Philly Tea Party Patriots Panel at Arcadia

The Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots will be holding a Grassroots Activists Panel, Thursday April 29, Arcadia University, 7pm - 9pm.

If you haven't attended a Tea Party event and are curious what the buzz is all about, this is a great opportunity to hear from members one of the largest grassroots organizations in the country.  National Coordinator Diana Reimer, featured in my prior post, will lead a panel which includes Jenny Beth Martin - TPP National Coordinator, Nate Wingham - Grassroots Activist, Jamal Greene - Journalist and grad student, Mike Gaske - Fundraising Director, David Webb - Editor Tea Party 365 and talk show host.

On a related note, the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots have a new group forming in Eastern Montco.

An American Revolutionary

Diana Reimer, founder of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots and national coordinator for TPP, is featured in this article by Holly Otterbein at the Philadelphia City Paper following the group's February 'anti-reconciliation' rally at Rittenhouse Square.

I've had the pleasure of getting to know Diana and her husband Don over the past several weeks. I've seen a remarkable growth in their organization's reach since our initial meeting after their first event, last year's Tax Day Tea Party.  A year ago, they were self-proclaimed political amatuers.  But seeing how much they've accomplished and learned about the political process and coalition-building over the past year, I am in awe.  The energy, determination and passion both Diana and Don bring to the cause consuming their lives is inspiring.
The article is surprisingly fair to the movement.  While most news outlets portray Tea Party activists as racist hate-mongers, Otterbein offers quite a different perspective about Diana and others in attendence:

Robert Allen Mansfield, a broad-shouldered black man in his late 30s, stands up. He is wearing a black suit, tiny, round glasses and a blue tie, and props himself up with a cane. He strays from the topic at hand, talking about what it was like to be a sergeant for eight months in Iraq. He then orders everyone who has served in the military to rise for applause; more than half the men in the room jump to their feet.

It's a poignant moment. Mansfield's face crumples, as if about to cry. But suddenly he perks up. He's got something to say. "I wasn't going to do this, but," he says, pausing. "I'm running for governor."

The mostly white Tea Party members furiously clap and cheer and squeeze his shoulders.

Although Holly seems to be surprised by this public show of affection towards a black man, at least her mind is open to seeing the truth about these new-age radicals. 

They are peaceful, caring, American Revolutionaries.

Hide The Decline II

After threats from Penn State's Michael Mann to remove the original 'Hide the Decline' video, the creators came up with this as an alternative. 

No Laughing Matter Mr. President

President Obama is amused by the recent Tea Party protests regarding taxes. Former President Clinton wants everyone to believe we're in a pre-Oklahoma City bombing type of atmosphere, while encouraging leftist infiltrators to mix things up at Tea Party events.

Uh, fellas? One-fourth of the American people consider themselves a part of the Tea Party movement. Trying to categorize us as some fringe element who is capable of extreme violence while encouraging your own to mix it up is not only absurd, it's irresponsible.

Certainly, it's no laughing matter.

Obama the Nuclear Naive

Robert Costa from NRO asks former Reagan Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman, to explain why China won't cooperate with the President on Iranian nukes.

“Why should China pull our chestnuts out of the fire?” Lehman asks. “Iran is no threat to them. It’s naïve of the president to think that somehow he can create a common interest with China or somehow persuade them to bring pressure on Iran when Iran supplies a significant portion of its oil. When Iran is tying us in knots that actually suits the Chinese down to a T.”

Side note: a crescent moon as the symbol of this conference?

Fitzpatrick's Gathering Army

This past Saturday, I attended a volunteer meeting for the Mike Fitzpatrick for Congress campaign to get a feel for the organization and the energy of the crowd. A packed house, well over a hundred, met in one of three such meetings throughout Bucks county that day.

Mike spoke for about 30 minutes and handled several insightful questions and statements from the faithful in attendance.

A couple key issues struck a tone with this Tea-bagger...

First, Mike isn't afraid to admit he was part of the problem in Washington. Although I think the 2006 election had more to do with a tiring of Bush, Iraq and momentum against the GOP in general, at least Fitzpatrick recognizes he contributed to the mess: an important first step for a recovering politician.

Second, he reminds the supporters from a so-called moderate-leaning district that he isn't afraid to differ with his party. Except Mike needs to recognize that only a united Republican/conservative/Tea Party effort will overturn the continued hostile government takeover of private industries.

If Fitzpatrick plays to what he perceives to be the demographic middle, he makes the mistake of not recognizing the mood of the electorate, nor of his base. So-called moderate voters need to be educated about how moderates, like yourself, contribute to the problem.

In his defense, Fitzpatrick seems to get. At worst he's struggling to find the right balance between his record and his message. But he seems to be trending in the right direction.

Several supporters mentioned to me how much larger the crowd is at this stage of the campaign verses the same time in 2006. One note to Mike: take notice, there's a real reason why.

Democrat-lite is not an option. The people have had enough.