It is in response to an earlier posting criticizing our July 4 rally at Elmwood Park for preaching to the choir, with high profile speakers coming from the Republican Party, and also for comments about social issues like abortion being discussed from the stage.

Chip responds (in part):

At the July 4th rally, we invited every local representative and local political party to attend. This included Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Constitutional Party representatives. No Democrats chose to accept our invitation. About half of the scheduled speakers were from the Libertarian Party, the Constitutional Party or from other organizations (We had a Fair Tax representative and radio personality Brian Gottstein speak).

The second half of the agenda was open to anyone, although we ran into some time constraints and not as many people got a chance to speak as we would have liked. A few speakers toward the end did discuss social issues, but this was not a main focus of the rally, and they are not issues the Roanoke Tea Party is actively pursuing. We believe in freedom of speech, and speakers comments were completely theirs and theirs alone.

You can read Chip’s entire response here.

If you changed the script on the patient’s chest to “Ridiculous Sham Masquerading as Health Care Reform” I’d gladly take some of the credit for helping THAT flatline. If it wasn’t for concerned citizens like us, rising up to defend our nation, health care reform, Cap and Trade and other destructive bills would have already passed. I’m proud of the role we have played!

I don’t think the Times is happy with us. We must be doing something right!

If you would like to help continue to irritate the left by derailing their destructive agenda, please plan on attending our business meeting on Feb 4th at the main branch of the Roanoke library on Electric Road. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM. More info is here.

I have added several new pages that will be key.

Legislative Agenda/Legislative Grades will be one of our cornerstones for the future as we hold our elected officials accountable for supporting our values.

Another major push will be getting involved in local politics. More on that here…

Plus, videos from recent events are here.

The following letter is a response to an editorial published in the Roanoke Times Sunday. Look for it soon in the Roanoke Times.

Well said sir…

In Sunday’s article by Dan Radmacher concerning government’s spending spree, Radmacher takes aim at the Tea Party and defends President Obama.  His claim that the Tea Party blames Obama for the spending spree is false and misleading.  On the (Roanoke) Tea Party’s website is an article, sent to the House majority leader, requesting the removal of Speaker Pelosi from her position as Speaker.  Most of the articles on the website are not about Obama.  Obama’s agenda is only one of many problems with our government.  As most people know, the President can only make budgetary proposals.  Congress controls the purse strings.  The Tea Party has many concerns–the size of the federal government, its intrusive controlling tendencies, the loss of our constitutionally guaranteed rights, revisionist historical writing and teaching, and the loss of local control in the education of our children.  These are just a few issues needing immediate attention by the American people.
       So Mr. Radmacher, if you truly agree with the Tea Party that the federal deficit is out of control, let’s look for solutions to the problem of this government’s spending spree which is something the Tea Party is looking to accomplish.

Barry Powell

Join us at Parker’s Seafood on Monday, March 8th.

The meeting will start promptly at 6:30 PM. We look forward to seeing you there.

Here are two great letters. This letter is from Tea Party Member Sandy Smith and is a response to a ridiculous article printed in the Roanoke Times comparing Tea Party members to hippies…Her response is perfect.

“Hi Chip,
If you take the Roanoke Times, (I haven’t subscribed in years…because of stuff like this…Chip) I hope you noticed the article this morning, on the Opinion Page ~ “THE TEA PARTIERS ARE AGING HIPPIES”.  It was a nasty article, by two Democratic political consultants, Jim Spencer and Curtis Ellis of the McClatchy Tribune.  The Roanoke Times will go anywhere to find liberal bias materials.  I sent the following letter to the editor. I hope more Tea Party Patriots respond to it as well.
Sandy Smith

So to our arrogant political consultants from Boston and New York…we Tea Party folks are about saving our country, for our children, grandchildren and future generations, so they may enjoy the freedoms that so many have fought and died for. We love our country and are patriotic Americans…not aging armed militiant hippies. We do not protest in violence, but we are angry. We are the formerly silent majority bringing our concerns to Washington.

I picked up this letter from our one our partners in the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation. It is a response to the Governor’s jobs bill, which is very Obamaesque.  The author takes apart this bill piece by piece. I’ve also attached the original email from Lt. Governor Bolling.  Progressive garbage is progressive garbage, no matter what party it comes from…

Dear Lt. Gov. Bolling:

In a message dated 1/30/2010 6:06:58 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, campaign@billbolling.com writes:

Jobs and Opportunity Agenda Good for Virginia
McDonnell/Bolling plan will create 30,000 new jobs and generate $311M in state and local tax revenue

During this year’s statewide campaign, Bob McDonnell and I talked a lot about getting our economy moving again and creating jobs.  We said then, and we reaffirm now, that this is the most important issue currently facing our state.

Over the past several months we have worked to put together a comprehensive set of legislative and budget initiatives that will position Virginia to take full advantage of a future economic resurgence.  On January 26th we unveiled our Jobs and Opportunity Agenda in a press conference at the State Capitol that was attended by more than 300 legislative and business leaders.

Even though state government is current facing significant budget shortfalls, we have asked the General Assembly to appropriate an additional $50M toward proven economic development and job creation programs.  That means more money for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the Virginia Film Office, the Department of Business Assistance and more.
With this additional funding we will be able to open new economic development offices in China and India and implement an aggressive media campaign to market Virginia as a great place to do business or take a vacation.

We will be able to invest in a number of strategic programs that are designed to improve Virginia’s ability to attract enhanced manufacturing facilities, become the East Coast’s energy leader and assert our position as a great place for biotechnology and life sciences companies.

And we will be able to double the size of the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, which provides incentives to new businesses locating in Virginia; and the Jobs Investment Partnership Program, which provides grants to businesses that need workforce training assistance.

In addition, we have proposed a number of legislative initiatives that will give our economic development professionals the tools they need to recruit new companies to Virginia.

We have proposed a number of new and expanded tax incentives for businesses that create jobs in Virginia, including a doubling of the Major Facilities Business Tax Credit and the implementation of a new Green Energy Jobs Tax Credit.
In addition to doubling the size of the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, we have proposed providing additional flexibility in the fund by allowing grants and loans based on anticipated state and local tax revenue and more latitude for local matching funds for certain projects.
To assist small businesses in gaining access to the capital they need to start a business or expand a business, we have proposed tax credits to financial institutions that invest in a new $100M Small Business Investment Company fund that will make loans to small businesses.
We have proposed reprioritizing how money is invested in Virginia’s Enterprise Zones by requiring that available funds go first to those companies that are creating jobs.  Currently, we are only funding 46% of these obligations.

And we have proposed continuing Virginia’s Business One Stop program, which is designed to assist small businesses in understanding state licensing and regulatory requirements, and streamlining these requirements to enable anyone to create a small business in Virginia within 48 hours.
A conservative economic impact analysis estimates that our Jobs and Opportunity Agenda will create nearly 30,000 new jobs in the next two years and generate $311M in additional state and local tax revenue.

I am pleased that our Jobs and Opportunity Agenda has strong bipartisan support in the General Assembly.

Now is the time to invest in these important economic development programs and pass this job creating legislation.  These changes will better position Virginia to compete for new business, industry and jobs.

These are challenging economic times, but if we make the right decisions now we can position Virginia to take full advantage of a future economic resurgence.

Please contact your legislator today and encourage them to support the McDonnell/Bolling Jobs and Opportunity Agenda so we can get Virginia’s economy growing again.

I have had several people, when I talk about Mike Powell’s candidacy for Roanoke City Council, say something like this:

“Well he seems like a good guy but I live in (fill in the blank).”

What they are really thinking is “Why should I care if Mike Powell get’s elected if I live in Salem, Botetourt or anywhere else in Va?”

Here are 10 reasons why all of us in the Roanoke Tea Party need to rally around Mike during his campaign

1. Mike Powell is a Roanoke Tea Party member running for a political office.  He reached out to us for help, he exemplifies our principles and is a viable candidate…it is simply the right thing to do.

2. He is willing to fight for eminent domain rights. That affects us all. Check this out.

3. The Roanoke Tea Party is getting a lot of good publicity for our efforts.

4. It gives frustrated Conservatives something constructive to do prior to voting out incumbents in November. Why wait till November when we can start changing the game on May 4th?

5. We are getting a chance to show other candidates in other races what we can accomplish. Mike Powell has had a tremendous surge in campaign funds. We will continue to get Mike publicity with upcoming events…like tomorrow’s sign waving event.  We have a record of putting together effective media campaigns to promote us…it’s relatively easy to shift and promote a candidate.

6. With that excellent support, other candidates will be more willing to support our agenda in the future to get our support.

7. It allows the RTP to shift from just being “against stuff,” to supporting a candidate who can start actually pushing for our agenda.

8. A healthy Roanoke City is good for the whole valley. If Mike can help right the ship in the city and help drive business and population growth, that will help the entire valley. A rising tide lifts all ships.

9. Mike will have the courage to stand up and promote our values in a high profile and often contentious City Council. He will proudly proclaim himself to be a Roanoke Tea Party Member…how cool is that? Plus he can help expose corruption in city politics.

10. Roanoke City Politics is a microcosm of what is wrong with DC.

Entrenched politicians…just like DC

Fiscally irresponsible…just like DC

Supported by big money interests and the local media (particuarly the Editorial Board of the Roanoke Times)…just like DC

If it does nothing else, getting Mike Powell onto Roanoke City Council on May 4 will absolutely infuriate the powers that be in Roanoke and send shock waves through their entrenched power base. That is a noble goal and one we are well on the way to making a reality.

Please help in anyway you can….don’t wait till November to express your rage at Progressives…

Start now by supporting Mike Powell for City Council. on May 4th!

Chip Tarbutton
President, Roanoke Tea Party

If you need no other reason to vote for Mike, please note that the Roanoke Times has endorsed 3 other candidates “who understand the function of city government.”

If you share the same beliefs as the editorial board of the Roanoke Times what the function of city government is…stay home and don’t get involved. Keep allowing the same kinds of politicians to run city council…that is working so well don’t you think???

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results…not shocking that the Roanoke Times editorial board would fit that definition perfectly. Good general advise…do the opposite of whatever the editorial board of the Roanoke Times says…

If you believe that city government’s role is to provide good education, with low taxes and fiscal responsibility…then you have to get out and vote for Mike Powell on Tuesday May 4.

We can start the change NOW. But only if we upset the liberal/progressive corruptocrats that have run the city into the ground with their shockingly inept leadership.

Tuesday is the day the change begins…

Chip Tarbutton

Roanoke Tea Party

Some more telling quotes from the front runners.

“When moderator Jay Warren of WSLS Channel 10 asked the men to grade the current council’s handling of the budget, the three Democrats — former Councilman Bill Bestpitch, lawyer Ray Ferris and incumbent Councilman David Trinkle — each gave the council an A.”

Really? The City Council that has

• Roanoke at the edge of financial ruin,
• Who engineered the Victory Stadium fiasco
• That has passed a new meals tax that now totals 12%…highest in Va.
• That bastardized eminent domain laws to help their rich friends at Carillion
• That has managed to chase businesses and residents out of the city with oppressive tax rates
• Bought a golf course and had no idea how to manage it, and is now taking a financial bath on the endeavor
• That has some of the lowest school test scores in the area……

 gets an A? If Trinkle, Ferris and Bestpitch get into office, Roanoke residents have no right to complain about their city’s sad state of affairs, since they endorse the failed policies of the past.

But there is more…Bestpitch sent out a flyer that accused the Republican candidates of cutting education and other services….the Times picks it up from there…

“Cooper and the three Republicans vehemently denied they would cut education and public safety, pressing Bestpitch to cite examples from the campaign.

Bestpitch didn’t, but he argued the conservative philosophy of small government will eventually lead to cuts in core services.”

So reckless spending and tax increases haven’t gotten Roanoke City in a place where they are close to cutting core services? Liberals will never admit that simple fiscal responsibility and low taxes ALWAYS works. Again, I say, if Roanoke City elects these jokers, shame on you.

Plus Bestpitch lied through his teeth on his flyer…no great shock there but….

One last quote….

“Powell went further, proposing to sell the market building to the private sector with a stipulation the first floor be kept as a food court.

Ferris said the market building is more than just a business endeavor, but an icon that generates energy in downtown Roanoke. After Ferris said it’s OK if the market building loses money, Powell said Ferris isn’t much of a businessman. Ferris angrily fired back: “I’ve forgotten more business than you’ll ever know, my friend.”"

I’m not sure how much “energy” the city gets from the Market Building, but I’m sure it would be more if the city wasn’t losing money on it. I’m not sure what business acumen Ferris follows, but losing money consistently on a building that could be made profitable seems kind of silly.

I think Mike Powell should definitely leave Ferris’  ”forgotten” business skills alone after he wins the election on May 4.

Chip Tarbutton

Roanoke Tea Party

A long post to follow with information on the meeting and upcoming trips.

We thanked our members for such TREMENDOUS support on July 4th. Their spirit and effort were AWESOME.

The most important part of the meeting was the public reading of our draft of the Freedom for Virginians Resolution.Our state sovereignty resolution.

While we continue to tweak this document, it got a rousing reception from our membership. This is the core of our plan (and the state tea parties plan) to take back our country. This plan asserts our Commonwealth’s sovereignty and lays out a path where our state can nullify unconstitutional Federal mandates. It also lays out the mechanism where our state can protect our citizens from the Fed’s enforcing unconstitutional laws.

This is the plan for our freedom and the participants left, largely I believe, with a fire in their bellies. That fire is there because they see a plan that will actually return us to the Constitutional Freedoms we all cherish. There is a lot of work to be done in clarifying the language and getting sponsors (many of which have endorsed the concept….a weaker state sovereignty resolution did pass the state House of Delegates in 2010, but died in the Senate)

But this is our plan and we need to have a state officials in place by 2011 (when they are all up for reelection) that will support our rights as a sovereign state. And we need your help in making it happen. So join us today. We will be lobbying and pushing all state officials to back this resolution. And we desperately need as many citizens in this fight as possible.

We will have a final version of the Resolution on our site soon.

We also recapped our participation in questioning the Governor at his town hall meeting Wednesday night. We asked him questions about the budget process and our concerns about the budget surplus, which we feel was done with smoke and mirrors. Here is a link to an earlier post that examines this issue more deeply. He answered some of the questions around fees but the Governor never addressed not funding the pension plan until after the fiscal year, which was the biggest reason we ended up with a surplus.

I gave Governor McDonnell credit for doing a better job on the budget (albeit in a backhanded way) and his main argument to me was… that we need to look at the big picture on how much we cut. While I do appreciate the big picture, it certainly appears as if the Governor manipulated the budget to create a surplus so he could reward state employees with a one time pay increase. Nothing McDonnell said has changed my mind on that issue.

I also took the Governor to task on excepting $1 million in Federal money to “Green” Downtown Richmond. I was going to also bring up the fact that the state has an active plan to put Wind Turbines up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the speaker before me did a fantastic job of laying out the facts on that issue.

 Both of these boondoggles are partially (or in the case of the Richmond “greening”, fully) funded with Federal Stimulus money.

Wind Turbines are not efficient, are not ecologically sound and are a waste of OUR TAX MONEY  The Governor spoke about run off into the James as the reason he took OUR TAX MONEY back from DC to fund this “Greening”. If the state buys a bunch of hybrid cars with that  million dollars, that wouldn’t help with that issue would it? We’ll see.

I still believe that the Governor has bought into the Al Gore global warming Ponzi scheme until I see him stop talking about these ridiculous Green jobs initiatives. And he continues to take OUR MONEY, from the Federal government for these boondoggles. STOP IT! That is my biggest issue with the Green jobs nonsense and the Governor should take a principled stand and refuse this money.

We talked a little about the ABC proposal. Our only point is that the state needs to either trust the free market and sell licenses, or keep it under state control. There are compelling short term budget reasons for selling the licenses and serious concerns about the long term social/budget impacts of this proposal. We aren’t certain about the direction here, but if the state chooses some sort of middle road, where we strictly regulate (at the state level) the number of ABC store licenses we sell, we’ll likely have the worst of both worlds. Either tust the free market completely and let the market determine the number of licenses, or keep the current system in place.

Caleb Coulter, from our board, gave a fabulous history lesson on the events leading up to the Council of Governors. Click here for much of that history. Long story short, the Governor (likely with good intentions) is trying to work through the system to assure he maintains control of the militia in Virgina, which is his Constitutional duty. Our argument is simple: he already has this and the unconstitutional mandates of the Council of Governor should have NO IMPACT on our Governor’s Constitutional duty as commander of our state military forces.

 By participating in the Council of Governors, our governor is legitamizing this process. That is unacceptable. Our advise. Pull out of the Council of Governors and politely tell the Federal government to stay out of our Sovereign business.

A few links here and here to Roanoke and Richmond newspaper coverage that speaks to some of this…local TV coverage was absolutely pathetic and was a waste of space on my DVR.

We talked about the DISCLOSE act. This blatantly unconstitutional bill will not stand up in court but it will succeed in clogging things up for the November elections. The bill not only crushes the 1st Amendment, but by picking and choosing what groups can advertise in campaigns (unions, the NRA, etc.) it clearly violates the 14th Amendment as well, which promises equal protection under the law. The Roanoke Tea Party has publically stated that we will not abide by the DISCLOSE Act if it is passed (right now it’s being filibustered in the Senate) and will ignore these provisions. Our rights cannot be infringed on and we will not yield.

Our two lovely Senators, Webb and Warner support this monstrosity. Webb is a co-sponsor. Just add it to the list of reasons they need to retired in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

We will also be having a meeting next week to start vetting candidates for the 2010 Federal Elections. More to come on that soon. We will not endorse candidates, as our focus is on the state level, but we feel our members would like a solid analysis of how the candidates in local Federal races stand on our core principles.

We have 2 big events coming up.

The State Convention on Oct. 8 and Oct 9. We will have buses going up on Friday and Saturday. There be high profile speakers like Ron Paul, Dick Morris, Lou Dobbs and Ken Cuccinelli, a lot of national press and this is where the Freedom for Virginians Resolution will be officially unveiled. This is going to be a historic event and this resolution will be something that will forever change the relationship between the Commonwealth and the Federal Government.  This will change the entire game. This is so important and we need every soul who cares about their nation packing the Greater Richmond Convention Center.  Sign up for the convention here RIGHT NOW.

Last but not least….due to a lot of demand and the generosity of one of our biggest supporters we will be hosting a bus to the Glen Beck “Restoring Honor” event on 8-28 in DC. . I am posting this blog as I build the page for the Beck rally. I appreciate every-one’s patience as I put this together logistically. Sign up here….

Sorry for the LONG post, but I appreciate the support of our fabulous members and look forward to growing our movement as we implement our Big Liberty Agenda. I can’t wait to get the resolution finished and get going on taking back our freedoms. Join the Resistance…Join the Roanoke Tea Party

Chip Tarbutton

President

Roanoke Tea Party

This is the 6 minute speech Roanoke Tea Party President Chip Tarbutton delivered on Saturday Oct. 9.  While there is nothing really wrong with the State Tea Party agenda of nudging the state back into the Constitutional mix, the FFVA is the only solution that strikes at the heart of the main problem in this nation, the loss of freedom to an oppressive Federal government.

We now have the 6th District Vetting document up on our site.  Please review and take a look at each candidate before casting your ballot. There are certainly issues that voters may have other than the Constitutional ones that the RTP focuses on. However, the first question any legislator should ask before voting for a bill is:

Is this bill Consititutional?

And that is what we attempted to judge with this vetting process. This is a service to all citizens and should not be construed as an endorsement of any candidate.

FFVA site continues to be upgraded, including a new donation button and an online petition in favor of the FFVA and nullification.  Please sign the petition and pass the petition on to your friends.

The Roanoke Times just ran this correction.

“The Oct. 6 editorial “Cuccinelli is cheating taxpayers” incorrectly stated that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s renewed demand for University of Virginia records in his investigation of a former UVa climate scientist is a fraud against taxpayers. UVa has said the more than $350,000 it has spent in legal fees to defend against the action has been paid with private, not public, funds.”

While the news reports on the Tea Party movement in the Roanoke Times have been fair, the editorial board of the paper continues to lie and spew forth its nonsensical progressive blather.

What lessons should we take from this?

It’s okay to lie, as long as you tell the truth later, in very small print.

or…

Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press to distort the truth, providing they then whisper a correction.

Take your pick…

Recent Governors have spent a lot of time and money working to deliver temporary tax breaks to businesses to attract them to Virginia. In this tough economy, that doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Governor McDonnell has been particullarly active. Recently his administration successfully brought the headquarters of Northrop Grummond to Virginia. However the story doesn’t have a particularly happy ending. From our partners at Tertium Quids…

Back in April, the McDonnell administration pounded its chest after securing the corporate headquarters of defense contractor Northrop Grumman. The cost to Virginia taxpayers? Between $12 and 14 million for the promise of 300 jobs.

But since that deal closed, NG has been shedding jobs — 330 at Fort Eustis and at least 200 more at its ship building unit in Newport News.

According to the Wall Street Journal, NG may leave the ship building business entirely:

Northrop’s reinvention includes winding down operations at its Avondale shipyard in Louisiana and consolidating Gulf Coast ship construction at the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. It also says it would consider spinning off or selling the entire shipbuilding segment, which includes the Newport News yard in Virginia, the nation’s sole maker of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In an SEC filing last month, the company said it intended to create a stand-alone shipbuilder, New Ships Inc., with a spinoff as the company’s primary focus.

So…Virginia’s taxpayers handed NG a very large sum of money to bring its headquarters operations to the state and since then, the company has (or soon will) shed more jobs than it promised to create and will likely exit one of its more labor-intensive operating units in the near future.

The governor defends his actions by saying that he has to compete with other states to attract businesses.

Well 9 other states don’t have a corporate Income Tax. How effectively can he compete with them?

Eliminating the Corporate Income Tax  would be the best way to make our state more competetive, not one time deals that can back fire on us like the Northrop Grummond deal did…

There will be a Constitutional Amendment proposed in this legislative session to abolish the Corporate Income Tax. The Roanoke Tea Party and Tertium Quids (amongst others) are supporters of this initiative. From the 10th Amendment Revolution Site…

Passing a constitutional amendment that would limit the growth of state spending and taxes to the rate of population growth plus inflation, would allow the complete phase-out of the individual income tax and the corporate income tax in four years.

Put another way, by capping state spending and taxes while excess revenue is generated by economic growth in the Virginia economy, historical data indicates it would only take four years to completely eliminate state income taxes in the Commonwealth. This can be achieved while maintaining the same level of real state spending per capita as today.

The Editorial board of the  Roanoke Times worries that the revenue lost will not be made up. According to them. “that sort of thinking — that the best way to raise tax revenue is to slash taxes — doesn’t work. Yet conservatives trot it out with disturbing regularity.”

We have seen full well how the alternative works for the past few years with increased taxes and spending. Who do you trust, the government or the free market? The more government meddles in activities like this, the more they prove the basic premise that government’s role is to ensure our right to pursue happiness, not act as a smarmy used car salesman for every corporation; promising short term tax breaks to companies to entice them into a deal.

As the Virginia 10th Amendment Revolution site puts it

“By eliminating the income tax we accomplish two key objectives. We make
our state’s business climate far more attractive to the sort of
entrepreneurs whose help we desperately need to create jobs and grow the
economy here in Virginia, and we shrink the pool of money that the
politicians in Richmond have to play with, forcing them to behave more
responsibly with our tax dollars than they do today.”

“In a state that spends nearly $14,000 per student per year on public education, only to watch more than 25% fail to finish high school, the question should never be whether the government has enough money, but rather just what exactly are they doing with it all?”

We will share more on the Amendment to abolish the Corporate Income tax at our December 2 public meeting and on how you can help make it happen.

We have a plan and we need your help.

Chip Tarbutton

Roanoke Tea Party