First let me reiterate (good word there huh?) what I have said before and that is there have always been two separate tea party movements. There is the one that the press would like you to believe exists, and there is the one who really exists.
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The one the press wants you to believe exists is comprised of what I will call the "Summer Soldiers" borrowing a phrase from Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis". These are the people who latched on to the movement when it had momentum, figuring they would ride the coattails of those who began it. There were groups and politicians who didn't truly believe in the core principles of the movement but decided if they played along, they could gain something. One could argue that here in Massachusetts, Scott Brown may r may not have been one of those.
The real tea party movement is comprised of people who truly believe in the values of the movement. They comprise of many different groups, all believing that government is out of control. They have not given up these beliefs and while some of the individual members were disappointed in the results of the election, thye certainly have not given up. In fact there is ample evidence that the movement here in Massachusetts is stronger than ever.
Both he and Mr. Mandile, who lives in Webster, said leaders from tea party groups across the state have been meeting quietly, including in Worcester, to map out an agenda for 2013 and beyond. Although there nominally are 30 to 40 tea party groups across the state, Mr. Mandile said 15 or 20 of them are active. - TelegramWhile the media would like you to believe that all we were interested in was ousting Barack Obama
But with tea party members and other conservatives setting their sights on the big prize — the loathed President Obama and the probability of repealing his hated healthcare law if they could elect his Republican opponent — something went terribly wrong last month. - Telegramthey are wrong, Instead, the true believers were working on things such as what Bonnie Johnson was doing in Worcester, maintaining the integrity of the vote.
Indeed, Bonnie Johnson, head of the Seven Hills Tea Party in Worcester, said she put all her energies into a campaign for clean elections and her tea party chapter has stopped functioning. She was active in monitoring the polls in both the primary and general elections this year. - TelegramThis is where the real change needs to come, restoring faith in the system.
And finally, while it is true that local candidates gained nothing on Beacon Hill, this has nothing to do with the tea party movement, but more to do with the Massachusetts Republican Party leadership and the lack of support given to candidates who did run, and their failure to even field candidates for more than half of the seats in the legislature. Tea party members and other groups such as the Massachusetts Conservative Assembly are working on changing this system as well.
No, the tea party movement hasn't gone away, it is stronger than ever, because now the Winter Soldiers have taken over, and these are the ones who will make the difference
My first disagreement with you is that you have failed to capitalize Tea Party when speaking about our movement. Those in the media always capitalize Occupy Wall Street when referring to that group, so it is up to us to demand the same level of respect.
ReplyDeleteMy only other quibble would be that Sen. Brown was elected by the Tea Party and then rejected the movement. He seemingly thought that that he could find an energized and motivated constituency in the middle of the road. I believe we can claim all the credit for his victory ad his defeat.