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.