Tea Party movement grows weary of GOP budget plan

From Stephen Clark of FoxNews.com on March 24:

As U.S. lawmakers seek a compromise on how much federal spending to cut in order to avoid a government shutdown, Tea Party activists who helped propel Republicans back into power are growing impatient with the debate.

When Republicans captured the House in November, vowing to slash $100 billion in federal spending from the budget year ending in September, 76 percent of Tea Party activists supported their deficit-reduction plan, according to a new Pew Research poll released last week.

But after House Republicans approved a plan last month to cut federal spending by $61 billion, that Tea Party support fell to 52 percent.

Now Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips, arguably the most vocal critic of GOP leaders, is pushing for a primary opponent against House Speaker John Boehner in 2012 for breaking his campaign pledge to cut $100 billion and for what he sees as hints that he's willing to cut less than $61 billion in a compromise with Senate Democrats.

"Charlie Sheen is now making more sense than John Boehner," Phillips wrote in his blog earlier this month.

In an interview with FoxNews.com Thursday, Phillips said he stands by his comments and goal of seeking a primary challenger to Boehner.

"Charlie Sheen still makes more sense than John Boehner because at least Charlie Sheen is winning," he said.

Read more.

Boehner faces Tea Party pressure

From Janet Hook of The Wall Street Journal on March 25:

Home-state tea-party activists have access to House Speaker John Boehner that any lobbyist would envy. They meet twice a month with a top aide to the Ohio Republican, and their emails are answered quickly.

But that doesn't seem to be enough to turn them into loyalists.

Ohio conservatives say they are preparing to call 1,000 of Mr. Boehner's donors to complain that he isn't doing enough to block a debt-limit increase. On a new Facebook page, "Tea Partiers Against Boehner,'' they air complaints. The national group Tea Party Patriots, saying that Republicans are "timidly passing mediocre spending reforms,'' has called for a rally at the Capitol.

The calls to make big spending cuts come as Mr. Boehner works under deadline pressure with Democratic lawmakers and the White House on a plan to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year to avoid a potential government shutdown after April 8.

Such negotiations tend to push lawmakers toward compromise. The tea-party activists want Mr. Boehner to stick to his guns on $61 billion in budget cuts that the House approved earlier this year. "You said you were going to cut X amount, and that's what we want to see happen,'' said Chris Littleton, co-founder of the Ohio Liberty Council, a coalition of tea-party groups. "Just take a stand. That's pretty cut and dried.''

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said the House speaker "believes an increase in the debt ceiling cannot and should not pass without spending cuts and reforms so that we can keep cutting spending."Mr. Steel said that Republicans will have to keep reminding their allies that the GOP's power in Washington remains limited. "Washington, D.C., is still controlled by Democrats, and congressional Republicans are the only thing standing between the American people and more 'stimulus' spending, more bailouts, and more big government takeovers," Mr. Steel said.

Read more.

All voices heard as House brainstorms for budget trims

From Philip Rucker and Felicia Sonmez of The Washington Post on Feb. 17:

As the House explores ways this week to trim federal spending beyond the $61 billion in cuts that Republicans have already proposed, Speaker John A. Boehner has said all ideas are welcome -- from obscure trims involving mustang roundups out West to major reductions such as eliminating funding for the Iraq security forces.

But such a free-for-all can have surprising results, and one of the biggest Wednesday was a victory for President Obama and a defeat for a Boehner-backed initiative.

Many tea-party-backed freshmen broke ranks with their GOP leaders and joined liberal Democrats in voting to cut funding for an alternative engine for a fighter jet. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine project has long been a frequent but elusive target, as well as one that provided jobs in Boehner's home state of Ohio.

In trying to pass a bill that would fund the federal government through September, Boehner has kept a campaign promise to give everyone a voice in the process. But the engine vote showed that no one can quite predict how it will turn out.

That didn't seem to bother some House Republicans, though. Rep. Steve King (Iowa) said the debate has been so intense because Republicans and Democrats have "years of pent-up frustrations" after floor amendments were previously not allowed for such spending bills.

"This constitutional, republican form of government is messy and debate is messy, but I think it's so important that for the first time in how many years now members can actually take their argument to the floor, have a debate, force a recorded vote on their issue," King said.

Read more.

Action Alert: Connect on FreedomConnect

FreedomWorks has launched a new website, FreedomConnect, for Tea Partiers and other conservative activists to network.

"Right now, because of the decentralized nature of the Tea Party movement, groups are utilizing Ning, Meetup, Evite, etc. to coordinate and plan events. FreedomConnect allows everyone to work on the same easy-to-use system for grassroots organizing," according to a press release.

The website combines "the basic elements of Facebook with personalized information based on your location -- listing events, groups and people in your area," the press release said.

"In short," the press release added, "FreedomConnect is the future of the Tea Party movement."

New Congress forms the 'Slumber Party'

At least 21 new members of the House -- one-fifth of the freshman class -- have announced they will sleep in their offices this term and do not intend to rent in Washington, according to CBS News.

From CBS News on Jan. 22:

The political message they are all sending home is that

they are literally on the job 24/7.

Having been elected to the people's house, they intend to use it as a house.

-- Wyatt Andrews, CBS News

Mud libel

From Ann Coulter on Human Events on Jan. 19:

The same people who had blamed Sarah Palin for the massacre at the Tucson Safeway and then taunted her for her "silence" were enraged when she responded.

Last Tuesday, the night before Palin responded, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann mocked Palin's silence throughout his show:

-- "And why is the ever self-promoting Miss Palin so quiet?"

-- "And it's quiet, isn't it?"

-- "It's too quiet."

-- "The silence is deafening from the great Northwest."

It was deemed an admission of guilt that she hadn't spoken about the Tucson shooting or denied the accusations that she had inspired the shooter.

The next day, Palin posted a video response, and Keith immediately attacked her for "the worst timed political statement ever." It's almost as if liberals would attack Palin whatever she did.

Olbermann sneered about Palin's use of the phrase "blood libel," scoffing, "This, to Sarah Palin, is analogous to what is happening to her." No, not only happening to her, but to all right-wingers, tea partiers, Republican politicians, and conservative radio and TV hosts -- all of whom have been accused of complicity in murder.

Read more.

Cantor talks tough on debt ceiling

From Siobham Hughes of The Wall Street Journal on Jan. 18:

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) sounded a tough note on the nation's borrowing limit, saying Republicans wouldn't agree to raise the debt ceiling without assurances of cuts in government spending.

"We are simply not going to accept an increase in the debt limit without serious cuts and reforms," Mr. Cantor told reporters Tuesday. "If our votes are needed, which I assume the president thinks they are, then we will be acting to ensure the people that elected us that Washington's spending binge is over."

Other House Republican leaders have said that the debt limit will have to be raised, with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) saying recently that he didn't want the U.S. to default on its obligations. But Mr. Cantor declined to make similar assertions, saying that he was "not going to opine one way or the other" about whether Republicans would vote against raising the nation's borrowing limit.

That partly reflects the challenge that Republican leaders may face in keeping their caucus together in negotiations with the White House. Many tea party-backed Republicans have said they will vote against increasing the nation's borrowing capacity, even though failure to do so could cause the federal government to gradually start to shut down or possibly cause the U.S. to default on its sovereign-debt obligations.

Read more.

Rookie Rand Paul tackles budget head-on

From Manu Raju of Politico on Jan. 18:

President Barack Obama will soon lay out his vision for federal spending when he releases his annual budget, setting in motion months of debate over the size and scope of government.

Rand Paul is doing the same thing.

The tea party hero is at the bottom of the Senate in seniority and was sworn in as Kentucky’s junior Republican senator only two weeks ago, but he’s about to unveil his own sweeping budget plan that would result in a $500 billion cut in just one year — about five times more than what the House GOP has promised to do.

It’s an unusual move — a rookie senator releasing his own version of the federal budget — but it says a lot about how Paul is trying to carve an unconventional identity in the stodgy Senate. As he tries to navigate Senate politics, Paul faces a key question: Will he use his national profile to paint himself as a conservative firebrand and perennial outsider, or will he work within the system and with senators across the ideological spectrum to settle for less ambitious deals?

So far, he’s showing signs he’ll do a little of both.

Paul’s version of the federal budget — which he’ll unveil as early as next week — would target programs at virtually every federal agency, including the Defense Department, and would eliminate the Education Department. He plans to follow up with a five-year budget with even deeper spending cuts, a move likely to prompt backlash from groups that would be affected by his proposal.

Like other Republicans, Paul is pushing a constitutional amendment to force Congress to balance its books, calling for a two-thirds-majority vote to increase taxes. And he plans to float bills that would kill certain federal regulations. Breaking from most lawmakers, he also wants to force a debate over instituting a limit of two terms for senators. And he’ll propose establishing a waiting period before lawmakers cast major votes and forcing them to read legislation.

“These are not without ambition,” Paul told POLITICO in an interview.

Read more.

Former Reagan aide trying to entice Rep. Mike Pence into 2012 prez race

From the Associated Press on Jan. 17:

WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent campaign to draw GOP Rep. Mike Pence into the 2012 presidential race is under way, with a veteran of the Reagan White House launching a petition drive on Monday urging him to enter the primary contests.

Ralph Benko, a deputy counsel to Ronald Reagan, announced the America’s President Committee to encourage a Pence-for-president bid. Former Rep. Jim Ryan, R-Kan., is also helping the campaign to collect signatures from conservatives and tea party activists.

“Mike Pence extraordinarily exemplifies the optimistic, pro-growth, pro-job creation Reagan-Kemp wing of the GOP. Grass-roots conservatives, Republicans, the tea party and populists are looking for a man or woman of principle who can champion and unite the newly energized and engaged citizenry,” Benko said. “Mike Pence is the best choice to lead us into a new era of peace and prosperity.”

Jack Kemp, who died in 2009, was a Republican congressman and vice presidential candidate. He was perhaps best known as an economic conservative who advocated low taxes and lowering barriers to supplying goods and services.

Pence, of Indiana, stepped down from his post in the House Republican leadership. He has considered a White House run or perhaps a campaign for governor. One of his party’s strongest advocates for conservative policies, Pence is among the GOP’s most outspoken critics of President Barack Obama.

Read more.

A guide to Jared Loughner

Liberal seek ban on metaphors in wake of Arizona shooting

From Ann Coulter on Human Events on Jan. 12:

After the monstrous shooting in Arizona last week, surely we can all agree that we've got to pass Obama's agenda immediately and stop using metaphors.

At least I think that's what the mainstream media are trying to tell me.

Liberals instantly leapt on the sickening massacre at a Tucson political event over the weekend to accuse tea partiers, Sarah Palin and all conservatives who talk out loud of being complicit in murder by inspiring the shooter, Jared Loughner.

Of course, to make their case, they first must demonstrate:

(a) Right-wingers have called for violence against anyone, especially conservative, pro-Second Amendment Democratic congresswomen;

(b) Loughner was listening to them; and

(c) Loughner was influenced by them.

They've proved none of this. In fact, it's nearly the opposite.

Needless to say, no conservative has called for violence against anyone. Nor has any conservative engaged in any "rhetoric" that was likely to lead to violence. Every putative example of "violent rhetoric" these squeamish liberals produce keeps being matched by an identical example from the Democrats.

Read more.

Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Tucson: Did it stem from state of political discourse?

From Sandhya Somashekhar of The Washington Post on Jan. 9:

No information had yet been released about the man implicated in the mass shooting that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) before pundits and activists across the political spectrum identified the culprit: The sad state of political discourse in America.

Liberals were quick to blame the tea party movement and the sometimes-militant rhetoric employed by its standard-bearers. On Twitter, activists repeatedly referred to the remarks of Sharron Angle (R), the unsuccessful Senate candidate in Nevada, who last year advocated "second-amendment remedies" to some of the nation's problems. And they noted the map posted by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R), who depicted crosshairs over the states where she hoped to oust Democratic incumbents.

As details emerged about the alleged gunman and his erratic views, however, the tea party responded.

"If we ever needed an official political obituary to political civility in this country, we've seen it," said Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation. "The facts weren't even out there, Rep. Giffords had been carted away in a stretcher, we didn't even know her condition, but the war had already started. The folks on the hard left were already out there blaming the tea party."

Turns out the politics espoused by the alleged gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, are difficult to pin down. A Jared Loughner lists on his YouTube channel Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto among his favorite books, but his views are difficult to decipher from his videos - and it is not clear if he is the same man implicated in the shooting.

That Giffords was targeted by a tea partier was an easy assumption to make considering her historical clashes with the movement. A moderate Democrat, she had been vilified by some conservatives for her opposition to her state's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigrants and for her support for the health-care overhaul.

When asked by The New York Post on Saturday if his daughter had any enemies, Giffords's father, Spencer Giffords responded, "Yeah...The whole tea party."

Read more.

Howard Dean calls Tea Party racist

Another Democrat dummy trying to make the Tea Party movement all about race ...

This is the last gasp of the generation that has trouble with diversity.

-- Howard Dean

Jacksonville Tea Party leader namedone of area's newsmakers for 2011

The Financial News and Daily Record on Dec. 27 named Billie Tucker, head of the First Coast Tea Party, one of the 10 most influential Duval County, Fla., citizens of 2011.

Managing editor Kathy Brune Mathis says this about the annual list:

While many people in power will make headlines in 2011, some Duval County business and civic leaders are in positions, by choice or by circumstance, to influence significant events in the coming year.

The Daily Record staff nominated, reviewed, voted and debated a list of dozens of people who are in pivotal civic or business positions and who are expected to tackle significant issues of citywide importance in the coming year.

The top 10 are presented here today, although it’s important to note that many others were strongly considered.

Those chosen are in a specific place of particular relevance to the direction of the city. Their comments and insights will signal directions in business, politics, education and the future of Northeast Florida.

Whether or not you agree with them, you might benefit from knowing their views and plans because they might well affect you.

Here's what the paper says about Tucker:

Billie Tucker, executive director of the First Coast Tea Party, is gearing up her troops for the spring elections and beyond.

The tea party movement across the country strongly influenced the November elections and the First Coast Tea Party is preparing to interview candidates on the local ballot.

An outspoken advocate for tea party principles, Tucker is putting structure to the First Coast Tea Party and setting up committees to keep watch on City, state, federal and school board issues.

Her challenge: “2010 was a year of great wins for the tea party movement. Those wins do not mean we will go away or that our work is done. Because within those great wins came many disappointments. The lame-duck session after our win on Nov. 2 showed us the absolute disregard by our leaders for the desires of the people,” she said.

“We fired them on Nov. 2, yet they kept spending our money, passing legislation to micromanage our lives and gave special deals to their buddies.”

Tucker said that in the private sector, a fired employee is “escorted out the door so they cannot do the company harm. Again, we see government doesn’t work that way and the harm caused by this lame duck will be felt by generations to come.”

Tucker said that attention now turns locally.

“With 2011 just days away, the First Coast Tea Party will turn our attention to finding and electing principled leaders to lead us at the local level. With the many issues facing us as a city, it will take men and women of character and vision who can work together to bring prosperity and jobs back to the First Coast.”

Her personal challenge:

“To keep the good fight going within the tea party movement, balance my life as a wife, mom and grandmother, move my own career to a higher level of performance and satisfaction and grow my faith in the One who sustains me.”

Click here to read the other nine profiles.

Eight GOP senators vote to keep earmarks

From Jordan Fabian of The Hill on Nov. 30:

Eight Republican senators on Tuesday voted to preserve earmark spending despite pressure from the Tea Party movement.

Sens. Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), James Inhofe (Okla.), Dick Lugar (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Richard Shelby (Ala.) voted against an amendment to food-safety legislation that would have enacted a two-year ban on the spending items. Retiring Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio) and defeated Sen. Bob Bennett (Utah) also voted against it.

Senate Republicans had already passed a voluntary earmark ban, but Tuesday's vote shows that the conference is still divided over the issue. The overall Senate proposal failed 39-56.

Read more.

The essential (and exceptional) American

From Newt Gingrich on Human Events on Dec. 1:

It has been said that times of great challenge reveal the great character of our nation.

This observation is typically used to highlight the extraordinary sacrifices and heroics of the American people. Time and again, whether we have been tested by war or great tragedy, the American people have revealed their fundamental bravery, compassion and honor.

But the statement can also be said to be true in another sense: Times of great challenge for America often cause us to reexamine our nation’s policies and priorities, measuring them against the founding principles of our country.

This year, as part of the American Solutions Real Jobs Tour, I had the opportunity to meet with Tea Party leaders across the country. I was amazed at how many of them were leading reading and discussion groups on the Constitution and learning more about the Founding Fathers. It became clear to me that the energy and drive of the Tea Party movement was not an allergic reaction to the radicalism of the Obama administration, as it is so often dismissed in the mainstream media.

It was, in fact, a response to the huge challenges facing our nation, and evidence of the revival of an old idea: American Exceptionalism.

Read more.

FreedomWorks gathers GOP lawmakers to refocus on Tea Party goals

From Amy Gardner of The Washington Post on Nov. 11:

In Baltimore on Thursday, former House majority leader Richard K. Armey, the chairman of tea party backer FreedomWorks, exhorted a roomful of incoming members of Congress not to stray from the small-government principles that propelled them to power. Don't be dazzled by plum committee assignments or other enticements from Republican leaders, he cautioned, if they come at an ideological price.

In Washington, those same Republican leaders continued to make overtures to the new class of conservatives by offering them unprecedented roles to shape the debate in the coming legislative session.

Everyone, it seems, is positioning to lay claim to the Republican Class of 2010, providing an early glimpse of the tension that emerges when a movement based entirely on its outsider status is suddenly on the inside.

Are the freshmen selling out if they partner with the very establishment they derided on the campaign trail? Or have they already won by capturing the attention of leaders and gaining a seat at the table?

Read more.

Virginia bill asks for Tea Party license plate

From The Associated Press on Nov. 11:

"Don't Tread On Me" soon may become an oft-used expression on Virginia roads.

A state lawmaker is proposing a bill to create a license plate for Virginians to express solidarity with the spirit of the Tea Party movement.

At the request of constituents, Henrico County Republican Del. John O'Bannon has filed legislation to establish a "Don't Tread On Me" license plate.

The plate features the rattlesnake emblem and yellow background of the historic Gadsden Flag, which has become a symbol for the Tea Party movement.

Read more.

Action Alert: Call Congress: Ban earmarks!

From a Freedomworks press release Nov. 11:

You might think that after November 3rd, politicians … especially Republicans … would have gotten the message.

But just a little more than a week since the historic tidal wave of GOP victories in the House and Senate, the old-guard, establishment Republicans in Congress are already backpedaling on a key conservative issue and an important plank in the Contract From America: Earmark Reform.

Senator Jim DeMint has proposed that all Republican Senators commit to a moratorium on all federal earmarks. The issue is set to be decided early next week, during a special meeting that Senate Republicans have scheduled, but some are already balking at the proposal.

To you and me, last week's elections were a clear message that the culture of bloated federal spending and business-as-usual Washington politics will no longer stand.

Unfortunately, some Republicans in the Senate don't seem to be getting the message … at least not yet.

We need to TAKE ACTION NOW -- if you are represented by a Republican Senator CLICK HERE to use FreedomWorks interactive call center that will directly connect you with your Senator's office. Call them, and find out whether they intend to support Mr. DeMint's conference-wide moratorium on earmarked spending. Then encourage your friends and family to do likewise.

This is the first test of the Tea Party movement's resolve. We must apply the same energy we unleashed in the elections to holding these soon-to-be promise-breakers to their word.

Earmarks represent the worst of Beltway politics -- nothing but wasteful spending to grease the wheels for bigger and badder legislation. That's why a logical first step for Republicans who rode to resurgence should be the banning of all pork-laden earmarks -- emblems of wasteful spending and backroom deal-cutting.

TAKE ACTION NOW and help reinforce the fact that Republicans can't take tea party support for granted.

Politely, but firmly, tell their staff that if any politician -- of any party -- hopes to win the support of grassroots Tea Party activists, it's vital they begin IMMEDIATELY showing their support for important reforms of broken Beltway politics.

Their opposition to earmarks will be remembered. Their support of business-as-usual will not be forgotten.

What: Call Congress and urge your senator to ban earmarks.

When: Now.

Where: Anywhere by a phone!

For more information: Click here.