Maine Republican Party Delegates Shock Establishment by Adopting Tea Party Platform

Maine Sunday Telegram ^ | 05/09/2010 | Matt Wickenheiser

[tonyome]

Tea party activists said there were at least 100 convention delegates from one group, the Maine Patriots, as well as an unknown number from another group, Maine Refounders. Support for the new platform was fairly overwhelming, well beyond what could be attributed to the tea party alone. Efforts to table it were stomped, and it passed handily.

[patriot preacher]

Shocks me too. What are Senators Snowe and Collins gonna do — find a new party? Switch to the Democrats?

[Rome2000]

every freshman class would be at a disadvantage against the well-protected, heavily unionized federal government workers.

Then strip the federal government workers of their protections and their union.

I don't get a pension from my job and I have to pay for federal government workers pensions to boot?

The minute the question is framed as an us versus them, the federal government workers versus the working stiff in the private sector, that's when the wheels come off of the Federal gravy train.

Enough is enough, no goddammed pensions for any of these useless bastards.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Are they going to reject Snowe and Collins as the RINOs they are?

[DaxtonBrown]

I wouldn’t have a problem with that platform. Thanks for posting.

[SeattleBruce]

Interesting summary. Thanks.

“The reason for this failure is that runaway spending and the lack of deliberation are only symptoms of a deeper, systemic problem: the rise of the modern bureaucracy and expansion of the administrative state.”

And your comment:
“I used to be a Term Limits cheerleader, but for now, until the size of government is drastically reduced...I am against them.”
+++++++++++++++++

I think the non-success is a combination of not being able to address the federal term limits first, and *that* the result of the RATS being in control of the fed apparatchiks. In effect, those 23 states were doing 'unilateral' term limits - and that won't work. They fought against all their states public unions, big spenders AND the federal RAT big spenders. Not a recipe to reduce spending.

We need to succeed in a Constitutional amendment. Until that happens, I agree, I don't favor this at the federal or state level unilaterally.

[SeattleBruce]

“We can not have recriminations from “republicans, first and conservatives, second” attacking those who point out the failings of those we elect. How often did true conservatives have to endure vitriolic attacks from that type of so-called conservative on this site during the last eight years of the previous administration. That must cease if there is to be any hope of a return to conservative policies.”

This is a Conservative site - undoubtedly. But we've had different ideas on how to best proceed. I think until recently, we've all thought that it was better to have a Conservative in the race, but short of that, there was a camp that thought it was always better to have any R in the race, or had theories on ‘electable’ Rs - and that's where our fights on this board ensued.

We've now proceeded to hotly contested primaries, articulating and holding all R candidates to Conservative values - and we're succeeding - sometimes 3 steps forward, 2 steps back, but we're succeeding.

So the time to bicker about tactics and techniques on this board should dissipate as we realize successful tactics.

[little jeremiah]

BTTT.

[nutmeg]

ping

[MWestMom]

Wow...just wow. Reading their platform made me cry. wow...

[hattend]

Hope this goes places and gets rid of Snowe and Collins

[Syncro]

Great news, thanks for the ping nutmeg!

[GodBlessAmericaKD]

This is billed as “the Tea Party” platform, but it should have been the Republican party platform all along. There is NOTHING in here that goes against basic Conservative principles articulated by Reagan (ok, maybe the audit the fed thing, but come on, look at the fed right now, it’s a nightmare). Also, I think the point about Congress voting themselves a raise was taken care of by the 27th Amendment, and when combined with the term limits clause becomes even less germane since there will be turnover of 1/6 of Congress every two years (at a minimum).

[caver]

What about the two paiinted ladiess from Maine? When is Maine going to get rid of those disgusiting traitors.

[seekthetruth]

Thanks for the ping! Here is another ping to Maine Freepers!

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

The lying left would have you beieve that the Tea Party is lukewarm to social issues. Not so.

I'm glad to see this too. I'd like to think it's been my constant prodding of Tea Partiers (and conservative activists in general) to not forget the social issues just because fiscal issues are at the forefront right now - but I doubt I've been that effective ;)

At any rate, glad to see that the Ron Paulians and other liberaltarian types are failing in their efforts at coopting the Tea Party movement.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

This is billed as “the Tea Party” platform, but it should have been the Republican party platform all along. There is NOTHING in here that goes against basic Conservative principles articulated by Reagan

Very true. I've been arguing for over a year now that the Tea Parties, in and of themselves, are nothing new. They are just the reawakening of latent conservative activism that went dormant after 2000 once Bush and his GOP COngress started proving to be disappointments.

This, in turn, highlights a difference between conservatives and Leftists - one in which conservatives come out poorly. When the Left is unhappy about something, they get loud and mobilise for action. When we're unhappy about stuff, we tend to grumble and grouse and take our ball and go home, until it reaches a point where things are so bad that we're finally prodded to action.

Here's a question - why did we conservatives let the GOP get so rotten as it did? Why weren't we out hunting RINOs in 2002, after the prescription drug plan fiasco and all the other big government junk Bush did before 9-11? Why weren't we on safari back then? why did we just sit and grouse and blame the GOP when in reality, the fault was our own for not doing anything, so that the RINOs got encouraged to keep it up, and got entrenched?

[Madame Dufarge]

In 1936, Maine and Vermont were the only states who voted for Alf Landon against FDR.

Whew, that was a long time ago...:-)

[Madame Dufarge]

Thanks so much for the ping.

Here's hoping that there really is something blowing in the wind in Maine.

The dependency class has grown enormously here; there's a really high mountain to climb to undo the damage the Dems have wrought.

[Frantzie]

Any chance either Snowe or Collins might get the boot? If one goes the other may straighten up.

[snowrip]

Any time Snowe begins clucking angrily about something, it is a good sign that the something is Constitutional, conservative, or otherwise good for America.