Brewing tensions between the Tea Party and GOP ("The giant has been awakened")

Reuters ^ | 2010-03-18 | Nick Carey, Ed Stoddard, & David Morgan

[rabscuttle385]

MANISTEE, Mich./WACO, Texas/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some Tea Partiers say they can pinpoint the precise moment when they made it clear to the Republican Party they had no intention of being its lapdog.

On a bright, brisk afternoon in mid-February, with snow still thick on the ground from storms that had battered Washington the week before, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele met with more than 50 members of the Tea Party, the Twitter Age conservative movement that is reshaping the U.S. political landscape.

Steele, RNC chairman since January 2009, had invited them to the plush Capitol Hill Club, built as a clubhouse for the party's top brass next door to RNC headquarters.

According to several accounts, not long into the meeting JoAnn Abbott, an activist from Virginia who calls herself the 'Tea Party Grandma,' raised her hand to ask a question.

She asked about a web page on the RNC site where visitors could send their member of Congress a postcard with a tea bag. On the tag at the end of the string were the letters 'RNC.'

"Respectfully, sir, while we do not have a trademark on the tea bag, you are well aware that people associate it with the Tea Party movement," Abbott, 50, recalls saying to Steele. "If you co-opt that image, you damage our brand and weaken our movement."

Lest there was any confusion, she added: "It does not belong to you, it belongs to us as an independent movement."

Abbott said within an hour of the end of the meeting the page (www.teaparty.gop.com) was gone -- and the Grand Old Party was finally aware of conservative frustrations she and others felt with Republican leadership.

"The GOP now knows we're not asleep anymore," Abbott told Reuters. "The giant has been awakened."

[stephenjohnbanker]

You aren’t shutting ANYONES mouth. You are nothing but a bully who thinks you can run roughshod over anyone who disagrees with you. Guess again!

And hey, bully. I’m not your stepnfetchit. Y O U PROVE the following ludicrous statement YOU just made. Here it is!

““The guy who holds Republicans responsible for every vile, lawless, unconstitutional move the Democrats make?””

[DManA]

or shut your mouth.

That is the message I keep hearing from Republicans.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The way for the Tea Party movement to both retain its independence, and to hold the feet of the GOP leadership to the fire, is to clearly become “A national movement at the State level”.

The basic problem is that neither political party, nor the national government itself, can fix our broken national government. It must be done in an orderly process by the individual States.

It is a constitutional process, and a legal process, and a conservative process, whose function is *not* revolution, but restoration of a functional national government.

It is a constitutional convention.

Called by 2/3rds (34) of the individual States, the bar is set high enough so that it can only happen in times of great need, such as America facing an economic collapse, with unimaginable debt, and a national government incapable of correcting itself, or doing what is necessary to restore solvency and order.

And the bar is even higher for any changes to be made. 3/4ths (38) of the individual States must agree to any changes, for them to be made law.

This is not a “people’s movement”, though the people would surely support it. This is to restore the balance between the national government, the individual States, and the people. So it is the duty and the obligation of the individual States to act, when they must do so.

So that while the Tea Party is protesting the actions of the national government, in truth its message should be directed at the State legislatures. They must be made aware that they may soon be called on to resolve that a constitutional convention must be held.

34 of the State legislatures of the individual States must agree to this. And they must be given strong incentive to do so.

The Tea Party must explain to them how even before a convention is agreed to, the individual States must confer among themselves. They must reach agreement ahead of time, as to how to restore the national government to order.

It cannot be done with a single constitutional amendment. And there is a large and growing list of possible changes that must be debated, so that our national government will return to order and balance.

(Please copy, save and distribute this list)

Among possible changes that should be debated is:

1) Repeal of the 16th (Income Tax) and 17th (Direct Election of US Senators).

2) New Amendments. While not all are feasible, these need to be considered as baselines for discussion:

Flat Income Tax;

Balanced budget;

Presidential Line Item Veto;

Corporate Civil Rights Distinct From The Civil Rights Of Living Persons; Oligopoly Antitrust;

Presidential War Powers and Posse Comitatus; Limitations on Presidential Authority To Declare Martial Law

Presidential Authority Only Through Cabinet Officers, Appointment and Impeachment of Cabinet Officers; A Writ of Mandamus Amendment; Term Limits for Recess Appointments;

Congressional Approval of Bureaucratic Regulatory Authority;

Creation of a State Appointed Constitutional Review Court, 50 Judges To Sit As a Permanent Nullification Court; Reorganization of Federal Judiciary

Amendment for the Reduction of the Size and Authority of the Federal Government and Enabling Acts;

Restoration of State Lands from Federal Takings; Limitations of Eminent Domain;

Congressional and Judicial Term Limits;

Limitations of Federal Intelligence and Police Authority;

Renunciation of the National Debt; Abolition of the FED;

Prohibition of Federal Largess to Individuals; Restrictions on Earmarks;

Abolition of Government Employee Unions.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“or shut your mouth.

That is the message I keep hearing from Republicans.”

Only RINO Republicans, or GOP/RNC party hacks. There are some excellent Republicans

Duncan Hunter
Jim DeMint
Michele Bachmann.

We need about 50 more though, and it will be a battle to end all battles, but we can win if we don’t relent!

[DManA]

Paul Ryan’s looking great too.

[rabscuttle385]

attempting to drive a wedge between the GOP and Tea Party adherents

The truth hurts, doesn't it, Chunga?

"[Conservatives are] going to destroy the f*cking [Republican] party...
Why would I want to be the leader of a party of such a**holes?"
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, UNKNOWN

"I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have
no problems with it, in their views and their philosophy."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 02 APR. 2004

McCain Keynote Speaker @ ACORN Feb, 2006

"I have to tell you, [Obama] is a decent person, a person that you
do not have to be scared [of] as president of the United States."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 10 OCT. 2008

[McCain] would be "...comfortable with a homosexual
as president of the United States."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 21 DEC. 1999

"I would rather have a clean government
than one whose — quote — First Amendment rights
are being respected that has become corrupt.
If I had my choice, I’d rather have a clean government."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 24 APR. 2006

"I think that gay marriage should be allowed,
if there’s a ceremony kind of thing,
if you want to call it that."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, FEB. 2007

"But certainly in the short term, or even the long term,
I would not support repeal of Roe vs. Wade,
which would then force women in America
to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.”
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 24 AUG. 1999

On senior citizens: a group "that makes demands without contributing."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 20 JUN. 1986

"I'm not a socialist."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 18 FEB. 2010

"I believe climate change is real."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 23 FEB. 2010

"I have great respect for Al Gore."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 02 OCT. 2008

"In the long term, if you alienate the Hispanics,
you’ll pay a heavy price. By the way,
I think the fence is least effective.
But I’ll build the G****mned fence if they want it!"
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, FEB. 2007

"We need to sit down as Americans
and recognize these are God’s children as well.
And they need some protection under the law;
they need some of our love and compassion
I want to assure you that I’ll enforce the borders first.
We’ll solve this immigration problem."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 28 NOV. 2007

"There are jobs that Americans will not do,
so we have to make it possible for someone to come
to this country to do a job that an American won’t do
and then go back to the country from where they came."
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 16 OCT. 2004

John McCain, you treasonous bastard, I challenge you or any of your traitorous cohorts...

Just say no to Senator McCain

[DManA]

We need about 50 more though,

There are THOUSANDS more out there. RINOS are stealing all the oxygen.

Let me switch metaphors on ya - they are like cowbirds in the songbird nest. They eat all the food and kick the chicks that deserve to be there out.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Your McCain quotes ROCK! You GO man!

[rabscuttle385]

You forgot the de-federalization of education.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

McCain is the disgrace. He must be made an example of:

Elliot D. Cohen: POW/MIA Families Alleged McCain Assault: Senate ...
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1670

McCain Pushed Women In Wheelchair
http://sensico.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/mccain-pushed-women-in-wheelchair

My Holiday with McCain | Telling Thoughts
http://www.tellingthoughts.com/us-politics/my-holiday-with-mccain
We know he reared back to punch a woman in a wheel-chair. ... Chairman of the National Alliance of Families for POW/MIA

Affairs- see how it ends. Video Title: ‘John McCain brings POW Supporter to tears with his anger’. ...

POW/MIA FAMILIES FOR JUSTICE
http://powermusicinc.com
POW/MIA Family members also contend McCain mistreated, abused, and intimidated them, even pushed aside a little old lady in a wheel chair (Jane Gaylord, ...

Why Is John McCain So Angry And Why Does He Hate The Families Of ...
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/none/why-is-john-mccain-so-angry-and-why-does-he-hate-the-families-of-pow-mias-284286

[kalee]

I have one democrat senator and one republican. If I had known I would have sent them both a teabag through the RNC site. I don’t think the RNC realizes this anger is not just directed at the dems. They are all at fault.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“There are THOUSANDS more out there. RINOS are stealing all the oxygen.

Let me switch metaphors on ya - they are like cowbirds in the songbird nest. They eat all the food and kick the chicks that deserve to be there out.”

I cannot impeach your logic, or your metaphor ;-)

[stephenjohnbanker]

“You forgot the de-federalization of education.”

In the long run, nothing is more important than this.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“Paul Ryan’s looking great too.”

At least on the face of it, Paul has the intellectual firepower, and the street brains to go to the very top. Tim will tell, but he is a FIGHTER!

[stephenjohnbanker]

Tim aside ;-)

Time will tell.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

That would be one small part of the “Amendment for the Reduction of the Size and Authority of the Federal Government and Enabling Acts”.

A rough estimate is that the national government needs at least a 50% reduction in size. But this will happen with State prerogatives, of which education is a very large part, as is transportation, federal land takings of much of the western States, unfunded mandates—and a lot of funded mandates as well, federal judges ordering States to appropriate money and giving them fines and special masters, etc.

Other things include de-federalization of gun and ammunition production, the ending of the war on drugs, the ability of States to close their international borders to illegal aliens, elimination of federal law redundancies with State laws.

The list goes on and on. This is why two essential elements of a convention are first, the repeal of the 17th Amendment, which stripped away the power of the States to appoint US senators, and the establishment of a “nullification court”, composed of 50 judges appointed by the States, whose function is to overturn federal overreaching in the future.

[Chaguito]

Steele, RNC chairman since January 2009, had invited them to the plush Capitol Hill Club, built as a clubhouse for the party's top brass next door to RNC headquarters.

What a totally tin ear this poser has. He stupidly chooses a venue that symbolizes what is wrong with the Republican party.

I simply don't see how putting Republicans back in offices will solve the problem. The traditional politicians will corrupt the new faces, and it will be the same cycle which began in 1994. What to do, what to do...

[Chunga]

McCain needs to lose. Send money to Hayworth.

[RockyMtnMan]

If the RNC keeps nominating ass-hats like McCain we'll have a choice to make come election time. They need to know we can't be pushed around and insulted without suffering the consequence.

[A_Tradition_Continues]

A balanced budget and welfare reform is a lot older than 15 years. It was nothing really new. We still have little in the way of welfare reform and the balanced budget has turned into a laugh.

What I see being new is meant as actually observing the Constitution as written, not as a piece of paper politicians wipe their collective asses with. Both parties have been woefully abusive with our Constitution...and contrary to what the so-called democrat leader and the president suggest, process does matter (maybe more so than the outcome).