Tea Parties & More: Putting Money, Time & Energy Where Our Mouths Are

10 Apr, 2009 by Melissa Clouthier

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The Tea Parties are coming up and many of us, myself included, whose activism has been limited to voting and blogging are getting involved now locally. Twitter and Facebook have been good resources for networking and keeping up on how things are going. Still, many working people are too busy for that, but this new way to keep abreast of things is really useful: Being notified on your cell phone via text message of local events.

Please go to Let Freedom Ring and you’ll find all sorts of resources.

There is a sense that the United States government is no longer by the people and for the people. Now, the government is by special groups and for special groups who receive special favor. Average Americans need to band together to be heard.

The Left is way ahead of the Right when it comes to controlling the narrative, shaping policy and pushing an agenda. They spend money and push around power. Not only do they protest and make noise, they have agencies to do their ideological bidding and the press plays along:

Conservatives know liberals have built a powerful network of pressure groups who have entree — where right wing groups do not — into the newsrooms of the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News and other left-leaning outlets.

What is not well known is that Fenton Communications, founded by liberal activist David Fenton, binds the two together to produce explosive public relations campaigns that conservatives have trouble matching or rebuffing.

Understanding Fenton’s connections to the press, liberal Washington lawmakers, pressure groups and trial lawyers is increasingly important for conservatives if they are to emerge from their decidedly minority status in Washington.

Think there isn’t coordination? Look at what Doug Ross has dug up. Most recently, a sham group for Big Labor has pushed forward “research” about uninsured people.

Hundreds of Mainstream Media headlines resulted from this bogus PR effort.

Oh, and P.S., the research is wrong.

The Right needs more coordination, more cohesion, more money, etc. And the big corporations bending over for the Left need to grow a spine and put money where it counts–fighting these extorting jerks by funding conservative foundations, media groups, bloggers and more.

Finally, conservative politicians need to walk the walk. Who, exactly, do these people represent anyway? Do they represent the average taxpayer being asked to bailout their irresponsible fellow Americans and corporations? Or do they, like the Democrats, represent the big interests, but just in a more subtle way. Are Republicans for personal responsibility or not? Are Republicans for economic freedom or not? Are Republicans for individual solutions or not? Are Republicans for the family or not?

Because Americans are unsure about the Republican party and feel betrayed by it, they are very angry. They feel taken advantage of and duped. Americans don’t want a “little bit better” Republican party. The party slogan has got to cease being, “It Could Be Worse”.

We’re seeing what worse looks like. It’s far worse than even we could have imagined. Still, Republicans can forget being rewarded for bad behavior. They need to stick to principles and make better, more proactive policy.

America suffers a crisis of leadership. We need new leaders. The Tea Party movement is not just about registering discontent, but renewing the focus on what matters.

America is at a cross-roads. We are either the nation the Founding Fathers imagined or we’re morphing into an impotent Europe II. What will it be? Average Americans should be the “deciders” not Leftist special interest organizations that have the Mainstream Media in their hip pockets. The Tea Party movement is a start.

UPDATED:

Matt Lewis talks about the outrage fueling the Tea Party movement and the liberal left’s odd two step of dismissing it as irrelevant and seeking to interfere at the same time:

In fact, it looks like liberals are taking this far more seriously than they are letting on. Furthermore, their underground efforts to disrupt the Tea Parties may even be a tacit endorsement of their effectiveness. Michelle Malkin noted that, “the tax-subsidized and Soros-subsidized troops are going to try and wreak havoc every way they can. Many readers and fellow bloggers have seen signs that ACORN may send in ringers and saboteurs”.

But one reason there is reason for liberals to fear this spontaneous movement is that, for years, the nature of conservatism to be a chaotic movement (in the sense that conservatives are guided by an “invisible hand” as opposed to following appointed “leaders”) has been a political detriment. The good news is that technology has finally arrived at a point where this independent nature is no longer a liability.

I think Matt is right. At one time, the fact that conservatives tended to be working, spread out and difficult to organize because, well, they have lives, has changed thanks to technology.

Also, I think that everyone–both elected officials (Republicans included) and the Left–is underestimating the fury. Yes. Fury. Moral outrage is mild. When my Aunt and Uncle at age 70 know about the Tea Party and are going into Chicago to attend and protest, the sentiment has reached the bottom of the grassroots. My Aunt and Uncle don’t read my blog. They are barely computer literate. But they get email and they know all about the Tea Party and they’ll be there. I was shocked, frankly, at their anger and involvement.

Underestimate this movement to your own demise. And every elected Republican should have his or her ass at the Tea Party. Don’t expect to speak. Just be there and absorb. Listen to your constituents and keep your yappers shut. Right now, you have no credibility. That includes you, Newt. People are sick and tired of hearing talk and ideas and then having the government get bigger, take more and just generally acting irresponsible.

Enough.

Cross-posted at MelissaClouthier.com