Category Archives: Republicans

The "Don’t Tread On Me” Tradition Is Back!

Federal Reserve Bank, Liberty, Neoconservatism, Old Right, Political Philosophy, Republicans, Ron Paul, Taxation, Terrorism, War

Or so says Richard Spencer, editor of Taki’s Magazine, in the fabulous article: “Are the Tea Parties Radical and Paranoid Enough?”

In the tea party protest Spencer attended he saw ample signs of the Old Right rising. This recrudescence took the form of fewer “bloviations about the war on terror,” and more “Abolish the Federal Reserve!” and “Republicans + Democrats = National-Socialism” signs. “[O]nly two or three blue-blazer-and-kakis Frumbots” loitered around aimlessly.

Sweet.

Writes Richard: “There’s no question that the Republicans would love to co-opt the Tea Party movement to strengthen their prospects in 2010, but my sense last night was that the ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ crowd might be a bit too radical to be neutralized and Republicanized easily.”

Read the rest on Taki’s.

Update III: The Real Tea Party Movement (Go Home Republicans!)

Classical Liberalism, Constitution, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Republicans, Taxation

“The Founders were Lockean liberals who believed that we had natural rights and could combine to delegate certain powers to the government such as self-protection. But in natural law, no man can steal from another so you can’t delegate that power to the government and create a welfare state. Similarly, the people don’t have the right to counterfeit, so they can’t delegate that power to the Federal Reserve. And the people do not have the right to rule the world, so they can’t delegate to the government the right to create a global military empire.”

The Founders were not anarchists but they still had a dim view of taxes. To tax people for purposes other than core government functions is theft and tyranny. Jefferson said that in his own words in his First Inaugural.”

The excerpt is from my WND interview with James Ostrowski, tea party organizer and author of the manifesto, “How We Can Win the Second American Revolution Without Firing a Shot.”

Update I (April 18): if you missed the column on WND, you can catch it each and every week on Taki’s Magazine, where the reading, overall, is really really good. Read “The Real Tea Parties,” NOW on Taki’s Magazine.

Update II : The absolute imperative of denouncing the GOP was the theme of my interview with Jim Ostrowski. Is my wish coming true? I hope so. Rep. Gresham Barrett of South Carolina was booed off the stage he tried to occupy.

“Barrett faced the ire of the tea party protesters because of his vote last year for the $700 billion,” reports the Huffington Post.

Here’s the clip. “GO HOME” the crowd cries. The Republican knave tries to galvanize the crowd with the “our men and women in the military” mantra. But all he gets is: “GO HOME, GO HOME, GO HOME, too late, too late, boo, boo.” Love the fury.

Update III: In her syndicated column, Michelle Malkin, the only real fiscal conservative among Republican pundits, documents the extent of the revulsion GOPiers (including those who appeared with Sean Hannity) have inspired among tea party goers:

“If only the condescending cable TV anchors at CNN and MSNBC had paused from wallowing in gutter puns about tea bags, they might have reported an even more significant phenomenon: Tea Party protesters were as vocal in their criticism of Republicans as they were of Democrats. In Salt Lake City, Utah, a crowd of 2,000 repeatedly booed GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, who both supported the $700 billion TARP bailout, and protested GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman’s decision to accept $1.6 billion in porky stimulus funds.”…

Read on.

Update III: The Real Tea Party Movement (Go Home Republicans!)

Classical Liberalism, Constitution, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Republicans, Taxation

“The Founders were Lockean liberals who believed that we had natural rights and could combine to delegate certain powers to the government such as self-protection. But in natural law, no man can steal from another so you can’t delegate that power to the government and create a welfare state. Similarly, the people don’t have the right to counterfeit, so they can’t delegate that power to the Federal Reserve. And the people do not have the right to rule the world, so they can’t delegate to the government the right to create a global military empire.”

The Founders were not anarchists but they still had a dim view of taxes. To tax people for purposes other than core government functions is theft and tyranny. Jefferson said that in his own words in his First Inaugural.”

The excerpt is from my WND interview with James Ostrowski, tea party organizer and author of the manifesto, “How We Can Win the Second American Revolution Without Firing a Shot.”

Update I (April 18): if you missed the column on WND, you can catch it each and every week on Taki’s Magazine, where the reading, overall, is really really good. Read “The Real Tea Parties,” NOW on Taki’s Magazine.

Update II : The absolute imperative of denouncing the GOP was the theme of my interview with Jim Ostrowski. Is my wish coming true? I hope so. Rep. Gresham Barrett of South Carolina was booed off the stage he tried to occupy.

“Barrett faced the ire of the tea party protesters because of his vote last year for the $700 billion,” reports the Huffington Post.

Here’s the clip. “GO HOME” the crowd cries. The Republican knave tries to galvanize the crowd with the “our men and women in the military” mantra. But all he gets is: “GO HOME, GO HOME, GO HOME, too late, too late, boo, boo.” Love the fury.

Update III: In her syndicated column, Michelle Malkin, the only real fiscal conservative among Republican pundits, documents the extent of the revulsion GOPiers (including those who appeared with Sean Hannity) have inspired among tea party goers:

“If only the condescending cable TV anchors at CNN and MSNBC had paused from wallowing in gutter puns about tea bags, they might have reported an even more significant phenomenon: Tea Party protesters were as vocal in their criticism of Republicans as they were of Democrats. In Salt Lake City, Utah, a crowd of 2,000 repeatedly booed GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, who both supported the $700 billion TARP bailout, and protested GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman’s decision to accept $1.6 billion in porky stimulus funds.”…

Read on.

Update III: The State of the Tea Party Movement (Coulter Mistakes Movement's I.D.)

Ann Coulter, Liberty, Political Philosophy, Republicans, Rights, Taxation, The State

Written 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.