IMHO Palin deflated the Tea Party the way she quit.
She did a disservice to conservatives, and the tea party, with her retreat.
I hope the enthusiasm can be recaptured. Palin really should get off her duff and figure out how to reverse some of the damage.
Soon.
The Tea Party was deflated well before Palin announced, going back to earlier this year.
And what about all those so-called polls saying that something like 72% of the Tea Party ‘didn’t’ want her to run? The circa-2011 Tea Party remnants were flitting around like aimless moths, stupidly buying the media meme that Palin was ‘unelectable,’ and embarrassing themselves by jumping from Trump to Bachman to Perry to Cain and whomever popped anew each month.
I wouldn’t blame Palin for thinking she had relatively little support, and that might have actually contributed to her decision not to run. Maybe she should indeed take a bit of the blame, for not proclaiming herself more forcefully as a ‘leader’ of the movement. But that’s what made her so different. She was always out there supporting and encouraging the movement, not like other slimeball pols who were running out in front of the parade and basically proclaiming themselves to be leader.
Glenn Beck being shut down didn’t help either.
The enemy has been very busy.
Your wrong. I AM THE TEA PARTY AND I WILL NEVER QUIT OR LOSE FAITH. I just attended my first Tea Party meeting last week; there were only 28 of us at that meeting, it was our first, but out of a county population of just 18000 I think that is pretty good. I have paid attention to the movement since it started, but only recently found meetings that were close enough to attend. I live in the middle of nowhere.
I have already started to gather signatures in the town where I do my business ( pop. 1200 ) and have already sent 16 signatures to Sacramento; with more to be had this week, to reverse the travesty that redistricting has done to my county. Now that I am meeting with like minded people and getting more information on my area (I am pretty new here) I will continue to work for those elected officials and potential candidates that share my views and values.
I have always been politically active in what ever area I have lived in and will continue to do so.
28 does not sound like many people, but as I meet and talk to more and more people we will continue grow, even if only one or two people at a time. We will attend the supervisors meetings, the water board meetings, the council meetings, the Forrest Service and EPA meetings in our area, and our voices will be heard. Consider the number of people who actually get involved in their local government and you will realize that a dedicated few can make a difference. I don’t believe we will be just a few for very long; the people that are my neighbors and that live in this county do not like being pushed, and the politicians have been pushing for way to long.