Responding to Attacks on Tea Party Express (Sal Russo)

Tea Party Express II Email Webpage ^ | Oct 20, 2009 | Sal Russo

[Syncro]

From:

Sal Russo - Our Country Deserves Better Committee

Date sent

10/20/2009 07:10:16

Subject:

Responding to Attacks on Tea Party Express

Sal Russo here, from the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day.  One month ago I had the privilege of riding along in the 'red' Tea Party Express bus, serving in my capacity as Chief Strategist for the conservative group Our Country Deserves Better Committee, which is the principle sponsor of the Tea Party Express.

It was an incredible journey across America, being with the tens of thousands of people who turned out for the tea party rallies we held across the country, leading up to the giant 9/12 March on the U.S. Capitol.  It was so successful because many great conservative groups and leaders came together, and we were joined by hundreds of thousands of people who have become active in the political process for the first time in their lives.

Scene from New Lenox Tea Party Express Rally with 10,000+ People on Hand

I got my start in politics working for then candidate for California Governor, Ronald Reagan, after I met him via my involvement in the Youth for Goldwater movement.  I was blessed to be hired on to work for Governor Reagan in the Governor’s Office after he won his election, and have been able to participate in his incredible success for the rest of his career.  Being on the Tea Party Express, I felt a similar sense of energy and excitement in this movement that I felt back in the 1960's when Reagan inspired people to get involved in politics to take our country back, and again when he won the presidency in 1980.

Reagan himself became familiar with the problems that would ensue when you achieve success.  He had a great quality in him where he would face his critics head on, defend himself and his principles, and continue pressing forward with a smile -- undeterred in his ambitions to restore America to that “shining city on a hill” that he believed in so deeply.

That is what we must do now with the Tea Party Express II.

As a result of our success fromo the first tour and the 9/12 March on DC, the Tea Party Express, and the entire tea party movement came under attack from the Left.  This is to be expected, as our success has sent a shockwave through Washington, D.C., the political Left, and the media.

You've all seen in the past few weeks how our friend Rush Limbaugh came under fire when it was announced he was pursuing partial ownership of the St. Louis Rams professional football team, and how the Left raised such a firestorm that Limbaugh was forced out of the deal.  You saw the smears directed at our ally Glenn Beck because of the success of his Fox News TV program, his best-selling new book and radio show.  You've seen how the great Gov. Palin has been mocked and ridiculed by those who are bitter, envious and jealous of the tremendous interest being shown for her new memoirs and her political future.

Well, we here at the Tea Party Express, and those in the greater tea party movement, have faced our fair share of attacks too.  Some of them you might have seen:  everything from Jimmy Carter calling us all a bunch of racists, to the media dismissing us as 'hate groups' and a 'radical fringe,' to liberals insisting our movement was 'astroturf' and didn't speak for what real Americans thought and felt about the failures of our leaders in Washington.  Having spent a lifetime fighting against the liberal establishment, I am accustomed to these attacks and they only signal to me that we are being successful.

What does sadden and disturb me was to see even a few fellow conservatives or tea party activists take shots at us as well.  Just like some malcontent conservatives say we should condemn Glenn Beck or Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh from our midst because they disagree with this or that, the Tea Party Express faces the same silliness, and the same ugliness.  Most conservatives follow the Reagan line that politics is about addition, not subtraction.  Unfortunately a few bad apples don't embrace this model.

So we put our chin up, folks, because in politics you learn to understand that when you are successful all sorts of people will take a whack at you - it's the nature of the beast.  I I could go through listing all the various attacks that have been launched against us and rebut them point-by-point, but that would just compel those who wish us to fail to make new allegations against us.  It's a never-ending battle, as Gov. Palin found out when the Left started filing all those frivilous ethics complaints against her.  It wasn’t long before even a few wrong-headed conservatives were turning on her too, playing right into the lands of the liberals.

So instead of telling you who we aren't - and listing all the various attacks and explaining why they either aren't true or are misleading, I'm simply going to tell you what we stand for and who we ARE.

The Tea Party Express is an effort made possible by the support of all sorts of different patriotic Americans coming together with basic, shared, common goals.  We are generally "conservative" although some would bristle at that description and prefer to be called 'libertarians' or 'constitutionalists' or students of 'objectivism.'  I helped start Our Country Deserves Better Committee, which is the lead sponsor of the Tea Party Express, during the last campaign season to call voters attention to the far-left policies we could expect if Barack Obama were elected President, and to rally Americans to oppose these policies and Obama's candidacy.   The Our Country Deserves Better Committee continues to be a thriving project that wouldn't be possible if many different individuals associated with many different other groups didn't all work together to advance the shared cause we believe in.

On the first Tea Party Express tour we had the fantastic support of individuals from Free Republic, FreedomWorks, local chapters of the Tea Party Patriots, the National Tax Limitation Committee, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, local 9/12 chapters (inspired by Glenn Beck), ResistNet, Smart Girl Politics, the new media outfit - Parcbench, the MultiCultural Conservative Coalition, and countless others. 

I could spend an entire email telling you all the different groups that had representatives, members and leaders helping to make the Tea Party Express a success.  Not to mention, we had thousands of people who have become active in politics for the very first time in their lives.

Many of these same individuals from these same great organizations are helping to put together the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day.

And you know what?  We here at the Tea Party Express don't always agree with every single thing one of our partners' actions, beliefs or declarations - and they don't always agree with us.

But what we are doing, and have done, is to work where we have common ground.

Here are the issues we highlight on the side of our Tea Party Express buses which helpt to define what we believe:

*End the Bailouts!

*Reduce the Size & Intrusiveness of Government!

*Stop the Out-Of-Control Spending!

*No Government-Run Healthcare

*Stop Raising Our Taxes

That list is meant to serve as highlights of the issues we are fighting for, and is by no means exhaustive.  Those issues speak to what the real divide is in American politics now:  those who believe in more freedom for the individual and those who believe in less freedom for the individual, and more power for government.  

With this second Tea Party Express tour we are going to begin serving notice to those politicians who face our opposition because of their actions to embrace big-government, higher-tax, socialistic policies, and we are going to ask the American people to join us in our efforts to defeat these 'worst offenders' in government.

We don't have to agree with each other on every single issue in this tea party movement.  We don't have to always like the leader of this-or-that group.  We just have to understand that we are a stronger force when we unite for those values we commonly share.

That was the secret to Ronald Reagan's success:  he built alliances with those who agreed with him on the issues he was passionate about and never allowed his critics or detractors (whether Democrat, fellow Republican, or in the media) to stop him from fighting for what he believed in.

I think a great humorous Reagan quote that sums up the battle we are facing in America is this:

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

[Syncro]

This is an excellent read, and quite long.

Here is the rest of it:

Ronald Reagan was by no means perfect.  But neither are any of us.  The best we can do is to keep fighting to leave this nation better than we found it.  And that's what we are trying to do with the Tea Party Express, and I hope you will continue to join with us in this fight, step-by-step.

Now, before I end this note to you, I have a few great announcements I'd like to make.  

The first one I think would make Ronald Reagan, proud.  We were just notified on Monday that one of the two buses that will be used in the Tea Party Express II is actually "The Ronald Reagan."  It was the same tour bus recently used in Glenn Beck's book promotion tour.  And we are honored to be traveling upon it.  Here's a graphic of what the bus will look like once it's been "wrapped" in the Tea Party Express logo design:

The second announcement is that we have now uploaded many of the specific rally locations for the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day.  You can find the locations for most of the rallies now at our website:  http://www.TeaPartyExpress.org

The final announcement actually relates to one of the criticisms that has been made against us in the past few weeks:  'they must be doing something wrong, they always ask for money for their efforts.'

This is true, and with good reason.  The buses, rallies, TV ads, staff, and resultant energy we've helped to generate for the tea party movement would not be possible without the support of people like you.  It's a massive effort to coordinate a national effort like this - especially when you are challenging those in power, and those who support the liberal establishment in Washington.

When people ask if the money invested in this effort is worth it, my reply is this:  judge us by our record.

Below is just one of the hundreds of television newscasts from rallies that took place during the first Tea Party Express.  If you believe we are a positive force for America, then please support this effort with a donation.  We have a lot of money left to raise to fully fund this trip - and we have just 5 days until we launch.  You can contribute online at our website, after watching this video of news coverage of our Tea Party Express below:

WATCH: "All Aboard - Tea Party Express on Fox News"

Now, when you watch that video you can see and hear for yourself what the Tea Party Express is about.  You can see what we stand for, and the energy we've tapped into and are helping to build.

*snip*

-Sal Russo

Chief Strategist, Tea Party Express

www.TeaPartyExpress.org

[Jim Robinson]

Woo hoo!!

Way to go, Sal!!

[Jim Robinson]

See you in San Diego!!

[Syncro]

I played "find waldo" and found this:

On the first Tea Party Express tour we had the fantastic support of individuals from Free Republic...

Some more groups are mentioned as you will see when you read the whole post.

But that kinda stood out...I along with Jim Robinson and his family and several other FR members, was on the first Tea Party Express (and hundreds were at the rallies, maybe thousands!) and will be on the next one too!

[Syncro]

You bet!

[Syncro]

Here's another thread

Tea Party Express Leaves the Station Sunday: Will You Be On It? (FOX NATION)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 12:05:35 PM · by Syncro · 4 replies · 224+ views

FOX NATION ^ | Oct 21, 2009 | Staff

[dusttoyou]

To preface, we were among the enthusiastic crowd at Mt. Vernon, Texas Whistle Stop and although missed getting to meet Jim Robinson, was delighted with the Tea Party Express folks, including Mark Williams.

Found it disturbing too the in-fighting between Tea Party folks. Am not sure if or how much it centers around Mark Williams, but he seems to have some issues, especially on opening mouth on CNN and disengaging brain, that may have genned up the discord.

Wish someone in the know would give some “real” insight into the in-fighting and how it is being resolved, instead of running all around it.

[seekthetruth]

Looking forward to seeing you in Orlando on Nov.12th!

We Florida Freepers will be there for sure along with patriots from other Florida grassroots groups!

It is going to be a great Tea Party Express II welcome with great entertainment, speakers, and Florida Freeper fun!

[jan in Colorado]

Ping

[research99]

The Tea Party movement started as a genuine grass-roots expression among largely apolitical Americans. But what does its namesake “Tea Party Express” represent?

On the other hand, Sal Russo has made millions of dollars by betraying conservative Californians as a Political Consultant. Anyone remember the abysmal campaign run on behalf of Bill Simon for Governor of California (losing by 47-42% to the hated Gray Davis in 2002)?

It was so bad, hundreds of thousands of ordinary voters had to sign petitions, to recall Davis and elect Schwarzenegger the next year. Look back, and see who was in charge of the situation that caused that problem. And again, millions of dollars (many from Darrell Issa) had to be spent to political consulting firms to repair the problem.

Has the good name of the “Tea Party” been usurped here?

If so, is it time, to enforce accountability by disassociating that name (from the same type of political hacks, who messed up the government in the first place)?

[Syncro]

Yea bummer that he worked with Reagan ain’t it?

The Simon camp didn’t listen to the right people.

It should have been McClintock anyway.

That was the GOP’s fault.

And Russo didn’t make millions, it was billions. No trillions.

And he is living in the Alligator Islands with servants catering to his every need.

He sure put one over on you, didn’t he?

Nothing can bother the good name of tea parties.

It’s the people.

You Ben Surped dude.

[research99]

It’s my hope, that “the people” who actually make a personal sacrifice to stage and attend the local “tea parties”, will keep some distance from political hacks (who recruit unqualified but wealthy candidates to run as Republicans, thus perpetuating the problems we’ve seeing from the “government elite” class that have gotten us into the situation we’re now in).

[Syncro]

Yea, the GOP has left the building.

When you become part of the people (if you ever do) “they” won't be in quotes to you.

Neither will your “tea parties”

Everything is working fine, and is on track.

Come aboard or not, it's your choice.

Thanks for bumping a great thread!

[research99]

The use of quotes was figurative, as I have attended tea parties. Absolutely loved the people, who said what they really thought (with no “party line” requirement for signs or rhetoric). Their presence was a sacrifice of their time, and their emotions came across as very real.

But if I felt my participation there was manipulated or usurped by the “usual gang” of political hacks, I wouldn’t go again.

The hacks are part of the problem! Can you assure me, that they’re not just using this newest incarnation of genuine dissent, to promote their typical agenda (running fat cats to skim off donations for their political ad consulting)?

This isn’t new. Consider how Pat Buchanan captured millions of dollars in federal matching funds (accrued by the Perot organization), and funneled them through his sister Bay’s media placement firm (in 2000).

Check into the full background of the declared “leader” in this effort, and you might be surprised just who (and what motives) you may be associating yourself with.

[Syncro]

But if I felt my participation there was manipulated...

Well it certainly was.

By the leftist talking points. You have them down well.

The tea parties will survive very well with out your participation.

The "(self) declared leaders" of the tea party movement have been outed.

The leaders of the resistance to the "change" and "hope" of our illegally elected leaders are the millions of people calling out for Constitutional compliance.

You have a lot of issues. Get a grip. And bone up on your reading comprehension.

Thanks for bumping a great article!

[research99]

Saying that criticism of party hacks amounts to leftist talking points, is an example of the “either/or” argument (that has left true patriots angry about the entire situation).

That’s what led to the situation we’re now in. Republicans just didn’t come out to vote in 2008, because the presented alternative to “hope/change” was largely “more of the same” from a 25-year DC player.

Glen Beck (the hottest TV host right now) agrees that the system needs a clean sweep, and misuse of the “Tea Party” name doesn’t help that.

[Syncro]

Saying that political hacks are usurping the tea parties is leftest talking points.

Read more carefully my responses to you if you want to continue this conversaton.

Your twisting of my words so you can reply with your misguided take on tea parties is a waste of time.

The tea party participants aren’t going to let the polititions take over the movement.

I, or other tea party diehards, don’t need to be lectured on what the politicians are doing, that’s why we are doing tea parties!

I wouldn’t even waste my time stating my case over and over again and you not getting it if not for the fact I like this thread bumped.

Most of the people that read the article totally get it.

[research99]

Not everyone who is opposed to “political hacks” is citing a “leftist talking point.”

Consider what’s been said on that same point, by Glen Beck.
Is he espousing left-wing rhetoric? Hardly.

Do some homework on Sal Russo - The same way Freepers have looked deeper into the statements and actions of other political hacks like Van Jones, Anita Dunn, and their associates like the Apollo Alliance, ACORN, etc.

You writes that the tea party participants aren’t going to let the politicians take over the movement. If so, what’s Sal Russo doing on the top of your post?

[Syncro]

You are bought and paid for.

Finally we find out where you get your information from your attacks on the tea parties

Yes, you are attacking the tea party movement.

Sorry, it's not going to work here at Free Republic.

The only political hack we see on this thread is you.

[research99]

If I am “bought and paid for”, could you please arrange payment in bullion, deliverable to my shadow accounts in Anguilla?

I support the Tea Party movement, but not political hacks (like donation-skimming Consultants who got us in the mess we’re now in).