Tea Party organizers must think beyond Palin and the GOP
Allow me to get a few things off my chest about Governor Palin, the GOP, and the future of the Tea Party Movement.
First of all, Governor Sarah Palin was asked to speak at a Tea Party Convention in Nashville on February 6--not the Tea Party Convention. She nor Tea Party Nation, the group that organized the event, speak for the millions of individuals and thousands of groups working to take back our country from a corrupt Washington establishment fostered by both political parties. And while I commend Tea Party Nation for trying to harness the passions of Tea Party-goers so that we can better organize, placing too much importance on any one person, group, or event will only serve to provide a target for our critics to attack in hopes of defusing our momentum. We must remain as we are, much bigger than that.
Secondly, Palin's invitation to the Tea Party Nation event was largely based on the political fortitude she displayed in taking on her own political party when running for Governor of Alaska against Republican incumbent Frank Murkowski. As much as Palin's run for Governor embodied the spirit of the Tea Party Movement, it does not make her its leader or spokes person. Rather, Palin is one of many role models within the Tea Party movement. Whether you are someone who loves Palin or loves to hate her, it must be understood that Palin's individual career ambitions and political views are just that--hers, not ours.
Finally, Tea Party organizers need to recognize the responsibility they bare in orchestrating widely-publicized events that attract national attention. Spotlighting uber-Republicans, like Palin, alienate the growing number of Independent and Democratic voters who've joined our cause. It also feeds into the stereotype that Tea Party-goers are a bunch of "angry, anti-Obama Republicans." With Palin taking jabs at President Obama for relying on a teleprompter and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs jabbing back with more jokes about Palin, Palin's appearance in Nashville fueled the vicious cycle of juvenile attacks between Republicans and Democrats, turning a national debate about issues into a circus. This silly feuding, albeit an unintended consequence, is a divisive distraction that only further empowers those who've taken our country so off course. As Tea Party organizers, we should do whatever we can to avoid these situations, including foregoing the hype a headliner like Palin attracts, to do what is best for the movement as a whole.
Unless Tea Party organizers start thinking beyond Palin and the GOP, we will be our own worst obstacle in taking back our country. Tea Party-goers, while largely Conservative, are specifically concerned with protecting the US Constitution; re-establishing fiscal responsibility in the name of individual liberty and national security; and draining the swamp of corrupt politicians. The GOP does not have a strangle-hold on these issues; in fact, they've been just as reckless as the Democrats in the name of "Progressivism." By blindly towing the Republican party line, we open the door for the GOP to hijack the momentum of a movement based on principles Republicans are suppose to embrace but have abandoned over the years. So let's put down the "Palin 2012" signs and start thinking about how we can influence all three political parties--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents--to ensure our country's founding principles are upheld, not only in the next election cycle, but from this day forward.
If you agree, I will see you from 4pm to 6pm at the Oceanside Amphitheater on April 15, 2010, for North County's next Tax Day Tea Party.
Carlsbad's alternative power plant site flawed
Those of us who live ... << MORE >>
Time to Unplug the Union's Political Machine
By Dr. Gary Gonsalves
This article is for everybody who believes it’s time to reign in the political corruption of California’s public employee labor unions. Over the decades, the public unions have built a political machine that has given us unsustainable public employee pensions, benefits unmatched by the private
sector, costly protected overtime pay, and the list goes on. Today I will give you the plug to the machine.
What you ...
What's with all the secrecy and back door deals on healthcare?
I have to ask...
If the healthcare legislation currently being voted on is so great and so wanted by the American public, then why would the most important votes be taken during the cover of night at 1am on a Monday morning and during Christmas Eve? Wouldn't you want everyone to see what a wonderful thing you are doing for the country...if it truly is wonderful?
If this legislation is so great, then why would it not take effect until after the next presidential election, and why in the world would Congress be exempt from it? Wouldn't you pass it right before an election to win all those votes from people who wanted it?
And most importantly, why would you need $100s of millions in Pork projects to buy the votes you need only to pass the bill by a hair? Wouldn't great legislation pass on its own merits?
I'm not sure I want answers to any of these questions as none of it can be good.
Blog Czar Teaches New Activists at Whole Foods Buycott!
October 10, 2009
(Repost from Temple of Mut blog)
Dear Readers: I wanted to give you an update on today’s event, which was initiated by the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition. We held a Whole Foods Buy-cott at the La Jolla store. The background for the event is that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey laid out the most articulate argument for real health care reform, based on sound free market principles, in a Wall Street Journal article. As Mackey’s stance is counter to the Obama administration’s big government proposals, he and Whole Foods have come under attack and boycott. Subsequent to the publication of the Mackey editorial, the Local UFCW 135 protested outside the La Jolla location against Mackey’s statements on Aug. 20, 2009...
Read full story at Temple of Mut by Leslie Eastman.
Tea Party E Pluribus Unum!
By Dana Matas, Oct. 4, 2009
Since the very first handmade protest signs surfaced back in February, many have been wondering, "Who is leading the Tea Party Movement?" Is it the Republicans or the Independents? Is it Sarah Palin or Ron Paul? Is it this group or that group?
What even the most active of Tea Party enthusiast may not realize is, you need not look any further than your own bathroom mirror to see that the real leader of the Tea Party movement is you. In other words, it is every taxpayer who waves a "Don't Tread on Me" flag or who helps to organize a Tea Party. It is the mom who picks up the phone to call her Representative demanding her family be represented. And it is every individual speaking out for the first time, not just about their dissatisfaction with the other party, but their own party as well.
The Tea Party Movement is of the People, by the People and for the People. It is the individual's declaration of independence from the politicians and the special interest groups who've sold out the American people in exchange for their own self-serving pursuits. Our collective quest to restore and strengthen our freedoms and the values that founded this country are what keep us moving in lock-step with one another--not any one group or dynamic mouth piece. Thus, any politician or group proclaiming to be "the" leader of the Tea Party Movement either: a.) doesn't get it; or b.) is looking to exploit our frustrations.
Don't be fooled. There is no entity that is going to swoop in and save the day. There is no one bill we can defeat in Congress that will make everything better so we can go back to the complacency from which we just awoke. And there is no amount of turnover within elected office that will wipe clean the corruption that plagues our government. The success of the Tea Party Movement doesn't rest with any one accomplishment, group or person, but rather the continued effort of the individual to hold government accountable as only he or she can.
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To contact the author of this blog entry, email Dana at danamatas@yahoo.com.
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