Welcome
With the introduction of the newly formed Palm Beach County Tea Party, Founder Pam Wohlschlegel shares her thoughts on the origin of the group and what we are trying to accomplish. For an in depth Q&A session, click HERE
Questions and Answers
Frequently Asked Question, with Pam Wohlschlegel
Palm Beach County Tea Party Founder Pam Wohlschlegel sits down and explains the reasoning behind the formation of the group in this in-depth interview.
To see a video introduction to the group, click HERE
Restoring the Dream
On January 20, 1997, President Bill Clinton gave his Second Inaugural Address and said the following:
And once again, we have resolved for our time a great debate over the role of government. Today we can declare: Government is not the problem, and government is not the solution. We—the American people—we are the solution. Our founders understood that well and gave us a democracy strong enough to endure for centuries, flexible enough to face our common challenges and advance our common dreams in each new day.
As times change, so government must change. We need a new government for a new century—humble enough not to try to solve all our problems for us, but strong enough to give us the tools to solve our problems for ourselves; a government that is smaller, lives within its means, and does more with less. Yet where it can stand up for our values and interests in the world, and where it can give Americans the power to make a real difference in their everyday lives, government should do more, not less. The preeminent mission of our new government is to give all Americans an opportunity—not a guarantee, but a real opportunity—to build better lives.
Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to us. Our founders taught us that the preservation of our liberty and our union depends upon responsible citizenship. And we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century. There is work to do, work that government alone cannot do: teaching children to read; hiring people off welfare rolls; coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs and crime; taking time out of our own lives to serve others.
Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal responsibility—not only for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors and our nation. Our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century.
So what’s happened??? The government Bill Clinton described we needed for the 21st Century was a smaller and a more humble government. This government, President Clinton went on to describe, lives within its means, is a strong government that gives it’s people opportunity to grow and prosper. Ask yourself, is this the government we have today?
Americans today recognize the the role of government in our lives is goliath in proportion to its constitutional role delegated to the federal government at the framing of our Constitution. Many of us also recognize our responsibility to leave a strong and secure America to the next generations. The government we have today is not the government Bill Clinton spoke of January 20, 1997. So what went wrong and how do we restore our great country?
First we need to ask if ourselves if we are really responsible citizens and what are we doing to build better lives, not only for ourselves, but for others as well. Has Government’s preeminent mission been giving all Americans an opportunity to succeed or has bloated government regulations and self-serving politicians and lobbyists strangled our American dream?
President Clinton was correct when he spoke of a new spirit of community and Americans assuming personal responsibility. President Clinton was ahead of his time, because that’s what the tea party is all about!
The Tea Party is all about strangers coming together because and for a common cause, neighbors reaching out to neighbors, and friends educating each other on issues of concern. As a result of networking with one another, the Tea Party and other Patriot groups, like the 912 Project, and MeetUp groups are growing their membership numbers daily.
We want to build better lives for a better tomorrow for all Americans. Preservation of our liberty and our union depends on us being responsible citizens. We, as the Palm Beach County Tea Party, intend to meet those challenges hand in hand with our neighbors, family and friends and with other like minded groups in South Florida and across the State of Florida.
We want YOU to take part of the challenge of restoring our country back to a land of opportunity. Join us in learning how you can be that responsible citizen President Clinton described in his inaugural address. Our future and the future of the next generation depend on the role it’s people play and the government its people confirm at the ballot box! Join us today to restore the American dream, but most of all, join us to insure we leave our children a country where they can dream the American Dream too!
Tea Party Patriots Summit 2-yr Anniversary
Florida State Links
FLORIDA STATE LINKS
Prepared for the Palm Beach County Tea Party
Compiled by Ed. Wolff – Updated January 20, 2013
or Rick.Scott@eog.myflorida.com
Governor’s “Let’s Get To Work” Plan
Office of Fiscal Accountability and Regulatory Reform
Attorney General
Constitution
Statutes
Laws (by year)
Florida Long-Range Financial Outlook, Fiscal Year 2011-12 through 2013-14
Transparency Florida
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA)
Annotated Listing of Legislative Recommendations, Dec. 2012
Government Program Summaries (GPS)
Florida Fiscal Portal Publications 2013-2014
Rick Perry in New Orleans
This man captures what we are all feeling in a way that the other candidates have not (so far).
CONSERVATIVE LINKS
CONSERVATIVE LINKS
Prepared for the Palm Beach County Tea Party
Web Sites Of Interest To Conservatives
Compiled by Ed. Wolff – Updated January 10, 2013
60 Plus Association
9/12 Project
Allen West
American Conservative
American Conservative News
American Conservative Union
American Enterprise Institute
American Family Association
American Service Council
American Solutions
American Spectator
American Thinker
Americans For Fair Taxation
Americans for Limited Government
Americans for Tax Reform
America’s Heritage Education Foundation
American Spectator
Americas Tea Party News
Ayn Rand Institute
As a Mom
Associated Press
Barack-O-Bummer
Barackohbummer
Bernard Goldberg
Big Government
Bill Whittle
Bill O’Reilly
Bloomberg News
Boogai
Bureau Of Economic Analysis, U.S. Dept. of Commerce
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor
Campaign for Liberty
Campus Reform
Canada Free Press – American Politics
Cato Institute
Center for Individual Freedom
Center for Responsive Politics
Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens 4 Freedom
Citizens United
Civil Society Project
Claremont Conservative
Climate Action Network
Club for Growth
CNS News
Concerned Women for America
Congress.org
Conservative 100
Conservative American News
Conservative Caucus
Conservative Hideout
Conservative majority
Conservative Monster
Conservative New Jersey
Conservative Patriots Group
Conservative Studies
Conservative Teachers of America
Conservative Truth
Conservative Caucus
Constitution
Constitution Online
Constitution Week USA
Consumer Confidence Index®
Council on Foreign Relations
CQ-Roll Call
Daily Caller
Daily Paul
David Horowitz Freedom Center
Debt Clock
Debt Clock, Florida
Declaration of Independence
Dennis Miller
Dick Morris
Drudge Report
e.thePeople
Eagle Forum
End the Fed
FactCheck
Faith and Freedom Coalition
Family Research Council
Federal Election Commission
Federalist Society
Florida Tea Party
Florida Trend Magazine
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Fox News
FreedomConnector
Freedomist
Freedom’s Lighthouse
FreedomWorks
Free Republic
FrontPage Magazine
Glenn Beck
GOProud
Grassfire Nation
Heritage Action for America
Heritage Foundation
Hot Air
Human Events
Imprimis
Indian River Tea Party
Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis
Institute for Justice
Institute For Liberty
Jerusalem Post
John Birch Society
Joyce-Kaufman
Judicial Watch
Laura Ingraham
Leadership Institute
Lew Rockwell
Liberty Counsel
Liberty Papers
Local Tea Parties
Lonely Conservative
Lou Dobbs
Mancow
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
Marco Rubio
Mark Belling
Mark Levin
Mark Steyn
Media Research Center
Michael Graham
Michael Savage
Michele Bachmann
Michelle Malkin
National Association for Gun Rights
National Center For Constitutional Studies
National Constitution Center
National Federation of Republican Women
National Review
National Rifle Association of America
National Tax Limitation Committee
National Taxpayers Union
National Tea Party Federation
Neal Boortz
Neil Cavuto
News Buster
Newsmax
NY Daily News
Palm Beach County Tea Party
Patriot Action Network
Patriot Post
Patriot Statesman” target=”_blank”>
Pew Research Center
Political Chips
Politico
Power Line
Rainy Day Patriots
Real Clear Politics
Reboot Congress
Redstate
Renew America
Republican National Committee
Resisting the Green Dragon
RightMarch
Right Scoop
Right Side News
Rush Limbaugh
Sean Hannity
S.E. Cupp
Seniors Coalition
South Florida 912
South Florida Tea Party
Stanford Institution for Economic Policy Research
Stratfor
Support My Tea Party
TAB Coalition Partners
Tammy Bruce
Taxpayers for Common Sense
Tea Party
Tea Party 911
Tea Party Connect
Tea Party Express
Tea Party Manatee
Tea Party Meetup Groups
Tea Party Nation
Tea Party News.Net
Tea Party Patriots
Tea Party Review
Tea Party Students
Terrorism Awareness
Tertium Quids
The Blaze
TheCapitol.Net
The National Center for Public Policy Research
The Schnitt Show
The Tea Party
The Times (London)
TheVanguard
Top 10 Conservative Web Sites
Townhall
Traditional American Movement
Traditional Values Coalition
USA Tea Party Groups
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.VA. Center for Politics
Wall Builders
Wall Street Journal
Washington Examiner
Washington Independent
Washington Times
Weekly Standard
Wikileaks
World Net Daily
Young America’s Foundation
Young Americans for Freedom
Come, Join the Fight
Hello Friends and Fellow Patriots,
I received an email this morning from Jeff Atwater, our Florida Chief Financial Officer. In it, he reminded me of a quote by Thomas Paine in his Common Sense speech:
This quote keeps resonating in my mind and I need to share it with all of you. Whether or not you are affiliated with a political party, you are probably alarmed about the future of our country. If you want “to meet and to repulse” this “common danger”, please join us at the new Palm Beach County Tea Party.
The Palm Beach County Tea Party is a non-profit organization founded by a group of concerned citizens who want to provide:
- A variety of venues, (e.g., chapter speaker meetings and candidate forums) where you can hear experts, elected officials, and candidates speak on current local, state, and federal issues impacting our three tenets of:
- Fiscal Responsibility
- Constitutionally Limited Government
- Free Markets
- A website where you can go to study issues of interest to our members and quickly see a list of upcoming events that you don’t want to miss.
- A limited number of emails that will update you on the latest issues and let you know where our elected officials and candidates stand on these issues.
- Various ways for you to express your opinions to and hear from other like minded citizens. These will include:
- Facebook – look for “Palm Beach County Tea Party” to join us on the Palm Beach County Tea Party Face Book page.
- Twitter – join us on Twitter at @pbctp
- Blog – click “PBCTP Blog” at the top of this webpage to get to our Palm Beach County Tea Party Blog.
- Polls to express your opinion on an issue issues. The poll results will be published and sent to those elected officials who need to know how a large group of citizens feel on a given issue.
- Activities such as peaceful rallies where you can join other like-minded citizens in expressing your opinion to get the attention of others.
- Small teams you can join to take a level of action most suited to your time availability, talents, and interests.
- Coordination and collaboration with other like-minded local and national groups that will offer our members other forums to listen, learn, and take action.
Please click on “Events” at the top of this page to see our schedule of upcoming speaker meetings and our big BBQ on Labor Day! As we state as our Mission, the Palm Beach County Tea Party wants to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets. We want to “attract” you and have you join us in this joint learning experience. We want you to work with us to make a difference in 2012 and beyond!
Thank you for reading this note. Please feel free to contact me if you have ideas as on to how we can better accomplish the mission of the Palm Beach County Tea Party.
You can reach me at pam@PalmBeachCountyTeaParty.org . We look forward to hearing from you!
Hope & Action,
Pam Wohlschlegel
Foounder and County Coordinator
Palm Beach County Tea Party
PS. Thank you, Jeff Atwater for reminding me of the quote!
New Beginnings in Palm Beach County
“Second star on the right, straight on ’til morning…”
– Peter Pan, 1953, also Captain James T. Kirk
With these words, Peter Pan gives the directions to Neverland, and the Enterprise moves on to its next adventure at the end of “The Wrath of Khan”.
What do a children’s story and a science fiction movie have in common with the Palm Beach County Tea Party? All are heading off to try something new.
The last two years have seen remarkable growth and maturity for a movement that didn’t exist at the beginning of Barack Obama’s presidency. Sparked by the “Santelli Rant”, groups spontaneously appeared around the country, getting their start here with the 2009 “Tax Day Tea Party” at the county building in West Palm Beach that surprised even the organizers with its 3000+ turnout. Marco Rubio debuted here, and Allen West became a favorite of the movement.
Since that time other groups have sprung up such as South Florida 912 (Principles not Parties), DC Works for Us, the Fort Lauderdale Tea Party (longest running weekly rally) and others, forming a loose knit movement with many overlapping parts. Because we are grassroots it is hard to count, but we estimate that approximately 150 like-minded groups have sprouted in Florida since April 2009 – some very small and some quite large. The tea party movement is growing at a rapid rate! Many activists belong to multiple groups, and major events like the 9/12 marches on Washington, or subsequent Tax Day rallies have brought together large crowds which included members of most of the independent groups.
As a movement, we have had significant victories on the local level, including the elections of Allen West and the pickup of FS27 for conservative candidate Lizbeth Benacquisto. Other candidates supported by the movement – Sherry Lee, Tami Donnally, Steve Rosenblum, and some primary candidates lost – but the ground game run by those associated with tea party groups made the races much closer than they would otherwise have been. There has also been cooperation through ad-hoc coalitions like the Taxpayer Action Board (TAB) and the drive for an independent Inspector General for the county.
Cooperation between the tea party groups has not always been perfect though. While there was collaboration on candidate events, protests and rallies, the sharing of tools, resources, mailing lists, etc. was limited. Most would agree that more collaboration and cooperation is needed.
Some current leaders of the South Florida Tea Party have decided to try something a little different. Pam Wohlschlegel, who was the Palm Beach County Executive Director, along with the leaders of the North and Central Palm Beach County Groups, Anita Carbone and Gina Rascati, and a handful of folks who helped them build the north county organization, decided to break off and start a group with a slightly different agenda and method of operation.
This group, although still adopting the core beliefs in Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets, will concentrate on using collaborative efforts in achieving the goal of better government at all levels.
Action and results will be the focus of the Palm Beach County Tea Party. While meetings will be open to all, the objective is to attract, educate, motivate and mobilize enthusiastic activists who can drive change in their communities. The group will build teams to work at all levels of government, local, state, and federal. At the local level, they will learn the issues confronting local government and advocate for tea party positions at county and municipal meetings. The group will identify and promote candidates for office and organize teams to work with the campaigns of existing candidates. The teams will champion those who share our beliefs, irrespective of party.
As the Palm Beach County Tea Party organization gathers momentum, it plans to reach out to the other grass roots leaders in South Florida and across the state, identify projects that they have in common, and work together to meet our mutual objectives in 2011, 2012, and beyond. Foremost, the PBCTP will study key Florida issues and keep voters informed.
At the national level, the Palm Beach County Tea Party will work as a partner with Tea Party Patriots and other groups with national reputation, sharing ideas, participating in training and national projects, and supporting the core beliefs throughout government.
The first meeting of the new group will be at the Abacoa Golf Club, on Monday August 1, 2011.
A Very Brief History of the Tea Party Movement in PBC
The Boston Tea Party, in 1773, has long been held as a symbol of populist uprisings against unfair taxation, and has served as a model for all kinds of anti-tax protests throughout American history. In late 2008, during the ending days of the Bush adminisration, objections to TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) started to cause unrest amongst people increasingly concerned about government spending and bailouts of banks and automobile companies. Then, early in the Obama administration in 2009, the stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – ARRA) was too much for the ‘silent majority’ – those who had never protested anything in their lives…
What crystalized action, however, was the famous ‘rant’ by CNBC analyst Rick Santelli on February 19, 2009, which quickly went viral. He called for a Chicago Tea Party in July. Mass viewings of the Santelli video started spontaneous grass-roots tea party groups to form almost overnight throughout the country via websites, facebook and word of mouth. People started forming organizations, having demonstrations and organizing tea or tea-bag dumpings and mail-ins. July was too far away and most groups started to concentrate on April 15th, Tax Day, as the date of their focus. National and state loosely-knit grass-roots organizations formed – some with Tea Party in their names (like Tea Party Patriots or Tea Party Express) and others not (like The 912 Project or Freedomworks). But the beauty of the movement is that none of these actually speak for the ‘Tea Party’ as there is no formal entity or structure.
Palm Beach County citizens have been awakened through websites, meetups and social media – they have joined together in common areas of interest and positions on the issues, but all these diverse interests focus on constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets.
Rallies were held throughout South Florida to protest government spending and a healthcare bill an overwhelming majority of Americans did not want. Calls to action brought people to stand on corners and wave signs or meet with their Congressmen and Senators. Email, fax and phone campaigns continued the effort. Marches, such as the 9/12 March on DC in 2009 and 2010, as well as the August 28th 2010 Restoring Honor event drew people en masse from around the country – many from our area participated.
Organizations, and leadership thereof, have remained fluid since that first major event in 2009. Groups continually spin off from others and change focus, or become primarily single-issue or goal entities. Many members belong to several groups – some political, some not.
But what hasn’t changed is that this formerly silent majority is silent no more!
