Grow local leadership, not the federal bureaucracy
Defend our freedom to choose
against the progressive growth of government.
National Tea Party Convention - Nashville TN, Feb 4 - 6, 2010
We will share information from the National Tea Party
Convention in Nashville here. Check the
Tea Party Nation
website for additional information, including future event plans.
For example,
Tea Party Express is launching a new bus tour to various rallies
across the country. It will kick off on March 27 in Searchlight,
NV, where Sarah Palin will speak again. Tea Party Nation is also
starting to work on plans for a western regional event tentatively
scheduled for July 15-17.
PJTV
covered the National Tea Party Convention. For those who chose not
to attend, or were unable to do so, this link includes many videos -
some of which may require free registration to view.
Please, anybody who
believes in the Tea Party movement, share this speech with all of
your friends. They may have seen Sarah Palin's speech, but probably
missed this one. You had to be there to fully appreciate it. The
convention in Nashville was even better than expected. Let your
friends know about the PJTV coverage as well, so that they can see many
of the sessions and interviews of attendees.
We've got a lot of work ahead of us in the primaries
and to prepare for the general election. The time to win this fight
is right now - not at the end of October. It will require
sustained and effective outreach among disillusioned voters and strong
support of better candidates over the months ahead.
Angela McGlowan also gave a rousing speech to the crowd on Feb
4, followed by a long speech by Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily, who
unfortunately chose to start his speech with a "birther" message.
That was sufficient to help the liberal news media further denigrate
everyone who was in attendance.
Sarah Palin interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News
Sunday
Champion News
had several stories about the convention, which editor
John Biver attended,
and about the Tea Party movement in general. They also invited
Bruce Donnelly of SurgeUSA to discuss it on their
February 14 radio talk show, including emphasis on individuals
at the local level as the real leaders.
Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft was blogging from
Nashville, with several interesting reports such as
4 anti-Tea Party protesters show up briefly to try to attract
media attention. It was pathetic. The news media, for the
most part, wasn't falling for it this time. The protesters gave
up and left.
Founding Bloggers shared many photos and comments about the
National Tea Party Convention. They also put out a video, "Talking
Tea", on BigGovernment.com. Note that there is some
language in this clip which may offend some viewers.
Mark Levin had an interesting opening commentary
regarding the National Tea Party Convention and the future of
conservative activism in his
show of February 8.
Miss me yet? Minnesota billboard of George W.
Bush along I-35 sponsored by local businessmen. The Tea Party
folks may not miss George W. Bush in many respects, but they
sure miss Ronald Reagan and the
conservative principles of our founding fathers and Republican statesmen
like Abraham Lincoln.
February 10, 2010 - Fox News -
Anti-Tea Party website part of scheme to funnel funds - Comment:
As exposed recently when it tried to target some Republican candidates
unsuccessfully in the Illinois primary, there's a new attack website
which is funded by Democratic lawyers and unions, as well as a group
previously supported in 2008 by money from the Democratic Governors
Association. This is just another "astroturf" initiative by
progressives who see their illusory power quickly falling apart.
Information published prior to the
National Tea Party Convention follows below
January 30, 2010 - "Tea
Party vs. Tea Party" - Eric Odom seized his opportunity through Fox
News to promote an event in Dallas and his plans for another one in
Valley Forge, PA while needlessly spreading misinformation about the
National Tea Party Convention without actually checking the facts about
it or presenting them fairly. He was personally invited from the
start to speak at the Nashville event, but chose to promote his own new
events and plans instead, and present himself as a national spokesman.
January 28, 2010 - The AP reports that Michele
Bachmann has cancelled her appearance at the National Tea Party
convention in Nashville.
2 lawmakers drop out of Tea Party Convention
If you still trust the liberal news media to tell you the
truth about Tea Party groups, you're in the wrong place. The
statists are doing their best to stir up trouble.
Don't fall for it.
This event was never about having politicians speak to
the attendees. It is about local Tea Party organizers, as the real
leaders of this movement, talking to each other about how to have a
larger impact in 2010. The original idea was to have roughly 500
local organizers meet to share "lessons learned" and expand their
collaboration on preparations for 2010 primaries and the general
election campaigns. It sold out - with around 600 attendees plus
another 500 or so who were on the waiting list because they wanted to be
there, but space constraints at the hotel would not allow for a larger
meeting. In any case, the point is that the goal wasn't to have
the largest possible meeting. It was to have a useful meeting.
It has been subject to repeated attacks by liberal reporters in
Nashville, so there's little that is new in the AP story. The event
price reflects the cost to organize such an event - not an attempt to
profiteer from the Tea Party movement. Some of those who have
reportedly pulled out have been organizing competing events recently.
They seem to forget to mention that when talking to reporters, and in
some cases have been leading large fundraising initiatives of their own.
For example, there have been similar media attacks on the
fundraising and spending by Tea Party Express. Others are trying to
promote an event in Washington DC on April 15, and a meeting in Valley
Forge, PA. There are also some groups which are promoting their
training or consulting services for conservative activists.
That is OK - there is a need for more professionalism
and a sharper focus on how to achieve better outcomes - but we need not
distrust or vilify each other by playing into the games which the news
media plays to try to stir up controversy, such as by trying to isolate
and attack the organizers. Gee, where have I
heard about that strategy before?
Think about it. If hundreds of thousands of Tea Party supporters are
encouraged to go to DC again at their own expense, how many millions are
wasted by them in that process? What is achieved, since Congress
obviously has no intention of listening to them, even if millions of
people were to show up? What would happen if those millions were
targeted instead on the most relevant candidates? If you keep
spending all of your time, energy, and money on futile protests, who
wins in November? We need to stop protesting and "pivot" to the
challenge of winning the primaries and general election.
Some of the Tea Party and 9/12 critics of this event should wise up
about being suckered by the news media and statists into attacking their
peers. The liberals are scared of this event because it risks making the
Tea Party movement far more relevant and effective as a serious threat
to their chances to fool Americans yet again and stay in power after
November 2010. They weren't as worried about it until after they
lost in Massachusetts recently. Now, they're scared - as shown by
some unexpected retirement decisions and increased attacks.
This is just the beginning. Massachusetts was
just the opening shot. We have just begun to fight - and we're
in this fight to win. The Illinois primary is next - followed by
Texas, Ohio, Indiana, and others. Voters need to provide
political hospice care in every state (end of
political careers).
A
National Tea Party Convention will be held at the incredible
Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN from February 4 - 6, 2010.
This is a private event for Tea Party organizers and volunteers
nationwide, including 9/12 Project groups and other conservatives who
support the movement.
The purpose is to bring together local Tea Party leaders
from many groups and share experience and ideas in preparation for the
2010 primary and general elections as well as other work in 2010.
This includes outreach among local business leaders nationwide (large
and small) and other relevant groups of interest to independent voters.
It is not a public political protest or media event.
Obama recently told the US Conference of Mayors that they
can tell him the truth - after the cameras are off.
Where is the outrage from the news media or the
hypocrites at Media Matters about this? I don't recall them
expressing outrage about the press not being invited to record all
Center for American Progress leadership meetings, or Organizing for
America or ACORN meetings.
If the news media had
actually done their job as independent, professional investigative
journalists rather than as politically partisan hacks in the 2008
election cycle, there wouldn't have even been a need for a Tea Party
movement in 2009, so we really aren't interested in media attempts to
interfere with our work in the 2010 election cycle. As Obama says,
you can turn your cameras off and stay outside the room while we speak
the truth for a change and develop our own plans. Go ask your
friends in the Congressional leadership when they are going to open
their doors to your scrutiny. We aren't the ones who promised to
provide transparency and broadcast everything on C-Span.
The fee for this 3 day event is $549 plus a $9.95
processing fee. This includes the Sarah Palin dinner and the full
program, including other meals as listed in the
Schedule of Events. More details will follow soon. This
is not a free public appearance by Sarah Palin. It is a private
dinner event, with no news media invited.
To
reserve a hotel room, follow the link on that site and use code TEA10
Suggested arrival for travel plans: early afternoon of Feb 4, departure
on the morning of Feb 7. A special room rate of $110 to $175 plus
tax is available. This is a very substantial discount for this
resort hotel.
January 17, 2010 - There have been some new
attempts to smear the reputations of the organizers of this event.
Tea Party supporters should be savvy enough to question the motives and
validity of such attacks, which will predictably increase as
conservative election victories frustrate progressives.
November 19, 2009 -
Tea partiers turn on each other - Comment: Interesting Politico
article about the fragmentation of the Tea Party movement into many
factions, and the need to develop more unity for impact in 2010
elections without necessarily rallying behind any one leader, issue, or
organization.
This is not a media event or protest
rally.
This will not be a media event or protest rally. The focus is
on preparations for 2010 Tea Party actions. We will bring together
local Tea Party organizers and supporters from across the country to
share ideas. There will also be sponsorship and exhibit
opportunities for support of this event and the Tea Party movement.
This should help local organizers to meet potentially useful
contacts elsewhere.
Example: This event should reinforce local preparations for 2010 Tax
Day Tea Party rallies nationwide and other actions, perhaps including
another 9/12 rally in Washington DC or other types of political actions,
such as to collaborate strategically in key election races (like the
recent one in NY 23rd District and the US Senate special election in
Massachusetts).
Instead of
promoting one group or event or candidate, a primary goal of this
meeting is to reinforce personal networking and coordination among local
groups nationwide. The leaders of the Tea Party movement are the
local organizers and motivated volunteers in hundreds of cities.
This event should serve to introduce them personally to each other and
share ideas about how to have an even greater impact in 2010.
The goal is to network, empower, and inspire the local leaders and
volunteers to achieve even more in 2010.
We
will share further information here as details become available.
SurgeUSA is just one of many co-sponsors for this major national Tea
Party event. The
organizers
will announce the preliminary agenda, sponsors, and speakers on the
registration website as the plans move forward.
This
event also recognizes the 2009 accomplishments of many Tea
Party organizers nationwide. Many remarkable volunteers
confounded the politicians, political pundits, news media, critics, and skeptics by
quickly proving
that the "silent majority" would be silent no more, and that "we
surround them".
If we pay attention and
reach out to our friends and neighbors, regardless of individual
differences of opinion on some political issues, then we can restore a focus
on fundamental American principles and values.
If Americans continually look to their government for all solutions to
social problems, then we have become the problem driving the creeping
intrusion of government into our lives. We the people need to
accept our responsibility as foreseen in the Constitution, and solve our
own problems as free individuals who can collaborate voluntarily to
achieve better outcomes than any rulers can impose..
Unlike Tea Party protest rallies in public venues, this
private meeting is on private hotel property. Disruptive conduct
by registered event participants or any visitors seeking to create a
public disturbance will not be tolerated by hotel security and police.
Once again, this meeting is not a media event or a protest rally.
If you would like to suggest a
speaker or sponsor for this event, please comment through the Tea Party
Nation website.
Hotel reservations: A special rate
was
negotiated for this event. To qualify, you need to first
register
for the event, and then follow the instructions for room reservations.
The
inclusion of any website links on this site does not reflect any endorsement
of their content, or vice versa. This information is just shared
openly for the convenient reference of our visitors.
