Posts Tagged ‘Tea Party’

One day our grandchildren may ask us this question.  Will we have an answer that will make us and them proud or will we have to sit silent knowing we stood silent when it was time to speak or remained passive when it was time for action?  Now is the time for all believers in limited government to stand up and be counted.  Now is the time for all who believe, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”  to remember “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The coming 2014 mid-term elections may well be the most important in our lifetime.  America faces a crisis as profound as the Revolution and as divisive as the Civil War.  This has been brought on by the Progressives who seek to fundamentally transform America through evolutionary means.  Incrementally, one entitlement program, one regulation, and one tax rate increase at a time, these Evolutionaries have used class warfare, activist judges, a politically-correct education system, and a complicit media to create a dependent constituency.   They’ve constructed a matrix of sports addiction, celebrity worship, and recreational prescription medicine that makes the bread and circuses of Rome appear as crude as they were effective.  Welcome to the Brave New World.

In 2008 the Progressives achieved what the media called a “Veto Proof” majority in both houses.  This was typical of the Progressive-controlled media’s spin.  With a fellow Progressive holding court in the White House there was no chance the long cherished dreams of national health care, massive interference in the economy, and expansion of the bureaucracy would be vetoed.  The description of the majorities should have been “Filibuster-proof” meaning there was no way for the minority party to thwart the will of the majority.  Even when the Democrats lost their 60^th seat in the Senate with the addition of a Progressive Republican taking Teddy Kennedy’s seat, they still had a filibuster-proof majority.  The only reason they did not achieve more of their agenda such as amnesty for illegal immigrants is that members of their own party balked at a complete surrender of our heritage.

Fast forward to 2013 and after 3 years of the 2010 Tea Party led re-capture of the House Nancy Pelosi and her troops are chomping at the bit to finish their Evolution and drive the final nails in the coffin of limited government.

Those who wish to stop the mad rush into the arms of an all-embracing Federal Government must register!  They must vote!  They must do all they can to influence anyone and everyone to elect a true veto proof majority with the power and the will to reverse the slide into insolvency, which will trigger either a default upon our overwhelming debt or a collapse of our economy.  Either of which opens the door for the current administration to impose their statist solutions irrevocably altering the nature of the United   States.  The name will remain the same but let no illusions of normalcy cloud your sight; this will be a new nation, the Obamanation.

In the coming mid-term elections it is imperative that those who wish to reverse course send a veto- proof majority in both the House and the Senate to Washington or President Obama will block every attempt to return to the traditional American model of limited-government.  And even if this happens the newly awakened Patriots must realize their victory will energize the portion of the country desiring a European-style welfare state.  They must realize just as Truman in 1948 ran against the “Do-nothing Congress” more than against Tom Dewey and Clinton in 1996 ran against the “Mean-spirited” Congress more than against Bob Dole, in 2014  Mr. Obama and his surrogates will run against the “Obstructionist” Congress more than against any individual opponents the Republicans might nominate.

The Town Hall meltdowns of 2009 and the Tea Party phenomenon of 2010 have surged across America as no spontaneous movement has in many years.  The energy and enthusiasm of this grassroots explosion has rocked primaries from Coast-to-Coast.  The political establishment in both parties were bracing for a tsunami of popular indignation at the ballot-box in 2012.  Instead the republicans nominated another Progressive which left the conservative base sitting on the sidelines.

The Republicans managed to hold the House leaving the Democratic Majority Leader to lead well-disciplined troops in blocking every move the Conservatives make, and the media will hang the ensuing deadlock squarely around the neck of the Tea Party.

In 2014 to make sure that the rising Tea Party Samson successfully pulls down both the House and the Senate pillars of the Temple of Progressivism, the novice Conservative political activists need to understand voting is not enough.  We need to exert every ounce of influence among friends, neighbors, and family to bring out an historic vote.  We should stand ready to drive people to the polls, work the polls, do anything we can to plant the flag of Liberty once again in the capital of the Land of the Free and the home of the Brave.

Turning to the Word of God we’re counseled, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  Our Founders declared, when tyranny raises it head, when a government founded to ensure the rights of citizens begins to trample upon those rights their descendants should remember, “That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness.”

As peaceful citizens let those who love Liberty use their guaranteed rights to write, speak, assemble, and vote to preserve what we’ve been given for our children and our grandchildren.  Let every politician know, whether they wish us well or ill, that “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”  If we will do this, if now that it’s our time upon the stage we’ll take a stand beside the Founders, the Framers, and the Greatest Generation when our children or grandchildren ask us, “Did you do anything to keep liberty alive? we will be able to say more than, “I didn’t notice what was going on,” or “I couldn’t find the remote.”

Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion.  He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2013 Robert R. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com  Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens

 

 

Chris Chocola, the president of the Club for Growth, told Breitbart News this weekend that establishment Republicans who have no qualms about growing the size of government and benefit from it find the fiscally conservative group to be a nuisance because the Club aggressively identifies conservatives and backs them in Republican primaries.
And when candidates the Club for Growth supports come to Washington, they often do not just “go along to get along,” especially when it comes to matters regarding taxes and spending.

Case in point: Ted Cruz.

In 2012, establishment Republicans like Karl Rove and American Crossroads preferred Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst over Ted Cruz in the Texas Republican Senate primary, with their donors backing Dewhurst against Cruz. It was the Club for Growth that helped Cruz counter the Rove-approved establishment money that was going to Dewhurst’s campaign in addition to Dewhurst’s considerable wealth, which he used to self-fund his failed Senate run. The Club for Growth spent $5.5 million in independent expenditure ads to support Cruz in his fight against Dewhurst. The group accounted for 83% of all pro-Cruz outside spending.
While Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Cruz ultimately got the attention of and galvanized Tea Partiers and conservatives to ensure Cruz got into the runoff against Dewhurst, the Club for Growth’s money ensured Cruz could stay on the air against Dewhurst in Texas’s huge and expensive media markets.
Rove, in stark contrast, said on Fox News’ “Hannity” after Cruz won the primary that Texas had “three good candidates” in that race, meaning Rove, unlike the Club for Growth, would have been perfectly content with the more moderate candidates like Dewhurst who would not fight in Washington, D.C.

Last year, the group emphasized that it committed “to do everything within our power to ensure Cruz won the primary” and “went all in and it did so because it is absolutely critical to the future of our nation that we have a true fiscal conservative representing the state of Texas in the United States Senate.”

“This race was one of the most important races going on in our nation and we are so proud of the pivotal role Club for Growth Action played in ensuring that Ted Cruz will be the next Senator from the state of Texas,” the group said a day after Cruz defeated Dewhurst in the primary. “Ted Cruz is a champion of economic freedom and we look forward to seeing him fight for America in the Senate.”

And that’s exactly what Cruz has done since arriving in Washington, D.C., voting against John Kerry to be the next Secretary of State and fiercely questioning President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel to the point where liberals have resorted to calling him a “McCarthyite.”
Chocola noted the Republican establishment often views the types of candidates the Club for Growth supports as “threats to the big-government status quo” that Republicans often help enable.

“We’ll continue to support candidates like Ted Cruz, Pat Toomey and Marco Rubio,” Chocola told Breitbart News. “They’ll continue to support candidates like David Dewhurst, Arlen Specter, and Charlie Crist. It’s that simple.”

Chocola added that in part because of the group’s efforts, those in Congress are talking about “spending less money, not simply slowing the rate of growth of spending.”

“That’s a sea-change, and we’re looking to build on that momentum,” Chocola said, before adding that the group’s goal was to get a “majority of the majority” in Congress.

The full interview with Chocola is below.

Breitbart News: Given the success of Club for Growth in supporting free market principles, policies and candidates, what do you make of the attacks—often behind closed doors—by establishment figures like Karl Rove and Haley Barbour regarding your involvement in Republican primaries?

Chris Chocola: We’re not surprised at all. The Republican establishment has always viewed the types of candidates supported by our PAC as threats to the big-government status quo that the GOP often helps enable. We’ll continue to support candidates like Ted Cruz, Pat Toomey and Marco Rubio. They’ll continue to support candidates like David Dewhurst, Arlen Specter, and Charlie Crist. It’s that simple.

Breitbart News: What are Club for Growth’s key objectives for 2013?

Chris Chocola: We want to continue to grow the pro-growth caucus by supporting strong, fiscally conservative candidates through our PAC. We are hoping that the candidates the PAC has helped elect are helping to drive the agenda within the Republican Party. We’ll be watching closely to see if Republicans stand strong on sequestration and the continuing resolution. We’ll be urging them to cut spending and put us on a path to a balanced budget within 10 years. The whole purpose of the Club for Growth is to encourage policies that lead to a high-growth economy, and we’re very concerned that our growing debt burden and uncertainty about our economic future is holding us back. All we’ve ever wanted from Congress is responsible behavior, and we think that message is beginning to percolate throughout capitol hill. For the first time in a long time, members of Congress are talking about spending less money, not simply slowing the rate of growth of spending. That’s a sea-change, and we’re looking to build on that momentum.

Breitbart News: When you look at specific policy proposals—such as those dealing with the debt ceiling, the deficit, the fiscal cliff, and federal spending in general—do you think the Club is winning the war of war of ideas among the Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Chris Chocola: We take pride in our ability to advocate for free markets and limited government, but it’s really the new members we’ve helped elect through our PAC that are driving policy. It’s because of members of Congress like Jeff Flake and Pat Toomey that earmarks are banned. It’s because of members like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul and Mike Lee that the culture of the Senate is beginning to change. We supported those members and others because of what they believe, and they will stand and fight for their principles. Our goal is to get a majority of the majority. We’re not there yet, but the changes that have happened within the Republican Party on policy over the past decade because of the Club for Growth and its members is undeniably positive.
- See more at: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/02/24/Club-for-Growth-Interview#sthash.CWHLfbzA.dpuf

By Dustin Hawkins
The Tea Party is regularly ridiculed and declared “dead” by the mainstream press and their elitist allies in Washington and Hollywood. Not surprisingly, when Tea Partiers show up and rally by the thousands, they get all but ignored, while 30 Occupy Wall Street crazies in masks will always get wall-to-wall coverage and admiration. TV shows and movies take cheap shots at Tea Party conservatives, often linking them to murder-of-the-week cases on insipid crime procedurals or dismissing them as “birthers.” But a new Associated Press poll shows tea party supporters may have the last laugh in November.
The AP/GFK poll shows that 31% of likely voters consider themselves Tea Party supporters. With 131 million votes cast in the 2008 elections, that translates into an incredible voting bloc of 41 million Tea Party supporters waiting to cast ballots. These voters have already made their voices heard in Wisconsin earlier this year, as well as in Republican primaries in Texas and Nebraska.
That 31% of likely voters figure is greater than the 19% who described themselves as either strongly or somewhat liberal. Surprisingly, liberals have escaped media characterization as being a small, fringe-like group with little power or influence. At 19% of likely voters, self-described liberals would have a turnout of 25 million voters, some 16 million fewer voters than the Tea Party.

The good news for Mitt Romney and other Republican hopefuls is that the Tea Party supporters also appear ready to turn out in much higher numbers than all other voters. For instance, while they only made up 23% of the initial polling sample, which was a sample of all adults, their numbers improve as unlikely voters were removed by the AP from the data. When unregistered and unlikely voters were taken out of the poll, their share of the vote increased by 35%, to nearly one-third of the voting population.
Meanwhile, self-described liberals fell 11% from the initial sample to the likely voter sample, while moderates increased by 3% and conservatives increased by 8%. This enthusiasm gap could make the difference in November. Once unregistered and unlikely voters were removed from the AP poll sample, Obama’s share of the vote plummeted by 10%, while Romney’s share of the vote increased by 28%. That support is driven, of course, by a supposedly dead movement. Overall, the poll shows a statistical tie with Obama at 47%, and Romney at 46%.
Follow Dustin Hawkins on Twitter @HawkinsUSA

AUSTIN – Tea party darling Ted Cruz convincingly defeated the Republican establishment favorite, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, in Texas’ runoff election Tuesday, capturing the GOP nomination to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison as fiercely conservative voters shook one of America’s reddest states to its political core.

The race had been closely watched nationally as one of the nation’s most-vivid contrasts between the GOP mainstream and grassroots, conservative activists. But as results began to pour in, it turned out to be no contest. Cruz grabbed early leads in key cities around the state where Dewhurst had once enjoyed stronger name recognition, fundraising and political organization just weeks earlier.AUSTIN – Tea party darling Ted Cruz convincingly defeated the Republican establishment favorite, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, in Texas’ runoff election Tuesday, capturing the GOP nomination to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison as fiercely conservative voters shook one of America’s reddest states to its political core.

The race had been closely watched nationally as one of the nation’s most-vivid contrasts between the GOP mainstream and grassroots, conservative activists. But as results began to pour in, it turned out to be no contest. Cruz grabbed early leads in key cities around the state where Dewhurst had once enjoyed stronger name recognition, fundraising and political organization just weeks earlier.

Overseeing the state Senate from the powerful lieutenant governor’s post since 2003, Dewhurst was long considered a slam dunk in his race with Cruz, the former state solicitor general and son of a Cuban immigrant. Dewhurst had the endorsement of much of Texas’ Republican mainstream, including Gov. Rick Perry, who despite his failed run for president was still widely popular back home. He also had a $200 million personal fortune he could dip into at will and did, loaning his Senate campaign at least $24.5 million.

But Cruz has a fiery stage presence that made tea party supporters across the state swoon, and received millions from national, conservative organizations which targeted Dewhurst as too moderate. Even though the lieutenant governor oversaw some of the most-conservative state legislative sessions in Texas history and helped speed the passage of laws requiring women to undergo a sonogram before having an abortion and voters to show identification at the polls, he also occasionally compromised with Democratic lawmakers to keep the legislative agenda moving.

Meanwhile, former Democratic state Rep. Paul Saddler easily bested perennial candidate Grady Yarbrough to capture his party’s nomination and face Cruz in November’s general election, but Cruz begins that race the overwhelming favorite.

Cruz memorized the U.S. Constitution while in high school and successfully painted his opponent as wishy-washy — even though they actually disagree on little, either politically or ideologically.

The 41-year-old Cruz had never run for political office but bolstered his political credentials arguing in front of the state Supreme Court as the longest-serving solicitor general in Texas history.

Cruz’s father Rafael is a pastor outside Dallas. He fought with Fidel Castro’s rebels in Cuba before Castro took power and eventually embraced communism, and the elder Cruz fled to the U.S. with nothing but $100 sowed into his underwear.

Texas Republicans aren’t used to losing: The state has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994. But Cruz attacked Dewhurst from the right, and the lieutenant governor’s campaign had no real answer.

The state primary was pushed back from Super Tuesday to late May due to a legal fight over redistricting maps drawn by the GOP-dominated Legislature. The 66-year-old Dewhurst beat Cruz by 10 percentage points in the primary but fell about 70,000 votes short of the majority needed for an outright win in a nine-Republican field vying for the party’s nomination.

Besides Perry and other state GOP big guns, Dewhurst was endorsed by former baseball great Nolan Ryan. Dewhurst also won the endorsements of former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, who finished third in the Republican primary, and ex-NFL running back and ESPN commentator Craig James, the primary’s fourth-place primary finisher.

None of it was enough.

Cruz got millions from national tea party groups and other conservative organizations including the Washington-based Club for Growth. He was endorsed by ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, radio talk show host Glen Beck, U.S. Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Kentucky’s Rand Paul, as well as former GOP presidential hopeful and Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

At a morning campaign stop in Houston, Cruz said he heard from voters statewide interested in changing what they view as insider-politics in Washington.

“That’s the way the democratic process is supposed to work. It’s not supposed to be a bunch of guys in a smoky room in Austin picking the next senator,” Cruz added.

Just blocks away a few hours later, Dewhurst said, “This is a tough race, but if we remind voters I’m the only true conservative in the race,” we can win, Dewhurst said, promising to “turn Washington upside down” if elected.

Natache Reeves, a 42-year-old nurse from the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, said she voted for Cruz because he had Palin’s support and was less likely to restrict handgun use.

“I love Sarah Palin, and she’s backing Ted Cruz,” Reeves said. “I pretty much agree with everything that rolls out of her mouth.”

But Cruz wasn’t for everyone. Frank Martinez of Dallas said despite finding Dewhurst’s campaign ads “very mean” he couldn’t support Cruz, even though they share Cuban roots.

“I think (Dewhurst) has more experience, and he’s not a lawyer. So the ad worked,” said Martinez, 54, who is unemployed after a workplace accident two years ago left him disabled.

Cruz has drawn comparisons to Indiana, where state Treasurer Richard Mourdock defeated incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar in the Republican primary. But in Texas, the nation’s second-most populous state, a win by a tea party-backed candidate is likely to resonate even more.

James Carville. You remember Brian Ross and George Stephanopoulos tried to tie the Tea Party to the mass murderer in Aurora, Colorado. Brian Ross, first thing out of his mouth, (doing impression) “George, we got big news here. There’s a Tea Party member with the same name.”

“Really? That could be big, Brian.”

“Yeah, George, it could be really big. We’re not sure, we don’t know for sure, but it could be, George, that the mass murderer at The Dark Knight Rises is a member of the Tea Party.”

The Daily Beast had a headline back in February: “Tea Party is Dead. How the movement fizzled in the 2012 Republican primaries.” And then there was James Carville, (impression) “The Tea Party, the Tea Party is over.”

“Liberal political consultant James Carville sent a fundraising e-mail to supporters of upstate New York congresswoman Louise Slaughter entitled ‘The Tea Party is Over.’ … ‘These Tea Party Republicans have worn out their welcome. But I’m telling you — getting rid of ‘em won’t be easy. They’re not leaving on their own. We’re going to have to boot them out the door like unwanted house guests,’ Mr. Carville wrote.” They have wanted you to believe the Tea Party is finished ever since the 2010 midterms, and the reason that they thought they could get away with it was the Tea Party started as a protest movement and then it matured and grew, and the Tea Party has become one of the largest grassroots political organizations. It is an organization that this country hasn’t seen in a long time. And candidate after candidate after candidate is winning nomination races and then winning elections.