The recall of the California governor was started and manned by thousands of ordinary citizens. Volunteers gathered the signatures. (I believe Congressman Darrell Issa contributed a substantial sum to help the signature effort, however.) Some conservative radio hosts ridiculed the effort and some backed the effort.
All the Democrat "newspapers" ridiculed and trashed the volunteers.
The California Republican Party pooh-poohed the movement. IOW the Republican Party backed the Democrat governor. Union goons harassed and even physically attacked volunteers.
Then a (not so) funny thing happened. Once it was clear that the effort was going to succeed and there would be a recall election the Republican Party elbowed the citizens aside and claimed the effort was theirs and Schwarzenegger was the man. The rest is history. Arguably we are worse off now than we were with the Democrat governor.
McClintock, now in Congress, would have been the Man. Too many voters went for Arnold's glamorous image. Silly women and young guys who idolized him.
Remember Bill Simon? Son of SecTreasury under Nixon, I think. Lost because he was nearly invisible. If he is like his father, he would have been great. We would not be in this mess IMO.
Exactly that is a perfect example. I don’t know when we will learn but there is nothing gained by electing a person who is not even as conservative as some Democrats as a Republican. The political nay-saying of individuals who go on about how conservatives can’t win and that we gotta take whatever rich guy or party insider guy that we are handed just because there is an ‘R’ beside their name will lead us to our doom if we allow them because they don’t really want small government they want the old status quo of slowly but surely growing government. They think they can tame the beast and whip it into shape and make it “efficient” and bend it to their administrative will which seeks to mold and control the people just the same.
Not to worry. The times in which we find ourselves are quite unique, I believe. The Tea Party movement is also unique.
The “powers that be” - the elected officials who care only about getting into power or staying in power - either to push their leftist lunacy or to enrich themselves and their friends or to max out on the perks they get from being in power - well - these “powers” are literally “on the run”.
They see the Tea Party movement and simply are driving either to intense fear or hatred or both.
And they cannot hide their real selves - not in this day and time of FR, Drudge, Breitbart, Malkin, Fox, ETc ETc ETc.
Does not mean there will be no mistakes made and no attempts to hijack the movement made.
Of course not.
But, as Sarah Palin UNDERSTANDS - the movement is about the cause - the cause is restoring our Republic to its founding principles in order to save this nation and to preserve our freedoms for ourselves and our posterity - as God gives us grace to do so.
The cause is greater than any one election/race and greater than any one person.
Which in itself is what drives the other side bonkers!!!
Doncha just love it?