The difference between the Republican Party establishment and the Tea Party
November 17, 2012 at 10:07 am in News by Tea Party Patriots 75 Comments
In the wake of last week’s disastrous elections, many establishment Republicans are acting in ways they believe will help “save” the party. Never mind that the GOP lost in 2008 and 2012 because it embraced big government solutions to the nation’s problems. Never mind that its establishment dictated who was the party’s Presidential nominee in both years. Never mind that the GOP has in many ways become Democratic-lite, not the party of true fiscal discipline and freer markets.
Ignoring the question of whether the GOP deserves to survive in its current form if it can’t offer a stark alternative to the big spending of President Obama and his allies, it certainly won’t if it keeps abandoning principles when they are inconvenient. Which brings us to Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol and higher taxes.
On Sunday, Kristol was on Fox News Sunday when he described how he thinks the Republican Party should move forward, tactically and otherwise. (See the video, and read the transcript, here.) Part of his solution was to raise taxes on those making $500,000 or $1,000,000. According to Kristol, the party should not “fall on its sword” to protect the wealthy, especially when half of the wealthy voters in America support Democrats.
And herein lies the main problem with the establishment: it views the GOP as a good in and of itself. Getting the Republican Party back in power is the goal of the establishment. Never mind what the party stands for, or what principles it has to abandon to gain said power. Power is what drives most of these people, whether they be politicians or pundits.
Contrast this with the Tea Party. The Tea Party has rock-solid principles of tax reform and not raising taxes. Regardless of whether these principles benefit supporters of Democrats or Republicans, these are principles that are based upon philosophical grounds, and philosophical grounds don’t change with the political winds of the day.
So this is another reason to overturn the establishment with Tea Party Patriots – you will rarely find such strength among those who look to a party to save the country instead of principles. Remember, too, that Kristol’s newfound stance on taxes would join President Obama in standing for a position that fails to pass the test of national benefit, as this blog explained the other day:
- Raising taxes on the rich have historically trickled down to impact the middle-class. Consider that the individual income tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) went from hitting only the wealthy to hitting many middle-class earners, for two prominent examples.
- The top one percent of earners pay 1,500 times the taxes of the bottom 20% of earners. That’s not enough?
- Taxing the rich simply won’t bring in much more tax revenue. The much-ballyhooed “Buffett Rule,” which would hike taxes on the wealthy to 30%, would bring in $47 billion over ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. For a point of comparison, we’ll borrow that much by Thanksgiving.
For another point of comparison, if Washington took every dollar from every American earning at least one million dollars annually in 2009, only $235 billion…would come into the federal coffers [from this policy]. This barely covers one-fifth of the Fiscal Year 2012 deficit.
Raising taxes is not the way to get the Republican Party back in power. If it goes down this route, it risks its very survival as fiscal conservatives and libertarians continue to abandon the GOP in droves. Instead, a legitimate alternative to big government must be presented for the American people.
I have been waiting for more that 1 full year for somebody to return my email to let me know where my local tea party group meets. thanks for nothing and sending these poinless emails is of no consequence when you send them to us people that would like to help but cant find the people to join up with. At some point I guess my frustration will give in and I will just stop caring and find the way to “work” the system like so many others before me. Hears a big middle finger to all you at the tea party for leaving me and Im sure others like me behind.
Where do you live? I will help you find your Local Tea Party. I am with the Colorado River Tea Party in Yuma Az. I just saw this post. Let me help you give us one more chance to get you the information you seek. You will also find that many GOP members are trying to defunct the Tea Party as they are the main reason we exist. They have (the GOP) have failed on many levels. You will like the Tea Party upon arrival.
Ben McKinney: If you cannot get a response from TPP (I believe you will now) just send me an email to NebraskaTPP@gmail.com. Give me your address and which larger town you are closes to and WE will be able to contact your state coordinator and have him/her help you.
At the top of this page over the corner is a SEARCH , write down your Zip Code and look for the results, another way is to Search the internet, Example: Teat Party plus you town name my husband and myself searched 2 years ago a participate with the Tea Party since that time. We in Mississippi change our Senate from Democrat Totally control from 117 year- To – Republican control in 2011. I hope this will help you, Mr Michael Ciavarella.
Goto home or https://www.teapartypatriots.org/ upper right hand corner enter your zip code cant find something close post back dont wait
Work WHAT system? What are you talking about?
I have forwarded your incredibly important comments to front office leadership. Your message here is an incedibly important and valid message.
TPP RICH
Find a TPTy group, and get busy. Work together, and forgive mistakes!
TeaParty Patriots of every stripe and name: WAKE UP!!!! IT’S TIME FOR ALL LOCAL PATRIOT GROUPS, including local Chapters of “BIG BUS” groups, TO JOIN TOGEGTHER: make plans to RALLY, MARCH, PROTEST, and EDUCATE boldly in LOVE and UNITY! Let’s hit it; pass out information about local Patriot groups for the sake our COUNTRY, FREEDOM, AND FREEDOM’S GOD. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER AS ONE HEART for GREATER VISABILITY while at the same time we work to vet, support, and campaign for solid and faithful Patriot candidates. We can’t just work behind the scenes anymore.
THE SUITS OF BOTH PARTIES (same agenda in different clothing) have eviscerated the Constitution and nature’s God, leveraging all for their personal gain. Active in the Republican Party the past couple of years, I thought Patriots could jump in the saddle and take the reins. This BS election has been a kick-in-the-ass for me. We need a courageous horse, not a RINO. I say it’s time to pick up our flags, horns, and hats; call for organizational meetings of various local Patriot group reps; organize in power, strategize for the greatest continued impact!
I thought the GOP needed to stress to the public that unless we fix our government so business can be productive and prosper those on Social Security and welfare will be in danger of losing benefits. An example of this is Greece and Spain that have riots because the pensions they had enjoyed had to be cut back to a later age. This was due to a government that had hampered business to be productive.
Government can only give people welfare or Social Security benefits that have been produced by others who work. Government does not produce wealth private industry does.
The GOP needed to also show how regulations geared to stop Global Warming were bogus. That there is evidence that the earth was actually warmer some 1500 years ago. These regulation are harming our industry to produce wealth for all.
sorry, i just couldn’t let this slide. so. you sound like the jews in germany while they waited for the “brown shirts” to knock on the door. believe me the “brown shirts” are out there still. they just have new names…occupyers, 47%ters, new black panthers, obama voters,etc. the marxists are advancing the collapse of America as we speak. the republicans are crumbling in fear, and the left is having fun mopping the floor with them. we need a new breed of politician. a Constitutionalist, a true capitalist. a Patriot. pray there’s one out there who will come foward. we need an heir to the Founding Fathers.
Well stated, Bill.
I don’t think the Democrats are complete imbeciles, although it seems that way when you listen to them talk about fiscal responsibility. One has to consider their actual motivation. It seems clear their actual motivation is to gain the support of a segment of the population that will vote for them even if there were videos of them clubbing baby seals. They gain this support by taking from one segment of the pop0ulation and giving what remains after they reward themselves to that segment of the population they want unwavering support from. It’s a no-brainer that taking this to the degree of acquiring half of the population as recipients of the benefits paid for by the other half of the population will collapse any economy. They are not concerned about this. In fact, just like the economic collapse their idiotic subprime housing mortgage underwriting program caused, it will work in their favor and give them what they will promote as justification for the government to take control of everything.
That is their ultimate goal. Power. No different than any other egomaniac in history that just wanted to control everything they were in contact with.
The most applicable piece of literature to describe what is happening here today is John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” from which comes the quote “It is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.”
This is the threat to us today.
Bill Lee: The question is not what the GOP is going to do… yet. It is what the Tea Party Patriots are going to do. AND what they have done. Remember 2010 mid terms. We were very successful, so we must continue to do what we are successful with. AND add some more efforts. WE must continue to focus on the local, county and state levels. Global Warming? I have been fighting that fight for twenty three years. Even scientists have sent me their data that was focusing on whether global warming was real or not. Their results were… it is a hoax! Truly. But Global Warming is tied with our Agenda 21 effort as it should be, and Agenda 21 can only be addressed this time on a local level. Not as a national project for TPP.
The number one project for TPP is to increase it membership, then get TPP type politicians elected on the state level which will translate to the federal level… in time.
Now, ‘paul’ has brought up an interesting idea about the hard liners in the Country. This is something to think about. But overall, when this second term really begins to get underway… being a conservative organization could be the position to be in as the hurt begins to be felt. I am and have been as hard a liner as there can be, but am beginning to wonder if those views like ‘paul’ might be worthy to look at… but not as a moving the GOP party back to becoming more socialist…. just not like the left wants. Interesting though
This article should be dedicated in memorey of the late A.Spector. Establishment Republican who became Democratic-lite, not the party of true fiscal discipline and freer markets.
Michael has hit the nail on the head. Whoever is leading this campaign has forgotten to leave contact information for those of us wishing to help…..I’m not going so far as flipping you the bird but I will give you some organizational advice…..7 P’s……PROPER, PRIOR, PLANNING, PREVENTS, PISS, POOR, PERFORMANCE……
Well Glen, I would say you were just too lazy to look for a group to be active with. I guess it is much easier to complain, than to have to exert some energy to find a group to be active with. As stated in a persons previous comments, at the top of the page there is a box you ca put in your zip code to find a group closest to you, or you can go to the “Groups” page, look at your state and find a group close to you.
And if there is no group close to you, you are always free to start your own group to help start making the needed changes in our country.
AS a local coordinator, and state coordinator, I know we constantly are forwarded emails from TPP when people contact them wanting to be involved in our state. We then do our best to hook them up with an active group close to them.
Glad your not flippin’ the movement off, but I am confident, if you look for a group through the above means, you will be able to find one. If not email TPP directly or private message me and I will get you in contact with one.
Glen Saunders, send me an email to NebraskaTPP@gmail.com with your address and phone number and we will get you to the closes and best TPP chapter for you to be involved with. Now some chapters are not very active and some are and it is obvious that you want an active chapter.
We will put you in contact with your state coordinator and they will definitely help you with this.
WE noticed that some individuals have been sending emails to those included in the fundraising efforts that come by mail or by phone. That is not going to get the response you want. You can go to the groups section in the black tool bar at the top of the webpage and find your state coordinator…there is even a portal for you to call them direct, A NEW FEATURE on this website to help get you the contact you need. Take advantage of my email or the directions I have given you. It will get done.
I’ve been saying the exact same things for years. The GOP is no conservative/libertarian party, it’s a globalist/corporatist party, and obviously would rather have a real socialist/Marxist globalist in power, like Obama, than real conservatives/libertarians like Reagan, Paul, etc.
Agree. We need to change that. We made very impressive progress the last mid-term elections. We need to flush some more RINOs this time.
It is within our ability. Just like the Marxists took control of the Democratic Party, the Constitutionalists can achieve control of the Republican Party.
We need to make a statement now. We need to challenge Boehner on the House floor. It’s time to take the gloves off and slug it out with them. We must change the leadership in Congress. The existing leadership is woefully weak… and sometimes I wonder who’s side they’re actually on.
Paul Ryan should be our next Speaker.
There’s so much corruption & greed in our nation now. There’s so LITTLE civil liberties left too, to many american citizens born in this country whose families have paid the taxes for decades too!
How unfair &* unconstitutional this all is! One of the most corrupt states in the union happens to be connecticut, which they “called” the Constitution State. The taxpayers of that state pay SO much in taxes yet get SO little help from their local & state government to the point where their government is basically putting their lives in danger and destroying their basic freedoms on a daily basis!
the negligence & corruption of the many local & state police is astounding! They refuse to do a thing about so many reckless drivers basically breaking MANY driving laws.
They won’t do a thing about drivers running stop signs, riding people’s bumpers on the highway going 65-70 mph, .
Their dog warden in the state also , many of them absolutely REFUSE to enforce the State Anti-Roaming law and so it’s super dangerous to even walk your dog every day!
Yet, they’ll go after innocent people who aren’t hurting anyone at all!, especially women!
The police went after Governor’s Mallory’s wife right after he was elected simply because she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt!
How is that putting ANYONE”s life in danger?
And the police get paid SO much and get such GREAT pensions, yet so many in the state, don’t even haven’t jobs at a, yet are NOT able to pay their basic living expenses, but they are also paying the state & local corrupt employees & police for their salaries too.
East Hartford, is one of the most dangerous and corrupt towns in the state, yet the town’s mayor insists it’s “safe”! What a bunch of bunk! That town is NOT safe it’s super dangerous, especially for disabled people who cannot safely even live in their homes or walk their dogs because the dog warden lets so MANY irresponsible dog owners to allow their vicious dogs to run loose!
How is that safe, is my question? Disabled people & women cannot even safely take their dogs for walks daily in East Hartford, Connecticut, it’s that unsafe. ANd the police out there just stick UP for those breaking the laws, not not the innocent law abiding public getting thier lives put in jeopardy on a daily basis!
There’s a guy who’s letting his huge Rottweiler walked on a 20 foot retractable leash, run up to a Disabled person on a very narrow busy street & the police let him get off scott free and then terrorize Harass & interrogate the disabled person instead!
Talk about corruption!
I agree, as someone who has run for Governor of Nevada and fought the political elite in both parties, I have learned hard lessons in this battle, and have I believe a path and a game plan. The problem is we are going right after their power, which is their ability to govern and decide who will win and who will lose in terms of regulatory oversight and financial benefit. The Tea Party stands for Small Government when much of the Republican elite and the Democrats rely so much upon that size to continue their most favored status. Here in Nevada the Gaming industry is so entrenched in both political parties that to go against their will such as I did will spell your personal Doom. The power base in our regulatory governing bodies here in Nevada have allowed for laws to be broken, and governing eyes to be turned. Selective indignation, runs many of our state agencies, and has had a disastrous effect on our state’s economy. For we now have policies and procedures that have put in place limits on many small business and disallowed their ability to compete in the market place. We have to convince them that our solutions will benefit them; it is the only way to change what they have put in place.
The economic arguments of the day tend to be so limited as to not offend the powers that be; I fear we in the tea party will only continue to become frustrated regarding our efforts. To blindly go against their power is pure suicide, at some point we will have to win them over to our ideas and ease their concerns. Not to diminish our beliefs but to assure them that our idea will in the end benefit them as well. As we build the economy and spread the economic benefit to more in the society, much of the financial stress that they themselves are feeling will decrease. We have to sell them on the fact that although they will relinquish some of their power their economic benefit will more than take its place, for the economy works the best when more of us enjoy its fruits.
We have to teach then that their economic glass ceilings that they have put in place have had a negative effect on their own bottom line, due to the fact that they have place far too many undue burdens on their consumer base, their attempt was to protect their market advantage, has in turn hurt their consumer base. Only when we can convince these Republican elite that their solutions of big government have had a disastrous consequence on their consumer base will we begin to turn their opposition to our cause. We have to begin to teach them of the benefit rather than just continue to lecture them.
I think all conservatives/constitutionalists/libertarians that are registered as republicans should change to independent……I am. The only reason I have for this long is we had a closed primary, but that is no longer the case.
I would like to see all of the conservatives/constitutionalists/libertarians create a new party, either the conservative or constitution party, whichever made the most sense in the scheme of things. Let the establishment Republicans & the RINOs to themselves as they would then become the third party.
So all this conservative libertarian talk…but iI think it just recognizing that all people even colored and gay can appreciate a pro-buisness platform. I got a small business and a nephew that is queer as a 3 dollar bill working for me, but he changed my mind on supporting gay people because he knows business and the the bottom line. And he just told me today that gay marriage in Maine alone will net $150 million. So just think we need to let personal choice in business be the same in America and less tax. I;m a Christian and have my beliefs but as conservaitves we must move with the times. These minoraties will come on board if we show them some respect. God Bless.
Back before the primaries, I had given former senator Richard Lugar a reply on his website which stated: The current Republican Party has “lost it’s way”. The current Republican Party is no longer constitutional and conservative in its beliefs. The party has become the Democratic Party of the past. I can’t understand why people haven’t supported Ron Paul for president. His beliefs about how the country should be is the same as that of our founding fathers. Honestly, I truly believe that the Tea Party should have supported Paul for President of the United States in this election. I’m absolutely sure that he would’ve defeated Obama.
I can only speak for myself in saying that Ron Paul has had many great ideas, but how he has put some of those ideas forth in discourse is what makes him seem as though he’s left the reservation, so to speak. He had an exchange during a debate in 2007 with Mayor Rudy Guliani that made him look ignorant bordering on senile &/or demented. Overall, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a foreign policy statement from him that didn’t sound ultra-isolationist, & I personally don’t believe that that is how the U.S. should conduct it’s national foreign policy. Every time I’ve decided to give Ron Paul another try, he disappoints in one of the fashions that I’ve exampled above.
I agree Mick. No foreign policy was not a foreign policy. I wanted to like Ron Paul, but his lack of foreign policy and his occasional missteps made him non-viable. We cannot afford to throw support away. We need to get a razor focus on the issues that are important., political issues, not moral issues. And rebuild a party that can fix the problems.
The GOP must stop listening to the media that is constantly trying to neutralize or annihilate the Tea Party groups as a starter. Instead they need to list the Three Tenets of the Tea Party and defend them. I don’t know if all Tea Party groups have these three tenets, but the Tea Party Patriots have them. With those tenets the TPP might need to look more closely at the Libertarian Party and inlist their aid. The reason Ron Paul didn’t go any farther than he did was due in part to the obnoxious behavior of his supporters. The young supporters were an inspiration until they starting acting like potheads. The other parts was when he started ranting about the wars being our own fault. I vehemently disagree with that premise, BUT his talking about wars and the military has moved me NOT to be such a war monger. If someone hits us, I still want to hit back and hit hard on their country or on the country that harbors them (Pakistan comes to mind). Hit them hard every time and don’t go into the country at all, target bomb them. As I understand it, Ron Paul’s take on the drugs that Libertarians support is: Do drugs and you pay the consequences, BUT society and many politicians won’t let that happen; they will still want someone else to pay to put them in rehab.
I support the Tea Party Patriots so long as they stick to their three tenets and don’t stray into the social issues. Abortion and Homosexual marriage can be supported for or against by other private groups not necessarily in the political area.
I agree Thelma. It is difficult to allow people especially those with children to suffer their consequences, but until we do we are enabling an promoting the problem. I see the growing problem of multi-generational welfare in similar terms. The more we give hand outs instead of hand ups the deeper the problem. Entitlement programs are a trap.
I also agree that I want those that hijack our party to promote their views on moral issues, such as abortion and homosexuality are distracting the attention from the real issues. Also because their arguments tend to be based on emotion instead of logic they often sound irrational.
I agree about the social issues…and I used to see it different but I resent being called a Libertarian because I think things like gay marriage should not be decided by gov. I have changed on this and now see less gov- period. And that means out of my cash register and bedroom. I also think we will appeal to far more people when we let go of this..but still stand for peoples right to choose faith and their own destiny. Some of these gays are very creative ideas and good business sense and so do other minorities. We need to harness that wave with a solid pro- business message and I believe if Mitt Romney had stayed with that and I think that is his core then we would have a business man in the White House today. God Bless
Thelma hit a nail on the head about the Ron Paul campaigners. The problem was also Ron Paul. I was sitting in a meeting with our governor when I learned just who these puppeteers were that were involved with Ron Paul. This is a group that moves within the GOP party. Earning a living and a source to attach themselves to.
If you search and watch some of the speeches by Ron Paul addressing Congress, it makes you wonder how anyone could really take this guy seriously. He did have one rallying issue and that was the Federal Reserve. That organization needs to go or at least retooled the right way .
I truly don’t understand the argument presented in this post. It seems to me that it misses the point by a mile.
1) It reads “…Never mind that the GOP lost in 2008 and 2012 because it embraced big government solutions to the nation’s problems…”: Yes, it did embrace BIG GOVERNMENT solutions in 2008. It seems understandable to me (perhaps unacceptable, but understandable) given we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs every month; given the auto industry was down for the final count; given Wall Street was falling apart and about to destroy our entire economy; and given the housing market was essentially destroyed. I would argue that the economy should have never been allowed to get to that point, but there we were. What actions would you suggest to alleviate the impact? Who, other than the Feds was in a position to do anything about it? Do you suggest that the proper action was to sit back and let the crisis run its course regardless of the consequences?
In 2012, the situation had improved to a small extent. It did’t improve as much as it should, but it did improve. It had gained 6000 pts in the market, We had 30+ months of employment growth (minimal, yes, but growth nonetheless). The housing market has bottomed out and is starting to appreciate again.
During that 4 year period, the Feds, as well as state governments, didn’t focus on economic issues, they focussed on social issues and voting procedures. This is precisely the reason I DID NOT vote Republican in 2012. In 2010, they campaigned on fiscal issues and then governed on social issues while throwing fiscal issues on the back burner. My fear was they would use the same bate and switch tactic in 2012. They were bound and determined not to give Obama anything to campaign on, so they hung the country out to dry.
2) You wrote: “…Never mind that its establishment dictated who was the party’s Presidential nominee in both years.” I don’t see how anyone can make this statement with a straight face! I watched the Republican nominating process. The dialogue was controlled by the TP and Libertarians. From advocating saying no to a 10 to 1 ration of debt reduction to tax increase; to deporting all illegals; to booing a gay soldier serving his country; to cheering the number of executions in Texas. I could go on with the extreme positions presented in the primaries but I think I made my point. The TP (as well as the Republican Party) clearly stood for one thing – denying Obama a second term!!! While that may be emotionally forfilling to the base, to me, it isn’t sufficient reason to vote Republican.
If you want to run on fiscal responsibility, then tell me how you would be MORE responsible than the current administration and give me specifics! To me, throwing generalized bombs at the current administration that can be refuted isn’t sufficient.
Secondly, The TP was instrumental in nominating Sharon Angle, Christine O’Donnell’ The Alaska guy (sorry, I don’t remember his name), Murdock in Indiana, the yahoo in Missouri, etc. Joe Walsh got beat in Illinois and your poster boy, Allen West got beat in Florida. But for the TP, the Senate would be Republican right now!!!!! But for the extreme actions of the far right (TP)(regarding abortion, marriage, and efforts to restrict voting), the White House would have a different occupant. From my view, the problem isn’t with the Republican Party being Democrat-lite, it is the far right advocating fiscal responsibility then governing on social issues; it is the extreme positions that insult the majority and centrists’ it is the uncompromising “death before dishonor” way of doing business that turned off the electorate.
No, The TP and Libertarians had their closed primaries and had a legitimate and fair opportunity to name the candidates they wanted to face the Democrats in the general election. They made their choice and got their head handed to them. To say now that it was the ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATE that lost the election is a rediculous rationalization that any half intelligent centrist can see thru!!!!
Bill Kristol is right! The argument over tax increases was over months ago. When Congress agreed to pospone the issue until after the election, the die was cast. If Obama lost, they could do what they wanted. If he won, they had no fall back position. In poker terms, they went all-in. Due to the fact the Bush Tax Cuts will automatically expire without any legislative action, they gave all the power to Obama. He doesn’t have to do a thing to get his way. All he has to do is “LOOK REASONABLE” to the electorate and let the cuts expire and the R’s will lose the battle. Essentially, what Kristol is saying is, the battle is lost, let’s not lose anything else, take out losses and live to fight another day.
The post argues that it is the Republican Party is faced with an all or nothing proposition. That it is focussed on regaining power at the expense of its principles. I believe that to be a false choice. The Republicans clearly need to regain “power” (that is to say they need to reestablish themselves in the eyes of the electorate as a viable alternative to the Democrats) I do not believe they must abandon their principles to accomplish that. They have to recognise that our fiscal problems can be solved in the short term, but will be solved by small, incremental steps in the right direction; they need to be more empathetic of people that differ from them in principle and philosophy; they need to field candidates that have core conservative values but are not entrenched on imposing those values on others; they need to learn to live and let live; and they need to realize that a small step toward their principles is better than no step at all!!!
You close with: “Raising taxes is not the way to get the Republican Party back in power. If it goes down this route, it risks its very survival as fiscal conservatives and libertarians continue to abandon the GOP in droves.” In my view, and speaking for myself only, if conservatives and libertarians are abandoning the party, it isn’t becase of caving on tax increases. For me, it’s because, I believe, Christians are trying to force their religious belief into a political situation (it belongs in Church, not on Capital hill); it is because their bias and bigotry are too visible for me to support; it is because they have had opportunities to demonstate a sense of responsibility to the electorate and have blown those opportunities by advocating their own social and political agendas.
The final question is if Conservatives and Libertarians are abandoning the Republican party, where are they to go? They certainly don’t have influence or commonality with Democrats or progressives. They can establish a third party and remain ineffective. The TP influence does not extend beyond the Republican Party. It seems to me that it is self-defeating to fight with the only organization that offers hope, of any kind, of influencing policy in the various levels of government.
Joe, you sound like an intelligent person….and there are things that you said that I can agree with…BUT not voting Republican is exactly what will cause our country to spiral out of control in a direction that will be the detriment to our nation!! How?? Number one, what little else that “WE” citizens make will be taxed even further!! And currently coming from a household that IS a small biz; we cannot absorb any more tax increases!! Liberals AND progressives DO NOT favor Capitalism!! Period! Obama and his regulations and policies ARE NOT good for America!
BelindaBINGO! LOL
Joe—- You’re right on with ur comments. To the Ron Paul folks: the only elections you will win are low-voter-turnout primaries. To the TPP folks in the Northeast: If you want to be represented by politicians that support your ideals with purity, move to Texas. I haven’t been able to move past the debacle in Delaware. If you do find someone you’re willing to support, thoroughly vet them. No witches or people who think rape victims have an innate way of not getting pregnant (it truly may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard come out of the mouth of any politician in the last 30 years). Read and study William F Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement. I believe that some of your most outspoken advocates would definitely call Reagan a RINO. The biggest RINO’s i see on the national scene right now are the Ron Paul people. If they had their way for the laste last 30 years there would still be a communist Russia with all of their satellites. I support the true principles of the Tea Party movement: limited, Constitutionally-based government. If you find yourself with the choice of a lib dem or a center-right republican (name one 3rd party movement who was a real force politically in the last 150 years- you can’t because not 1 of them exists) go with the Republican. I’ve leveled alot of criticism here but I support your ideals big-time. Realize that there are many people that do (not so in places like Maine, Delaware, Massachusetts) but get turned off by the grandstanding insane rants of people Christine Oddonell, Sharon Angle, Akin, Mourdock- all senate seats that are inexcusably held by democrats now. Good luck with your mission!
The Tea Partyers must seek accommodation with others of Reagan’s “stool” and then get out to vote withn the others, not just “stay home.” on election day. A tird oarty is not going to cut it.
The GOP Won’t Win Without The Tea Party
By Richard A. Viguerie | 11/15/12
Ronald Reagan had the insight � perhaps genius is a better teerm � to build his winning political movement on the three-legged stool of economic conservatism, national defense conservatism and social conservatism.
The political power of the marriage of the California free-market oriented entrepreneurs, conservative defense intellectuals, and socially conservative pastors and social commentators who led the Reagan coalition wasn’t obvious in the beginning.
However, it worked because each of these constituencies believed that, even when they didn’t get everything they wanted, Ronald Reagan would never take their issues off the table.
In 2010, a fourth leg was added to the Reagan coalition � the small government constitutional conservatives of the Tea Party Movement. As a result of adding this fourth leg to their coalition, the GOP was swept back into control of the House of Representatives, brought within striking distance of a Senate majority, and a re-energized Republican Party elected thousands of down-ballot candidates.
Unfortunately, unlike the wise Party leaders who built the Reagan coalition — men such as Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt, Lyn Nofziger, Dick Allen, Ed Meese, Marty Anderson, and Judge William Clark — instead of solidifying the four legs of the new coalition, in 2012, establishment Republicans did their best to alienate and marginalize the new conservative voting bloc of the Tea Party movement.
To Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, who was handed the Speakers’ gavel through their votes, Tea Partiers are “knuckle-draggers” who should “get their ass in line” and go along with raising the debt ceiling and other policies that violate their small government constitutional conservative principles.
Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus, who came to the RNC chairmanship representing himself as the bridge to the Tea Party and grassroots conservatives, openly disparaged Tea Party favorites (such as Sarah Palin) and presided over changes in Party Rules expressly designed to dilute the influence of the grassroots constitutional conservative movement.
All of this led Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, to charge in a Newsmax TV interview that “the GOP, the Republican Party, took the Tea Party issues off the table” during the 2012 election.
Martin went on to note that, “In 2010, the Tea Party delivered the largest change in the House of Representatives in 60 years � and theey [Republican leaders] haven’t even cut a penny yet. And, now, they’re backpedaling on a deal that they made 14, 15 months ago.”
Martin summed-up where many small government constitutional conservatives are coming from, and what probably kept many of them home on Election Day 2012, when she said, “At this point, we have learned we can’t depend on the Republican Party.”
This is the polar opposite of how the Reagan people built the winning coalition of the 1980s.
Establishment Republicans trying to defend the failures of 2012 may argue that Reagan wasn’t able to deliver everything each of the three legs of his coalition wanted.
The big difference between how Reagan managed his coalition and how the establishment has treated the Tea Party is that in Reagan’s time, each leg of the coalition understood that their voices were being heard and respected — and that they had a seat at the table at policy discussions in the Reagan White House.
Their issues were never, as Jenny Beth Martin said, “taken off the table.”
Of course, another part of Reagan’s appeal to each of those constituencies was that he didn’t have to turn himself into a pretzel to pander to them.
Social conservatives, economic conservatives and national defense conservatives all understood that Reagan actually believed in his positions on their issues, and, as scholarship on his writings has revealed, he had spent years refining his thoughts and rhetoric on those positions.
Unlike Ronald Reagan, Romney was always a hard sell to at least two legs of the coalition — social conservatives and the small government constitutional conservatives of the Tea Party — because no one really believed he subscribed to their principles… or any principles.
When the social conservative movement rose in the late 1970s, the Reagan people made sure social conservatives found a natural home � and a wwarm welcome � behind the candidacy of Ronald Reagan. Instead of alienatiing and dismissing them, Republican leaders of today should have done the same when the Tea Party movement came into being.
Reagan’s genius in binding together a winning coalition provides a tried-and-true model for today’s Republican leaders.
The first step in following that model should be to get rid of those responsible for the alienation of the Tea Party — Reince Preibus, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell — and replace them with leaders who are smart enough to know a winning coalition when they see one, and who actually believe in and will fight for the principles of all four legs of that winning coalition.
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While I agree that the typical modern Republican is difficult to differentiate from the typical modern Democrat, and that both want bigger government at the expense of everyone else paying for the largess; I do think the Republican Party has a much bigger problem and that is NOT standing by capitalism in a manner that shows that capitalism is the only moral political system ever devised by man. Capitalism makes it possible for any individual man to live his life in freedom — not only economic freedom, but the personal freedom to pursue one’s own happiness according to one’s own standard. However, the modern Republican is not offering capitalism as the solution to our foreign and domestic woes, since it is much more concerned with “getting along” with the Leftist / Marxists who have taken over the Democrat Party. In this regard, the Conservatives, too, want to impose government standards on all the rest of us, leading to the question of who one wants to be one’s master at election time. It used to be that Republicans were for individual freedom, when we had leaders, such as Ronald Reagan, who was clearly for limited government and individual freedom. Not that I was fully for Reagan, but at least he understood that it was freedom that made the United States a great nation. What happened to those types of Republicans? and why are they now abandoning solid capitalist principles?
The election was lost because the Republicans abandoned freedom, to keep it short and sweet.
The Tea Party has done good but now it has to organize and select leaders.
Leaders like Sara Palin, Allen West, Bachmann, Mia Love and some of the “Young Guns”.
There is A LOT of people out here trying to organize and get something done that agree with your post.
The Republican party is dead to real conservative I think.
TeaParty Patriots of every stripe and name: WAKE UP!!!! IT’S TIME FOR ALL LOCAL PATRIOT GROUPS, including local Chapters of “BIG BUS” groups, TO JOIN TOGEGTHER: make plans to RALLY, MARCH, PROTEST, and EDUCATE boldly in LOVE and UNITY! Let’s hit it; pass out information about local Patriot groups for the sake our COUNTRY, FREEDOM, AND FREEDOM’S GOD. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER AS ONE HEART for GREATER VISABILITY while at the same time we work to vet, support, and campaign for solid and faithful Patriot candidates. We can’t just work behind the scenes anymore.
THE SUITS OF BOTH PARTIES (same agenda in different clothing) have eviscerated the Constitution and nature’s God, leveraging all for their personal gain. Active in the Republican Party the past couple of years, I thought Patriots could jump in the saddle and take the reins. This BS election has been a kick-in-the-ass for me. We need a courageous horse, not a RINO. I say it’s time to pick up our flags, horns, and hats; call for organizational meetings of various local Patriot group reps; organize in power, strategize for the greatest continued impact!
I’ve been predicting for a while now that the likely outcome of this election cycle is that the TP will divorce from the Republican Party to become its own party…a party which will probably be able to draw no more than 20% of voters due to its extreme social positions . That will leave the conventional Republican party free to nominate more competitive candidates…but it will also leave the RP representing only 25% of voters. The result will be a nominal 3-party system which will actually be, in practice, a 1-party system (because Democrats will represent 50+ % of the electorate. Not a healthy situation.
There’s only one solution which would avoid this: the TP giving up its strident extremism, and backing away from social issues. But neither of those things is going to happen because, while the TP officially has no social-issue positions and tries to sound fiscally responsible, nonetheless what most TPers actually believe is quite different, rendering the TP the haven of the extreme right.
So, your point is adherence to the Constitution is “strident extremism”.
Does that tell you anything about how much you’ve been indoctrinated with anti-American (the Constitution defines America, and nothing else… so far) propaganda?
Walter
The Tea Party is clear about what they want. What strident extremism do you believe they promote. The media, Democrats extremist Republicans continue to define the party as something it is not. Why do you fall for their propaganda. We need a vocal leadership that can deliver a clear simple message defining the principals of the party.
The most significant threat to a government that doesn’t have to answer to the people is the TEA Party. We ARE the party of the people. We demand to be accurately informed. We demand government in accordance with the Constitution.
If the Constitution is adhered to, then all these problems these big-government politicians cite as justificatioins for not adhering to the Constitution will be solved.
We need a strong voice in Congress. Paul Ryan should be the next Speaker of the House. The current leadership is woefully weak. We will get no change if wwe do not change the current leadership.
Boehner has got to go. I think we all agree. Boehner has got his tongue hanging out to all the GOP ruling elites rot talk. The Ohio Tea Party Patriots revealed to me a couple years ago that Boehner is not the sharpest tack in the box. They have known it for some time. I am glad I learned it was true when I did.
I think you are confused about the definition of “extreme right”. Hitler’s Germany was extreme right. Iran is extreme right. The problem with the left vs right argument is that the further they lean, in practice, they eventually have the same outcome. The common theme between Hitler’s right and Stalin’s left was not only the effect (mass genocide), but the cause (total government control). What the Tea Party is all about is LIMITED government. By defeinition, the Tea Party is as center as center gets.
I believe the only way for us to succeed and restore America to freedom is by continuing to infiltrate the GOP with the goal of taking it back from the whining cowards and progressive imposters that have gained control of it. We’ve already had considerable success in doing so, having gained a number of House seats in spite of brutal opposition from the GOP. Judging from their hatred of the Tea Party, I’d say they must be very worried about us taking over the party. That’s a good sign.
With regard to the idea of a third party, history has made it clear that a third party succeeds only in siphoning off enough votes from the closest party to guarantee sweeping victories for the opposite party. By the time a third party could gain enough support to totally shut down the GOP, the hard left will have owned the whole store long enough to take everything they want and make the destruction permanent and irreversible.
It seems nearly impossible to be patient and just keep plugging away when we just saw the death of America flash before our eyes on November 6th. But a rash emotional response will only serve to destroy the progress we’ve made so far. Keep fighting for what we know is right–the GOP will be ours again and so will America.
Walter, I would suggest one modification of your comments about social issues. The philosophy of the Tea Party should be that it’s NONE of the government’s business how you live your life or what you do or don’t believe in. We are the party of freedom from government interference and government thievery. Our positions should be very clear on that so that when the average American reads our statements and goals, they understand that they will be liberated no matter what their beliefs, not oppressed.
Obama and his damn Hobbits used the Ring of Power to force millions to vote for him through mind control. We need to upgrade our tin foil beanies before 2016
It was so successful, many precincts had almost a hundred and fifty percent turnout.
…. hmmmmmmmmmm.
In many precincts, Romney got zero votes out of many thousand ballots cast.
…. hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
This reminds me of the multitude of cases when a person selected one candidate, and the voting machine automatically changed the vote to the other candidate. The vote changed was always for the Democrat.
…. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Tax the poor not the rich
President Romney should take military action to deal with the 47% Moochers. He could cluster bomb senior centers, snipers could pick off disabled vets, and nuke poor areas
If we just stop paying people to not do the work the illegal aliens are doing, that would fix almost all of our problems except the one which the Democrats want to transform the country into a government-based economy where the government controls everything.
Don’t have to do anything but stop sending them a government check. They’ll take care of all the domestic problems when they decide that they need a home, food, and have to work to get it.
This is so sad. Mitt has lost anyway you look. We are doomed to 4 more years of Communist, Nazi, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist Hobbit loving Obama and his demons tormenting the Constitutional rabbits
What the Republican party needs, and has needed for years is a good PR firm. In the last presidential election the Democrats constantly ran on misquotes, half truths, and out right lies. Where was the Republican response to the war on women, the rape issue, the 47% comment, disaster relief after the hurricane, Obama, with Christie, was front a nd center in the news for days, and on and on. Currently as we approach the ” fisca l cliff”, President Obama is already out front claiming the Republicans are holding the middle class hostage. Where is the Republican response? Why are the Republicans not turning this hostage taking back on the Democrats. We hear nary a whimper from the Republicans on this issue. Where is the Republican out cry over Obamas lack of leadership? It seems to me the Republicans come out here, the Standarrd, Fox, the Hill, all conservative outlets where they already have support. They are preaching to the choir. We all know about the media bias, but how long will the Republicans sit back cowering, whinnying about the media bias? Would the daily shows, the The Times, the Networks, local media, refuse to put Republicans on? Absolutly not!! We may have lost the election but the war rages on. Unfortunatly most Americans form their opinions from sound bites, that is the unfortunate truth. But the sound bites they are being bombarded by are Liberal sound bites. How many of us has had someone parrot a sound bites to us almost word for word. That’s because that’s what they hear constantly.
The President is seen as a slick rock star celebrity. The Republicans are seen as greedy, paunchy, rich, racist , out of touch, old white guys in suits that want to hold down the average American. When will the Republicans wake up to this? The Republicans have solid plans to get America back on its feet, but no one hears it. WAKE THE HELL UP REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP. Get on the ball and start, and continue a media blitz. Get with the PR, and get the word out!
I see something a lot more sinister.
Romney would have won the election if Chris Christi didn’t sabotage it. Christi publicly chastised Romney, then in the very next step Christi prances around with Obama. This caused a 5-point swing, and gave the election to Obama. Without Christi sabotaging the election, Romney would have won.
Following that event, the establishment Republicans are promoting defeatism, as if the almost 50 percent of the country that voted for Romney in spite of Christi leading people away from the Republicans are a much less significant portion of the population. The way the Republican establishment is acting, you’d think we comprise an insignificant portion of the population, something like less than a third.
This reminds me exactly of the defeatism the American population was indoctrinated with during the Cold War, specifically during the Vietnam proxy war. The historic fact was the communists were decimated and defeated, having been defeated in the single largest communist invasion of the entire war by the South Vietnamese without any assistance from US ground combat units in 1972. Yet, the American population was indoctrinated with a system of lies and programmed to believe in the defeat of the United States. Coincidentally, that system of lies included the lie “The South Vietnamese wouldn’t fight for themselves.” Any study of the events in South Vietnam during 1972 proves that statement an obvious lie. So, how did it happen that the entire country became completely ignorant of the events of that year, and were successfully programmed with the system of lies about Vietnam?
The exact same thing seems to be happening today with regard to the election. The Republican establishment is attempting to convince conservatives that we are an insignificant portion of the population, and we should concede everything to the supposed vast majority of liberals and try to get insignificant concessions from them.
If the Republican establishment insists on attempting to indoctrinate the population with obvious lies, then its time to split the party. The obviously false notion that conservativism is an inconsequential and insignificant minority is sabotage.
Perhaps we need to flush a few more RINOs this coming mid-term election.
Here’s the message to the Republican establishment:
Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
… or, stop lying and being a fraud and just change your party affiliation to Democrat. We don’t need you, and your sabotage does more damage than if you joined the party you’re actually helping.
The lines are actually clear. There are big-government politicians, and small government politicians.
Every Republican promoting conceding everything to the Democrats is a big-government politician. They are actually Democrats. They need to get out of the Republican Party and join the party that endorses their big-government ideology.
I thinkafter reading everything that everyone has a good point. If we could put all of this into perspective, we have a good united party. We The People have to call it the Constitution party. Take back our Country, put itback in the self governed hands….And stay united on these issues.Not wavering but standing strong in solidary in alkegence to the United States of America.
Today Billy Krystol said the Tea Party doesn’t care if taxes are raised on the rich. Why does Krystol talk for the Tea Party?
This seems like part of the defeatism line the Republican “establishment” is attempting to program the party with.
Romney would have won the election is Chris Christi hadn’t sabotaged him, and got almost 50 percent of the vote even after that, and the Republican “establishment” is acting like it was a crushing defeat indicative of being an almost insignificant percentage of the population.
The lines are clear. It’s big-government-that-controls-everything versus the Constitution, and the Republican “establishment” is giving every indication that they have openly joined the totalitarian government side.
We need a new Speaker of the House.
Paul Ryan should be the next Speaker.
Then, in the mid-term elections, we need to flush some more RINOs down the hole, like what happened in 2010.
Bill Kristol does not talk for the Tea Party. There are some GOP PAC’s that try to confuse the nation by claiming to be Tea Party when they are not. AFP is one of them. They are not Tea Party… they are a GOP PAC.
Anyway, the TPP should be the first and final word when it comes to a position of the Tea Party overall.
Just how it is America
We need a 3rd party, which could well be called “The Tea Party.” It will be a fiscally conservative party that uses the Constitution for guidance on principles. It will be the party of low taxes [flat income or Fair Tax], reduced public spending, small government, and border integrity. These 4 issues are sacrosanct. Everything else will be up for discussion regarding what to initiate, scrap, phase out, transition, or maintain. Some of these issues will be relegated to “the civil society” [health care, social security, gay marriage, abortion, welfare - all items that are extra-Constitutional]. The Republican Party will not lead us to the promised land – ever. The only other option is a “modified ‘Atlas Shrugged,’” wherein we work less, make less, and legally pay less in taxes. Otherwise, we’ll run faster on our treadmills to keep our toys until we drop dead from the overwork required to bankroll government largess for others. I’m sick of progressives voting for control of my packet book.
Or, we can continue to eliminate RINOs.
We are very influential in the Republican Party. It is possible that the TEA Party can become dominant in the Republican Party in the same way the Marxist communists became dominant in the Democratic Party.
The Republican “establishment” is attempting to indoctrinate the party members with defeatism. I, for one, don’t feel like being defeated.
We need a new Speaker of the House. It’s time to slug it out with the RINOs. They are attempting to make the TEA Party inconsequential. The TEA Party isn’t comprised of people that accept the notion of defeatism easily. It’s time to teach them that truth.
Paul Ryan should be our next Speaker. We need to battle it out on the House floor.
Here’s the message they should be given:
Lead, follow, or get out of the way. We’re bringing the Constitution back into government.
Stubob I agree, the only thing I would add which is implied in your post is the party would stubbornly defend the Bill of Rights. The Tea Party should be very vocal on those points and stop letting others adapt their beliefs and agendas onto the party.
the tea party wants to follow the Constitution, the repubs can’t seem to remember it. the repubs are in shock at obamas win, again. they are lost. they can’t remember their ideology. they are beginning to grasp at leftist straws. we need new blood or a new party. we need a neo-republican who can recite the Constitution and quote the Founding Fathers. NOW is the time for a new leadership to step foward. a new leadership who will stand against the leftist horror our country is becoming. a true Patriot. God help us.
While I agree with your concept, your math is wrong. There are 235,000 people making $1M or more, means the least you would get by taxing 100% is $235B, not the most. Even though the end point that taxing the 1M+ at 100% would not even clear the deficit (if the 1M+ would even pay it, which if they are smart they would find a way to avoid it) is accurate, it would fund the government for a few months at best, and then they would all stop working or find ways to hide their income or avoid taxes.
Ah yes, and it is time for a new Speaker of the House. John Boehner is not conservative, doesn’t stand up for conservatives, fights against Tea Party principles. John Boehner must go.
If necessary, we need to slug it out with the RINOs on the House floor. If they want to keep Boehner, they[re going to get covered with blood doing it.
Paul Ryan should be our next Speaker of the House.
I look through the posts and see many good ideas. I think the problem we run into when discussing these ideas is that we get so deep into the weeds we become lost in our own arguments. Look, the federal government is tasked with the GENERAL welfare of its people. At what point did we appoint the government to a position of moral authority? The entire reason certain groups are in opposition to the GOP is because they take a moral position on issues that should not be under the purview of the government. Adults over the age of 18 can make a list of those they want making end of life decisions for them. Case closed. No one should get a tax break for being married or having children. Case closed. If you don’t want an abortion, don’t get one. Case closed. You can practice your religion in any way you see fit as long as it doesn’t interfere with the liberties of another. Case closed. When we stop legislating for the general welfare and start legislating specifics, we limit the freedoms of the people. Government has three responsibilities: police, firefighting, and the military.
John Boehner is a lightwheight going against a heavyweight. he is giving up before the fight even starts! Let’s get a campain going to replace him! Michelle Bachman or Paul Ryan would be great!
Either would be better than Boehner. He’s like not having a Speaker at all.
Bachman hits the right chords, but Ryan is stronger. He’s got a budget, which means he’s got a plan. It’s obvious nobody else has a plan, i.e. a budget. We haven’t had a budget since Obama took office. We’re drowing in debt, and the Democrats’ plan is to eliminate the budget. You can’t get more insane than that.
I think we should organize behind Paul Ryan. With him as Speaker of the House, Harry Reid won’t be able to obstruct everything coming from the House without getting very bloody. Reid and the Democrats won’t be able to take the punishment Ryan will layon them if they continue obstructing everything.
Damn, you are a bunch of hateful people. Even hate on your own kind. Will you even kill one another for the sake of blind philosophy? Suck a big black triumphant one!
“Hate on your own kind.” hmmmmmmmmm. That sounds like a statement from someone who assumes being a racist is the normal existence.
Well, let’s see what this question brings from someone who makes a statement llike ” Even hate on your own kind. Will you even kill one another….”
Howm many black people were killed by black people during last weekend in, oh, say, the city of Chicago?
…. well????
Did I say anything about hate? You dems like to twist things don’t you. I’m talking about sticking with the principles this country thrived on. If we give in to Obama”s full socialistic plan,this country is doomed! Don’t forget the 2010 elections! You’re last line is disgusting.
Their only argument against a logical argument is the tired, worn out propaganda line about everyone opposed to them is a hateful racist bigot.
Never mind Obama actually promoting to them getting some revenge. That didn’t happen, you know.
When will true conservatives learn the republicans like the democrats are only interested in power? The republicans are no better than their opponents. They want power and principals are just a means to an end easily discarded when inconvenient. The nomination of Romney was proof-positive. I am a conservative and was not distressed by the re-election of Obama because I felt the election of Romney would have amounted to the same thing. Romney was a democrat wrapped in a republican cloak. No more.
The challenge for the Tea party is one of ideology and principals versus the pursuit of power politics.
I see a significant difference. Nothing like the TEA Party could possibly happen inside the Democratic Party.
I also see a philosophical difference. But, I’m someone that can actually define “Marxism”. Most of the American population has no idea what the definition of “Marxism” is, and they wouldn’t know a Marxist if one was brainwashing them with a bullhorn in their face.
Has the TTP every considered, allowing taxes to be raised in order for the TTP to gain something they want?
I know raising taxes may not be the right move, but a short term raise in taxes will increase revenue.. and give you the leverage to ask for what you want… reform entitlements, redraft Obama care.
If what’s best for the County is truly your goal, then let’s make some progress… allow the some tax increase, but demand some damn good reform!
all the hard line stancing… is useless. The hard liners are ruining this Country.