Ben Carson for President
Exciting Times for the Palm Beach County Tea Party!
Hello Patriots!
This has been a very exciting and interesting week, and we’ve all gotten a boost to our adrenalin and our enthusiasm for our Country…and for that for which it Stands. In light of these facts, I’d like to go over some important ideas and thoughts about the current and future state of the Palm Beach County Tea Party and our movement in general.
The American people are hungry for a return to Fiscal Responsibility…to Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Enterprise. They fervently want these truths, as do all rational human beings who know that their lives belong to themselves and not to their government. They want to return to a place where we the American people don’t feel the need to have government regulating and legislating every aspect of our lives. That idea, that the government exists to serve the people of the Country, not the other way around, is the reason this country was founded. It doesn’t matter whether that government is in London, as it was in 1776, or in Washington, D.C., as it is today. The government exists to serve the People…not to exert autocratic rule.
In light of this fact, it’s important that we all be reminded that the real, fundamental divide in American Political Philosophy is not between the Left and the Right, nor between Republicans and Democrats…it is between top and bottom. I’m not referring here to some imagined class conflict or anything of the sort; I’m referring to the question of where the power to govern resides, with the State or with the People. Does the government own the citizens, or do the citizens own the government, and own their Country as well? Are we Statists…or are we believers in the Liberty of the Individual?
When we’re honest with ourselves, we all know the answer to that question, but we may not recognize all of its implications in National Politics. There are those on both sides of the aisle who think that all control and change has to come from above, that the government has to decide for the People of America how things should be run, even their own lives. This is logically untenable, given that those in the government are fundamentally not any wiser or better than those they govern, and cannot therefore know better than we how we should live. Unfortunately, logic often takes a back seat when power and control are involved.
This is part of the reason why Karl Rove has recently made public his animosity toward the Tea Party and openly declared himself opposed to it: The Tea Party is a threat to so called “Conservatives” like him, who are Republican in name only. If the Tea Party’s ideals truly become ascendant again, then such men, who are all about controlling the movement of politics and running things from the top down, will no longer have a place. Remember, Karl Rove is the classic example of the Consultant Culture, and he recognizes that in the long run the Tea Party movement is a threat to his influence, so he would like to knock it down. In this, he shares the same point of view as those Statists on the other side of the aisle who believe that our government is an end in itself, instead of just a means to the end of protecting the rights and freedom of the people of America. They use language in different ways, so it seems to the casual observer that their ideals are diametrically opposed, but at root, Karl Rove and President Obama share a point of view: The State, and they, know better than you do, and should be the source of and have control over your life.
Such ideas are the typical refuge of mediocre minds. We don’t need to be intimidated by them, but we do have to counter them, and we will. In fact, the Palm Beach County Tea Party has had a well-timed boost to our spirits this week in the person of Mark Meckler. Those of you who attended the meetings and spent time with Mark know just what a motivating and empowering person he is, and how well he understands the situation to which I have been referring.. Our eyes have been opened and the fog has begun to clear. Now we all have a very welcome surge of enthusiasm as well as some great advice and support from a person who was one of the reasons the Tea Party movement became so big so fast. We will use our energy, our motivation, and our commitment to the Ideals which made America, to make our stand against any forces which would threaten the freedom and self-determination of the American people, and to share the good news about the importance of these ideas and their embodiment in the Constitution of the United States.
That said, I am pleased and thrilled to be able to take this opportunity to officially announce our upcoming United Stand for America, which is the name for our pre-tax-day event this year. We’re calling it that because its message is all about being true to our convictions, and taking a stand in support of the principles upon which our Country was founded. For those of you who indulge in Social Media, we’ll be sharing about it using #UnitedStandforAmerica and #USAme, so follow those hashtags. The “me” at the end is there because the answer to the question, “Who will stand for America?” for each and every person in this country should be, “Me!” When we pledge our allegiance to our Nation, we are not just mouthing empty words, but making a commitment to this Country and to what it represents in the world.
This will be a gathering featuring inspiring guests who are thought-leaders, commentators, public figures, and private citizens. By this event we are calling on all Americans to stand up for personal and fiscal responsibility, for limited government, for economic freedom, for self-determination and the right to the pursuit of happiness. We are calling on the American People to remember that they own the government, that they are responsible for what it does, and that even inaction is a choice with consequences…usually bad ones.
To experience an articulation of that last point by a particularly Great Communicator, watch this video on YouTube of a powerfully moving speech by the man I believe was the last truly Great American President of the 20th Century.
We have a lot to do and a lot to look forward to in the Palm Beach County Tea Party. I’m honored and humbled to be serving with all of you in this great and important work. Together we will respond to this CALL to ACTION!
In Liberty,
Dominique Feldman
Communications Director
Palm Beach County Tea Party
communications@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org
Upbeat Thoughts from Mark Meckler
To a packed crowd at Abacoa, Tea Party Patriots founder Mark Meckler provided optimism and insights for the future, along with some anecdotes from his current work as founder of Citizens for Self Governance. Those who are still depressed about what the 2012 election says about our country should take heart by his analysis of where we stand.
In cowboy hat and boots, California native Meckler was upbeat and hopeful.
The American Revolution was not about the Stamp Act or any specific taxes, he said. Rather, it was the reaction of a free people who had governed themselves in the 180 years from Jamestown to Lexington and Concord, throwing off the moves of a foreign sovereign to place shackles on their liberty. Liberty is also at stake today, in an existential way – our freedoms are unique in history and if liberty is extinguished here it will be extinguished throughout the world.
The 2010 blowout that stopped the Obama train would not have happened without the tea party and its success with local and congressional elections. That said, it is hard to see that we could have had as much influence on the dynamics of the presidential election (does the President call me for advice? he asked). We didn’t pick the candidate, and the local knowledge and organizing skills of the grassroots were ignored in favor of a top-down “we know best” campaign managed from Boston. That helps explain why the great success of the Scott Walker campaigns in Wisconsin were not repeated on the Presidential ticket in that state.
Change can happen from below – at the local and state level, he said. Mark has observed a new dynamic of business people becoming more than just “checkbooks” to the party apparatus and taking control of the process themselves. This has happened in Wisconsin (preparing the field for Walker and the win against the unions), Texas (where incumbent crony Republicans were thrown out in primaries), and Tennessee.
There is common ground to be found with the left, he said, as he imparted his meetings with left leaning academics and the leader of Moveon.org. We are not alone in opposing trillion dollar deficits or failing schools.
We should not buy the media drumbeat that the tea party is dead. How can it be, he asked, that the media portray us as omnipotent in preventing John Boehner from dealing with the President, yet impotent to affect events.
In closing, he asked us to get involved at our local level. Become members of appointed boards and commissions, run for town council or school board, go to your city council meetings. We can change the country from below, much as they did in the first revolution.
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