No ‘social issues’ - Pro-life tracts banned at Sacramento Tea Party event

California Catholic ^ | April 18, 2011

[GonzoII]

Bud Reeves, president of the Sanctity of Human Life Network Inc., reports that he was intercepted at a Tea Party rally in Sacramento on Saturday and ordered to stop distributing pro-life pamphlets to attendees.

The event was sponsored by NorCal Tea Party Patriots and held at the Cal Expo in Sacramento. Scheduled speakers, among others, included U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center and a contributor to Fox News, radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, and Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute.

“Today I attended the Sacramento area gathering of the Tea Party to hand out prolife tracts,” said Reeves in an April 16 email. “Given that the Tea Party purports to be an organization promoting the U.S. Constitution and all that it stands for, I thought my handing out of a small prolife tract promoting the most important civil right, the right to life, would be welcome. I was wrong. Not long after we started passing out the 7 thousand tracts we had printed for the event, we were told that we must stop the distribution, which was welcomed by most of the attendees we approached and who received the tract.”

Reeves said he asked why and was told, “Because we will not be involved in the ‘social issues.’ I asked to talk to a supervisor. I was escorted up to the stage area and when a supervisor did not appear, I returned to the crowd to continue handing out the tracts. Not long after I heard my name on the P.A. system, asking me to respond. I did so and was met by Mr. Rapini, the organizer of the Tea Party event.

[EternalVigilance]

Furthermore, they are attempting to but in an another movement’s agenda. How’s about limited tax people showing up at a pro-life rally and passing out their stuff only to be told to stop. Would that be kosher with you?

The original Tea Party was not about taxes. It was about the natural rights of the people.

From the original Tea Party organizer himself:

"Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature."

"'Just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty,' in matters spiritual and temporal, is a thing that all men are clearly entitled to by the eternal and immutable laws of God and nature, as well as by the law of nations and all well-grounded municipal laws, which must have their foundation in the former."

-- Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists - The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting, Nov. 20, 1772

So, exactly who is "butting in" on whose "movement"?

[little jeremiah]

Give me a break. I’ve attended hundreds of tea parties all across this great land. Speaking of faith and pro-life, pro-family values are always received very well at every tea party event I’ve ever attended. The words “Under God” are always loudly emphasized at every event while reciting the pledge. You cannot separate Creation, Life and Liberty from conservatism or from the Declaration of Independence or the defense of same from the constitution. They are the foundation of our society, our nation and of our grassroots conservative movement.

BRAVO!!!!

[Nevadan]

re: “The Tea Party movement will damage their brand if they attempt to purge social issues from their agenda. Period. That includes the pro-life issue, the marriage issue and the homo issue among others. I can’t be more plain and to the point then that.”

I agree that if the Tea Party tries to “purge” Americans who are pro-life and pro-traditional values from “participating” in the Tea Party, then you would be correct.

But, that is not what is being done. The “agenda” of the Tea Party is “get back to the Constitution in regard to spending and taxation” - not stopping abortion, not stopping gay marriage, etc. It’s agenda is to stop unconstitutional spending - that would include spending to fund Planned Parenthood, unions, the NEA, EPA, etc.

Attempting to force the Tea Party “agenda” to include all the social conservative issues will, I believe, dull the momentum of the movement. Right now, the Tea Party welcomes all who are against unconstitutional government spending and taxation no matter what your political stripe.

I agree that the Tea Party leader of the California event was a jerk to the pro-life guy - he should have presented the fiscal argument better. But, the fact remains that the single, formost agenda of the Tea Party is to serve as a protest movement against the unconstitutional, out of control, insane government spending and taxation already discussed.

Allowing anyone and any group that happens to attend a Tea Party rally to say “the Tea Party also respresents this or that”, or pass out tracts promoting pro-”anything” other than fiscal responsibility will fragment the movement. The Tea Party should not promote pro-gay, pro-illegal alien either because THAT also would fragment the movement.

[Jim Robinson]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

This is the cornerstone declaration of the original tea partiers who founded this great nation under God. When the libertarians depart from this, they can kiss my butt! Those who do not support Life, do not support Liberty! They are not libertarian, they are simply godless liberals and are not worth the powder to blow them to hell.

[little jeremiah]

By forcing the Tea Party movement to take on more (and highly divisive) issues merely dilutes its momentum..

Pro-life is not a divisive issue. It is growing in momentum, besides being more popular than abortion. There have been many very intelligent and reasoned and cogent comments on this thread explaining why fiscal and social issues cannot be separated. I suggest you read those comments and address the points made. Your comments don't address these excellent points already made above.

Plus anyone wanting to jettison socially conservative issues and focus merely on money issues will alienate so many voters that whoever promotes such a narrow position will lose by a huge, huge margin. That is the simple truth.

[Jim Robinson]

KMA. The pro-Life and Liberty message comes through loud and clear at every Tea Party event. Including the dozens of them I attended in nearly every city in Nevada during the last three years and hundreds I attended all across this land. Those of you who are saying otherwise are full of crap!

America was founded on the Life and Liberty message!!

Party like it’s 1773!!

DON’T TREAD ON ME!!

[wagglebee]

Those who do not support Life, do not support Liberty!

AMEN!

There CANNOT be liberty without life.

[antiRepublicrat]

So, the fact that Brown has an "R" after his name is all that matters?

I'm just saying that breaking the "D" lock was a positive step, and practically a miracle considering it was "Ted Kennedy's seat." Now that there's an "R" we have a chance of maybe getting a better "R" in there later.

[Responsibility2nd]

Everything you said leads me to think you are pro-abortion. How is abortion a “highly divisive” issue among conservatives?

Here’s a hint for you: You can not be fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

[Jim Robinson]

You’re full of crap. If you can’t support Life, you don’t support Liberty. You cannot separate them.

[longtermmemmory]

Whenever I see, hear, or read about “no social issues” it is just code for pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, anti-second amendment rights RINOs.

Conservative is conservative, liberal is just communist.

[wagglebee]

By forcing the Tea Party movement to take on more (and highly divisive) issues merely dilutes its momentum... and leaves the Right on the sidelines once again.

This is EXACTLY what many of the Whigs were saying about slavery in the 1840s and 50s.

Then the Republicans decided to actually take a conservative position on the main social issues of the day (slavery and the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman). The result was the GOP dominating politics for most of the next fifty years.

[EternalVigilance]

Abortion will never be ended until those who call themselves “conservative” return to our free republic’s core principles and stop compromising.

[longtermmemmory]

then they should have said exactly that. By balkanizing into social and non-social then you give the impression that the RINO approved issues would be ok.

They should have just said, no pamplets PERIOD.

[little jeremiah]

It’s also code for pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, pro-drug, pro-porn Liberaltarians.

[surroundedbyblue]

I have more than “half a brain” & I understand that we need victories wehre we get them. But I’m also intellectually deep enough to understand that social & fiscal conservativsm go hand-in-hand. You’re the one with the brain problem, Teacher. Are you a member of the NEA, because you sure sound & smell like a pro-abort lefty?

[wtc911]

I am not fighting any pro-life position at all. I am thinking strategy rather than tactics.

If we don't change the POTUS then Roe v Wade will be around for decades to come through the uber-left choices for SCOTUS that dear leader will make.

The immediate goal is to deny him the chance to make those appointments to the court. The mid-term goal is to have pro-life appointments made to the court. The end game is the use of those choices to overturn RvW.

Without the first goal being accomplished the second and third will never happen.

It is my opinion that the economy (and all that it entails) will be the single most important issue in 2012. If we make it second to any social issue we lose the necessary middle vote.

If we lose the middle vote we lose the WH and Roe v Wade becomes permanent.

[surroundedbyblue]

I hardly consider life issues to be divisive. These people are sickos. Absolute sickos. JR said it best when he said libertarians are just godless liberals.

None of the arguments defending the actions of this tea party leader are of any substance. This is one of the flimsiest threads I’ve seen in awhile but they just won’t give it up. I swear the pro-aborts are possessed. Their arguments make no sense yet they won’t back down, even at the risk of sounding like incoherent bastards.

[wagglebee]

I'm just saying that breaking the "D" lock was a positive step,

Really? Having Brown siding with the 'Rats on critical issues is a "positive step"?

Sen. Scott Brown calls Republican spending cuts ‘irresponsible’

Sen. Scott Brown will support tax money for Planned Parenthood

[wagglebee]

I know you don't.