The Tea Parties Born 2009 - R.I.P.2010?

Political truth, like revenge, is a dish best served cold; at least for some in the media. Take for example the recent article by Kenneth Vogel, that appeared on Politico, and was eventual e-mailed throughout the Democratic Party:

Will Tea Partiers turn on each other?
Kenneth P. Vogel November 19, 2009 11:41 PM EST

After emerging out of nowhere over the summer as a seemingly potent and growing political force, the tea party movement has become so rife with internal feuding over philosophy, strategy and money that some supporters fear it will disintegrate before realizing its full potential.

The grass-roots activists powering the movement have become increasingly divided on core questions such as whether to focus their efforts on shaping policy debates or elections, work on a local, regional, state or national level or closely align itself with the Republican Party, POLITICO found in interviews with tea party organizers in Washington and across the country.
Disagreements over those issues have spawned personal and institutional rivalries, at least one highly contentious lawsuit and - perhaps most significantly - resulted in the splintering of local, regional and national groups into a patchwork of hundreds of smaller groups that occasionally seem to be working at cross-purposes.

“These groups don’t play as well together as they should,” said Kevin Jackson, a St. Louis-based conservative author and activist who has spoken at dozens of tea party-type rallies and is traveling across the South with a convoy sponsored by the national Tea Party Patriots group.

“They’re fractured at the organization level, I think mainly because there are a lot of people who have not had managerial experience who all of a sudden are thrust into the limelight and become intoxicated with it. And when a potential rift comes up, instead of handling it and maybe agreeing to disagree, they splinter and go off on their own.”

The movement exploded onto the scene this year as a backlash to what participants contend are the free-spending, overreaching initiatives pushed by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress. It is composed of hundreds of independent local groups, many of which are incorporated as nonprofits, and have localized names referencing the tea parties, “9/12” or “We The People.”

Many of their members also belong to national conservative groups, including FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity and Grassfire, while the local groups often affiliate formally or informally with loose-knit umbrella organizations, including the Tea Party Patriots and Tea Party Nation.

The organizational chaos - combined with a widening apathy at the edges of the movement - has produced a growing consensus among local, state and national tea party leaders that in order for the movement to evolve from the loose conglomeration of fired-up activists who protests and marches across the country into a sustainable block with the power to shape the GOP and swing elections, it will require the emergence of a national leader, group or structure.
Ned Ryun, president of American Majority, a nonprofit that has conducted organizer-training sessions for many tea party activists, said “the next 3 to 6 months” are going to be critical in determining “what’s going to happen with the tea party movement. Are they going to be a bunch of fingers, or are they going to come together to be a fist?”

Yet, while some tout a planned National Tea Party Convention in February (at which former Alaska governor and tea party darling Sarah Palin is listed as the keynote speaker) as a potentially unifying moment and others point to online coordination efforts, there is deep disagreement about what any national organization would look like and who would lead it.
FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, Grassfire, Americans for Limited Government and a host of other groups have helped organize various efforts capitalizing on the energy behind the tea parties, including providing training, online war rooms that help generate phone calls and ready-to-distribute canvassing literature.

But the groups have also jockeyed - mostly behind the scenes - to take credit for leadership of the movement, which - depending on who’s doing the telling - took its name either as an homage to the 1773 Boston tax revolt that played a major role in sparking the American Revolution or from an acronym standing for “Taxed Enough Already.”

The philosophical and strategic disagreements have been present within the tea party movement almost from the beginning. But they were hidden - or at least overshadowed - by the initial explosion of activist enthusiasm, which has dissipated somewhat, exposing and widening the rifts.

“Some of these groups may burn out, but this is part of this entrepreneurial process and the competition is good,” said Adam Brandon, vice president of communications for FreedomWorks, a nonprofit chaired by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas.

The group has facilitated some of the efforts demonstrating the potential power of the movement. Those have included the confrontations that erupted at congressional strong support from many tea party groups and leaders.

Brandon stressed that the strength of the tea party movement is in its grass-roots nature and that FreedomWorks’s goal is to help facilitate the movement, not to control it.
“One thing that’s clear is that anyone who says they own the tea party movement is going to get run over because no one owns the movement,” he said.

Brandon acknowledged the “rivalries and turf battles” now gripping parts of the movement but said “that’s normal because people have different ideas about what they want. That’s what’s happening now, and it’s sometimes a painful process.”

Those fights have been waged over issues that go to the heart of the movement’s purpose and strategy as well as more mundane rivalries and personal feuds.

In Myrtle Beach, S.C., disputes within the local tea party about how much to engage in partisan politics and whether board members were profiting from contracts to print paraphernalia emblazoned with the group’s logo prompted the treasurer to resign and join with defectors from a North Carolina “We the People” group to form a new organization.

“There’s a lot of fighting, and everyone wants to be in charge, and that’s why you have so many splinter groups,” said the ex-treasurer Janet Spencer, who charged her adversaries within the tea party with saying “derogatory things about me that were very unprofessional.”
She said her new group, called Patriotic Voices of America/Carolina Patriots, counts about 100 members and will not coordinate with the Myrtle Beach Tea Party, whose treasurer, David Ognek, said the friction is “just group dynamics.”

In Texas, a handful of thriving tea party groups severed their ties from the national Tea Party Patriots group after it ousted, then sued a founding board member who had affiliated with a rival group called the Tea Party Express.

“Our fight is in Congress and not with each other or with these other groups,” said Toby Marie Walker, who was the Texas state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots and also co-founded the Waco, Texas, tea party.

This Waco group recently drew an estimated 4,000 people to a rally it organized with the Tea Party Express, which travels the country hosting rallies. The month before, it had pulled out of the Tea Party Patriots after the Patriots group extremist rhetoric, and raising questions about the Express’s finances.

The Patriots’ attack and lawsuit worried the Waco group’s board, Walker said, because “if you align yourself with someone who is going to be that malicious, then how do we know they won’t turn on us?”

Other local tea party groups, though, cast their lots with the Patriots, heeding the group’s call to disassociate with the Tea Party Express.

In Granbury, Texas, local tea party organizer Josh Sullivan says he believes the movement’s effectiveness is being compromised by extremism.“You have some interesting folks in the Tea Party movement - some of them I can support, but some of them are kind of out there and radical, and I don’t want to associate myself with them,” he said.

In Northern Colorado, meanwhile, a handful of active 9/12 groups - named for the Glenn Beck-encouraged effort to stage the Sept. 12 Washington march - are unhappy with the state 9/12 group’s aversion to fundraising and with its focus on national issues and have discussed forming their own rival statewide group.

“People are beginning to become a little bit de-energized - they’re starting to feel like they’re fighting a losing battle, because we send a lot of letters into Washington, D.C., and things like that, and people are saying they’re not listening,” said Brian Britton, who heads the Greeley, Colo., 9/12 group.

That fear is echoed by Glenn Galls, a Hot Springs, Ark., tea party organizer frustrated with the focus of Arkansas’ state-level tea party groups on national races and issues such as cap and trade and health care.

Democratic email footer:

“If the tea party movement is going to continue to thrive and to grow and to have influence,” he said, “it must start coming together and coalescing and finding its purpose in life, because if it doesn’t, the excitement will fade like it does from anything else.”

Michael Czin Regional Press Secretary Democratic National Committee Office: (202) 863-8106
BBerry: (202) 286-7654

***** End of E-mail *****

Although there is some truth in the original Politico piece, Mr. Czin should not be so eager in ordering the wreath for the wake, because in the words of Mark Twain, “the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” as is the premature death knell of the liberty movement.

I would caution both the Republican and Democratic Parties from reading too much into some of the observations of this article (just as I would have advised Michael Czin from forwarding the email around the Democratic Party – it is the type of thing that can be used to unite the liberty troops). Infighting can be found with any group, from the Cub Scouts to the UN. It is human nature, why would we expect these groups to be any different?

Many of these groups came together because of their dissatisfaction with all levels of government, and that has not changed. The liberty groups see both parties as the disease (a point I disagree with – a few bad apples do not spoil the whole barrel; nor do a few RINO’s speak for the rest of the crash). Watch what happens if this healthcare monstrosity passes. These groups will put their differences aside in defense of a cause. For you see, it is the cause that serves as the surrogate leader. Every time politicians give these groups a reason to fight, such as healthcare, cap-n-trade, illegal alien amnesty, in a perverted sort of way, they are providing the very leadership these groups need to resist them……..the cause! And right now, it is the Democrats that keep providing the ammunition; ammunition that will be used to put the lame donkey out of its misery.

What we are witnessing are growing pains. But at some point a level of realistic, political maturity must be the order of the day for these groups to be considered viable entities. If not, we will continue to witness our representatives standing before us like the highwaymen of old, yelling “Stand and deliver! Your money or your life.” Individual liberty is the cause, but a communal synergy is means of resistance.

However, to the articles’ point, eventually these groups must rally with a common ally. A new group of Founding Fathers must come forth, concerned less about individual accolades, and committed to the greater good of the “united States of America.” In the words of Ronald Reagan, it is amazing what you can accomplish it you do not care who gets credit for the success.

But to the observations in the originally article, I have some advise for the liberty groups. Do not let petty squabbles divide you. United you stand, divided you will fall. The Democratic Party would like nothing more than to see the liberty groups marginalize, preferring to focus on your potential downfall so as to avoid dealing with their own civil war (Democrats.com - Let's Beat the BlueDogs ). Do not give the Democrats the pleasure by proving them right. Rise above your differences, because the reasons that brought millions of Americans together still exist; and the difference between a country committed to liberty and a country whose people are subjects to tyranny have always rested with the liberty groups throughout history.

The lack of leadership, beyond the cause, is easy to resolve. It is time for the liberty groups to start endorsing candidates. The liberty groups should seek out leaders willing and able to run for office. Leaders with integrity, leaders willing to commit to the principals of the group. Each liberty group should create a common, realistic pledge (or list of key principals they stand for), that each candidate would be required to publicly support. This is how the liberty groups will find their “level of realistic, political maturity.”

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer
by Brian F. King

O Lord, with humble hearts we pray
Thy blessing this Thanksgiving Day
And ask that at table place,
Where grateful folk say words of grace,
That Thou will come to share the yield
Thy bounty gave to farm and field.
We pray thy love will bless, O Lord,
Each hearth, each home, each festive board;
And that Thy peace will come to stay
Where candles glow, Thanksgiving Day.

God Bless and Peace Be With You

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She wrote, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary that he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.


By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Concerning Doug Lambert and Ray Buckley

Over the past for days a controversy has been brewing over the comments made by radio show host Doug Lambert that were directed at NH Democrat State Chairman Ray Buckley. An incredibly stupid thing was said, and Doug Lambert has apologized and asked for a chance to make up for this blunder.

It is important to note that no one should take this letter as an acceptance of the remarks made by Mr. Lambert. I found Mr. Lambert’s comments unpleasant, but completely uncharacteristic of the Doug Lambert I know. Because of the political climate we now live in, it is also important to state that I make the following comments as a private citizen, and not as a spokesperson for any of my affiliations. What Mr. Lambert said was distasteful, and has no place in the public debate. But Mr. Lambert understands what he said was wrong, and he had the strong moral character to take ownership of his mistake.

As for the relentless, mob mentality that is being directed at Mr. Lambert, I have but one question to ask. Where is the grace? Make no mistake about it, we should hold Mr. Lambert’s “feet to the fire,” and keep him to his word that this will not happen again. We have all said and done things that we later regret, this includes Mr. Buckley himself. And for the most part, over time, all of us have been absolved for our lapse of judgment.

There are those that would keep this wound open for purely political reasons, but in the end they come off looking petty and spiteful. Like rabid dogs fighting over a bone, some have decided to feast on Mr. Lambert character, and that is just sad. Some have decided that they will not stop until EVERYTHING is taken away from Doug. In opposition to the hatred they believe was uttered by Doug Lambert, they will bring forth a wrath a million times worse than anything Doug might have said. It is cruel, but sadly indicative of the current state of our culture.

I have known Doug for some time now, and I am proud to call him a friend. I know him to be a kind and thoughtful person of high moral character. I will not abandon someone I respect because I am unhappy with something they have done. We should all remember that even the best of people make mistakes, but to “err is human, to forgive is divine.” Have we become such a vicious culture as to deny a person the opportunity at redemption? We live in a country that prides itself on second chances; to allow the fallen an opportunity to make amends for their mistakes. I say to you today that if anyone is deserving of a second chance, Doug Lambert is.

And for those that might take this opportunity to attack me, so be it. It would not be the first time. I would rather stand with a person who understands he made a mistake, but will strive to regain our trust, than stand with people who would ignore their own transgressions while throwing stones at a person asking for our mercy. We are facing tough times, and this is not to say that this incident didn’t merited some attention, but in the grand scheme of things, it is time for all of us to move on.

A Time for Choosing Again

The following is the text of a speech I gave during two separate appearances before Republican committee’s last week. Depending on the audience members point of view, they either enjoyed it or they were squirming in their seats:

Ladies and Gentleman...thank you for your invitation to speak before you tonight.

I have the luxury of not running for office or relying on a pay check that requires me to be polite, or diplomatic in my presentation. It is quite liberating to be able to offer observations unencumbered by who I might offend.

Today (October 28) we mark an important anniversary for conservatisms, and in turn the Republican Party. It was 45 years ago today that Ronald Reagan gave one of his greatest speeches….”A Time For Choosing.” It was in that speech that then citizen Reagan not only defended the principals of conservatism, but put socialism on notice:
“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.”

Most of you are gathered here today because you see your State and your Country at the edge of that darkness. And sadly I must tell you that some in the Republican Party are willing participants in our shared fate. The Republican Party lost its way, becoming nothing more than Democrat-light; interested more in vote harvesting and staying in power. It seems that our party motto became – “Any Republican is better than a Democrat.” But where has that gotten us?

Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party now share the same predicament, the American people don’t trust either one. The Republican Party forgot the words of Jack Kemp - “You serve you party best, by serving your country first.” It is time for the Republican Party to embrace that statement once again, because God knows the Democrats won’t.

So before we can take back our State and our Country, we must first take back our Party. Because you see, there are those that call themselves Republican and have no clue what that means. Worse yet there are those that call themselves moderate Republican, conservative Republican, and my new favorite oxymoron Liberal Republican.

I actually chuckle when I hear all of these terms, but I am most amused when I hear people describe themselves as a Conservative Republican……….or delineate by stating they are a social conservative or fiscal conservative. Well, I am here to tell you today that the very essence of the Republican Party is conservative. The first Republican platform, its last platform, and all the platforms in-between are the very model of principled conservatism. Don’t believe me, you tell me if this is a moderate, liberal or a conservative statement (from the 2008 Republican Party platform):

This is a platform of enduring principle, not passing convenience — the product of the most open and transparent process in American political history. We offer it to our fellow Americans in the assurance that our Republican ideals are those that unify our country: Courage in the face of foreign foes. An optimistic patriotism, driven by a passion for freedom. Devotion to the inherent dignity and rights of every person. Faith in the virtues of self-reliance, civic commitment, and concern for one another. Distrust of government's interference in people's lives. Dedication to a rule of law that both protects and preserves liberty.

But too many people seem to have difficulty saying the word Conservative out loud. Some whisper it like a mark of shame, afraid that they will be tarred and feathered by the villagers. The only shame is that we have forgotten what we stand for, and thus the country is in far worse shape for our own ignorance.

But there is more hope for the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, and why do I say that?

40% of the people in this country identify themselves as conservative; 36% identify themselves as independent (with center to right leanings), and only 20% identify themselves as liberal. Republicans know how to be conservative, and as we found out in 2006 and 2008, we are terrible at being liberal.

Over the past few months there have been a lot of words that begin with “R - E” thrown about. Reenergize, rebuild, refocus, regroup, and rejuvenate. Folks, these are merely marketing terms that will only cause further mistrust. The Republican Party must be true to itself, which in turn will earn the trust of the people, because there is too much at stake if you and I fail.

In the speech “A Time for Choosing,” Reagan understood that America was the last best hope for the world; that if the torch of freedom was extinguished here, then the warming light of liberty dies everywhere. I say to you that if you believe that America is the last best hope for the world, then it is the Republican Party that is the last best hope for America.

Ronald Reagan did not stand in front of us and call himself a Conservative Republican; he simply called himself a Republican because he understood to be Conservative was to be Republican, and to be Republican was to be Conservative. The only way for us to return the Republican Party to a party that serves the people is to return to the grassroots of conservatism that made us great, and avoid any further watering down of our principals in an effort to come across as more appealing.

The justification for watering down the core beliefs of the Republican Party is the often heard phrase that we are a “Big Tent Party.” There is some truth to that statement…we are the Big Tent Party, and all are welcome. But that does not mean you check your principals at the door before you enter. No…..it means that you enter the tent prepared to stand for something greater than yourself….greater than the next fundraiser…..or greater than the next election!
For you see, this tent stands strong because it is being held up by poles of principals. This tent stands strong because of great Republican leaders such as Reagan, Coolidge, and Lincoln, who stood firm on the principals that made this party great. The Republican Party is strongest when it uses the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution as its firm footing, a foundation to keep us away from the dangers of that darkness President Reagan warned us about. In the words of President Lincoln:

“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”

There can be no comprise or moderation when the cause is just, when the hope of an entire planet rest with us, you and I, choosing the right course. But with the Constitution as our North Star, always there to point us home, not only as a country, but as a people committed to the cause of liberty. But we must be willing to use it, because if we chose to ignore it, America will be lost at sea until it sinks from the weight of its own ignorance.

So let’s you and I dabble with the suggestion from those who feel we should be more moderate. Where should that moderation be applied? Which of the issues should you and I comprise on? That the redistribution of wealth is fair and just? That higher taxes are there to serve the people? That the chain of debt that is already weighing down future generations is not our problem? That a stronger centralized government is in the best interest of America? That the Constitution is a living, breathing document, open to generational interpretation?

Or is just simpler that the Republican Party take a more “sensible” understanding that “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness……” , that those words do not apply to the unborn, just as some felt it did not apply to those held in bondage over 100 years ago.

Or how about the belief that morality is purely the province of the individual, and that a community has no vested interest in protecting religion, preserving the strength of the family, or promoting a robust patriotism and strong sense of civil commitment.

No I tell you…. that it is not moderation, it is appeasement to oppression. Does it matter that the tyranny comes in the form of 1000 pages bills that no one reads, or by the point of the gun? Our party, the Republican Party was founded on the very principal of Life and Liberty. The Republican Party was founded with the sole purpose to fulfill our country’s promise that all Men are created equal. There are some that have confused moderation with appeasement. This confusion has hurt our country, and our inherent laziness has moved us closer to the abyss of totalitarianism.

Sam Adams once said -

"It is not high time for the people of this country explicitly to declare, whether they will be freemen or slaves? It is an important question which ought to be decided. It concerns us more than anything in this life. The salvation of our souls is interested in this event. For wherever tyranny is established, immorality of every kind comes in like a torrent. It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue and knowledge prevail. The religion and public liberty of a people are intimately connected; their interest are interwoven, they cannot subsist separately; and therefore they rise and fall together.”

We do not win elections by watering down our message; we win election by communicating our principals with pride. We do not win elections by being cowards, afraid to run for office “because” the outcome is not assured. We win elections by understanding that we may lose today, but we win tomorrow in the arena of ideas.

For you see, in the words of President Reagan, the issue for this election is….

Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.

The Republican Party, our party, must offer the kind of leadership that grows and takes its strength from the people. Any organization is in actuality merely the lengthened shadow of its members. A political party is a mechanical structure created to further a cause. The cause, not the mechanism, brings and holds the members together.

Thank-you