We’ll, I hate to take the glow off all those who lifted their hands towards heaven at the election of Scott Brown, but the truth is, his election was typical of what I’d expect in pragmatic two-party politics.  The democrats win and now it’s the republicans turn to win all the while the debt clock keeps ticking…$105 TRILLION…$106 TRILLION…$107 TRILLION.  So, is Scott Brown the savior of the Republic?

Let’s begin with a little clip from the now rising star the day after his election:

Did you hear that; “I…I think…I think that, first off all, just so we’re past campaign mode, I think it’s important for everyone to get some form of healthcare, so to offer a basic plan for everybody is important.” 

How exactly is that different from what the Olympia Snowe’s of the R’s and Harry Reid’s of the D’s are saying?  And more importantly, where exactly does Senator-elect Scott Brown find authority in the U.S. Constitution to even vote on making sure “everyone” has some form of basic health care?

Brown really pulled a fast one on the Tea Party and glomed onto it, yet is he really one of us?  Or, is the TEA party really just a wing of the republican party?  If his election is any indication, the Tea Party had better do some very quick reflection on this or very suddenly find itself co-opted (if not already) by the two-party system.

I will state this; as a Tea Party organizer in Maryland, invited on Fox News 3 times as a representative, interviewed by CNN Anderson Cooper and a very recent radio talk show host, I didn’t sign up for this.  For every Tea Party member reading this who supported Brown, please take a look at why you supported Brown with your money and emotion…was he really the kind of guy that will go to Washington DC and vote to restore the Constitution to its rightful place as the authority in our country?  If his first press conference is any indication, I suspect we’ll see buyers remorse very soon.  In fact, as reported by Dick Morris at Newsmax.com, the democrats are quite possibly going to find a way around him anyway.  I suspect the republicans would do the exact same thing if it was a polic they we’re hellbent on forcing upon us.  Remember this gem, the new entitlement program we’re forcing our children and grandchildren to pay for, Medicare Part D which was passed under a republican administration and supported by many republicans like Jim Gerlach from Pennsylvania?

So, Tea Partier’s, remember the passion you felt as you confronted your local representatives at town hall meetings in August and September.  Remember how empowered you felt as you read your Constitution and Madison and the other Founders felt so alive to you.  Remember when you read the Declaration of Independence and realized that we’re facing tyranny again, this time in the form of our own federal government.  Finally, remember the clarity you felt about the principles of liberty and freedom so eloquently penned in 1776 with these words that still bring great emotion to me even as I type them;

“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 to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Fellow Tea Partier’s, don’t settle for a win for the sake of a win…I beg you.  We cannot morally pass to our future generations that which we have created today.  We cannot act on pragmatism, we must act and stand on principle.  And while I worked on Capitol Hill during the Reagan administration, I can no longer accept his; “somebody who agrees with you 80% of the time is an 80% friend not a 20% enemy.”   While this sounds so enlightened in theory, in practice, the very 20% can lead to hundreds of billions of dollars of extra-constitutional activities and spending.  

Thus, if the Tea Party is to evolve into a true political force that will draw from many different political ideologies and effect the change necessary for our children’s future, it must stand on principle and not pragmatism.  For far too long, compromise (mostly the Constitution being compromised) has been the supposed highest value a politician can pretend to embrace.  And this very lauded term has now led us to the brink of utter econimic disaster.  I suggest it’s time for principle to reign; allow me to proffer a few:

• The federal government MUST be forced back into Article 1. Section 8, as originally written, of the U.S. Constitution via the 10th Amendment.
• The States MUST assert their Constitutional prerogativesand nullify legislation that is not in keeping with the 10th Amendment.
• The citizenry, acting through their state representatives MUST take whatever lawful action necessary to compel their representatives to force the federal government to obey the Constitution via the 10th Amendment.
• The citizenry MUST communicate to their state representative’s their willingness to suffer the pain of withdrawing from federal bribes using taxpayer funds from other states to persuade compliance with federal mandates.

Keeping our eye on the ball is critical at this juncture of our movement.  We must not let the goal of the Tea Party become “taking over Washington DC” or putting republicans back in power.  We must stay focused on the FACT that every large centralized government throughout history (which is exactly what we have right now in Washington, DC) has always ended in some form of tyranny where people lose their liberties and in worst case scenarios, their very lives.  We MUST understand that our battle is not to make sure a certain party obtains power, rather, we must properly identify and stay focused on the real enemy…the large, bloated, all-powerful centralized government seated in Washington, DC.  In 1776, we threw off tyranny from England.  In 2010, we must throw off tyranny located in Washington DC using the very tools the Founders left us…the 10th Amendment.

Finally, resist party politics.  Only support candidates that will commit publicly to force the federal government back into the box of Article 1. Section 8 of the Constitution.  Above all, don’t support candidates that one day after their election stammer out of the gate with; “I…I think…I think that, first off all, just so we’re past campaign mode, I think it’s important for everyone to get some form of healthcare, so to offer a basic plan for everybody is important.”  

My conclusion…Scott Brown is not the next political savior who will make all things right…rather, it’s up to us, working within our states to win this battle.

Health Care, Misc, Must Read, Political Parties, TEA Party

Over at the American Thinker this morning, I ran across an article by Kyle-Anne Shriver titled Tea Parties: Misunderstood and Vastly Underrated.  This is one of the first articles written about the burgeoning movement that generally does a good job of explaining some of its evolving themes.

The Movement is beginning to take shape as more and more average citizens get involved and begin to translate their sign waving and hand clapping into what that really want.  For what it’s worth, as a Tea Party Organizer myself, here are the general themes I see emerging from this group:

First, it’s not about a political party.  Sure, sure, the groups are undeniably largely populated by disenfranchised republicans, conservatives and libertarians…this is unarguable.  But there are democrats and moderates who are uneasy about where the country is heading and are attending these meetings as well.  With that stated, very few that I speak with, and I speak to hundreds of people, are looking to a political party to solve the problems were in.  In fact, the phrase I hear over and over and over again is this; “I’m a republican but I’m thinking of leaving the party and changing to independent.”  When I ask why, it’s clear the average citizen sees both parties as essentially one in the same and both will lead to further infringement on liberty.

Second, most in the Tea Party Movement see their fundamental liberties under assault by an ever expanding BIG GOVERNMENT.  They may not be able to quote the legislative act that encumbered a particular freedom, but something visceral, way down in their gut tells them that something is very wrong.  This translates into action for them as they fear for their children and grand-children’s future.

Third, they’re willing, unlike the average politician, to take responsibility for the mess we’re in.  While the average politician is always looking to the next election and how to capture a particular demographic, they rarely look back at how they contributed to the mess (click here if you want the pants scared off you).  On the other hand, the average citizen attending a Tea Party is perfectly willing to accept the fact that they were asleep at the wheel, didn’t pay attention, voted based on party loyalty and generally only cared if something was happening in DC that affected them directly.  Now that they’re no longer asleep (a posture by the way that politicians love the average citizen to be in), they’re beginning to study (typically Madison, Jefferson), read their pocket Constitution, and get acquainted with the Declaration of Independence.  Somehow, these charter documents feel like a safe harbor, a place where a free people were born and they long for a reappearance of Thomas Jefferson to guide them out of the mess we’re in just as he did when British tyranny existed.

Fourth, now that they’re willing to accept their responsibility for the mess we’re in, members of the Tea Party Movement are willing to get to work AND sacrifice to fix it.  As I’ve personally told the group I’m involved in, we’re at a “pick you pain” moment in history and most people in the audience noddingly approve the statement.  We all “get it” that any solution at this point will involve pain and we largely ignore the political class that tries to tell us that “everything will be ok.”  We know they’re not telling us the truth.

We’re all coming around to the idea that it’s really not Obama we’re angry with; people are beginning to see that BIG GOVERNMENT is the play-ground of BOTH parties.  Thus, you’re seeing fewer and fewer anti-Obama signs and more and more Declaration of Independence and Constitution signs at rallies…this should tell us something about the views of the Movement.  Recently, as a talk-show host on 930 WFMD, I went to the rally in DC regarding healthcare reform.  Sure there we’re many anti-Obama folks there, but the majority of the folks that I interviewed from across the country were troubled by the extra-Constitutional healthcare legislation…that’s right, EXTRA-Constitutional.  Not a person I spoke to, and I spoke to dozens and interviewed many, were there because they were republicans, rather they felt the Constitution was somehow under attack.  Admittedly, only one person could clearly articulate which provision in the Constitution they believed was being violated, but that misses the point of this movement’s evolution; these folks, just average citizens, were able to clearly identify that Congress was about to way overstep its authority with this vote and they wanted to make sure their voices were heard.

Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, the real antagonist in this drama is slowly being revealed and coming into focus…BIG GOVERNMENT.  People, hard working average citizens who carry the burden of paying for Washington are plain ole’ fed up with it and know that the only real solution is to somehow radically reduce its influence.  Most are content to look to the State’s Rights movement and the 10th Amendment for their solutions right now and are hopeful that personalities like Judge Napolitano and websites like the Tenth Amendment Center can provide direction.  But the people I spoke with aren’t content with simply writing letters or making phone calls or even just attending rally’s.  They’re willing to hold their powder dry for now, but they’re beginning to see that the solutions to America’s problems lays in their hands; not the elite political class only thinking through the myopic lens of the next election and how to get their turn at the helm of BIG GOVERNMENT (see the recurring theme in the article?). 

Finally, for now, the Tea Party Movement is organic and independent; which is a really good thing.  It has not allowed itself to be co-opted by a political party, at least at this point, and resists any attempt to promote a particular candidate.  In fact, recently, the tea partiers in Florida took the step of actually forming a new party in their state as a way to ensure the parties, especially the republican party doesn’t co-opt it.  I have no idea whether or not a majority of the tea party members in Florida support this or not.  But clearly, this demonstrates the independent nature of this movement; it want’s to be heard and not identified with the very system that has created the mess.

Will it succeed?  Will the Tea Party movement see its promised land of flourishing freedom, keeping one’s own property and hard earned income, the ability to wildly succeed or just as spectacularly fail in a venture, the freedom to chose who to give charity to rather than being forced to though BIG GOVERNMENT mandated entitlement programs?  I’m not sure.  One thing I am sure of though, I’m hearing more and more clarion calls from history in the people I talk to and it goes something like this:

“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 to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”

Immediatly followed by:

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

The real question is, will another Thomas Jefferson emerge and make the government “fear the people again?”

Must Read, Political Parties, Real Change, Restore America

This is the headline from AP this morning: Analysis: Obama says GOP can’t criticize stimulus  Oddly, they’re correct…in general.

Republicans lost the House and the Senate in 2006 because they acted more liberal than conservative and Obama will level this charge until the economy becomes his economy.  Sadly, this is precisely the opening the republicans gave him when they went to the trough of taxpayers money just like the liberals do.

So, get ready to bear up under this charge as you’re going to hear this refrain over and over and over for the next few months.

This is why I’m encouraging all like-minded conservatives to shed the term republican, it doesn’t fit us well.  (Reminder: Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Arlen Spector are “republicans”).  We may vote republican, but only because the person we’re voting for is conservative.  My advice - Stick to your principles not a party.   As an aside, just so you know, there are conservative democrats out there.

If you’re for a small government, don’t praise GWB for being a great president as he presided over a massive increase in debt and I mean MASSIVE.  He was great in protecting our country from terrorism, but didn’t do so well in protecting our children and grandchildren and sentencing them to a lessor standard of living that we’ve had.  What a shame.

When republicans act like liberals they deserve the criticism and shouldn’t whine, it’s very unbecoming.  As conservatives, we should reorient ourselves to core principles and this time stick to them.  Don’t get caught up in the emotion of having one of “ours” (a republican) in the White House, it’s not always what you think it will be.  Remember: “Read my lips, NO NEW TAXES“?

Though I oppose absolutely everything the President Obama stands for, you gotta give it to him last night at the press conference; he’s taking the gloves off and taking it to the pragmatic big-tent republicans.  Trouble is, they gave him the two-by-four to beat them over the head with. 

As an aside, any republican leaders who swerve into this post, please, don’t give me the “I’d rather have someone with me that agrees with me 80% of the time baloney.”  Try leading and you’ll be surprised how many people might follow you when you actually have some principles that you’ll die for.  Otherwise, what 20% don’t you agree with that is ok in your party?  What if their 20% disagreement is:

1. Abortion
2. Universal Health Care
3. Defense Cuts
4. Social Security reform
5. Federalism
6. The 10th Amendment
7. Judicial Activism
8. Etc. etc.

Pragmatic leaders are not that compelling and again, you gotta give it to the One, I think he really believes what he’s saying.  He’s clearly inspiring his base and the murky middle and we’re about to pick up 2 TRILLION dollars of debt because of it.

So, perhaps you’ll reconsider calling yourself a republican and instead use the phrase I do: “I’m a conservative who generally votes republican”.  These guys at the RNC have not earned my respect yet thus only receive my most tepid of support.  I doubt they ever will.

Political Parties