SPECIAL POST
There we were, in the midst of runaway spending with TARP,
stimulus and Health Care, bailing out this firm and that bank, taking over
manufacturing companies and expanding the government sector at a record
pace. Someone, somewhere suggested that
we all get together and send every member of Congress a tea bag in
protest. The American Tea Party
movements were born.
Millions of Americans from all walks of life and all
political parties joined state and local tea party organizations and started to
educate themselves and others about what was going on in Washington. Both major political parties tried to ignore
the growing ruckus, but a major demonstration on the steps of the nation’s
Capitol drove the point home: Americans were ticked off.
By the time the November 2010 elections arrived, the various
tea party movements had gathered steam, picked some favorite candidates and
were able to exert tremendous influence over the outcomes, thereby chasing our
dozens of scurrilous Congressional members and installing dozens of fresh
faces. Now, the tea parties had proven
themselves to be someone to be reckoned with.
So far, so good. The
problem with this true story is that the tea parties are individual
organizations, not connected in any official way and with no cohesive and
centralized voice. The cracks began to
show when the heat was turned up over the FY2011 budget, and the influence of
the tea parties was all but lost in the shuffle. When the recent budget talks got under way,
Democrats bombarded the tea parties with fowl and foul language. Differing voices spoke out about “official” tea
party positions, some of which were outlandish and did not serve the movement
well.
The Republicans, unwilling to stand on their own two feet
and upon seeing the waffling of the tea party movements, caved in at the last
moment; that set up the stage for the downgrading of the national credit and
the expressions of outright dismay from China.
Now what?
There are two schools of thought. One is that the tea parties, having no
central organization and no common voice, will now dry up and blow away. The other scenario is that the tea parties
coalesce into one united organization with a common platform. This itself could take two forms, one with
the various organizations still having some local autonomy while belonging to
the national organization, and the other being the dissolution of local
chapters and the emergence of one united American Tea Party. In the latter event, local chapters and
members would have to be willing to compromise some of their favorite positions
and to take on others.
I think all of us who have followed the decline of America
over the last 20 years would agree that the tea parties provided a big and
welcome breeze of fresh air. Suddenly,
Mr. and Mrs. America saw that, by standing together arm-in-arm, hand-to-hand
and shoulder-to-shoulder, they could have a profound influence on what mischief
was being created in Washington. For the
first time in years, hope was created where all hope had been lost.
To that end, we all owe the tea parties profound gratitude. They woke us up. They showed us the way.
We cannot allow this grassroots movement of Americans to dry
up and blow away. We cannot turn our
backs on that beacon of hope. Now is the
time for us to get behind the tea parties and to urge their merging into one
voice. We need a United American Tea
Party that can set its sights on achieving political office where Democrats and
Republicans are failing to respond to the American dream. I strongly urge all involved to consider this
message and to act accordingly.
That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.
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