and local levels very effectively. This is a hit piece by establishment who wish we would go away.
Citizen Jerry| 7.19.11 @ 10:37AM
The founding fathers probably wouldn't have approved of the "foreign entanglements" we find ourselves in now. But the world wasn't so interconnected then.
Years ago, someone told me America can't be the world's policeman. Well, the world needs a policeman, if only to make the bad actors behave. I don't see anyone else stepping up for the job.
CrackerHound| 7.19.11 @ 1:15PM
Jerry, If the world needs a policeman then the world can pay for it.
The way you make "bad actors behave" is when they threaten US security(legitimately and directly, preferrably only when attacked)....you destroy them and leave before the smoke clears.
Conrad Spiracy| 7.19.11 @ 11:10AM
We're still here, heh-heh-heh.
Beware the stalking snake.
Don't Tread On Us!
Con Spiracy
EXCELSIOR!!!
Michael Bergsma| 7.19.11 @ 11:25AM
The Tea Party is the best thing to ever happen to the Republican party. We have several local teaparty groups. Most are run by middle class professionals who got involved because the horror of the Obama spending. One of the groups has a Ron Paul flavor but not control. The local Ron Paul activists are so rude and abusive that even the newcomers to politics are put off by them. We have also had very good elected Republicans who have done an outstanding job in fighting overspending. We also have some strong Republican clubs that give activists a way to get involved.
JimmyT| 7.19.11 @ 12:35PM
Don't pay any attention to Sandy. She most likely has never attended a TP rally. She sounds like my wife BEFORE she attended her first rally. Now she's a TP supporter. The TP is now working behind the scenes and getting the job done. Seeing what we got done in2010 when we were still in our learning the learning stage, I can't wait for 2012.
Clint| 7.19.11 @ 6:32PM
That's Just One Of Her Nom De Guerres. Ironically, She's A Neo-Chickenhawk Asshole.
Dave| 7.19.11 @ 12:37PM
After much conversing with local Tea Partiers, I find that I am not going to associate with them and move away from their fanaticism a little more. They are the same people who demanded mandatory arbitriation and limits on civil lawsuits.
CrackerHound| 7.19.11 @ 1:17PM
Ahhh...Lawyer Dave?
Jack| 7.19.11 @ 1:31PM
a task for the Tea Party: instead of dumping tea into the harbor, sending a now-banned light bulb to your member of Congress
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 1:41PM
Yes, I subscribe to the ideas of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free enterprise.
But it's the application of those seven words, isn't it? However much I will always disagree with Clint, it's the details and the exact language that I need. It's the filling in of the blanks on what, for example, "it's possible to know the original intent of the government our founders set forth, and stand in support of that intent" that is the source of our disagreement.
I'm looking for the concrete and not the flag-waving platitudes.
Ground Control| 7.19.11 @ 3:28PM
The concrete will never harden as long as you keep pouring water in it. Those "blanks" you refer to have been filled in many times with specific policies we would like to see enacted, policies that FOLLOW the US Constitution, not fly in the face of it as most Democrat policy does. And if one truly subscribes to the ideas of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free enterprise, then one cannot possibly be a Democrat. Not anymore.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 3:45PM
That was an amazing torrent of words to not respond.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 3:46PM
Or you could just name one example of "specific policies we would like to see enacted." That would be nice. And who is "we," specifically?
irish19| 7.19.11 @ 7:06PM
RightIsAnythingBut, Is that you? Sure sounds like it, right down to the brag about the .30-06.
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 8:33PM
irish 19, is that you? Right down to the stupid remark?
irish19| 7.20.11 @ 12:10AM
I don't change names. Care to answer the question?
Doctor Right| 7.19.11 @ 7:40PM
...idiotic...
Bill| 7.19.11 @ 2:39PM
After about 45 years of demonstrations and street marches, I was beginning to despair of anyone ever figuring out how meaningless streetwalking was in bringing political change about.
Leave it to the Tea Partiers to figure it out.
carol| 7.19.11 @ 3:43PM
My Liberty San Mateo in California yes even in the belly of the beast we are steady turnout every two weeks at the American Legion Hall. 40 plus folks including the GOP chairman...who has co opted whom? focused on the local and 2012 elections to stay on target
David Wilhelms| 7.19.11 @ 6:05PM
Coward.
Fair weather patriot.
hiscross| 7.19.11 @ 7:01PM
You need to read this -> http://blog.riseofreason.com/s.....-1928/111/
On July 21, 2011 the Office of Financial Research and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau become real. They are inpart of the Dodd-Frank legistration. No Tea Party group opposed that or worst yet, none of the so called Tea Party elected have tried to shut it down. Do you realize all of the 1928 Socialist points are now fullfilled?
Bill| 7.19.11 @ 8:30PM
This is exactly it. I wanted to announce my presence and so joined the rallies. But now I want to effect change, not just talk about it. I want to be effective and have my voice heard.
86toulfcd8u6esd| 7.19.11 @ 10:03PM
As part of "free markets" you have to consider not just government regulation but fighting cronyism both legal and illegal.
Less government - you have to consider not just taxes and regulations, but corruption. This is particularly important at the local level. It is routine for police to over step their bounds, making arrests to harass and then releasing innocent people because there is no grounds for holding them - but the innocent victims are obviously traumatized while the police go unpunnished. A good example of this is the way photographers who photograph the police are treated. You also have local government officials over paying themselves and using other corrupt mean to siphon off tax payer money for private use.
86toulfcd8u6esd| 7.19.11 @ 10:08PM
Sheesh, don't folks realize the gun thread in the comments above is a delibrate attempt to discredit tea party supporters as rednecks and potential terrorists? Please people ignore the trolls.
And to the blog owner: don't let your blog be used by sock puppets and trolls.
POST American| 7.19.11 @ 11:10PM
What we can do NOW:
-Confront your church leadership on their
enmeshments with BOTH the Rockefeller subversion op
'Council of Churches' as well as
all types of Freemasonry or government
surveillance op programs.
-Get the TV's and radios OUT of your home.
They have always been about standardization
and degradation programming. NOW they're
even worse with built-in eavesdropping and
surveillance backdoors, Likewise your radiation
and microwave spewing PC's and cellphones.
Curtail these as much as possible. Get them out
of intimate spaces altogether.
-Start your own neighborhood coffee club
in an empty basement or garage. Get off the
franchise slum grid and away from the RED
China wampum op.
-REJECT all the enmeshment and empathy
whores of media --esp.the likes of Glenn Beck
and all the other Murdoch Globalist FAKE ops.
Carry these steps out and you'll find things will
already be clearer.
Tom Perkins| 7.20.11 @ 6:13AM
"I think the proper term is, ‘sea change.'"
I think this statement comes from not understanding the situation. The center/minority left will always let the cronies have their kleptococray, because that is the grand bargain holding the Democratic Party together--it stands for all its constituencies getting their slice of kleptocracy.
Johnny| 7.20.11 @ 7:03AM
Very entertaining... After reading all the posts here all I can say is, wow! What a bunch of hot air! I would proudly raise my hand and say that I back the Tea Party, I know very few who "belong " to the party but agree with their basic beliefs. Get rid of the stupid folks in charge now and replace them with true patriots that aren't in it for the money.
1ConservativeUSA| 7.20.11 @ 1:03PM
As a tea partier, we may march again. However, we are now busy, working behind the scenes to ensure that we end this national disgrace in November 2012.
POST American| 7.20.11 @ 11:57PM
----START by cleaning the TV's etc. out
of your home. Make your home YOUR
sanctuary once again. Even keep the PC's
in the office. They are, ON RECORD, surveillance
and eavesdropping tools.
Then move onto to cleaning out your churches.
Get the Rockefeller subversion and deviant ops
OUT.
If you can't ---GET OUT and start your
own church. Keep it small, disciplined and
doctrinally as faithful as possible.
STOP being short-circuited by the Globalist
FAKE ops like Glenn Beck and FOX 'News'.
GET WITH Alan Watt's devastating, deeply
documented ongoing coverage.
YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY---------------------------
weddingdresses | 7.21.11 @ 6:03AM
I think this statement comes from not understanding the situation. The center/minority left will always let the cronies have their kleptococray, because that is the grand bargain holding the Democratic Party together--it stands for all its constituencies getting their slice of kleptocracy.
Jacobite| 7.21.11 @ 11:56AM
Any movement 'big tent' enough to cover right, left, and minorities is too broad to accomplish anything, as the interests involved are zero-sum (e.g., affirmative action). The Tea Parties could be the Committees of Correspondence of today, but, like those committees, will soon conclude that there's only one way to change things. Today's Left makes George III look like Harry Browne Jr, and the remedy will be proportionately harsher.
Rich Birkett | 7.21.11 @ 1:29PM
The Tea Party movement, originally composed of independents, libertarians, fiscal and economic conservatives, is being coopted by religious and cultural conservatives and Republicans. Instead of appealing to a wide spectrum of people dissatisfied with Obama's policies, many tea party groups are "closing the circle" with activities, including prayers, religious songs and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, that turn off many of the people they should be attracting and recruiting. Many Tea Party groups are straying outside the economic issues that bring them together, by discussing issues such as patriotism, exceptionalism, immigration, language, marriage, abortion and other divisive non-economic issues.
Ralph & Deborah Miller| 7.23.11 @ 6:47AM
I have been to Washington 4 times now. Including 9/12 and Glen's rally. Times are tough for everyone right now. Now I'm trying to clean up local, bad politicians like Charlie Dent. No one is going to believe how many people are going to come out in 2012. We've had enough. Real change is coming. God Bless America.
Paul | 8.5.11 @ 4:50AM
The Tea Party will have to encourage their members to keep a grip on their representatives by the scruff of the neck at all times. Elected politicians have forgotten that they are messengers and not kings. They have become accustomed to deciding the fate of the Free World between themselves. They need to be taught to report to their bosses (the people) in order to be told how to vote, or be thrown out. The churches and synagogues should be performing this function, but they are in a worse mess than congress. However, according to scripture, this will change.