Posted on 04/13/2010 2:30:50 PM PDT by rxsid
"Tea Party Movement Spreads To Military
The Tea Party movement has gained a foothold in the armed forces.
A new Tea Party group, Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, has grown quickly since being launched last month by an active duty Marine Corps sergeant. The group, which vows to "stand up on the very soil we defended to preserve common sense conservatism and defend our Constitution that is threatened by a tyrannical government," currently has over 400 members, who have signed up through its Facebook page, though many are not active duty military. And it has close ties to the broader Tea Party movement.
"People in the military need to be heard," the group's prime organizer, Gary Stein -- a Marine Corps sergeant stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California -- told TPMmuckraker in an interview. "Our opinions do count."
Many people in the military "feel like they can't speak out against Obama or Congress," said Stein. "The armed forces should have a little bit more say than we think we do," he said.
Stein said he had served in the Marine Corps for seven years, including service in Iraq. He described himself as a "strong conservative" who had found himself disillusioned with the GOP. Stein formed the new group, he said, after finding like-minded cohorts on his base, then co-ordinating with a friend who's active in a local southern California Tea Party chapter.
[snip]
In promoting the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, Stein has raised the possibility of disobeying presidential orders. In one recent online posting, he wrote:
My oath was to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and that oath will be kept. I won't "Just follow" orders. There is at this time a debate within the ranks of the military regarding their oath. Some mistakenly believe they must follow any order the President issues. But many others do understand that their loyalty is to the Constitution and to the people...That declaration echoes one made by the Oath Keepers, a group of current and former military and law enforcement personnel who havevowed not to follow orders deemed to be unconstitutional -- including any orders to disarm Americans. Stein agreed that the two groups are kindred spirits. "I think we're very like-minded with the Oathkeepers," he said. "I strongly support the Oathkeepers."
Stein's political activism seems to have raised some concern among his superiors. Late last month, he wrote online: "Was just told by a Marine Corps Officer to watch what I say about Obama... I think not..." And later that same day: "I was just told to keep my opinons (sic) to myself about Obama, by my Officer-in-Charge (OIC)."
[snip]
This isn't the first time that anti-Obama sentiment has surfaced within the military. Several active duty service members have challenged their orders to deploy overseas, on the grounds that President Obama was not born in the U.S. and his orders are therefore illegitimate.
[snip]
Late Update (4/13/10): Stein says in a statement that his group doesn't support a military uprising, views President Obama as the legitimate commander-in-chief, and will follow all constitutional orders."
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/tea_party_movement_spreads_to_military.php?ref=fpb
..thats it in a nut shell, foreign and domestic
Don’t forget, our military is made up of average American people. They’ve already formed their opinions, just as we have.
And yes, they’re just as passionate and polarized as the rest of us.
They *are* the rest of us.
The Tea Party movement has gained a foothold in the armed forces.
A new Tea Party group, Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, has grown quickly since being launched last month by an active duty Marine Corps sergeant. The group, which vows to "stand up on the very soil we defended to preserve common sense conservatism and defend our Constitution that is threatened by a tyrannical government," currently has over 400 members, who have signed up through its Facebook page, though many are not active duty military. And it has close ties to the broader Tea Party movement.
"People in the military need to be heard," the group's prime organizer, Gary Stein -- a Marine Corps sergeant stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California -- told TPMmuckraker in an interview. "Our opinions do count."
Thanks for the heads up on this one, ExTexasRedhead
ping
I was in while the first dumbass was in.(carter) And I had a DI that would let anybody know what he thought of that idiot and that included the Officers over him.He was one hell of a guy now that I look back on him.
So while I'm sure an army of leftist lawyers can cobble together proof of his meeting the citizenship requirement to be president, I don't think he personally sees himself as a US citizen.
The Tea Party is based on Principles, not Parties. Therefore it should not be considered a Political movement.
I was in during "The Great Stainmakers" administration and the way I understood the policy was you can be politically active but under no circumstances can you appear at a political event in uniform or endorse any position as a member of the military. In short, you can go to a tea party, but not in uniform.
I'm not sure how they could do that, unless of course they show that Obama Sr. (the foreigner) was not his legal father. Although, then there would be the issue of a falsified government document that is prominently displayed on his very own campaign web site (& of course a whole bunch of egg on the true believers face that the short form was legit).
Bingo! Precisely the point. I may have missed it, but no where in that article does it say the group is having a tea party event(s) on base, or in uniform. It simply says that a group of people, who happen to be active military, have formed their own group to express and have their opinions heard.
BO/BS has a growing tiger by the tail.
I dare say the military personnel had better not wear their uniform at these tea parties..they are to be non political in that aspect.
As to the LtCol, he is challenging the the birth certificate of 0bama where as it sounds as though the focus of this Sgt is on support and defending the Constitution not on 0bama directly. Just a hunch.
I’m sure you’re correct, but as a veteran, it ticks me off anyway.
Where does the loyalty lie then?
A Lieutenant in Washington named Ehren Watada decided that the war was unconstitutional and an order to deploy to Iraq was illegal. A court martial found otherwise. A specialist named Michael New decided that an order to wear a UN patch on his uniform was illegal. A court martial found otherwise in that case as well. The military takes a dim view of servicemen who decide for themselves what orders are legal and what are not.
Well, none of use live in a "democracy." We live in a Constitutional republic. Or, at least...we used to.
As for this issue of the "military" tea party members, see my post #50!
It appears that some people jumped to the conclusion that either
1) these tea party members (who happen to be active duty military) were having their "meetings" or gathers while in uniform and/or on base (I'm unable to locate such an allegation from the article posted)
and/or
2) some people believe that (while NOT in uniform) that members of the military are not permitted to participate in the political process or belong to a "movement" such as a tea party group.
A tough time to be serving in the US military.
I tried to find this guy’s facebook page but only found one with 2 members? Has he been silenced by his command?
Good question.
From the article:
"Stein's political activism seems to have raised some concern among his superiors. Late last month, he wrote online: "Was just told by a Marine Corps Officer to watch what I say about Obama... I think not..." And later that same day: "I was just told to keep my opinons (sic) to myself about Obama, by my Officer-in-Charge (OIC).
...
And Eugene Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale Law School, told TPMmuckraker that taking a leadership role with any political group is "problematic." But Fidell added that the military is usually loath to prosecute such acts, for fear of creating political martyrs."
Is the Tea Party considered a "political group" or a movement? Who, or what, is the "leader" of the Tea Party? What...really, is the tea party? Can it be defined, precisely?
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