My latest examiner column A Civic Tea Party is now up. A quick peek:
Why does the tea party elicit such odd responses? Well everybody knows what the tea party is against, excessive spending and taxation, but what is the tea parties for? How can the tea parties become a movement that is not just a movement of protest?
Well it looks like the Twin City Tea Party and Justin Brooks their newly elected president seems to have found the equation.
More photos of the event here. Local tea parties should get involved in civic activities, particular ones that have been left behind. The more the Tea Party integrates with the community the harder it is to demonize us.
As always you can find my complete set of Enquirer columns here. Due to my extreme greed I suggest that you click on them often.
My latest column for the examiner is up an excerpt:
…with the April meeting pending; organizer Justin Brooks started contacting democrats either in office or running for office. He left messages or talked to a half dozen different candidates eager to get another perspective, without success. Most office holders and candidates never got back to him, others had conflicts but when the April 26th meeting came around only a single candidate republican Mary Connaughton spoke to the 46 people assembled at the Border Grille & Bar in Leominster.
On Monday Night the Twin City Tea Party had its latest meeting.
This month’s meeting was was shorter and more direct. Last month over 80 people showed forcing the use of the upstairs room. This month the topography was a bit different. There was a general seating area where people who just wanted to hear the speakers had chairs set up while the serving tables remains for those (like myself) who planned on eating and drinking. It increased the capacity of the lower room considerably, however with the enthusiasm of the big rallies of Tax day behind them and with some time the crowd was smaller (46 people) but quite attentive.
Last month there were a half dozen speakers some of them rather long winded. This month it seemed the theme was “less is more” and it worked out well. A single candidate Mary Connaughton a republican running for State Auditor attended making a very good case for her candidacy based on credentials and past actions. She was considerably more effective than the gentleman who spoke on her behalf last time. If nothing else it looks like for the auditor position there is a wealth of good candidates.
Justin Brooks who has organized the local group had made it a point to reach out to several different democratic candidates to invite them to the event but received either no response or regrets due to conflicts. This is a large mistake If the democrat party concedes the economic argument to the republicans they will lose it by default.
The next subject raised was the Cap and Trade bill. John Weston destroyed his qualifications for congress by actually reading the bill. He didn’t like what he saw and neither did the audience:
Mauricio Cardozo, A Local High School student spoke next asking advice on forming a Tea Party group/club in his school was next soliciting suggestions and the crowd responded with many ideas to advance and attract young people to the cause.
One common theme after the speakers was the idea of both educating people on both the tea parties and the positions they hold. A Summit May 7th & 8th in Danvers had some potential but from the reaction of both the crowd and both new and old attendees it was the meat of the Cap and Trade bill that really moved them. This seems like the field where the next battle will be fought.
Update: Error in the title on the date, corrected.
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