Posted on 04/08/2010 10:05:17 AM PDT by Zakeet
Edited on 04/08/2010 10:20:23 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
In an effort to build its credibility and influence nationwide, the tea party movement on Thursday announced the formation of a "federation" of tea party groups.
Mark Shroder, a member of the Memphis Tea Party, told a crowd of roughly 200 conservative activists gathered outside the state capitol that 21 factions of the movement will form the National Federation Tea Party. Shroder said the federation will act as a "rapid response" to "misinformation" allegedly put forth by the "mainstream media."
(Excerpt) Read more at liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com ...
The Republicans have and were doing just that on the health care issue and others as well but they have been locked out as we all see...
The bottom line is the Democratic party won the Pres. election, the House and Senate they have as well...the ONLY solution is to take these back by elections and that of electing conservatives who recognize the people want the constitution enforced.
The way this is being done now are tea party people are informed...they inform others and are speaking out as never before. People who were not engaged before are indeed doing so now.
As for MSM..do you really think anything we do will keep them off the track they are on?...of course not! They will slam and oppose anyone and anything, or simply bury anything which might be news worthy we do. I frankly have no problem with those who ase opposed to obama with no idea of the other sides stands...if they'll vote against him that's plenty good for me. MSM will say everything that isn't for obama is against him regardless.
I am certainly paying attention to Republicans as should others...along with what the tea party movement is doing. It's not an either or choice between them. The tea party actually has some democrates who are opposed to this administration and are conservative. That is one of the beauties of the movement. It draws all who believe our country needs to get back to where it belongs. But I would not want it organized where these otherwise differences come into play by appointing leaders.
I would not assume that Fox and talk radio are only speaking to the choir. I know a garage where the owner purposely has talk radio on the full eight hours of those working in their bays. Another uses his signs to voice his support or opposition. I do not underestimate the people of our country...they are awake and those who aren't don't care anyway. It's up to us to carry this election by speaking out boldly and unafraid. Fox and Rush, Beck and the rest simply arm us with what we might not be aware of so that we can do just that.
The primaries are important and opposing those who are running is equally as important as supporting...but it's our job to get the word out who to support just as much. I recently shared with a woman who didn't know who to vote for in our up and coming election for Govenor...I shared what I knew and she will be voting for the candidate I recommended. This is how it will matter most...talking up our candidates and helping where we can.
Additionally there are those out there who are galvanizing people..Michelle B. and Sarah P....Pawlenty and others in both house and senate who are speaking up. They set a fabulous example for us all.
I do not think that getting the Tea Party organized more than it is is necessary...as it moves the candidates and supporters step up and UNITE WITH IT...not the other way around. Those who are not favorable candidates are quickly made known. So again the solution is to get back the Pres., House and Senate.....that means voters who will vote for this.
That would have been rich... Could you just imagine??? It might have been worth it just for the joy of seeing their faces — especially Michelle Obama’s! LOL After all, Obama said he was like Lincoln!
“The tea party is an idea that people believe in: Taxed Enough Already”
Well put. The tea party isn’t a third party; that would be its death knell. We need to take back the Republican party and make it reflect our values!
bttt
I just e-mailed this Skod. of my concerns about him speaking on my behalf...without consulting me. I think the dude is hijacking the Tea Party or setting it up for just that. Here’s the Memphis e-mail address and group he oversees.
The Memphis TEA Party
9245 Poplar Avenue
Suite 8 #105
Germantown, TN 38138
1-877-661-6020
info@thememphisteaparty.com.
Tea party leaders announce new federation (AP)
Hmmm... I don't like the sound of this...
All these groups already flood the email with donor requests which they don’t receive. I am only donating to candidates.
When one of the Tea Party groups can offer Stupak $700,000 to leave Congress, they have way too much money IMHO. Money should be spent for candidates not such a ludicrous offer. They may have thought it was cute but someone has the political savvy of a gnat. Our GOP candidate is gaining strength and instead of helping him they try to buy out the Dem. Really dumb idea that could strengthen Stupak in the long run.
Who are running these groups because their political savvy is like a bunch of College Republicans although I know some of them with more savvy then this bunch.
But then they wanted a donation for Scott Brown’s campaign to do ads when the election was the next day. Everyone better think long and hard before they donate to any national Tea Party group especially a coalition and instead donate direct to candidates.
Yes, especially because most TEA party groups are local and while they may be cooperating, the idea is to avoid a top down structure.
Exactly! Once you get a top down structure, you are going to lose some of the grassroots efforts that are there today.
Have been getting emails from “Levi” recently but had never signed up for the list. I wondered what was up. Now I know — they were working on a formal group.
Cooperation is great but this group is getting way too big and some of the organizations I wouldn’t want to be around that are part of this.
I agree, an organized structure is going turn off a lot of people, like ME. The reason the Tea Parties have been so successful is because they are not a structured group of people. They are a diverse group that really don’t agree on a lot of issues, but they sure know what they don’t like, big government, big taxes and government run health care. Leave it at that.
If the objective is to form a political party, give it a different name, separate it, and let people meet in both places.
Why? Because forming the TEA party movement into a political party will do the following:
It will allow that party to be villified by the actions of a few, stifling the entire movement with more of that we seek to avoid in the first place.
There will inevitably be points of disagreement which will break the TEA party groups down, and eliminate the effectiveness of having people who largely agree on the issues work independently in concert to achieve objectives.
It will effectively 'Perot' the GOP and Conservative vote, allowing the real enemies of the Republic a pass to get back into office.
By forming a separate political party, the group would be easily marginalized in the press, it's candidates branded 'unelectable', and any influence brought to bear on the GOP marginalized by being a separate organization and not prospective GOP voters.
I totally agree... we donate directly to candidates only.
And - yes - that $700,000 "donation" to Stupak to leave Congress left a really bad taste in my mouth. Even Hannity looked kind of embarrassed when he read it to Stupak's GOP challenger Dr. Benishek earlier tonight. What are these tea party groups thinking??
So...the TEA Party announces that they want to emulate the NRA, Christian Coalition, et al...and they are now persona non grata?
Lordy...I give up!
My best friend on this planet has ovarian cancer. She has such a wonderful attitude! You people are such a downer, and I question your political acumen at this point...no matter your supposed “creds”.
Too bad...because I’ve had a lot of respect for you in the past.
I have given my reasons why I think it is a bad idea, but permit me to add one more, and one which will be in the back of minds everywhere. At present, money collected, donated, or raised is used in everything from local events to ones nationwide in scope. Start a 'National TEA Party' and the donation letters will start rolling in.
It will become a business, not a vocation.
AFAIK, there is no "the TEA Party", just an assemblage of local groups which cooperate of their own volition. This is a fiction the press have been pushing in order to smear us all with one stroke, and to claim we are all just a big-donor effort to hijack politics, one which plays well with the GOP as well as the Socialists, because it plays down the fact that vast numbers of people are getting involved.
Consolidate it under some single national group, and you open the whole movement to accusations of astroturfing.
I know what the TEA Party is...and I know what it is not.
They are proposing to be a coalition of local TEA Parties...not a party or a national organization. Do you resent donations to the NRA or the former Christian Coalition? They use purity of their interests as their barometer to make their donations...no matter the party.
Frankly, I’m glad the RNC is having difficulty with them...and they are having huge difficulties. The RNC isn’t getting the donations that they are used to getting. Something needs to shake them up, and bring them back on the Reagan path.
The only fiction I’ve seen the press report is that the TEA Party members are all racist redneck Nazis.
Some of these groups involved are not good for the Tea Party movement and want to take over. If you read the entire thread, you will see our concerns and why we are saying what we are saying.
If it was all Tea Party groups, you would not have seen me say much of anything. Also if I wasn’t getting so many emails asking for donations from these various groups, I would probably have stayed quiet.
This leaves me cold when they offered Stupak $700,000 of money that was donated to DEFEAT Democrats not buy them out.
Thanks for the info on Hannity! Glad I am not the only one with a bad taste in my mouth about that $700,000 for Stupak. That is not what we are about — we don’t buy people off and is someone did, I would want them out.
Making me wonder how many Democrats are involved in leadership?
Very well said!
Very well said and I agaree with you completely! All excellent reasons why the Tea Party movements needs to remain local to have an influence on elections in the Congressional Districts and Senate races not to mention the local State Legislature and statewide offices.
That would be chiefly the Constitution which LIMITS federal government and which the federal government has increasingly ignored since our Socialist friend FDR. And the growth in government and taxes can be directly mapped to the increase in inflation and decrease of a healthy middle class in our country. Government is famously the enemy of the middle class. Government involvement in the free market has historically ALWAYS made matters worse not better. For example, the ignorant still think the Depression was caused by the stock market crash. The crash created a recession. What the government did afterwards, in their unbelievable stupidity, caused banks to close and the onset of the depression.
The argument has never been that the free market is perfect. But it’s lithe and responsive and creates wealth which government has never nor will never do. Government tends towards poverty because inherently government is against freedom including the free market. Government is about control not freedom.
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