printWritten by James Ostrowski.
The state of the Tea Party Movement is great.
Despite what the lying left says, it’s mostly ordinary citizens acting spontaneously. The old hacks aren’t even invited or welcome to most events.
It’s not anti-Obama but anti-Big Government and that includes Bush and the Republican Congress when they had the majority. Naturally, as soon as they lost power, they fell in love with limited government again.
Alas, the Republican Party is a pathetic joke and the Tea Party Movement has become the real opposition party to the Democrats. Good.
Now, the blowing off steam phase is over and the movement must get serious fast or lose its momentum.
A movement needs a goal. Here’s a good one:
Restore the Republic.
By which I mean the pre-constitutional Republic. The American Revolution was not fought for the Constitution. The Constitution didn’t exist yet.
Nor will griping about the Constitution do. Face it. To the extent that the Constitution was designed to preserve the old Republic, and I have serious doubts about that, it failed. Constitutionalism failed. Parchment did not stop the steamroller of big government!
Why? That question has been answered by Learned Hand:
Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.
A movement needs its own symbols and ours are there for the taking: The Betsy Ross flag is a no-brainer. And let’s use the old national anthem. My Country Tis of Thee. It speaks of liberty, not bombs bursting in air during a war whose meaning is still unclear. And let’s pledge allegiance to the principles of the American Revolution for Christ’s sake! (Peace is the common theme.)
Face it. The symbols of patriotism have been hijacked by evil men for evil purposes such as mass murder and massive bankster theft.
We will take patriotism back and make it true and good again.
Then, we need a plan. Why?
*Because most of us are naturally inclined to two activities that history shows are usually a waste of time: lobbying politicians and trying to elect new ones.
*Because no movement to shrink the federal government has succeeded since 1800-1804!
*Because many people are inclined to think we can reform our way out of this mess. In fact, reforming a rotten system merely extends its lifespan.
*Because the trajectory of America is downward fast and we have no time or margin of error for mistakes.
*Because if we do not give our people something constructive to do, right now, they will burn out and be gone.
At the April 18th WNY Tea Party, we will roll out a 12-point plan for direct citizen action that would make Gandhi smile. It’s a devastating one-two punch: education, then action! The plan fits on one side of one sheet of paper.
So, two things. If you are within driving distance of Buffalo and you miss this tea party, you will regret it when you see the video.
Two, if you are running a tea party on April 15th and wish to learn more about our plan, contact me.
Thanks and good luck at your event.
Jim Ostrowski
WNY Tea Party Program Committee
jameso@apollo3.com
Cell–(716) 435-8918
Update I (April 15): I’ll be interviewing our pal Jim for my WND column on Friday. Jim, a major tea-party organizer, continues the thread in “Pitfalls for the Tea Party Movement”:
“It’s time for a checklist of the pitfalls we need to avoid to be successful. These will roughly track the smears expected to be made against us.
*Do not be an appendage of the failed Republican Party or neoconservative movements.
*Be open to all American citizens who share our core philosophy.
*Have a positive agenda for real change.
*Be for something other than merely electing Republicans. The country is rightly sick of Republicans after the last eight years.
*Bring something to the table other than Constitutionalism. All that has happened happened in spite of the Constitution.
*Avoid conspiracy and arcane legal theories including Obama’s citizenship. Our opponents control the courts and will never accept your “common law” or “Patriot” legal theories. Never!
*If you support lower taxes, be prepared to specify the spending cuts required to pay for them. And never say you will cut “waste, fraud, and abuse” because then everyone will know you are full of crap. …”
Update II: Hero Joe Horn makes an appearance at the Alamo, from where Glenn Beck is broadcasting. Read about Horn in “JOE HORN: WANTED MAN…AND A HERO.” If only I were in Texas. People are flying the Gadsden Flag; there are signs that read, “Revolution Brewing,” and ALL express disgust with Republicans and Democrats alike.
Although I don’t much like the celebrity oriented focus of Glenn’s show today (and my Sean is a way superior guitarist than Nugent), there are, at least, no Party Republicans in sight. And that’s a good thing. I suspect that Hannity and O’Reilly will make up for this welcome omission by convening the usual suspects for their parties. You know: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Karl Rove. Glenn has enough of a feel for freedom to keep those sickening sorts away. A wise decision if to judge by this animated Texan crowd. G-d bless them.
Update III (April 16): In her latest column, Ann Coulter doesn’t think twice about claiming the tea-party movement as Republican. She’s usually cleverer about concealing the fact that she writes in support of the Stupid Party—always.
Incidentally, Coulter berates California as a laboratory for Democratic governance. I thought that state was governed by a Republican.
I think it’s just great. I am not a believer in Big Government — Big Government is the source of all evil and ALWAYS ends in corruption and waste.
Let’s hope the Tea Party Movement rubs off on Canadians and their pathological fascination with Big Government.
I wonder if we can have one of those Tea Parties here in Cape Town?
I am skeptical enough about human nature to believe that this Tea Party stuff will become a shell for Mitt, Newt, and the Grand Old Party. There is a wonderful old movie called “Meet John Doe” where a spontaneous “John Doe Movement” winds up being manipulated by this proto-fascist industrialist just to promote him to the Presidency. The Tea Party cannot merely be about taxes – in fact, for the spending that is going on, America is UNDER taxed (e.g. it is really really overspending big time). Still, cutting spending has not been anyone’s ticket to electoral success for generations.
Coulter berates California as a laboratory for Democratic governance. I thought that state was governed by a Republican.
She is quoting American Prospect magazine from June 2002, when the governor was still Gray Davis.
My take is that we need to take the tea party momentum and focus it at the local level with local groups and welcome all people with a constitutional idea of how our government should work. We should not worry so much what political party one belongs to, if any.