In Search of the Tea Parties

Where is the Tea Party, where is the Tea Party?  Why does everyone keep asking us where we are?  You political pundits out there didn’t want us to rally publicly, remember?  You were worried it would be bad for the Republican presidential candidate’s “image.”  You were afraid someone might be wearing a tri-corn hat and that the adolescent Progressives would make fun of us.  You were afraid someone might show up dressed as George Washington (perish the thought) and rally the Tea Partiers to defend their freedom.

You were (rightly) concerned that right-wing extremists might turn up with racially-charged signs.  You feared that the Media take pictures of people with conspiratorial signs asking to see Obama’s birth certificate.  What a bunch of nut-cases.  Oh – wait – Obama’s own lawyers admitted in a N.J. court last month that the long-form birth certificate he produced and displayed for the sake of the whole nation was a forgery.

Fear not.  We’ve gone back underground like you wanted.  Chances are you won’t see us again.  It’s not that we’ve “moved on” to other things, exactly; that we’ve taken the “next step.”  We should still be doing rallies, in addition to all the other activities in which we partake.  Fortunately, our neighbors we got driven underground.  When they see us with our buttons and tee shirts, they smile with relieve.

We have not gone away.  We are not just planning things but doing the things we organized for in the first place.  Most of the Tea Party organizers are relieved not to have to do the rallies.  Rallies were a lot of work for all the volunteers.  We got your attention.  Then you wanted us to go away.  Now you want to know where we are.  Are you by any chance missing us?  Make up your minds what you want.

One thing we’re not doing is plotting to blow up bridges like the Occupy Cleveland participants.  Occupy Cleveland is distancing itself from these violent protestors, much as the Tea Parties had to distance themselves from racist sign-bearers whom no one actually knew.  What goes around, comes around.

Even the Conservative media is trying to paint Occupy as a largely peaceful group, with growing numbers. 

Fox News reports, “Aside from some vandalism and skirmishes with police, notably in Seattle and Oakland, the movement has largely stuck to its nonviolent approach. But the angry rhetoric of 'Occupy' leaders has long concerned authorities, and an internal Department of Homeland Security memo leaked earlier this year warned that fringe members could be driven to acts of terror, such as the thwarted plot to blow up a busy commuter bridge on May Day.”

“’I think most people involved with the Occupy Movement are innocent, but it creates an environment that encourages criminal behavior," said Rep. Peter King, (R-N.Y.), who heads the House Committee on Homeland Security. ‘What they [occupiers] do is create a climate for wackos to carry out their plans.’

“The case makes an internal Department of Homeland Security report released by WikiLeaks in October seem prophetic. The report, entitled "Special Coverage: Occupy Wall Street," warned that the movement's mantra of peaceful protest would not preclude acts of violence taken up in its name.

“’The growing support for the OWS movement has expanded the protests’ impact and increased the potential for violence,’ said the report, released as part of a joint document dump by WikiLeaks and Rolling Stone. ‘While the peaceful nature of the protests has served so far to mitigate their impact, larger numbers and support from groups such as Anonymous substantially increase the risk for potential incidents and enhance the potential security risk to critical infrastructure.’

“According to the Occupy Threat Center, a database established by data analytics company ListenLogic to analyze social media posts for threats to corporations from those associated with the 'Occupy' movement, leaders have called for physical destruction of buildings and violent action, and associated ‘hacktivist’ groups have targeted financial and law enforcement institutions. Speakers at rallies around the nation have called for an uprising similar to the French Revolution.”

Speakers at the Tea Party rallies and at indoor meetings all across the country since have been calling for an American Revolution.  We must meet in relative seclusion, while Occupiers roam the streets in Guy Fawkes masks openly calling for an overthrow of the U.S. government.

We need our Tea Party members to call these silly talk show hosts and let them know how things really are.  The Tea Parties are alive and well, thank you very much, and getting very little credit for surviving all on our own these past three years.  Please let us know when we have your permission to hold rallies again so you can see that we’re still here.