Next Tea Party Meeting and GREAT Letters to the RT and the Governor
Do you want to start really getting involved in making a difference? During this next meeting, we will be asking everyone that attends to start helping us build an organization that can start reshaping politics in the Roanoke Valley.
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
Editor,
As Tea Party Patriots, I am a wife, mother and grandmother and my husband is a Korean War Veteran. We are proud “average Americans”.
After years sitting on the couch, listening to the news, we awakened to the realization that our country was going down the tubes at the hands of a bunch of crooked politicians. We have a bunch of Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent. The politicians treat we American citizens like morons.
Tea Party folks would NEVER don a Che t-shirt. Idolizing a mass-murderer is something we would never do! Also their comparing us to the likes of Bill Ayers, a confessed militant terrorist, was the last straw!
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:
I appreciate the effort that you and the Governor have expended in attempting to create “jobs and economic opportunity,” but I believe you both are making a costly mistake. Read more
Take that, Keith Olbermann!
By now, you may have seen or heard MSNBC commentator Keith Olberman casting aspersions on the Tea Party movement. His comments on the 2/15 edition of the barely-watched Countdown with Keith Olbermann painted us as either flagrantly or incipiently racist because of the lack of black faces at Tea Party events.
From the transcript:
I’m now taking a lot of heat for emphasizing a particular phrase which originated at a freerepublic.com rally a year ago this month, originated with a Tea Partier. And I know phrases like “Tea Klux Klan” are incendiary, and I know I use them in part because I am angry that at so late a date, we still have to back back that racial uneasiness which has to envelop us all. And I know if I could only listen to Lincoln on this of all days about the better angels of our nature, I’d know that what we’re seeing at the Tea Parties is, at its base, people who are afraid – terribly, painfully, cripplingly, blindingly afraid.
Do you suppose they agree with you that they’ve just chosen to attend their own separate meetings, that they’re not at your Tea Party because they have a Tea Party of their own to go to? Are you thinking like my father did about Satchell Paige and the Black Yankees tht they want this? My father had an excuse for that: He was 12 years old; it was 1941. Are you of the Tea Party 12 years old? For you, is it 1941?
But let me ask all of you who attend these things: How many black faces do you see at these events? How many Hispanics, Asians, gays? Where are these people? Surely, there must be blacks who think they’re being bled by taxation. Surely there must be Hispanics who think the government should have let the auto industry fail. Surely there must be people of all colors and creeds who believe in cultural literacy tests and speaking English. Where are they? Where are they?
These remarks led Randy Haddock, a blogger living in Brooklyn, to create and post this video response.
Olbermann insults not only the hundreds of thousands of good American citizens who attend Tea Party events, but also black Americans in general by presuming that they couldn’t – or wouldn’t – be willing to stand with their fellow citizens against a too large and growing government that endangers our liberty.
To all Roanoke-area citizens without regard to race, color or national origin: You are all invited to be a part of The Roanoke Tea Party! Please attend one of our meetings to see if you would like to stand with us as well.
Health Care Freedom is shaping the Health Care Debate Countrywide
As we look at what we have accomplished so far in 2009/2010, the Health Care Freedom Act may be the biggest thing we got done.
In the letter sent to President Obama from the GOP in response to the sham of a health care summit Obama is now suggesting, was the following passage.
As you may know, legislation has been introduced in at least 36 state legislatures, similar to the proposal just passed by the Democratic-controlled Virginia State Senate, providing that no individual may be compelled to purchase health insurance.
Not only does this protect our rights as Virginians, but it has emboldened politicians from both parties to stand up and say no to oppressive government intervention.
And this bill would not have passed in Virginia without the coordinated efforts of Tea Party groups across the state that convinced the Democratically controlled State Senate to pass this legislation.
As we continue to evolve as a group, we should be able to shape and mold the debate on other key issues. More to come as we work together to save our nation.
February 4th update…plus news on the Health Care Freedom Act and the sham National Tea Party Convention
We are still planning our first monthly business meeting on February 4th at the main Roanoke Library on Electric Road. The meeting will begin at 6:30 PM. More information here…all are welcome. We may have an interesting guest or two.
The Health Care Freedom Bill was re-scheduled for it’s HUGE State Senate showdown on Monday. With the snow, this may get delayed. The bill breezed through the House sub-committee Friday and hit’s the House for a vote sometime next week. The vote was 8-2 and there was some Democratic support for this great bill.
One local legislator stated in December that this bill had a “snowball’s chance in hell” of passing. With Tea Partiers from across Virgina decending on Richmond on January 18th; with concerned citizens hounding their representatives to pass this bill…we have tipped the balance. For more on the bill click here.
You may have heard about the so called National Tea Party Convention in Nashville. This group is not affiliated with any group we know. They are charging over $500 for a ticket and paying Sarah Palin $100K to speak. Several other key speakers, like Rep. Michelle Bachman have already backed out. Nothing flies in the face of the grassroots spirit of the Tea Party movement then this sham of a convention. The Roanoke Tea Party will obviously not be participating in this convention. We encourage those that want to get involved, to get involved locally. $500 can make a huge difference in our local efforts…spending that kind of money for a convention that will end up lining the pockets of the organizers is a travesty.
There really isn’t a national organization that we are affiliated with, although we are on friendly terms with the Tea Party Patriots. Since there are other national organizations, we don’t really know how this will sort itself out.
We are an active and proud member of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots.
This is a loose federation of Tea Party and Patriot groups from across Virginia. This has been very effective and we will continue to work with this federation, which I beleive is the only one like it in the United States. This is the model that others need to emulate to create an effective Tea Party movement.
Find out more on February 4th.
10th Amendment Rally a Rousing Success
Over 50 members of the Roanoke Tea Party joined about 2,000 Tea Partiers from across VA at lobby day in Richmond in support of state legislation that supports our state’s 10th Amendment rights. We participated in a rally featuring speechs by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and other state officials who are willing to stand up for our state rights.
We then visited delegates and Senators at their offices to solicit their support. According to Delegates we spoke with, this is the largest crowd ever at a Richmond Lobby day. At this point:
Senator Ralph Smith, Delgate Morgan Griffith and Delegate Lacey Putney support HB 10 and HB 69. Please take time to thank these patriots for their support of these critical pieces of legislation.
The speakers and the crowd were energized. It was nice to have political leaders, in a position of power, who were supportive of our initiatives. 2 videos are below that capture the spirit of the proceedings. Cuccinelli’s speech is brilliant, but Bob Marshall drops a bombhell concerning his conversation with an unnamed US Senator from Va.
According to Delegate Marshall, this US Senator agreed that forcing citizens to purchase health care coverage, or face fines and imprisonment, was probably unconstitutional. But that was not his primary concern?!? Senator’s swear an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and this attitude should be disturbing to anyone who cares about the Constitution.
In a just world, the US Senator that said this nonsense (either Warner or Webb) should be removed from office. Check out the videos below. And please contact your Delegate or State Senator and make sure they are fighting for HB 10 and HB 69.
WDBJ7’s report. From Charlottesville’s NBC affiliate.
Gearing Up For the January 18th Rally…plus other updates!
It’s time to get off the sidelines and into the game Virginia!
The January 18th 10th Amendment Rally in Richmond is shaping up to be a more organized and more constructive rally then any others we have been involved in.
We have bills that we can support that will help protect our freedoms.
We will have a friendlier reception from state legislators.
And we can help set up Virginia to be a leader in fighting the oppressive policies of the Federal government. Click here for additional information on HB 10 and how to contact your local delegate or Senator and enlist their support.
Our bus will leave from Tanglewood Mall at 6AM for Richmond.
We will be leaving Richmond around 2:30 PM. For those interested, additional activities will occur that evening. We should be back at Tanglewood Mall around 6PM.
Click here to register and pay for the trip on line. We will arrive in Richmond for quite a full schedule. Logistical information is below. Ride or drive….just be in Richmond on January 18th.
PARKING
There is no parking available on Capitol grounds.
A) BUS Parking: Three or four spaces are presently available on Bank Street between 10th and 12th Streets for motor coaches to unload. Buses should not stay on Bank Street longer than 2 hours.
B) Park N’ Ride: Shuttle service will be provided from the Parker Field Annex (Map) to 9th Street at the Bell Tower from 8:00am – 2PM.
Leaving Parker Field Annex for Capitol at 8:00am, 8:25am, 8:50am, 9:15am, 9:40am.
Leaving Capitol for Parker Field Annex beginning 12:20pm, 12:45pm, 1:10pm, 1:35pm, 2:00pm.
$5 per car will be collected at the parking lot.
C) FREE Valet Parking (Attendant Tipping recommended) at The Tobacco Company Restaurant, 1201 East Cary Street; Starting at 9:00 a.m. until Reception ends. Complimentary Limo Service between the Bell Tower (Capitol Grounds) & TC Restaurant (Driver Tipping recommended)
D) Parking Meters are FREE in the city on state holidays.
MAIN EVENTS
LOBBYING WITH LEGISLATORS –
BEGINS AT 9:00 A.M.
We will be visiting our local delegates to enlist their support on some key bills. Their are several key bills but HB 10 is the most immediate. More information on HB 10 (Virginia’s key to derailing Obamacare) available at this link. We will be providing more information closer to the rally. There is also a key gun rights bill (HB 69) that we will be supporting.
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Patriot Tailgate Party @ Capitol Bell Tower
9:00 – 11:00 a.m. FREE COFFEE AND DONUTS
Maps, directories, or join up with Patriot Guides across from the Bell Tower @ 9th and Franklin
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Virginia 10th Amendment Revolution
Rally at the Bell Tower
10 – 11 A.M.
Sign up for 10th Amendment Revolution Lobby Day/Rally: http://www.va10thamendment.org
(Sponsored by Campaign for Liberty)
Emceed by Mike McHugh – dressed in period costume; will give famous Patrick Henry speech.
SPEAKERS:
Philip Van Cleave (VCDL); David Alan Carmichael (Freedom Ministries), Josh Eboch (FreedomWorks), Jamie Radtke (Virginia Tea Party Patriots), Ben Marchi (Americans for Prosperity), John Taylor (Tertium Quids), Donna Holt (Virginia Campaign for Liberty), Patrick McSweeney (Constitutional Lawyer).
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Attorney General Elect Ken Cuccinelli; Delegate Charles (Bill) Carrico; Delegate Robert (Bob) Marshall; Senator Jill Vogel
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Special Note: No flag poles or sign posts are permitted on Capitol grounds.
LUNCH & RELAXATION
Patriot’s Hospitality Room 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
The Tobacco Company Restaurant, 1201 East Cary Street
Meet up, Rest, Relax, Talk to lobbying and legislation experts on hand.
Patriot’s Tax-Free Lunch 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Tobacco Company Restaurant, 1201 East Cary Street
3rd Floor Garden Room
Lunch Reservations Required; Call Rebecca (804) 782-9555 (ext. 520)
Patriot Lunch Special – $7.95 Special Sandwiches & Soups Board
Sam Miller’s Restaurant, 1210 East Cary Street; (804) 644-5465
We will be leaving around 2:30 PM. For those interested, additional activities will occur that evening. We should be back at Tanglewood Mall around 6PM.
For sign up information, please click here. Please join us. This is the most important rally in the brief history of the Tea Prty movement in Va. Instead of yelling at career DC politicians who often just tune us out, we can actually start affecting legislation and talk to local representatives that we have a lot of access to…If we can show up in Richmond en masse, we can send a strong message and we can help get real helpful legislation passed.
In addition:
Click here for more information on our successful protest at Senator Webb’s office. We will be having a members meeting on Feb 4th. More to come on that soon. We have a game plan to be ready for 2010. We need your support to make it happen.
Remember the Doug Hoffman/Dede Scozofava fiasco in NY in November? We have our own version of this happening right here in the 5th District where we desperately need to get rid of Tom Periello in November. More here. The Tea Party movement will not compromise our principles, unlike the GOP establishment in the 5th District. Trouble is brewing. Politics as usual, for both parties, is over.
Also a press release has gone out to every major media outlet in Va. announcing the official unveiling of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation. The Roanoke Tea Party is a proud member of this group. Together we can make a difference. Our recent rally included members from Staunton and other areas due to our participation in this group. Working with the other members we hope to turn out thousands of Virginia Patriots on January 18th.
The Tea Party movement is gathering momentum as we move into this critical mid term election cycle. Help us save America!
Any questions? Contact me at chip@roanoketeaparty.com
January 6th Protest. January 18th Richmond Rally.
We will be holding a protest rally on Wednesday, January 6 at Senator Jim Webb’s office in SW Roanoke County. The reason for the protest is his vote in support of the Health Care bill in the Senate last week. We would like to show displeasure with Senator Warner as well, but there is not sufficient parking near his downtown Roanoke office to support a rally of this sort.
Please join us on the 6th from noon to 2:00 p.m. with signs and banners – and a warm beverage! Tea Party groups from Franklin County, Staunton, Rockbridge and Lynchburg will be traveling to Roanoke for this rally, so we should have a strong showing of Virginia Patriots.
Senator Webb’s office is located near the corner of Electric Road (Rt. 419) and Chaparral Drive. If the office is open, anyone who would like to speak with his staff can enter the office and do so, but our goal is not to disrupt their operation or block access to the building.
We want to demonstrate our opposition to the health care bills, not just to the Senator and his staff, but to our fellow citizens as well. To that end, we will congregate along the intersection of Route 419 and Chaparral Drive. This is a busy time on a busy road, and we will be encouraging the local media to take note of our protest.
We had a great reception on 419 for our Halloween health care protest and we expect the same next Wednesday as well. Public support for the health care bills continues to drop and we don’t want our Senators to forget it!
| Senator Webb’s office3140 Chaparral Drive
Building C, Suite 101 Roanoke, VA 24018 |
 |
Keep in mind that The Roanoke Tea Party is not opposed to health care reform. In fact, we are in favor of many reforms in this area, but we do not support the sort of top down, government run system that has been approved by the House and Senate.
What we would like to see is reform along these lines:
- Allow insurance companies to sell across state lines
- Allow the sale of ‘no frills’ catastrophic coverage policies
- Expand the use of Health Savings Accounts
- Tort reform to limit malpractice liability abuse
- Allow taxpayers to deduct individual premium costs without itemized deductions
- Allow individuals, small business and states to form voluntary pools to negotaite insurance rates
- Use refundable and advanceable tax credits to allow low income workers to purchase health insurance
Don’t forget the 10th Amendment Rally in Richmond January 18! The Roanoke Tea Party is organizing a bus trip for our members (and any interested Roanoke Valley residents) to attend this important event at the State Capitol.
Citizens from all over the state will converge on Richmond to lobby their delegates, and congregate in a giant rally at the Capitol Bell Tower. Keynote addresses will be delivered by our new Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, and Virginia Delegates Bill Carrico and Bob Marshall.
This day is a holiday for many people, but the General Assembly will be in session. Won’t you spend this day off with fellow Roanoke-area Patriots and stand up for our 10th Amendment Rights? Numerous states are moving to stand up to Federal government on there take over of the Health Care system. More info on that here.
Please accept our best wishes for the New Year – may it be filled with joy, happiness, prosperity and Liberty!
January 6th Protest at Senator Webb’s Office.
We are working to better coordinate our actions with other tea party groups in the state. To that end…
On January 6th, Tea Party Groups from as far away as Staunton, Rockbridge and Lynchburg have been working with us to put together one last protest to ensure that Senator Webb and Warner know what we think about their vote for the Health Care “reform” bill.
January 6th from noon – 2PM, we will gather outside of Senator Webb’s office at
3140 Chaparral Drive
Building C, Suite 101
Roanoke, VA 24018
This is a large office park and there is a lot of parking around the area. We want to focus our resources in one area, plus Warner’s office has lousy parking and is not in a high traffic area like Webb’s office. Warner/Webb and the media should get the message that we will not stand for this unconstitutional legislative monstrosity.
If the office is open (which is doubtful since Webb’s offices consistently close their doors to avoid having to defend Webb’s indefensible support of the health care reform bill) we will enter and demand to know how they can support a bill that will make the current problems with health care worse, not better. For an outstanding analysis of the Senate bill, read this…
This doesn’t even address the core issue that the Federal Government requiring citizens to carry health care insurance is patently unconstitutional.
In between trying to chat with Webb’s people, we will march. Bring signs as this is a highly visible area. Here are some sign ideas. We will be sending out a press release so we hope to garner some press coverage. We will be using this protest to get the word out about our January 18th Rally in Richmond.
Webb admits the bill isn’t “perfect.” But feels that these “improvements” made the bill necessary. Really?!?Voting for a bill this broken just to say you did something is why our country is in the mess it is in.
See you there…any questions? Please email me at chip@roanoketeaparty.com
Directions to Webb’s office for those outside of Roanoke
Get on I-581 (the main exit for Roanoke off of I-81)
Continue for 9.7 miles to VA-419 N/US-220 BUS/Franklin Rd
Take immediate right on to Electric Rd/VA-419 N
Continue .8 miles and turn left on Starkey Rd
Take the 1st right onto Penn Forest Blvd. Destination will be on the right
Raise a Stink
Webb and Warner sold out Virginia by voting for cloture in the dead of the night and hiding behind rhetoric to excuse their cowardly actions. On top of getting to Richmond on January 18 to fight this…we need to continue to make these Senators understand the serious mistake they are makng, both for the nation and their political futures.
I continue to get busy signals when I call both Senators. Job well done. Keep it up.
The Tea Party Patriots site is suggesting that you add your local media outlets to the calling list.
We think that is a great plan. You simply can’t get through on the phones (even prior to the snowstorm) and Webb’s local office has been closed up for several days.
Sounds to me like thats a big story since our elected officials seem reluctant to here from the people they are supposedly representing.
Here are the contact numbers for the local TV and papers.
WSLS10: 540-981-9126 (Direct number to the news room)
WDBJ7: (540) 344-7000 (Ask for the news director)
I got through to both news directors and they are “thinking” about some coverage, despite other big local stories. Perhaps a flurry of calls to them may convince them to cover this story more fully.
I didn’t bother calling the Roanoke Times, they are irrelevant anyway…but if you are so inclined knock yourself out. 
Meetings, Marches and more. 2010 is going to be a big year.
A lot is going on, so this may be a long post.
We need to keep pressure on Warner and Webb. When we get closer to a final vote, we will organize a rally at their Roanoke offices. In the meantime, please continue to call, email and send letters. There will also be another march on Washington on December 15th. Details are here.
To further our goals we will begin to have monthly public meetings. Our first meeting will be on Feb 4th 6:30-8:45 PM at the main Roanoke Library located at 3131 Electric Road SW, Roanoke VA 24018. This will be to discuss plans and to set up our formal organization. We are targeting the 3rd Thursday of each month for this meeting. More coming soon.
We will begin to attend local events on weekends early in 2010. If you are interested in assisting with this, please contact me at purplerapture06@yahoo.com. We will start attending events handing out information and doing voter registration drives.
I attended the VTPP (Virginia Tea Party Patriots) Quarterly Meeting. Tea Party groups from across the state, as well as other Constitutional and 9-12 groups gathering together to pool resources and get more accomplished. It was a good and productive meeting.
As we’ve stated before, our focus in 2010 will be shifting to elections and making demonstrable political changes. We will do some selective marches, but we need to find more direct ways to push our agenda. That is also the focus of the VTTP.
To that end.
We will be starting a Political Action Committee, pooling the resources of all of the VTTP members. We will have more information on this in about a week, but this will allow us to have a lot more influence with politicians in Richmond and Washington.
We heard from a pollster who has done extensive polling in Virginia. Democratic politicians across the state are in real trouble. There was a lot of information shared and I’ll be posting some soon, but not surprisingly our values are what the majority of Virginians support. Don’t let the MSM fool you, the Republicans won because they were perceived as Conservative.
The focus of much of our work will be in Richmond. Why?
We are local
We have a friendly Governor and Attorney General to help us
What better place to start asserting out 10th Amendment rights?
To that end, there will be a rally we will be asking everyone to attend. It will be on January 18th (MLK Day) One of the keynote speakers will be Delegate Bob Marshall, who has written a fantastic piece of legislation that will allow Virginians to ignore the onerous provisions of Obamacare if this abomination passes Congress.
The bottom line is that forcing health care on citizens is absolutely unconstitutional and the provisions of this bill will assert our rights as Virginians under the 10th Amendment. We will be covering this in more detail, but here is some basic information. Bob Marshall’s Plan is a brilliant piece of legislation that, if we are successful, will eventually become part of our state Constitution.
There is another piece of legislation planned that will address 2nd Amendment issues in a similar fashion.
January 18th, the General Assembly will be in session and Richmond is not used to having more than a few hundred people show up for a rally. If thousands of us descend on Richmond and demand our state legislators assert our 10th Amendment rights, we can have a much bigger impact then we can on Washington, where the current powers that be, see the majority of Americans as a nuisance. We will also be going into the State House to make our presence felt.
This will protect our rights as Virginians and send a more powerful message to Washington then any DC rally could ever do. Hopefully other states will take our lead. Ken Cuccinelli has already promised to support this movement and will be a keynote speaker at the January 18th rally.
What can we do in the mean time?
Plan on being in Richmond on January 18.
Join the 10th Amendment group to stay up on the many Richmond issues going on. Click here for their website.
Stay tuned for information on exactly what we will be doing in Richmond on January 18th. Here is some basic logistical information.
Much more to come. 2010 is shaping up to be a tremendous year.
10th Amendment Revolution Lobby Day/Rally
Start: 01/18/2010 9:00 am
1 Capitol Square
Richmond, VA 23219
The Virginia 10th Amendment Revolution Lobby Day/Rally is to be held on capitol grounds in support of 10th amendment legislation to challenge the powers of the federal government not delegated to it by the states.
Lobbying will begin at 9:00AM and go on throughout the day with a Rally hosted by Virginia Campaign for Liberty at the Bell Tower from 10 – 11AM.
Patrick Henry impersonator, Mike McHugh of the Virginia Gun Owners Coalition, will emcee the event dressed in period costume and will give the famous Patrick Henry speech.
Other confirmed speakers:
Philip Van Cleave, VCDL
David Alan Carmichael, Freedom Minitries
Josh Eboch, FreedomWorks
Jamie Radtke, Virginia Tea Party Patriots
Ben Marchi, Americans for Prosperity
John Taylor, Tertium Quids
Donna Holt, VA Campaign for Liberty
Patrick McSweeney, Constitutional Lawyer
Keynote Speakers:
Attorney General Elect Ken Cuccinelli
Delegate Charles (Bill) Carrico
Delegate Robert (Bob) Marshall
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