by Jack Lee
Despite the $500 price tag and it being a “for profit” event, it hasn’t hurt the attendance at the first Tea Party Convention. Yes, a lot of members questioned the high cost of entry, saying it was not in keeping with the spirit of the grass roots theme and they were not pleased that Sarah Palin will be paid $100,000 for her speaking fee. However, it is widely rumored that Mrs. Palin will donate that $100k right back to this conservative movement. Sometimes it takes an entrepenuer who started this event to make a few bucks to get it going. And it’s certainly going! Now the full story:
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.
See the Setting the Record Straight message from the Tea Party Convention organizers in Nashville.
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.
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).