The TEA Party stood for “Taxed Enough Already.” It was a group revolting against the egregious nature of taxes and turned into a party of conservative activism.
I am an advocate for Conservative Constitutional Republicanism in America, as the Founders intended. Sadly, I know some TEA Party people who consider themselves “social moderates,” advocating for loose drug laws.
The problem with Conservatism is the message. We need to demonstrate that we stand behind the idea the God has imbued us with our rights and that we are only answerable to HIM. Government is tyranny in any form, and we should eschew even the least egregious forms of them. Remember, WE are the arbiters of our future. Government exists by our will only.
I was at the first gathering watching Beck on TV, then in the core group of our local 9/12.
At one public meeting, I said our solution is to restore our right as citizens to the Grand Jury. We could indite the oathbreakersd and hold their feet to the fire. This nation would turn overnite.
It fell on deaf ears.
The Republican handlers took control of the group, and I left.
Low info Teapartiers are a problem.
General comment: It’s a pet peeve of mine, but I wish people would stop referring to themselves as patriots. To me it’s like calling yourself a hero. That’s a title others should bestow on you. Sure one can be patriotic, but ‘Patriot’ implies something more that just being patriotic. YMMV.
Now Tea Party American? That makes sense since the goals of the Tea Party are Constitutional through and through. To me, TEA means exactly one thing. A return to constitutional government in ‘all’ aspects. It didn’t exactly start as that but IMO it has become that.
Tea Party? Maybe it's time for the "Minute Men".
This thread should be interesting, as I think your question is really good. I don’t attend as many events either, but I think that’s because there aren’t as many scheduled.
For us, the Tea Party is about surrounding ourselves with other patriots and using those contacts to take whatever actions we feel comfortable with, or can afford. Sometimes it’s nice to go to a rally just be around others who haven’t gone bat-sh!t crazy. We’ve done some caucus work, supported candidates and causes financially, worked a TP booth just greeting and talking with people, attended meetings, put up signs, etc. My fiancee’ is also a precinct delegate (direct result of TP contacts).
We also support military causes, as many other FReepers do I’m sure.
In the end the other conservative types just barged right in and the Tea Party mission expanded.
It's really a good thing that no one seriously tried to limit Tea Party issues, I believe it would have destroyed the effort.
The first Tea Party rally I attended had RKBA signs all over the place and I got the impression that the organizers were surprised, they had way underestimated the power of the issue.
I'm glad that you started this thread MosesKnows, because I have a basic critique against the Tea Party. I get the impression that a lot of patriots are not familiar with the reason why the Founding States made the federal Constitution, to limit (cripple) the federal government's powers.
More specifically, it seems that patriots want a concervative leader in the Oval Office to lead the country to resolve healthcare, immigration and schooling concerns as examples, and also to lower taxes, but seemingly not understanding that the states have never delegated to Congress via the Constitution the specific powers to regulate, tax and spend for such issues.
In other words, thanks in part to Obama guard dog Fx News, Constitution-ignorant patriots are unwittingly helping to keep the government power pendulum swinging back and forth between Democrats and RINOs in DC, instead of making it swing back to the states where the Founders had intended for it to permanently rest.