Posted on 02/05/2010 9:50:07 PM PST by dr_who
In recent months, the most influential political party in the country may not be the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, but the Tea Party. This murky, largely leaderless grassroots movement has been the driving force behind the derailment of President Barack Obama's dearest agenda items, notably health care reform and climate change legislation.
What are the goals of this movement? In part, that is the wrong question. The Tea Party effort rejects the notion that a politician or a pundit should define their movement. Rather, citizens themselves will tell us what the movement means.
As their name suggests, these citizens want to revive the ideas at the heart of the American Revolution: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. One chapter in Texas adopted these principles: limited government; fiscal responsibility; personal responsibility and the rule of law.
The quality that gives the Tea Party movement its legitimacy is that it is so fundamentally illegitimate.
Tea Party groups are conducting online polling and deliberations to determine the priorities of the movement. This process will create a "Contract from America" to serve as a template for reforms to come. The most popular ideas now include a flat tax, congressional term limits and abolishing the U.S. Department of Education.
Those ideals and policies sound like what the Republican Party once espoused but have not practiced for at least a decade.
Not surprisingly, establishment conservatives have recently tried to make hay of the Tea Party movement's apparent lack of a recognizable face or national headquarters. Grover Norquist, the Rasputin behind countless conservative organizing activities, has offered tips to Tea Party organizers. Old (and perhaps new again) Republican apparatchiks like Dick Armey and Newt Gingrich have proclaimed their oneness with the Tea Party faithful and essentially offered their services as the movement's leaders. No doubt many Republican leaders would like to direct the energy of the Tea Party against the Obama administration and to receive the votes of these idealists come November.
We pray thee, Tea Partiers: Do not go there.
The quality that gives the Tea Party movement its legitimacy is that it is so fundamentally illegitimate: outside the establishment, bereft of representation on K Street, and without an identifiable face to speak for it on Meet the Press. This is a movement that sprang deep from within the viscera of America, not from some political poll or focus group.
It is not Republican; it is not even conservative. It has no interest in debating the merits of No Child Left Behind, abstinence-only sex education or George W. Bush's rationale for going to Iraq. Replacing a "spend and borrow" Democrat with a "spend and borrow" Republican is not the goal of the Tea Party movement.
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John Samples is director of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research group in Washington, D.C., and the author of the forthcoming book The Struggle to Limit Government.
This movement is simply saying: "We are fine without you, Washington. Now for the love of God, go attend a reception somewhere, and stop making health care and entrepreneurship more expensive than they already are."
Machiavelli once said a republic stays healthy by returning to its first principles from time to time. The Tea Party movement is trying to get our nation back to its first principles to prevent our decline. For their trouble, they have been denounced by many in the media and the Obama administration.
But they will continue to fight. They still believe in the promise of America. That faith may spread as Election Day approaches in the second and perhaps final year of what is supposed to be the Age of Obama.
What began as angry town meetings and grew into a political movement may end as a third political party in 2012. Maybe then Washington will finally listen.
Repeated polls have shown that the majority of voters are conservative.
Well..., it's certainly unfortunate then..., that this majority of conservative voters in our society voted for Obama in this last Presidential election by a plurality of almost 10 million votes... LOL...
Funny, it worked for the American Revolutionaries. The "Tea Party" is just about at the "committees of correspondence" stage. Give it time.
Wrong. Many conservatives were turned off by the exact fact that another CCR was the candidate, and stayed away. Palin was turning it around, but too little, too late. And McCain screwed up badly. Do not confuse a "majority of voters" in the last election with a majority of eligible voters. Those are two VERY different populations.
Funny, it worked for the American Revolutionaries. The "Tea Party" is just about at the "committees of correspondence" stage. Give it time.
I'm not saying that it can't happen and it won't get organized and that they won't have leaders and that people won't move in a major political block that will take control over the infrastructure of the government... not at all...
It can happen...
I'm saying that if it "doesn't happen" -- it's going nowhere...
Wrong. Many conservatives were turned off by the exact fact that another CCR was the candidate, and stayed away. Palin was turning it around, but too little, too late. And McCain screwed up badly. Do not confuse a "majority of voters" in the last election with a majority of eligible voters. Those are two VERY different populations.
Okay..., I think I've got it now...
There really was a majority of conservative voters that could have kept Obama out of office... but they decided to stay home (or didn't vote in that part of the election and still voted for others) and gave the Presidency to Obama...
Yep... that makes perfect sense now... LOL...
Very good... LOL...
Did you ever make phone calls for your favorite candidate? Did you knock on doors or stand on the street corner? Did you put a sign in your yard? Did you write a letter to the local paper?
I have personally talked to thousands of self identified independents on phone banks. They think what I am doing is (expletive deleted). And some tell me to get them off my list and get the (expletive deleted) off their phone. Do you think they would lift a finger for any candidate? Have not seen it yet. However this Tea Party movement gives me hope.
>This is where all the Republicans are worried that a third party will split the vote, keeping the Dems in power...<
It could happen that way. We have to force the GOP to run more conservative and hold them to OUR standards of governance.
I agree.
The media is not our friend period.
1) Not for, to.
2) No
3) No
4) Yes
5) I've donated
I lived in NYC until 02. The NY GOP put up such fine candidates as Rockefeller, Javits, Pataki, Wilson, and Lindsey. 'Though I voted for 'em (except Lindsey) I really couldn't get behind any of them. Remember, it was the NY GOP that gave us Skeefoza.
Now I'm in WV where being only a "dern feriner", my participation, except for $$, is not appreciated. That's OK by me. After seeing the scam the WV GOP pulled last Super Tuesday with its first time ever "WV GOP Presidential Convention" that all but assured a McCain national victory, I think I'll stay independent.
LOL all you like. That is precisely what happened.
LOL all you like. That is precisely what happened.
And that was my point... so...
I have no desire to split the Republican Party nor am I interested in promoting the Republican Party. I'm interested in promoting Conservatism. By the way, what's the difference between Republican Arlen Specter and a DemocRAT? What's the difference between a Republican Michael Bloomberg and a DemocRAT? What's the difference between a Republican DeeDee Scozzafava and a DemocRAT? At least we know RATS are RATS. I've got no sense of loyalty for anyone just because he or she has an "R" next to his or her name. If you want to send money to a box of rocks with the letter "R" printed on it, by all means, do so.
In case you missed it, it was Republicans, not Libertarians nor Anarchists nor Tea Partiers who saved the day in 1994, after Perot screwed it up in 1992.
CONSERVATIVISM saved the day in 1994. It just happened that those Republicans were Conservatives. Until they got Washingtonized.
So, if you can't recruit comparable number of Democrats as well as Republicans, what good are you?
See questions above.
Don't say y'all, buddy. I voted, and for McCain, through the sound of shattering teeth.
The fact of the matter is that though the majority of the population is conservative, it is also true that they do NOT follow politics, and thus could be misled in the last election by the concerted propaganda of the news media. But I also think that a great many of those folks have figured out just how badly they were fooled, and are waking up. The "Tea Party" movement is just and indication of that awakening.
BINGO!!!! A truer plan has never been put forth, IMO!!!
How about this little phrase, anybody ever heard this one before?
"We the people ..."
We pray thee, Tea Partiers: Do not go there."
Count me in as one of the "we" in the prayer.
I am not really associated with the movement, but in spirit only, which is where I would guess many more Americans find themselves.
But I am an ardent detractor of all political party's, especially the two that have brought this once great Republic to the brink of disaster on so many fronts!
Finally some one on this “conservative” forum (not GOP) that gets it! Well said!!!!!!!
still thinking
still thinking
oh yeah, I forgot for a minute, I am not a Democrat!"
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