Roanoke Tea Party

Sorry for the delay in this post. We have had problems with the site for the past couple of days. I am traveling (a long ago planned wedding I’m attending in Newport News) and tied up with family stuff. The timing couldn’t be worse. However, I think most of the Congressman know what they are going to do…they are just savvy enough to try and wrangle more sweetheart deals from the Democratic leadership. At this point, I think the die is pretty well cast. But in case I’m wrong…let’s keep up the pressure on Boucher and Periello.

The slaughter solution has passed. And now the Democrats are bribing and cheating their way to a 216 person vote in the House. So the Democrats are willing to destroy the Constitution to pass this bill. The process is unconstitutional, the bill is unconstitutional. The result:

Your freedoms are in peril.

The specifics of the bill aren’t important now…though we all know that this isn’t going to help anyone but Democrats who are trying to seize power. If the government can subvert the Constitution to create laws without the consent of the people, our Republic is in an unparalleled crisis.

Thanks to Congressman Goodlatte for his support of the Constitution. From a message that Goodlatte sent to the Roanoke Tea Party yesterday.

“I wanted to let you know about a resolution that the Congressman co-sponsored which would prevent the speaker from bringing a rule to the floor unless it allows for an up-or-down vote on the Senate health care bill, and additionally he gave a speech on the house floor yesterday along with 124 other members of the Republican caucus against not only the health care bill itself, but also against the process by which the Democrats are trying to ram this through the House.”

We also appreciate Tom Periello for his courage in crossing over and voting against the Slaughter Solution. Yet he is going to vote for the bill? What sense does that make?

However, Rick Boucher went along with the Slaughter Solution. Congressman Boucher, you voted against the bill the first time around…and now you vote for the unconstitutional procedure to pass the unconstitutional bill you originally opposed? What?!?!?

The root cause of this problem is that we have progressives who are either too incompetent to see the constitutional issues with this bill, or willing accomplices to the greatest constitutional crisis in this nation since the Civil War.

So what do we do?

There is a rally in DC today at noon at the Capitol.  I am watching it now. At some point, I think these rally’s are losing their effectiveness. I prefer hounding your Congressman, Leave Goodlatte alone, or thank him for showing leadership on this…but if you are in Boucher or Periello’s district

Call him

Call him

Call him.

“All politics is local”…make them fear for their jobs.

Governor McDonnell, we need every voice now. Sign the Health Care Freedom Act and join the fight! It has been sitting on your desk for over a week. What are you waiting for? We could have been the first state to approve nullification. But Idaho has beaten us to the punch.

Thanks to AG Ken Cuccinelli for his leadership on nullification and his willingness to fight for the rights the Federal government are trying to steal from us.

All of this is just, in the words of Ken Cuccinell, a rear guard action. If you were uncertain about the direction of progressives in DC, events of the past few days should have removed all doubt. The latest Gallop Poll shows  Congressional approval at 16%. The question remains: what we are going to do about it?

The answer is we have to change the equation. It’s simple.

Step 1:

Get the current crop of progressives out of DC and Richmond.

The GOP is flush with confidence and joy as they feel they will sweep back in to power in November. We want to help that happen. Not to mention in 2011 when every State Senator is up for re-election. With the current environment and our active support, we can make this happen. As a local group we need to focus primarily on local races and get good men and women into office. But here’s the rub…

What are the new politicians going to differently? If it is the same economic policies that the GOP Congress and Bush pursued from 2000 – 2006 when they had a majority, we will end up in the same place we are today…with the people getting frustrated with the GOP and voting Democrats back in…

Is that really what we want? Is that what we are fighting for. Never Again.

Step 2:

Whoever is in power needs to be accountable to:

Support the Constitution

Show Fiscal Responsibility

Defend Individual Liberties

Support the Free Market

The Roanoke Tea Party does not care what your party affiliation is…but we do care deeply if you defend these basic principles. We are looking at Bob McDonnell just as critically as we would look at any Governor. He’s not getting a pass because he has an R behind his name. For those who put party loyalty above our principles, the Roanoke Tea Party is not the place for you.

Lastly, as the Roanoke Tea Party continues to grow, we need to continue to focus most of our energy on issues that are local to us…The Roanoke Valley, The New River Valley and Bedford/Lynchburg. We need to ensure that good candidates are representing us at every level of government: from school boards to Congress. From House of Delegates to the US Senate.

If you really support these basic principles, you can look at a piece of legislation and know that it violates these principles. Never mind that McDonnell’s a Republican. If you look at his original Jobs bill, it is full of tax breaks for “Green Jobs.” By doing this, the government is subverting the free market by targeting tax breaks to the businesses the government deems as good.

That does not support Free Markets. And we should oppose it.

Step 3: Repeat Steps 1 and 2 forever

We all have to get past party issues and look at how well are elected officials are upholding their principles. Forever.

The other advantage of acting locally is that no one knows what will happen to the economy. With the oppressive debt both parties in DC have piled up over the past few years, Moody’s is considering downgrading the USA’s bond rating. Did you hear that? The USA, the greatest economic force in the history of the world, may being downgraded!

Glen Beck picked up on this last night. If the federal government goes bankrupt, we may be faced with a historical shift in this nation. Everyone likes to say “when things get better…we’ll be fine.” But please note that the Moody’s report also predicted unprecedented social upheaval when the US government finally starts to address the fiscal mess. What does that mean? No one knows for sure.

We have a Federal Government that is bound and determined to push us into a socialist society and destroy the basic tenets of our nation. What does that mean long term….No one knows for sure.

All we can really control politically is our local elections. When our local/state /Federal officials are faced with crucial decisions soon that could alter the very direction of this nation…we must have leaders who are up to this challenge.

As a local group, we need to be educated, prepared and ready for any eventuality. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst is always good advise. At some point very soon, our state and local officials are going to have to stand up to the Federal Government and say NO. And unless we are pushing them to do that…it will never happen. Being an effective voice locally has NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL THAN AT THIS PIVOTAL MOMENT IN HISTORY.

As a group, we need to stop being slaves to our current system. The system we have in place can be changed if we have the courage to stand on our convictions.

When the 10th Amendment is always respected, when we always allow for a truly free markets, when we always respect individual liberties and when the government is always thrifty;  we will see this nation flourish economically and are freedoms will be secured.

Keep your powder dry people, whatever happens in DC over the next few days is only the first battle. The real battle will be in November, when we start to replace politicians and hold new ones accountable.The sad part is that the battle will never be over…we will always need to be vigilant because people, being people, are going to disappoint us.

That’s why are founders created this government to ensure our God Given rights are protected.That is our mission and for the sake of our children we cannot fail.