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Tea Party Movement Evolves Into Political Force With Eye Toward 2010
This is a very well written article explaining our BIG picture view in the political landscape. We would seek to influence the current conservative political party RATHER than becoming our own party. Tea Party Patriots want to PLAY 2 WIN in 2010 ... and we will ... make sure you are part of making history!
- FOXNews.com
December 15, 2009
Tea Party Movement Evolves Into Political Force With Eye Toward 2010
The "tea party" movement that gained steam shortly after President Obama took office is seeing a surge in popularity, with a string of candidates and officials willing to take up its cause and a political infrastructure that's starting to mirror that of an actual political party.
What started as a conservative protest klatch has evolved into a political force with enough muscle to potentially alter the course of the 2010 mid-term elections.
The "tea party" movement that gained steam shortly after President Obama took office is seeing a surge in popularity with a string of candidates and officials willing to take up its cause and a political infrastructure that's starting to mirror that of an actual political party.
The tea party activists rallied for smaller government and lower taxes again on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon -- among the headliners were Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and former Texas Rep. Dick Armey, whose FreedomWorks group has acted as somewhat of an umbrella organization.
That's just the latest affirmation of tea party momentum:
-- Various tea party groups and supporters, including FreedomWorks, are launching political action committees to back candidates financially in the 2010 elections.
-- A Rasmussen poll last week showed that more voters would rather elect a "Tea Party" congressional candidate than a Republican one.
-- A documentary film was recently released tracking the evolution of the movement.
-- And several groups are pulling together the National Tea Party Convention in early February in Nashville, where former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is set to headline.
Sherry Phillips, vice president of convention organizer Tea Party Nation, said the event will be a chance for hundreds of delegates to figure out the future of the movement.
"It needs to move past just the rallies," Phillips told FoxNews.com. "We can't just stand around holding signs."
Prominent Republicans including Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn plan to speak at the convention. Phillips said the overarching goal of the tea partiers is to affect the 2010 elections and support candidates who reflect their values.
She said there's a split within the multifaceted movement over whether tea party should be big "T" or little "t." In other words, do the activists form their own party, officially, or try to influence the composition of the existing ones?
Tea Party Nation opposes the creation of a new third party. And FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe said the special election in upstate New York last month -- in which Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman drove the Republican candidate out of the race with the help of tea party activists -- can be considered an "anomaly." (Hoffman ended up losing narrowly to Democrat Bill Owens.)
"I think a more practical solution is to take over the GOP," Kibbe said, explaining that the tea party movement can have the most impact by directing volunteers and money in support of GOP candidates who reflect their small-government values.
He mentioned Pennsylvania, where Pat Toomey is carrying the conservative banner in the U.S. Senate race, and Florida, where Marco Rubio is doing the same, as two model states.
"We're going to see a new set of leaders in Washington come November," Kibbe said.
FreedomWorks, meanwhile, is planning to put its money where its mouth is in the coming months. Armey told Fox News his group will start a PAC, not to fund candidates directly but to fund activities who support them.
Organizer Eric Odom recently launched his Liberty First PAC, and Phillips said her group is also considering creating a PAC.
The Republican Party would prefer to invite tea partiers into the fold rather than run against them in general elections, and this may force a change in the makeup of the GOP itself.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said his hope is that "we can all come together."
"This is the conservative party of the country," Steele said. "We offer that ... political infrastructure, if you will, if you want to run for office or if you want to be involved politically. This is the best place to do it."
The Rasmussen poll spelled out the kind of vote-splitting trouble the tea party movement could stir if it forms a third party. It showed that 23 percent of people would pick a "Tea Party" candidate on a congressional ballot without knowing who that candidate is, while just 18 percent would pick the Republican. Thirty-six percent would pick a Democrat.
The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Dec. 4-5 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
FoxNews.com's Judson Berger and Fox News' Molly Henneberg contributed to this report.
- FOXNews.com
December 15, 2009
Tea Party Movement Evolves Into Political Force With Eye Toward 2010
The "tea party" movement that gained steam shortly after President Obama took office is seeing a surge in popularity, with a string of candidates and officials willing to take up its cause and a political infrastructure that's starting to mirror that of an actual political party.
What started as a conservative protest klatch has evolved into a political force with enough muscle to potentially alter the course of the 2010 mid-term elections.
The "tea party" movement that gained steam shortly after President Obama took office is seeing a surge in popularity with a string of candidates and officials willing to take up its cause and a political infrastructure that's starting to mirror that of an actual political party.
The tea party activists rallied for smaller government and lower taxes again on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon -- among the headliners were Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and former Texas Rep. Dick Armey, whose FreedomWorks group has acted as somewhat of an umbrella organization.
That's just the latest affirmation of tea party momentum:
-- Various tea party groups and supporters, including FreedomWorks, are launching political action committees to back candidates financially in the 2010 elections.
-- A Rasmussen poll last week showed that more voters would rather elect a "Tea Party" congressional candidate than a Republican one.
-- A documentary film was recently released tracking the evolution of the movement.
-- And several groups are pulling together the National Tea Party Convention in early February in Nashville, where former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is set to headline.
Sherry Phillips, vice president of convention organizer Tea Party Nation, said the event will be a chance for hundreds of delegates to figure out the future of the movement.
"It needs to move past just the rallies," Phillips told FoxNews.com. "We can't just stand around holding signs."
Prominent Republicans including Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn plan to speak at the convention. Phillips said the overarching goal of the tea partiers is to affect the 2010 elections and support candidates who reflect their values.
She said there's a split within the multifaceted movement over whether tea party should be big "T" or little "t." In other words, do the activists form their own party, officially, or try to influence the composition of the existing ones?
Tea Party Nation opposes the creation of a new third party. And FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe said the special election in upstate New York last month -- in which Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman drove the Republican candidate out of the race with the help of tea party activists -- can be considered an "anomaly." (Hoffman ended up losing narrowly to Democrat Bill Owens.)
"I think a more practical solution is to take over the GOP," Kibbe said, explaining that the tea party movement can have the most impact by directing volunteers and money in support of GOP candidates who reflect their small-government values.
He mentioned Pennsylvania, where Pat Toomey is carrying the conservative banner in the U.S. Senate race, and Florida, where Marco Rubio is doing the same, as two model states.
"We're going to see a new set of leaders in Washington come November," Kibbe said.
FreedomWorks, meanwhile, is planning to put its money where its mouth is in the coming months. Armey told Fox News his group will start a PAC, not to fund candidates directly but to fund activities who support them.
Organizer Eric Odom recently launched his Liberty First PAC, and Phillips said her group is also considering creating a PAC.
The Republican Party would prefer to invite tea partiers into the fold rather than run against them in general elections, and this may force a change in the makeup of the GOP itself.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said his hope is that "we can all come together."
"This is the conservative party of the country," Steele said. "We offer that ... political infrastructure, if you will, if you want to run for office or if you want to be involved politically. This is the best place to do it."
The Rasmussen poll spelled out the kind of vote-splitting trouble the tea party movement could stir if it forms a third party. It showed that 23 percent of people would pick a "Tea Party" candidate on a congressional ballot without knowing who that candidate is, while just 18 percent would pick the Republican. Thirty-six percent would pick a Democrat.
The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Dec. 4-5 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
FoxNews.com's Judson Berger and Fox News' Molly Henneberg contributed to this report.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Galt on -
Third Parties Don’t Work In America
Mark Metzger
There seems to be a lot of talk in the media about Tea Party protesters forming a third party, and that it would beat the Republican Party in a recent generic poll. Of course, the in-the-bag mainstream media want conservatives to believe that. Why? Because if a Tea Party splits the vote, the Democrats win in a year when they should get slaughtered at the ballot box!
Third parties do not work in the United States - never have, never will. The reason is simple - because the system is designed for two parties with opposing viewpoints, such that a fair centrist consensus is reached. Do you know how many active “Third Parties” there are in the USA today? Over one hundred between local, state and national parties. Here are just a few that had candidates in recent elections, and just to prove my point, all of their candidates in national elections lost: America First Party, America’s Independent Party, Boston Tea Party, Independence Party of America, Moderate Party, Modern Whig Party, Marijuana Party, Objectivist Party, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Reform Party of the United States of America, Socialist Equality Party, Socialist Party USA, Socialist Workers Party, Unity Party of America, and the Worker’s World Party. Don’t forget The Communist Party, The Conservative Party, The Green Party, and The Libertarian Party - the parties one hears about most often.
Each of these parties, plus dozens more not listed, were formed to elicit a particular point of view. They are unsuccessful because ultimately they do not represent the mainstream ideal. While a Tea Party is certainly more mainstream than most of the aforementioned, it would most likely split the Republican vote and cause the very people that need to be voted out (the liberal Democrats) to win and continue their assault on our liberty. Third parties only work in a parliamentary system, where two or more parties can join together to form a majority. We see this effectively used in Israel and the United Kingdom, for example. But we will never see it here!
Instead, the Tea Partiers need to use their clout to “conservatize” the Republican Party, starting with the Republican primaries for the 2010 elections. This was done effectively by Ronald Reagan for the 1980 election, and led ultimately to two decades of prosperity, whose successes the liberal socialist Democrats are trying desperately to destroy. Conservatizing the party can be accomplished by having Tea Party leaders examine the voting records of all Republican candidates in each local, state, national congressional and senate race. Once key candidates are identified as aligned with the basic Tea Party principals, Tea Party supporters should vote as a block and get these deserving candidates their respective nominations. Next, have each new Republican nominee sign onto a list of core conservative principles that they pledge to support throughout their political careers. If they get distracted from this pledge, they will know they won’t be around long enough to do any damage. For a conservative platform for these candidates, see my previous blogs, Republican Party Platform Parts I, II, and III.
The Third Party always starts well, but ends badly. Let’s use our heads, and not our hearts alone, to turn the Republican Party into a principled, conservative engine to take back our liberties and leave the liberals asking themselves - “What Happened?”
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A Constitutional Right
http://www.aconstitutionalright.blogspot.com/
Political, non-partisan & very productive since March 2009! Questions: Erin (530) 515-7135 or erin@24hourPatriots.com
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