Then by that definition they are no party at all, and probably violating election laws by pretending to be a political party.
Only if they are trying to register as an actual party. Has that happened yet? The Tea Party is more like the Black Panthers than they are like the GOP or the DNC, except the Black Panthers actually have a somewhat centralized leadership structure. The closest thing to centralization in the Tea Party occurs through social networking.
The Tea Party is more like a bunch of obnoxious drunks at a bar, which by coincidence is where they "centralize".
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/...ucuss-demands-to-cut-spending-by-100-billion/ I'll say it again: Thank you Tea Party.
Fantastic. It just gets better: http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/10/freshmen-to-gop-leadership-we-were-serious-about-read-the-bill/ The GOP leadership will learn that these new elected officals are serious.
No, I'm not. Some of those who campaigned hardest on "limited government", like Rand Paul, are pushing the hardest for government in every uterus. I realize there are some exceptions - can't remember, maybe it was you, maxie, who said people should be able to marry whom they choose & serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation. But I've been hearing down with big government and get government off our backs for many years. Most of those saying it want to outlaw abortion, birth control, same sex marriage, same sex sex, pornography (I don't like porn but oppose a ban on free speech grounds), pot smoking, assisted fertility, and also institute Christian prayer in public school. I think "limited government" is just a code word for get rid of environmental regulation, health and safety laws, prohibitions on discrimination, etc.
As a matter of fact, the clause re-defining about 70% of rapes as "not rape" is still in the bill. There were reports it was to be removed, but it has not been. Does anyone have a minor daughter? If your 3 year old were raped, under this bill it would not actually be rape unless she could prove physical force was used. There are 3 major anti-abortion bills and no jobs bills pending in the Congress so I stand by my post.
That took guts. This link, from the Texas GOP, is related to you original post: Republican Promises to Cut Budget Not Being Kept The GOP is in a tough spot.
Ignorance at its best, with a bunch of hyperbole sprinkled in for a savory flavor. Get out of the East Bay once in a blue moon.
I had three gay groomsmen (of seven) in my wedding. The idea I was participating in a ceremony some of my best friends could not sickens me. Government has no business deciding who and who cannot be married. I'm not denying the overlap with small government people and social conservatives, but you hear about the social conservatives more because they're the loudmouths. I think most people just want to live their lives and don't give two shits about what others do in the privacy of their own homes. The voting bloc of "a government just small enough to fit into your bedroom" largely died after 2006.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/10/cpac.conference/ Washington (CNN) -- GOP activists from across the country came together in the nation's capital Thursday for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference -- a gathering of potentially critical importance for the prospective field of 2012 Republican presidential candidates. ... While the conference, first held in 1973, has traditionally been seen as a way to bring together economic, foreign policy, and social conservatives, a rift has emerged this year over the decision to include a pro-gay rights Republican group -- GOProud -- as a "participating organization." Several prominent conservative organizations, including the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and the Heritage Foundation, are boycotting the conference as result. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint are also skipping the gathering.
Exactly right. And I couldn't be happier. I'm reminded of Newt Gingrich's reaction in 1998 when people started leaving Congress. He asked why and they reminded him of their promise to only serve two terms. Gingrich was surprised they were actually serious about their campaign promises. I hope Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy are sweating bullets right now. It's easy to piggyback on a movement, it's harder when you realize the movement on which you're piggybacking has no reins and is taking you to a place you never thought you would have to go.
And let's see the "idiot" who should "STFU" who supported their presence at CPAC: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...-problems-with-gay-conservative-group-at-cpac
My biggest fear is the GOP is not going to be able to repeal or pass anything new with the fighting inside their own political party. 2012 elections are going to come and they will have accomplished very little.
Nothing will get passed. The old line GOP wants to work with these far-left Democrats (the centrist Democrats are gone) to create a nice, warm, comfortable, ever-expanding government. The Tea Partiers who were elected under the GOP banner, but to whom that is a second priority, will fight "business as usual". There will likely be a government shutdown. This is a fight that will go on through 2012. Both parties tried to boil the citizenry like a frog--gradually increasing the heat--but TARP, Stimulus I & II and Obamacare turned the heat up too high. Now the frog has jumped out of the pot and the entrenched interests in both parties can't control it.
And the auto bailout. I'm all for less government, and less spending. But my concern is just like crandc's, in that most of the Tea Party constituents also want to push laws that are based on religious beliefs, which I strongly disagree with.
I personally think that most of the Tea Party movement (whether it be a national movement, or has been said, multitudes of small, grass-roots movements with no central leadership) is sincere in their desire for smaller goverment and less governmental intrusion in American's daily lives. I think that the social conservative aspect has little in common with the Tea Party movement, although many social conservatives *ARE* Tea Partiers. Given the choice between less government and outlawing gay marriage, I believe that the majority of TPers would chose less goverment, but obviously many would work for both. What's unclear, however, is determining who speaks for the "Tea Party". The so-called leaders who get up behind podiums and microphones on the various news channels just can't seem to quit putting their collective feet in their mouths regarding their goals.
