Tea Party - Losing Its Way

During 2009, millions of people across the United States protested in what became known as "Tea Parties." These gatherings brought together people of all creeds. Republicans and Democrats stood side by side to protest the destruction of the United States as we know it. With them stood blacks, whites, and everything else in between. Men stood with women, atheists with Christians, heterosexuals with homosexuals - it was something that bypassed all the barriers that normally kept people apart. As well, angry Americans went to town halls to let their representatives know exactly where they stood on issues which were important to them.

The main focus of the protests were the established political elite. They were sick and tired of those who entered into office for numerous terms (mostly life long ones). Those who were entrenched in office soon found that they could pretty much get away with anything and still be re-elected with hardly a whimper of protest. The elites then began to feel entitled to their power, and if some new "upstart" entered the field, and if that person didn't pull the particular party line, that new candidate would be effectively squashed.

Tea Partiers didn't accept a dime of support from any political party as all funds were donated by individuals. Speeches made at the rallies lambasted entrenched leadership on both sides of the isle. The participants stood their ground among assaults from progressives both at home and in the mainstream news media. Terms such as bigotry, racism, sexism, and intolerance were thrown their way, yet the Tea Partiers stance remained firm. They didn't care about what they were called. They just wanted to save their nation for their children.

Something is happening, though, which is perverting the movement. Some elites are now working hard to turn this movement into yet another political party. This is something that disgusts me to the very core of my being. America has enough political parties as it is, we don't need another one. What we need are moral men and women to replace the corrupt ones we already have in power.

Joseph Farah of WorldNet Daily, along with others who became leaders in the Tea Party movement, are joining forces to get a new beast off the ground. Having started Thursday, and going through today, there is an event entitled: The First Tea Party Convention.

Some may say that this isn't true, that this isn't an effort to start a new political party. Instead, this is just a gathering of people from across the nation getting together to work on the 2010 elections. Well, just take a look below concerning what is being proposed. From Fox News:

If a particular candidate meets the proposed Tea Party criteria he or she would be eligible for fundraising and grassroots Tea Party support.

Once elected to office, members would be required to join a Congressional Tea Party Caucus, attend regular meetings and be held accountable for the votes they cast. Those who stray from the Tea Party path would risk losing it's support and a likely re-election challenge.

...

Organizers suggest creating political action committees, a large scale fundraising apparatus, and starting the development of a national network of pro bono attorneys to deal with the myriad legal-political riddles that such undertakings face in campaigns and elections.

Shockingly, there are people now trying to hijack the movement and place restrictions on whom can get grass root support, and whom cannot. Just as the elites in the Democrat and Republican parties, the elites that arose from the Tea Party protests are now starting to dictate what can and cannot happen. What will the result of this be? Will the millions who protested last year be prevented from protesting this year (or any future one) under the label "Tea Party?"

One of the speakers invited to attend the conference is Sarah Palin, a person that Tea Partiers strongly supported during 2009. Palin quickly became the sweetheart of Americans during the 2008 elections. Indeed, she is probably the only reason McCain ever made it to be the final challenger to Obama. Conservatives who went to the poles to vote during the Presidential election weren't voting for McCain, they were voting for Palin. Even then, it wasn't enough to get him elected President.

After the elections were over, Palin left her position as Gov. of Alaska to support the conservative movement. Indeed, she made a comment that many across the nation applauded. She stated that she would support any candidate, regardless of party affiliation, if that person supported core conservative values. She then wrote a very successful book and toured the nation selling it.

Yet something has happened to her. I don't know if it was fame and fortune, promises made to McCain, or what have you, but her moral stance has become corrupted. She is actively stumping for McCain against opponent J.D. Hayworth.

Hayworth, who had a conservative radio talk show that he had to abandon because of the stink McCain threw up, is the epitome of what the Tea Partiers were seeking. He's conservative to the core, has no inhibitions when it comes to what's right and wrong, and he seeks to overthrow one of the Republican Party's entrenched elitists. Yet Palin is supporting McCain over him. What happened to her promise of supporting whomever, regardless of party affiliation - not worrying about her popularity with party elitists? Regardless, she was invited to speak at the Tea Party convention.

What once was almost an impromptu gathering of Americans across the nation to protest corruption is itself turning into what its very participants were against!

I participated at a Tea Party protest in my home town. Although my contributions were not as large as others, I did attend planning meetings and I became a representative of the movement as I was a greeter. In addition, I was also one of those who made a speech. I believed, and still do, in the base principals of the Tea Party movement. However, I do not agree with the direction it is going. I do not want yet another party telling me who I can and cannot vote for. I do not want to be associated with another movement that compromises its core convictions simply to get it's candidates elected.

As of right now, I am wavering on whether I will continue to support the Tea Party movement. If it continues down the path it seems to have chosen, it will be leaving me behind. I'm certain that I won't be the only person who steps back.

If the Tea Party gatherings are to be successful, they need to go back to their roots. They need to stop this unholy union that seems to be taking place and remember why they stood up to protest in the first place.

I will not belong to a movement which states as part of it's goals:

Prospective political candidates will be expected to support the Republican National Committee platform, though without any specific litmus or purity test.

I joined the Tea Party movement to support those who love the Constitution of the United States, not those who support any particular party.