Agreed.
Hear, hear. Interesting how people are presuming that mantle. This will be a great danger for the movement - people trying to co-opt it. And the Ds trying to re-define it, marginalize it and kick it to the curb. We need thoughtful leadership - and it should be elected regionally, even state by state - not presumed upon us nationally. That sort of faulty arrogant leadership is exactly what we’re fighting AGAINST.
That said, I think there’s a vacuum in leadership for the movement that needs to be addressed. But again, probably starting at the state level.
I have to preface this with the statement that all of the organized events sponsored by Free Republic were successful. We cannot deny that.... There were leaders and volunteers who represented Free Republic very well. The events made virtual history, and c-span provided FR with excellent coverage. I would even go further to say that if not for the internet, the events may not have been as successful as they were! Also, Kristinn has done a fine job speaking on behalf of Free Republic. We cannot deny the role Free Republic has played in history. It was groundbreaking.
While all of us should give the tea party "organizers" full credit for organizing a loose knit group of citizens by finding the locations for tea parties, publicity etc, we should also make it known that at this point no one asked for an average citizen to be a leader of the cause. The million or so folks who participated arose out of severe frustration, and their voices were heard... Their statement was very clear. This is about the way the govt is ran, the size of the govt, the high taxes, the bailouts, and disconnect between the elected representatives and the voters. Other issues, such as a few mentioned..health care, social security, etc, are very tricky issues..and I pray that if these self-appointed leaders attempt to summarize all of our voices into one statement, they are right on target, and straight to the point because this is not a debate with congress or the president. This is a demand from the people who attended.
The attendees informally took time out of their days, whether it be to write a letter, make a phone call etc, and joined together because they are speaking out to the elected leaders in congress to do their jobs, or move out of our house, and our senate so we can elect someone who will actively promote less taxes, smaller govt etc.
Are the 900 organizers in contact with each other, if not, why not? If they are, do they agree with the leadership in the coalition?
If the WH and press is not given an official statement in which conveys that there is no official leadership to this cause, and this coalition is not officially recognized by the tea party attendees, it's time someone let the other 875+ organizers be aware. Pronto.
Everyone needs to be on board when it comes to official statements to the Presidential office, and media. The current pres wants you to join him, he has no intention of negotiating, backing down, or stepping aside to allow our cause to be recognized, or should I say...these are causes he will NEVER agree with.
He and his ilk are not only ignoring our "demands", THEY ARE CALLING THIS AN ASTROTURF MOVEMENT instead of a grassroots movement. They could not be more insulting.
I cannot believe any of the tea party organizers would want to sit in the same room with them, let alone give the time of day to people whose goal is to turn this into more of a socialist or marxist country. Do you really think they care what you have to say?
They used their official positions to insult the million or so citizens, by saying this is a fake movement...