Roanoke Tea Party

We applaud our friends from the 2nd Tuesday Constitution group and the NRV Tea Party for letting Congressman Griffith have it over his vote for his vote on the latest Continuing Resolution.

The GOP should seize every opportunity to defund Obamacare and put a dent in the $14 trillion deficit. And they didn’t.

Instead of substantive budget cuts, they do things like de-funding NPR, that, while appropriate are just window dressing. They are inconsequential little acts that amount to nothing, but allow our Congressmen to wrap themselves up in the cloak of fiscal responsibility. Don’t get me wrong, we should de-fund NPR as it is an unconstitutional waste of taxpayer money.

However, de-funding NPR is the fiscal equivalent of a financially broke individual cutting out the morning cup of coffee to save money, while buying a 2011 Hummer. And House GOP leadership knows the Senate won’t allow for it anyway…

Protests were held across the 9th District.

The sheriff came out in Christiansburg and asked them to fill out a permit so they could protest. Watch the video above for more on this…The Sheriff brought the permit with him and had the protesters fill it out so they wouldn’t get in trouble and could have the rally. It looks like the sheriff handled this as best he could. But obviously the participants were very angry over this development. You can see more on the video above.

This rally raises several questions and points:

Concerning the Permit and the dust up with the Sheriff.

• Who at Griffith’s office actually called the police? And Why? These are legitimate questions that should be asked by the groups involved in the protest. As Tea Party activists, I think we should hold ourselves to a high standard for not jumping to conclusions without all of the facts. That being said, Griffith owes these people (who worked diligently for his election) an explanation. As many times as we have protested in front of Senator Webb’s office and as many problems we have had with him, no one in his office has ever fetched the sheriff on us….
• Christiansburg residents should look hard at their local statutes. If you indeed need a permit to protest, they should work to have that removed from their books as it is a clear violation of the 1st Amendment

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

What Now on the Bigger Issues?

• We shouldn’t be shocked the GOP let us down. I put more faith in Goodlatte than I should have on this issue, especially since I helped write the document that characterized our 6th District Congressman as a “failure with some hope or redemption. “ Half steps and measures are their M.O.
• The biggest thing we can do is put pressure on them for the upcoming vote on raising the debt ceiling. As this article points out, this is the moment of truth. With one fell swoop, the House (without the consent of the WH or the Senate) can derail the spending madness in DC.
• Goodlatte, Griffith and Hurt obviously don’t have the spine to stand up to the GOP Leadership’s Axis of Wimpiness (Boehner and Cantor). The only hope to get them on board with not raising the debt ceiling is if they feel pressure from home. They caved on the CR and they caved on the Patriot Act. There is no reason to suspect they won’t cave on this too unless they feel heat.

What To Do

• Contact Your Congressman (Hurt, Goodlatte or Griffith)
• Let them know you disagree with their vote on the continuing resolution
• Urge them to not raise the debt ceiling
• Stay tuned, we are looking to put together a rally on this that will put the maximum pressure on our Congressional Delegation. Goodlatte has 4 district offices (Harrisonburg, Staunton, Lynchburg and Roanoke) I’d like to have a protest at them all as there are active liberty groups in all 4 cities. Just need to coordinate and to plan the time that will be most effective.
• Focus on the debt ceiling issue. Since budget ideas that make sense, like this one, are not going to be implemented and the debt limit vote is a foregone conclusion. This is the next battle ground.

Chip Tarbutton

Roanoke Tea Party