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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PBCTP Co-Sponsors Candidate Forum for PBG City Council Election

February Boca Chapter Meeting Featuring Mark Meckler

Please join us Tuesday, February 5, at Embassy Suites Hotel Boca Raton, for an evening with Tea Party Patriot’s founder Mark Meckler.  Mark will discuss the future of grassroots movements given the results of the November elections

Please click the button below to RSVP for the meeting.

February Jupiter Chapter Features Mark Meckler

Please join us Monday, February 4, at Abacoa, for an evening with Tea Party Patriot’s founder Mark Meckler. Mark will discuss the future of grassroots movements given the results of the November elections

We have also invited municipal candidates running for election March 12th.

Please click the button below to RSVP for the meeting.

Meckler Bio

Mark Meckler is a genuine grassroots citizen-activist. Like most folks in the self-governance movement, he is relatively new to politics.

Mark hails from the rural foothills of northern California. He has a BA in English from San Diego State University and graduated with honors from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1988. He built a career in real estate and business law for almost a decade. Prior to his accidental entry onto the political scene, he specialized in Internet advertising law.

Mark knows what it is like to be a small business owner in America. He has owned a variety of businesses from manufacturing to food service, and has seen the legal challenges facing a wide variety of businesses across many industries.

For most of his life, Mark was not politically active. He never campaigned for, nor donated to, any candidate. Due to his distrust of both political parties, Mark has been registered as an independent for more than a decade.

Then, on February 19, 2009, Rick Santelli, a financial reporter on CNBC, issued his now famous “rant” against a government run amok, and called for a new tea party in America. Like millions of others, Mark saw that rant on the web, saw on Facebook that people actually were organizing tea parties, and decided to get involved.

On Feb. 27, 2009, Mark held the first tea party in Sacramento, California, at the state capitol. Not knowing what to expect, he arrived with his wife, his two kids, his retired parents and some handmade signs. Much to his surprise, 150 people showed up from across the societal and political spectrum. He considered it an amazing success, and he was inspired by those he met to keep organizing.

Returning home, he began networking with others around the state, and across the nation. Eventually, he was among a small core group who helped to organize the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Parties, which consisted of 850 events, and roughly 1.2 million participants spanning the country. Out of this initial surge of activity, Mark and a core group had the foresight to form Tea Party Patriots to be the go-forward entity for the tea party movement.

In 2009, Mark Meckler was one of many citizen “sparks” that helped to ignite a movement. He was the Co-Founder and a former National Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, a group which at its peak boasted 3,200 chapters nationwide and millions of members.

Mark resigned from Tea Party Patriots in February 2009 to focus on broadening the philosophical reach of the idea of “self-governance” outside of the Tea Party movement, by founding Citizens for Self Governance.

Mark now appears regularly on television outlets as diverse as MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and the BBC. You may have seen him sparring with Chris Matthews on Hardball, or pushing back against Geraldo Rivera on Fox Business. He is highly sought after for the self-governance perspective from print and online news outlets, including theWall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Examiner,Politico and The Hill. His opinion pieces regularly run in many of the leading political outlets both on and offline.

Mark says, “I try to say what millions of American’s would say if they had the chance I’ve been given. It’s not really about my opinions, as much as it is my honest attempt to reflect what I hear from people involved in the self-governance movement all over the country.” Mark has a unique political voice, which many have said most clearly represents the citizens of this country fighting back against the incumbent machine of both political parties at all levels.

When not fighting to put the future of our nation back in the hands of self-governing citizens, Mark is an avid horseman, and lives in rural northern California with his wife Patty and two children.

PBCTP Kicks of the New Year with New Leadership

In its 2013 kickoff meeting, the Palm Beach County Tea Party introduced its new leadership to a good sized crowd at the Abacoa Golf Club last evening.

The meeting was called to order by new Jupiter chapter leader Laura Hanley, a local business owner and long time tea party member who was also a candidate for County Commission last year. Laura then passed the microphone to co-founder Mel Grossman who introduced the new county coordinator Michael Riordan.

Mike comes to us with an interesting background. A public relations practioner and local business owner, he started his career teaching special needs children in Massachusetts and did a three year stint as head of their Teacher’s Union. Organizing for political action is nothing new for Mike. In his remarks, he laid out the challenges and opportunities facing us after the not so successful election of 2012. Honing the message of the three principles – consitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets, will be his primary focus. Getting all tea party members to internalize these principles and be able to explain them succinctly to friends and neighbors as well as the public at large is our task. (For the text of Mike’s remarks see: Introducing Mike Riordan)

Mike then introduced the new Communications Director Dominique Feldman. Like Laura and Mike, Dominique is also a local business owner. Active in political campaigns in 2012, she is a familiar face having led seminars on social media for the South Florida 912 and other groups. In her PBCTP role, Dominque will use her MBA and technology skills in efficiently honing and disseminating our messsage.

Also at the meeting was the new chapter leader for Wellington, Marion Frank. Marion has been active in the PBCTP for quite a while and brings her insight as a healthcare professional to the fight against the government takeover of medicine.

As the group moves into 2013, the initial focus will be in three areas – communicating the conservative message led by Dominque, fundraising led by Terry Brady, and government oversight led by Ed Wolff. Volunteers for these committees are sought – contact info@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org for more information.

The February meeting will feature a forum for canididates in local municipal elections. Stay tuned for details.

Some pictures from the event:
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First PBCTP Meeting of the Year

Please join us Monday, January 7, at Abacoa, for the first meeting of the New Year.

The Palm Beach County Tea Party is alive, strong and ready for the new year and the challenges that lay before us. New leadership has been chosen and we are preparing an agenda that will give guidance for the days, months and years ahead.

There will be no Boca or Wellington meetings in January. The January 7th meeting at the Abacoa Golf Club is our only meeting this month. Please come and meet the new PBCTP Coordinator, The new Communications Director and new Chapter Leaders. We won’t be announcing who they are until this meeting. We encourage all to attend!

We are excited to lay out the plans and vision that will ensure that the Palm Beach County Tea Party continues to be an organization that champions fiscal responsibility, free markets and Constitutionally limited government.

Please use the button below to RSVP:

PBCTP Leadership Changes

Hello friends,

It is only after considerable prayer and with sadness that I am resigning as the County Coordinator for the Palm Beach County Tea Party. I believe strongly that term limits and new leadership are both refreshing and critical to the long-term success of any program.

More importantly, this move will enable me to better contribute to the Palm Beach County Tea Party in the areas that I believe will will be critical in the coming 23 months before the 2014 midterm elections:
* Oversight — keeping our members up to date on key local, state, and federal issues and creating action alerts when needed.
* Hispanic Outreach
* College Outreach

I will continue to serve on the board and as the liaison to both the Tea Party Patriots and the Tea Party Alliance.

Please let me know if you would like to join me in any of these three programs! We will have some fun and definitely create value!

The board is actively recruiting my replacement. I can tell you that this is an exciting and fulfilling job. With the new addition of a Communications Director,Richard Bock, and my new role, the director position will be less time intensive and will be able to focus on strategy and operational efficiencies.

Other Changes in Our Organization

Jupiter/PBG Chapter
Gary Summers has resigned as the Chapter Coordinator for Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens. Gary had only lived in Florida one month when he found us and almost immediately went to work as our Jupiter/PBG Chapter Leader. He did an awesome job despite his work and family commitments. He is now involved in a business start-up and must focus on that in the coming months. Thank you, Gary, for all that you have done for PBCTP in the past year!

Laura Hanley has accepted this position starting immediately. Laura has been involved in Palm Beach County politics and grassroots efforts for years and, through her efforts, willingness to work and effervescent personality, has a large network of friends and supporters. We look forward to working with her in this capacity. Laura will also serve on the Board of Directors.

Wellington Chapter
Gina Rascati and Joe Madej have also resigned as coordinators for the Wellington Tea Party. Joe did a Herculean job as the GOTV leader in Wellington, personally canvassing hundreds of homes despite hip and knee surgeries only months before. Joe was inspired by our recent visit by Brigitte Gabrielle and will be focusing on programs designed to understand radical Muslim issues in our country.

Marion Frank will be replacing Gina and Joe as the Wellington Chapter Coordinator and will also serve on the Board of Directors. Marion, like Laura, has been very active in the county, is on top of the issues, especially healthcare, and will be an energetic and valuable contributor to our organization.

Boca Raton Chapter
Alex Berry is stepping down as Chapter Coordinator in Boca Raton. In Alex’ words, “The most pressing reason for my departure is that I need to spend more time with my family, my businesses, and my church. I wanted to do all I can up until this past election, and I was as disappointed as could be with the results. I look forward to re-engaging in the future as time and opportunity allow.”

We would like to extend a special thanks to Alex for his hard work and commitment over the years!

Please Consider These Open Leadership Positions

Please contact Mel Grossman, our vice-chair, if you are interested in any of the following positions. His number is (561) 628-1873.

• County Coordinator
• Chapter Coordinator for Boca Raton (includes Delray Beach and Boynton Beach)
• Assistant Coordinator for the Wellington Chapter

Yours in hope & action,

Pam Wohlschlegel
Co-founder & Oversight Coordinator
Palm Beach County Tea Party
Phone: 561.254.1036
pam@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org

Florida State Coordinator
Tea Party Patriots

Prayer

“Soldiers! Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, our God, asking through Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, beseeching the aid of the God of our forefathers in the defense of our homes and our liberties, thanking Him for His past blessings, and imploring their continuance upon our cause and our people.”

“Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray.  Believing that prayer is the greatest contribution that our people can make in this critical hour, I humbly urge that we take time to pray – to really pray.”

“Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight – all through the day.  Let us pray for our children, our youth, our age, our pastors, our homes.  Let us pray for the churches.”

“Let us pray for ourselves, that we may not lose the word “concern” out of our Christian vocabulary.  Let us pray for our nation.  Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ and His redeeming love, for moral forces everywhere, for our national leaders.  Let prayer be our passion.  Let prayer be our practice.”

General Robert E. Lee, 1863

Join Us for our Jupiter Election Night Party!!

Nick’s Tomato Pie in Jupiter

November 6^th, 2012 will surely go down as one of the most important dates of the 21^st Century in history books of the future.  It has been said many times, “This is the most important election of our lifetime”, and that has never rung more true when one considers the principles at stake at this election.  Our deep involvement in attempting to steer our voting populace towards all the principles and founding history of this country will ultimately have their collective effect on this great night.  All the hard work, the personal and professional sacrifices that we make, the time and energy commitment in an increasingly liberal public, and the risk of voicing your opinion publically will definitely prevail in the long run.

On this night, we will get to witness “real time” results at our Election Night Party in Jupiter at Nick’s Tomato Pie Restaurant on north side of Indiantown Road, just east of I95..

This evening promises to be one that you will remember for years to come, and is definitely NOT to be missed!  The Palm Beach Tea Party will be partnering with South Florida 912 to provide a great venue for like-minded people to share this special night.  Please feel free to invite your friends and family.  Nick says that we can stay as long as we want — as the election results might not come in until well into the night.

There will not be a cover charge for this event and you can come any time after 7pm.  Come hungry as Nick’s Tomato Pie Restaurant has an excellent menu of appetizers, main courses, and desserts — as well as a full bar. Simply order and pay for your choice of food or drink.

PLEASE RSVP HERE:

Get Out the Vote Campaign for 2012

The Palm Beach County Get Out the Vote Campaign was successfully launched on Friday night, October 5th with a huge Door Hanger Packing and Pizza Party in Palm Beach Gardens.  That event was followed by a similar activities in Boca Raton and Wellington the next day.

As you may know, our goal is to canvass over 20,000 homes in Palm Beach County spreading information on issues, candidate positions on key issues, ObamaCare, and the ballot amendments. We are off to a great start! We have packed over half of our door hangers and walked several neighborhoods across the county.

Thank you all who have helped us packing door hangers and walking neighborhoods!

This being said, the work has just begun and we have only three weeks to complete it!  Our program is designed so that all of our members can contribute to the effort according to their time, talent, and resource availability.  We have something for everyone who wants to contribute to this effort!

Please see below our meet-up times and places in your area (Jupiter/PBG, Wellington, or Boca Raton) for Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

If you cannot meet at these times but want more information on how you can help with this effort, please send an email to  info@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org

 

THE PLAN

There are three major activities associated with this project:
1. Packing the door hanger bags: This activity is filling the bags with our literature. It will be done on Friday evenings at Packing Parties or we can arrange to get you the materials and you can do it at home.
2. Distributing the Walking Books and Door Hangers to walkers: we need help distributing these items to the walkers on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.
3. Walking the neighborhoods near you: Walkers will get their Walking Packets on Friday or Saturday night (or we can make other arrangements, if necessary). You will have all week to walk the neighborhoods at times convenient to you.

 

LIST OF MEET-UP TIMES

Here is a list of all our scheduled meet-ups:

Every Friday night, October 12th through November 2nd:  Packing & Pizza Parties in Jupiter, Wellington, and Boca Raton.

Every Saturday morning, October 13th through November 3rd:  Distribution of Walking Books and door hangers at locations in Jupiter, Wellington, and Boca Raton.  There will also be groups who will walk together from those locations on Saturday mornings.

 

LOCATIONS

Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens

We will meet on Friday evenings from 6 to 8:30pm for packing and on Saturday mornings for Walk Book Distribution from 10 to 11am at the following location:

Location: AFP office in Palm Beach Gardens. 3970 RCA Blvd Suite # 7003, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Click here for directions. Note that the office is on the north side of the building directly across from the Hampton Inn. The office is in the same building as the WPBF25 TV studio (go down the hallway just west of the studio entrance).

 

Boca Raton

We will meet on Friday evenings from 6 to 8:30pm for packing and on Saturday mornings for Walk Book Distribution from 10 to 11am at the following location:

AFP office in Boca Raton
Address: 2nd floor of the Boca Plaza office building, 3200 N Federal Hwy, Suite 215, Boca Raton, FL.
Click here for directions.

 

Wellington

We will meet on Friday evenings from 6 to 8:30pm for packing at the home of Joe Madej.  Please call Joe at (561) 502-3642 for directions.

On Saturday mornings we will meet at the Old Wellington Mall for Walk Book Distribution from 10 to 11am.  Meet at the overhang for mail drop on the northeast side of the mall directly behind the Checkers Restaurant.
Location: 12794 West Forest Hill Blvd. (southeast corner of Forest Hill Blvd. and Wellington Trace)
Click here for directions

 

WHY CANVASS WITH THE PALM BEACH COUNTY TEA PARTY?
If you want to recruit some of your family and friends to help out, you may want to consider the answer to this question. Many people are already walking for their favorite candidates. Why would they also want to walk with the tea party? The answer is simply because all the polls say that Independents 7will decide the elections . . . and Independents vote on issues not by party. That’s were we, the tea party, are strong. The literature we distribute will focus on issues. A script will be provided.

Your country needs you!  Florida is critical for the nation in the coming weeks.  Palm Beach County is critical for Florida.  That puts a heavy responsibility on all of us — and if each of us does a little, we can accomplish a lot!

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