[LiberConservative]

Obviously, the Tea Party conservatives were neophytes; never before had they been involved in political activism.

I doubt that. I would be willing to bet 75%+ have been paying attention for over 20 years.

[Gene Eric]

>> then co-opted by mainstream GOP Sean Hannity types

>> Obviously, the Tea Party conservatives were neophytes; never before had they been involved in political activism.

Hannity may not be everyone’s favorite, but he’s been fighting his cause of Conservatism since long ago, and during the hours the witches fly.

Since when do fickle punks own the cause of Liberty?

[BunnySlippers]

That's a shame since the movement started with Ron Paul and his libertarian followers, and was then co-opted by mainstream GOP Sean Hannity types.

Nope, they were suggested by Rick Santelli on CNBC. He is a fiscal conservative.

[manc]

tea parties are for everyone and the one I went to had the left, right and the middle.

fed up of Govt and how they are trying to take over every aspect of our lives, fed up of their reckless spending and wanting more taxes then that is where the tea party is for you regardless of what party one comes from

[manc]

also what is this author on about?

totally out of touch with what the tea party is about and who got it going.

ios this another way for the fools from both sides to break the tea party movement.

boy they’re really afraid of the tea party arn;t they

[darkwing104]

It appears that some state and county Tea Party groups are trying to cleanse their ranks of libertarians. That's a shame since the movement started with Ron Paul and his libertarian followers, and was then co-opted by mainstream GOP Sean Hannity types.

Did a little research on the Heritage Foundation. Ron Paul had nothing to do with the founding of this movement. I can understand why Conservatives are weary of libertarians...they tend to turn a legitimate grass-root movement into a Freak-show...In the end they only diminish the effort of real Patriots who take action.

[NCBraveheart]

The tea parties need to be about principles not party

[hennie pennie]

*ping*

[GeronL]

I agree with the sentiment but the movement did not start with Ron Paul and his followers as far as I know.

[is_is]

[If the Tea Party movement is to function merely as the activist wing of Republican talk radio, it won’t get very far.]

agreed!!!

[Byron_the_Aussie]

...It appears that some state and county Tea Party groups are trying to cleanse their ranks of libertarians....

Good plan.

The last thing this growing movement needs is a bunch of selfish disruptors, dismissive of everyone else.

[rob777]

"That's a shame since the movement started with Ron Paul and his libertarian followers, ..."



This is simply not true. While Ron Paul supporters and the Campaign for Liberty were certainly a part of getting things going, no one group can claim credit for this. Rallies against taxes and spending patterned after the 1773 "Tea Party" are not a recent phenomenon. I remember when Citizens Against Government Waste used to have annual Taxpayer's Action Day rallies on April 15th. In 1998, some of us here in Vermont even dressed up in colonial garb and symbolically dumped some tea in a lake. We fired off muskets with blanks to make the effect even more dramatic. Still, no one from the old "Vermont Taxpayers Alliance" is claiming that our movement is being hijacked.

I am not in favor of purging Ron Paul supporters from the Tea Party movement, but I am also not too keen on any one group claiming ownership of the movement. Any person or group who embraces the goals of limited government should be welcome.

[cranked]

More GOP idiots stuck on stupid.
The independents are needed; wise up.

[IrishCatholic]

Medea Benjamin is on the board of Liberty Tree (Foundation for a Democratic Revolution)
Communists using the Boston Liberty Tree as a symbol to promote the overthrow of the U.S.

A lot of people are trying to co-opt/claim traditional American values but really don't share them.

Libertarians are just a bit off the beam. But they are a whole lot better than others.

However, they don't own nor did they start the modern Tea Party movement.

[jimfree]

I’m a Tea Party participant. I never checked party affiliation of others though I have my suspicions. Members of any party are welcome to join us remembering that we do not answer to any party. We are issue advocates who may also just happen to work with one party or another.

[Caipirabob]

I think that the accusation is ridiculous and that the Libertarians should be made welcome to the Tea Party as "Tea Partiers". Libertarianism is a valid concept that we need to explore further as part of an overall conservative platform. There are many aspects of governance that should be subjected to Libertarian principles.

Some aspects of foreign relations require our involvement as a matter of self defense, but I think reasonable people can find room to agree on major issues here.

Altogether I find myself leaning more Libertarian than scumbag, corrupted Republican these days. I have not registered as a Republican in my new home. It may never happen. I will be reviewing the voter laws in the next month and finally decide.

To hell with all leftists, Democrat and Republican alike.

[grumpa]

Libertarians should be expelled from the conservative movement because it is a hollow philosophy:

The issue that unites Christianity and Ayn Rand’s Objectivism is that indeed objective moral value exist (Romans 1). But Rand’s libertariansim is actually borrowing from Christianity. See our articles at http://www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/questions-of-christians/why-do-you-believe-in-objective-moral-values.

But the fatal flaw of Rand’s philosopher is exceedingly simple. As Dostoevsky said, “Without God, all things are permitted.” The atheist/agnostic cannot escape the problem of an objective source to define morality. And they cannot answer the question, “If I can improve my situation today by being immoral, even breaking my own moral code, why should I be moral today?”

When Rand says, “Men must deal with each other as traders not as looters and parasites.”—why MUST we? Says who? MUST is only something conjered up in Rand’s mind. If a man is as free as Rand says, there is no objective MUST. Ultimately morality is determined by whoever has the most political power.

The Declaration of Independence puts and end ot libertariansim.

In more modern thought, regarding happiness as put by Rand, William Lane Craig in his book REASONABLE FAITH explains that when our relationship with God is intact, the product in our lives will be righteousness (Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 6:16), and the by-product of righteousness is happiness. Happiness is an elusive thing and will never be found when pursued directly. It springs into being as one pursues the knowledge of God and as his righteousness is realized in us.

The libertarian philosophy of Objectivism is not unlike Darwinism. Both are weak philosophies, existing largely without reason or evidence, to justify life without God.

Objectivism makes as much sense as Scientology or Mormonism. Read L. Ron Hubbard’s book DIANETICS or THE BOOK OF MORMON and compare to ATLAS SHRUGGED.

[TruthHound]

My gesture to Paulie and his Paulibots is the same one my cat uses in his litter box.

[onyx]

News flash to Ron Paul and his followers:

It took CNBC’s Rick Santelli to call for A TEA PARTY

before anyone actually took notice.

[atomic_dog]

Obviously no one has followed the links to and the read the original cause of the split. The (so called) Libertarian tried to get Code Pink in as a sponsor and participant here in Monterey County. When it comes to anti-war, a whole lot of Libertarians have fallen for the bogus logic of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and they will regret it someday because Code Pink is no friend of any Libertarians, Conservatives or Republicans and has no business participating at any Tea Party.