Sunday, February 28, 2010

Address to TMTP - Small Group Program

The question we hear frequently these days is “What’s next for the Tea Party Movement?” A strange question for a phenomenon that did not even exist a scant year ago, but a question that we need to address in election year 2010. Let me preface my answer to this question with two quotes by Jefferson.

"(When) corruption... has prevailed in those offices (of) government and (has) so familiarized itself as that men otherwise honest could look on it without horror... (then we must) be alive to the suppression of their odious practice and ...bring punishment and brand with eternal disgrace every man guilty of it, whatever his station." Thomas Jefferson to W.C.C. Claiborne, 1804.

I suggest that most of us would believe that we have indeed come to a point in our history when Jefferson’s words are a clear statement of what we as patriots and citizens of this great nation must be prepared to do. We have seen a corruption of our constitution, blatant disregard for the will of the American people and undisciplined spending by our elected officials that will bankrupt our country, burden our children and grandchildren, lead to the weakening of America’s prestige on the global stage and ultimately contribute to the erosion of our liberties.

The second quote that pertains to my remarks is simple, straightforward and clearly indicative of the past attitude of the American electorate:

"Lethargy (is) the forerunner of death to the public liberty." Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787.

I am quite certain that all of you have taken this to heart or you would not have become educated, active and committed to the salvation of our republic, and you would not be here tonight.

The American people, especially those of us who espouse the conservative principles of personal responsibility, individual liberty, limited government and free markets are a patient people, busy contributing to society and to the economy, raising our families, paying our taxes and steering clear of the political arena, but through the recent actions of a president, his administration and a complicit congress, we now find ourselves pushed beyond the breaking point and our wrath, directed at our elected officials, for their arrogant rape of our economy, culture, tradition and our very way of life should be all consuming and unquenchable.

For anyone who thought that their vote didn’t matter, that their voice would not be heard, we need only look at the elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and at the fiasco that the Health Care Reform legislation, which was to have been passed months ago, has become. It was not moderate democrats, it was not republicans and it was not independents who stemmed the tide of this liberal agenda. It was the voice of the people, as raised through the grassroots movement of the Tea Parties that has proven to be the only safeguard against this administration’s bankrupt agenda.

So back to the question, “What’s next?” A short while ago Rich Luzzi raised the idea of “Small Group Tea Parties.” Over the course of the last few weeks I have been asked to put this program together and to run with it. If you consider the original Tea Party movement a Grassroots activity, then picture these small groups as a reseeding or fertilizing of the initial program.

We’re at a point where this year’s elections may well be the most significant in our nation’s history. We can, with some effort and perseverance, directly influence the primaries, to assure conservative minded candidates, and the general election, when the entire House and one third of the Senate will be up for election.

Now, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of this initiative. How will this work? We’re looking for some of you who are here tonight to step up, move a little bit out of your comfort zone, and take a more prominent role in educating your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and acquaintances to what is happening in the country, and what we can do as citizens.

We want to keep this real simple – just a few friends gathering to discuss important issues facing the nation. We ask that you consider hosting a small group in your home – maybe 4-5 people who are like minded and who you know, and are comfortable talking to – people who understand the problems, others who are undecided or uneducated, and still others who think “My voice doesn’t count” - we’re not interested in trying to convert die hard liberal ideologues.

I, and other members of TMTP, will assist you, we’ll come to the meetings, make some opening remarks, prepare some educational literature for you to use and suggest some topics which may be of interest to the group such as undisciplined spending, destruction of our free market economy, redistribution of wealth, increasing government intervention into our lives, weakening of national security and the erosion of our liberties. After that, we would hope for nothing more than some low key conversation, discussing issues, sharing opinions, maybe suggesting some action such as contacting our elected officials, researching candidates for the primaries and motivating others to become active in the upcoming elections – basically picking up more conservative votes, one person at a time.

We would hope that you would continue to meet on a schedule that suits you and your group; each time inviting more members as the sphere of influence expands – eventually breaking your group into multiple groups with multiple hosts, in effect reseeding the bald spots in the grassroots lawn that is the Tea Parties.

We would also hope that your group would consider coming to TMTP meetings – there is a great synergy in being surrounded by a hundred or so other regular guys and gals who feel the same as you do about the condition of the country, and also attending TMTP rallies with thousands of other patriots.

Now, let’s get real here – if you’re here, you’re interested and concerned for your country. Don’t leave this to the next guy – take a chance – consider it your civic duty. If you feel uneasy or uncomfortable about this, and that’s perfectly natural, let me ask you this: If you knew someone was going to do something that would make the life of your child or grandchild more difficult – if you knew they were trying to rob your child or grandchild of the American dream that your parents and grandparents protected and nurtured for you, is there anything that you would not do to stop that from happening? Well guess what? They are out there right now – your elected officials – those people to whom we have entrusted the stewardship of our constitution, our republic, our liberties, our very way of life, and they are squandering the inheritance of your children and grandchildren.

I have a signup sheet right here, and after this meeting I will remain here to answer your questions. I will arrange to meet with all of you who step up, and I will try to make this as simple and as non-threatening as possible, but remember, this is your country and you are the last hope of saving everything that you hold dear. If you do nothing you can’t complain. If you try, if you do everything that you can, then no matter what the outcome, you will be able to look future generations in the eye and say “Damn it, I tried! I did everything I could possibly do.”

The stakes here are extremely high. We have all been blessed to be here, in this great country, with all of our God-given rights and liberties guaranteed by a sacred document penned by our Founding Fathers – brilliant men – brave men – patriots and activists who put everything on the line for an idea that would become America. Generations before us have stepped forward to safeguard these rights, both for us here at home, and for strangers across the globe. Now it’s our time to act – to give just a little bit of our time and step a little bit out of our comfort zone. The choice here is simple. If not you, then who? So, please, pick up the gauntlet and stand up and be counted. We have been given our republic – now let’s prove that we can keep it. Thank you for your time.

Nico