The Tea Party Patriot Grassroots Movement
Just What Do the Tea Party Patriots Advocate?
Most of the tea parties I've attended in my county did not seem to be organized by any specific group affiliated with other groups. The tea party rally I attended in Paso Robles was organized by the local chapter of the Tea party Patriots. They state their mission is "to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free markets."
According to the flyer I was handed at my first rally, Tea Party Patriots, Inc is a non-partisan grassroots movement composed of people who are united by core values derived from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of American, and the Bill of Rights as explained in the Federalist Papers. They believe the United States is a Republic whose architects believed its people had "unalienable rights" granted by their Creator, and that the most important of these rights are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." They believe it benefits the country when private property and prosperity are secured by natural law and the rights of the individual.
This photo was taken on July 4, 2013, at the Atascadero Lake Park. The tea party had a booth there. Having information booths at public events is one way the tea party communicates its principles and meets others of like mind.
I have taken all photographs and videos used in this lens.
What Does the Tea Party Do When It's Not Having Rallies? - Tea Party members learn all they can about candidates, issues and the political process.
The emphasis in the North County Tea Party Patriots is now on education. In the picture you will see the meeting on January 6, 2014. The speaker is a member of our local leadership, Randall Jordan. He lets us know what's going on in the California Tea Party Caucus in the California Republican Party, where the Tea Party would like to have more support for its core principles. The group now meets at the Atascadero Bible Church, Student center room 102, 6225 Atascadero Ave, Atascadero, CA 93422 on the first Monday night of the month at 6 PM, but there are exceptions.
Besides the monthly main meeting, sometimes there are special events that bring members together. These include visits to the offices of state and federal representatives, meetings of the County Board of Supervisors and city councils, and pizza parties to watch the Presidential debates. Members independently support issues and organizations they believe in. They work together unofficially to support candidates running for local offices. Some even run for office themselves. Many members help in campaigns for candidates they support and help get out the vote.
In the middle of 2012, the North County Tea Party Patriots decided to split from the National Tea Party Patriots group because they wanted to retain the grassroots character of the organization after the national group decided they would so such things as endorse candidates.
To keep up with the activities of the North County Tea Party , check out their website..
Rally for the San Luis Obispo County Tea Party on April 16, 2011 in Atascadero - This is what all the meetings led up to.
In the picture below, you see the crowd beginning to gather. The day was warm, and people gravitated toward the shade rather than sitting in the middle where my camera picked them up. Those who did not bring chairs sought out park benches wherever in the park they found them, since the sound carried everywhere in this large park. As people were getting settled, I took my camcorder around and interviewed people as to why they had come. They were not expecting this, so their answers were impromptu. As I was looking for my next "victim," a union agitator targeted me with his talking points in question form, and I attempted to interact with him on the video, also impromptu, since I expected to be asking, not answering questions. I have captured these interviews on two videos which are part of a new article that completely covers the entire rally. It's designed so that people will find it easy to read and listen to only the parts that interest them -- the interviews, the environment, health care, business, the Constitution, taxes -- whatever speaker you might want to hear. Here's the link: Who are the Tea Party Patriots and What Do They Want?
Another organizational meeting on December 6, 2010
Here's what happened in a nutshell.
I and a roomful of others sat around a large conference table at the Martin Polin room of the Atascadero City library to plan our next steps. Lydia Thompson presided, and after hearing the minutes of the last meeting, we went around the table and introduced ourselves again. We discussed what kind of activities we could each see ourselves getting involved in and which of the committees forming we each wanted to work in. The committee choices ranges from education to promotion. I chose to get involved with the web site and media committees, which overlap somewhat. Many chose to get involved in education. A lot of people wanted to be directly involved with "holding the feet of the politicians to the fire" and letting them know they are accountable to us, the people.
Since this is a grassroots movement, there is no national head at the top telling the local groups what to do. It was explained that instead, those of us groups on the most local level tell the people up the ladder what we want to support and be involved with. Interesting concept! So if you want to bring about change and join the Tea Party Patriots, click one of the links to their web site on this page and they can direct you to your local group.
This Book Explains Why the Tea Party Exists.
Getting Organized
November 16, 2010
Tonight I attended my first Tea Party meeting that was not a rally. It was for the purpose of organizing a local chapter of North County Tea Party Patriots. People introduced themselves, told why they had come, and filled out surveys indicating how they might like to participate. The core committee will be perfecting a mission statement in the next few weeks before our next meeting, which I will announce here. Tentatively it's scheduled for Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 2010. This chapter is for North San Luis Obispo County Tea Party Patriots, though we did have some people present from the South County, and we expect some cooperation between the two parts of the county. We did agree that our first priority should be taking back California.
The Constitutional Bus Tour Arrived in Paso Robles City Park on October 29, 2010
Although rain was forecast, it held off during this second rally of the Tea party Patriots in Paso Robles. The weather was actually warmer than it was last week and the crowd was bigger. My husband counted approximately 250-300 people by the time he arrive a bit late. i counted about 150 as the rally was beginning. People who are getting off work tend to be late to a Tea Party that begins a 5 p.m.
This rally was designed to inspire patriots to get out to vote and get out the vote. It dealt with educating the crowd on the Constitution, American History, and ballot issues facing those of us in California. The second speaker, Rex Ruth, is the one I will feature here. His speech was too long to fit into on video, so I broke it up into three parts. Two of them will be below. The first deals with Ruth's message, partly in Spanish, on the importance of being Americans first. The second is a call to action. i urge you to listen to both videos.
Constitutional Bus Tour, Paso Robles, CA, Rex Ruth, Part 2 - Partly in Spanish, and loosely translated for all
Rex Ruth addresses the charge, indirectly, that the tea party movement is racist. Though he is of Mexican origin, he considers himself and American first.
Constitutional Bus Tour, Paso Robles, CA, Rex Ruth, Part 3
A challenge to Americans to protect their liberty against the tyranny of a government out of control before it's too late.
The Tea Party Patriots Rally on October 21, 2010 in Paso Robles, California - The Tea Party Movement is Still Alive and Well
This is the fourth tea party I have attended in my county. The others were on sunny days or early evening. The most crowded ones were at noon in Atascadero. The last one we had in Paso Robles was in the early evening, but the weather was good. All these other tea parties had been independently organized by local people and announced well ahead of time so people could plan on attending. Tonight's rally had only two weeks planning and the 5:00 p.m. time was inconvenient for working people. Not only that, the weather was cold and the sky was full of the kind of gray clouds that threaten rain. I was tempted to stay home myself, so I was surprised that we has as many people in the City Park as we did.
The other unique thing about this tea party was that it was sponsored by a specific organization -- the local North San Luis Obispo County Chapter of the Tea Party Patriots, Inc. I have laid out the mission of this organization, which is national with local chapters, in my introduction. People who attend these rallies are informed of the unifying mission and purpose the organization is trying to accomplish and then challenged to join in making it happen. The other tea parties were less specific and people were there mostly to protest. There was no specific action plan. The Tea Party Patriots appear to be much more organized in how they will accomplish their mission, and when people offer to help and join the organization, they know to what they are making a commitment.
I have decided that the best way to present this is by video, so you can see for yourself exactly what the people in this movement believe and want to bring about in this nation. The first speaker was the youngest. The children are introduced only by their first names, at the request of their parents, who gave permission for these videos to be used under those conditions. The other speakers are not always introduced and I haven't been able to match all the names to the speakers, though most are introduced at least by their first names.
Because of the length of the speeches and the time limits on the length of videos YouTube will accept, some speakers have been edited. Sometimes it's because a child's identifying information is mentioned. Sometimes it's because of dead moment. At one point I had to change my camera batteries and missed a few sentences. Sometimes I cut out some details that were backing up a main point because a few seconds or minutes needed to be trimmed. I have tried to keep the main ideas and the spirit of each speaker intact. I did not include speakers who spoke mostly of local issues or matters that were more organizational than educational. I have tried to keep speakers in the order in which they appeared.
The picture is of part of the crowd standing in back -- people who did not bring chairs. It is only about half of those standing in back, since I could not get the whole crowd in.
The First Speaker is the Youngest
Josh is concerned about his future. He can't vote yet himself, but he hopes those he is addressing will vote so that he will have a future life worth living. Josh continues to be an active participant in local Tea Party activities in 2014.
Paso Robles Tea Party Patriots Rally Part 2, October 21, 2010
Doug Livengood shares his thoughts on what he considers an out of control government and how it spends taxpayer money. He asks his audience to ponder whether our public servants work for us or whether we work for them.
Do you agree with the mission of the Tea Party Patriots
Not all tea parties are affiliated with or sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots organization. What people think probably depends on their own political bias, whether they like the direction the country is moving, and whom they know who's involved in the tea parties. Among conservatives and independents, there are diverse opinions on which candidates will to the best job, whether all incumbents should be tossed out of office or the best of them retained, or whether to vote for a third party candidate rather than someone from the major parties.
The leaders of the local chapter of the Tea Party Patriots who sponsored the rally I attended this week were clear about their mission: to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize their fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with their core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets.
Do you support the mission of the Tea Party Patriot organization as stated above?
Paso Robles Tea Party Patriots Rally Part 3 , October 21, 2010
Don (whose last name I'm waiting to confirm) gives some highlights of American history, with emphasis on its spiritual roots and the necessity of having a moral and godly people for the American Constitutional Republic to work.
Should Patriots be Discouraged?
Christians know that God cannot bless much of what's happening in America. New scandals continually surface in Washington, and politicians betray the trust of their constituents every day. We also recognize our own hearts and motivations aren't pure, and we know that this is true of all men. Our founders also recognized that if people get power, they will often turn corrupt. So when we read the papers and get the news in the media about the latest antics of our politicians, how can we keep from becoming cynical and discouraged? We need to realize that God is still in control and his purposes will still be worked out. We need to align ourselves with his purposes and then trust him to work out his plans in history.
Paso Robles Tea Party Patriots Rally Part 4 , October 21, 2010
This video contains assorted speeches on politics, strategies, and taxes. You will also get important phone numbers for expressing your views to elected representatives.
Is voting a third party in Amercia a good idea?
Whether you are affiliated with one of the two major American political parties or not, if you can't wholeheartedly support either of their major candidates for an office, do you think it's better to vote for a third party or write-in candidate who doesn't have a real possibility of winning, or to vote for the major party candidate who is the better of the two, even though you don't completely support all his or her positions? Which do you think is better for the country?
If you can't support all the postitions of one of the two major party candidates, is it better to vote third party (or not vote) or to vote for the major party candidate whose positions are closest to you own?
Paso Robles Tea Party Patriots Rally Part 5, October 21, 2010
Norm Thompson shares his thoughts on the direction of the United States government, especially Congress, and whether it is in line with the direction most of the citizens wish it were going.
Paso Robles Tea Party Patriots Rally Part 6, October 21, 2010
Sandy Jack talks about the national and local Tea Party Patriots organization and how to get involved and help.
Paso Robles Tea Party Patriots Rally Part 7 - October 21, 2010
John Uebersax talks about the importance of education and discusses his suggested reading list for self education. He also talks about the historical roots of the public libraries in America.
This is the Biography of Thomas Jefferson John was holding up.
Information Links
- The National Tea Party Patriots, Inc web site.
If you want to see what your local chapter is doing or start a chapter, this is where you can get the information you need. It will also show you the positions of the national Tea Party Patriots on current issues. - The Gutenberg Project
This site makes literary works in the public domain available in electronic form for free. Just download. Most of John Uebersax' s recommended reading can be found here if you don't already have a copy around your house. You will also find two on my