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When the Tea Party Died
Townhall ^ | January 8, 2012 | Kevin McCullough

Posted on 01/07/2012 10:12:20 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

I don't know what happened between November of 2010 and January of 2012, but from the looks of things the Tea Party died.

How else do you explain it?

Rewind to November of 2010, race after race, congressional seat after congressional seat, Governorship after Governorship. Only a little more than eighteen months after President Obama had packed the mall in Washington for his historic inaugural, the Tea Party held it's historic event in which nearly the same size audience had attended--according to maps supplied by the USA Today. That event catapulted a state by state tsunami-like momentum where grassroots, low tax, small government, pro-founding principles, pro-life, pro-national security, and pro-God forces aligned and an election victory of historic equivalence shook America in 2010.

The driving force of that agitation then as it is still today was the effect of a poor economy, government intervention, federal overreach, bureaucratic mandates, and punitive taxes on the nation's beleaguered small business community. Entitlements, bail-outs, and criminally reckless spending ensued.

The Tea Party believed that the buffoons authoring the mess should be dealt a blow. And in 2010 they leveled power in the Congress.

The single biggest example of this overreach was for Washington politicians, behind closed doors, with no transparency, to take a health care reform law--deem it as passed--and force upon the American people the worst piece of legislation to be passed since World War II. Little wonder that even the worst Vice President in our history, Joe Biden, used an expletive to describe it.

"Obamacare" as it would soon become monikered was and is at this very moment--in this election cycle--the singular most visible sign that this nation must take a different course.

Some very good people got elected in 2010 to attempt to help lay the groundwork for the complete repeal of Obamacare. Star-On-The-Rise Governor Nikki Haley in South Carolina, and Senator-soon-to-be-the-next-Vice-President Marco Rubio rode the shoulders of these Tea Party votes, and pledged with their victories to return power to the voice of "We The People." The failed candidacies of Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell were also propped up almost entirely by the support of these first amendment patriots who simply wished to keep government in check.

Former Governor Sarah Palin rallied these troops, showed up and helped them raise cash, enthusiasm, and enlistments. The numbers of the Tea Party were tens of thousands of times bigger than the largest Occupy Wall Street gatherings--combined!

Yet only a little over a year later and the goal of the Tea Party to complete it's work and overturn Obamacare is all but dead.

In 2010 even Ann Coulter was making speeches at CPAC warning that if we chose the candidate who had authored Obamacare to become the nominee, then President Obama would be easily re-elected. She was right of course.

But somewhere along the line instead of being bold, defiant, grassroots, and in control, someone started feeding voters the meme that the man who saw to it that $50 state-subsidized abortions were included in his vision of mandated government health care, was the best of poor choices.

Even Ann Coulter 2.0 drank the kool-aid.

Worse yet the choices that are left in the race are establishment folks who ate earmarks for a living in Pennsylvania, embraced government involvement in the biggest hoax of our time--man made Global Warming, and who could forget the man that as Governor of Massachusetts raised taxes on everything from gasoline to "certificates of blindness." (No it's real... Look it up.)

Your humble correspondant has detailed the easy path that Obama's forces will take to not merely defeat a Romney GOP candidacy, but to pummel him into tapioca.

And according to my sources, campaign strategists who consult for the Obama team confirmed, they are getting the GOP candidate they most want.

I need to remind you that the win in Iowa meant strategically nothing. Those delegates will go to whoever the likely nominee is, and won't even be assigned until the convention. New Hampshire has a puny amount of delegate votes--but at least they will be genuine delegates. This year South Carolina is where the battle truly begins. South Carolina has more delegates than Iowa and New Hampshire combined and Tea Party strongholds from Virginia all the way around the coast to Texas are delegate rich battlegrounds.

The two biggest priorities for primary voters are to decide which candidate can make Washington DC as inconsequential to the life of the average American as possible, and who can challenge President Obama directly on the worst legislation of our time--Obamacare.

Mitt Romney has no track record that would point to being able to accomplish either of these. Even a small whiff of a challenge on Obamacare by Romney will be followed up with an Obama "thank you" note for writing it for him.

It is almost impossible to believe and violently sickening to accept that in light of the clear mandate of the Tea Party that the GOP stands on the cusp of returning to "establishmentism." (Imaginary word mine.) But it appears that for all the big talk, tens of thousands of local rallies, and the single largest non-inaugural event to ever occur on our nation's mall, the Tea Party has died.

Which is sad, for me personally, because I addressed those patriots, on that mall, that cloudy Washington DC day.

That first tea party in DC took place exactly three days after President Obama's joint session, where he had instructed his supporters on Obamacare to go "get in people's faces" if they disagreed with the policy. He told his critics that he was calling them out.

I remember bringing that little point to the attention of the close to 1.2 million gathered on the mall that afternoon. The chants of "Here we are, Here we are, Here we are" rang in my ears for days.

Sadly now I wonder, "Where'd we go?"


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012; elections; nobama2012; noromney2012; occupywallstreet; palin; romney; teaparty; teapartyrebellion
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

the tea party is underground right now, with media and liberal elite attacks playing havoc, but the will to regain america’s greatness will not die.

look for gains in the house and senate with the removal of rinos and a steady gain to conservatism.

we will hope for sanity amongst those now taking the arrows, the cavalry is coming.

look for obama to be re-elected but the house and senate to fall into the hands of conservatives and then the SHTF with the prosecution of administration officials and a nixon-like departure and exile to hawaii for the Obamas.

hillary will be made VP for the 2012 race and she will strike a deal in the senate as the heiress apparentess... tringulating to the white house.

teeman


161 posted on 01/09/2012 12:29:03 PM PST by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world.)
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To: right way right

palin will not go third party and look toward 2016 when obama is out and hillary and the dems will have a vicious battle for the nomination...

palin will face, west maybe, rubio maybe,

we will gain the house and senate in the next two years and try and oust obama by special prosecution...

2012 i fear, is obama’s

teeman


162 posted on 01/09/2012 12:36:12 PM PST by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ask Ann Coulter, she’s the smartest person in the room.


163 posted on 01/09/2012 12:57:24 PM PST by nikos1121
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To: LZ_Bayonet

You may just be lever enough after all.


164 posted on 01/09/2012 1:35:59 PM PST by Rearden (Deo Vindice)
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To: sybilll

You sound like one of Obama’s people.


165 posted on 01/09/2012 6:01:12 PM PST by o-n-money
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To: o-n-money

Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me? I would not spit on Obama if he were on fire. I take great offense at your comment.


166 posted on 01/09/2012 6:46:13 PM PST by sybilll
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To: CatDancer
By the time "that person" comes, there won't be anything left to come to.

I pray that will not come to pass. If Obama gets another term he will get to appoint 2 to 3 justices to SCOTUS. That is the largest fear every true citizen should have this election. If that comes to be, our country will not last as we know it.

SCOTUS is all the electorate should be concerned with. Any one of the top 4 or 5 possible candidates can do better than Obama has or will do. However, without unity we will lose it all for decades to come.

Possibly for ever. Everyone needs to pray very hard and vote SCOTUS only.
167 posted on 01/09/2012 7:59:15 PM PST by JSteff ((((It was ALL about SCOTUS. Most forget about that and HAVE DOOMED us for a generation or more.))))
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To: sybilll

We are even.


168 posted on 01/09/2012 8:02:09 PM PST by o-n-money
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To: Mr. K
I would like to add your name to our ping list. You might not agree with everything we advocate, but then again you might.

We believe the alloted grains of sand in America's hourglass are almost drained. If nobody turns America's hourglass upside down, we're done. Our little group is dedicated to turning the current version of America upside down. WE believe it is possible to recover the Constitution and peacefully take our country back, launching a Renaissance in the process. Our series of articles linked below will show how this can be done.

We will be grateful for any pings and your liberal use of your own ping list.

"We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

169 posted on 01/10/2012 12:51:51 PM PST by Vintage Freeper (We have it in our power to begin the world over again.)
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To: Jim Robinson
I would like to add your name to our ping list. You might not agree with everything we advocate, but then again you might.

We believe the alloted grains of sand in America's hourglass are almost drained. If nobody turns America's hourglass upside down, the country as we know it, is done. Our little group is dedicated to turning the current version of America upside down.

WE believe it is possible to recover the Constitution and peacefully take our country back, launching a Renaissance in the process. Our series of articles linked below will show how this can be done.

We will be grateful for any pings and your liberal use of your own ping list. With just a little bit of help from the right people, our little group could become the equivalent of the Tea Party On Steroids.

"We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

170 posted on 01/10/2012 12:58:57 PM PST by Vintage Freeper (We have it in our power to begin the world over again.)
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To: Vintage Freeper

FURP!!


171 posted on 01/10/2012 1:10:00 PM PST by Jim Robinson (Rebellion is brewing!! Impeach the corrupt Marxist bastard!!)
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To: TheOldLady

Under the radar Paultard zot ably administered by the boss himself. :-)

Bye Bye, Vintage Freeper


172 posted on 01/10/2012 6:46:49 PM PST by lonevoice (Klepto Baracka Marxo, impeach we much.)
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To: Vintage Freeper; lonevoice
Our little group is dedicated to turning the current version of America upside down.

Your little group is nothing more than a group grope. Ron Paul Wingnuts aren't welcome here, nor do we care to associate with you elsewhere. My water bill would rise dramatically from all the showers I'd have to take.

Oh, thanks for adding to our donations to FR.

Now for the fun...

Photobucket

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173 posted on 01/11/2012 6:15:18 AM PST by bcsco
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To: Vintage Freeper; lonevoice; Jim Thompson; darkwing104; 50mm; stephenjohnbanker; SunkenCiv; ...


So long, Vintage Freeper (Posting History)

Hat Tip to lonevoice and Jim

Complete moron Paultard tries to recruit The Man Himself (ha ha ha ha ha!) and wakes up in the dumpster wondering why he's so barbecued





♪ You don't ♬ tug on Superman's ♫ cape, ♩ idiot


Thank you JoeProBono

FReepmail TheOldLady to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list.

174 posted on 01/11/2012 10:15:17 AM PST by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
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To: bcsco; TheOldLady

That was quick. :-)


175 posted on 01/11/2012 10:26:37 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (I can take tomorrow, $pend it all today. Who can take your income, tax it all away. Obama Man can. :)
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To: bcsco; TheOldLady

That was quick. :-)


176 posted on 01/11/2012 10:27:01 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (I can take tomorrow, $pend it all today. Who can take your income, tax it all away. Obama Man can. :)
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To: skinkinthegrass
That was quick. :-)

What, are you two doing duets or just singing in stereo?

I'd guess Jim visited the link and didn't like what he saw. I didn't go there. Just an assumption...

177 posted on 01/11/2012 10:35:56 AM PST by bcsco
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To: bcsco
*clearing throat*
LOL!

178 posted on 01/11/2012 10:41:35 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (I can take tomorrow, $pend it all today. Who can take your income, tax it all away. Obama Man can. :)
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To: TheOldLady

Surfs up for the zottage today.

179 posted on 01/11/2012 11:04:43 AM PST by Godzilla (3/7/77)
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To: Godzilla

Love that pic!!


180 posted on 01/11/2012 11:07:09 AM PST by Osage Orange (HE HATE ME)
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