My personal mandate to the new Congress
I just completed my "Citizen Mandate" for the newly elected Congress -- -- putting the new Congress on notice that I am serious about making sure these members of Congress do the right thing.
See the results of my Mandate below and go here to send your own Citizen Mandate to members of the New Congress right now:
http://www.grassfire.com/140/survey.asp?PID=26960961&NID=1
Fred Witzell's Citizen Mandate To the 112th Congress (my answers in bold)
Does the new Republican leadership in Congress have a mandate to change Washington, D.C.?
Yes, but only if citizens continue to hold all elected officials accountable
The issues I believe are important for the new Congress to address:
Limiting the size and scope of government
My CITIZEN MANDATE on government-run healthcare:
I am calling for ObamaCare to be REPEALED immediately
My CITIZEN MANDATE on illegal immigration:
Border security must be increased and those in our country illegally should be punished to the full extent of the law and deported
My CITIZEN MANDATE on the federal debt:
The federal debt is a serious problem but the answer is not higher taxes. Instead, we must cap spending and grow the economy
My CITIZEN MANDATE on government spending:
Government spending is our of control and the federal government should be required to reduce its annual budget every year until the budget is balanced
My CITIZEN MANDATE on TARP and other government bailouts:
Federal bailouts of the private sector such as the TARP program must be stopped immediately and any unspent funds returned to the taxpayers.
Morning Bell: The Tea Party is Back
Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago last night, a group of colonists disguised as Indians boarded British merchant ships and dumped an estimated £10,000 worth of tea into Boston Harbor. This Boston Tea Party, which John Adams described as the “grandest event which has ever yet happened since the controversy with Britain opened,” was not just a protest about taxation. Our forefathers did not destroy tea because of a simple tax dispute. The 1773 Tea Party were protesting the process by which the British government taxed them. They were fundamentally rejecting the way the British were governing them.
Last night, the spirit of the Tea Party won another major victory when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) was forced to drop his $1.27 trillion, 1,924-page omnibus spending bill. The problem with Reid’s omnibus spending bill was not just its size—although our federal government does spend far too much of other people’s money—but the way it was drafted and forced on the American people. For far too long our Congress has amassed more and more spending power into fewer and fewer legislative acts while waiting until the last possible minute to consider them. Lobbyists have made an entire business model out of identifying must-pass appropriations and tax bills and then getting pliant Members of Congress to insert their special breaks, loopholes, and giveaways. The omnibus collapse was a complete rejection of that way of doing business in Washington. Senator John McCain (R–AZ) told National Review: “I know this is a seminal moment, because for the first time since I’ve been here, we stood up and said ‘enough.’”
Last night’s victory could not have happened without the Tea Party. Earlier in the day, Tea Party–defeated outgoing- Senator Robert Bennett (R–UT) was working “actively to round up as many as nine potential Republican votes” for the omnibus bill stuffed with 6,000 earmarks worth $8 billion. But then Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R–KY) worked the phones all day twisting the arms of those nine Republicans, many of them members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to drop their support for the bill. It was not an easy sell. Senator Thad Cochran (R–MS), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, had 281 earmarks worth $561 million in the bill. McConnell himself had 48 earmarks worth $113 million. But wisely, these lawmakers eventually saw the light. McConnell told National Review afterward: “We decided that we’re not going to pass a 2,000-page bill that nobody has seen since yesterday. That’s not the way to operate and that’s not the message from the November elections.”
Tea Party activists across the country should take a moment to celebrate this victory. But only a moment. Not all of the 111th Congress has gotten the message of the November elections. Too many on Capitol Hill seem to be operating under the belief that the American people voted in November to have President Barack Obama’s agenda shoved down their throats in December. The Hill reports: “Democrats will move instead to two high priorities on their legislative agenda: the DREAM Act, which would grant permanent legal residency to illegal immigrants under a certain age, and a repeal of the military’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.” And let’s not forget the Boxer–Reid Land Grab and New START.
None of these issues demands resolution by a Congress that was “shellacked” at the polls last month. According to Gallup, the American people dislike this 111th Congress more than any other Congress in history. Specifically, a full 83 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job, while only 13 percent approve. That is the worst approval rating in more than 30 years of tracking congressional job performance. Last night Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D–CA) House voted to prevent a massive tax hike on the American people. It now looks like Congress will pass a simple bill that freezes spending through February of next year. The 111th Congress has no mandate; they must go home and let the Tea Party Congress govern.
SOURCE HERE:
Morning Bell: The Tea Party is Back
In 1773 Americans answered the call. Americans continued to answer the call, right up until we fell off the credibility map at the end of the war in Vietnam.
Tea Party participation in Grapevine parade raises questions A local Tea Party group's participation in Grapevine's recent Parade of Lights has drawn complaints from people who say politics should be kept out of community events.
About 20 people, some wearing military uniforms, were in the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party float during the Dec. 2 Christmas parade through downtown Grapevine. The float was a show of support to the military, said Julie McCarty, president of the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party.
Critics said the group itself is a political statement. Some also said they heard people shout politically themed messages from the float, something McCarty said never happened.
"I was taken aback that they were allowed in the parade," said Mark Bauer of Colleyville. "I've been to many Christmas parades, and I don't remember any other political groups ever participating."
The Tea Party is widely known as a conservative grassroots movement that emerged last year in response to growing government spending. With more than 1,500 local members, "I would simply say that the Tea Party is part of the community," said McCarty of Grapevine.
Full Story Here:
Tea Party participation in Grapevine parade raises questions
I suppose that we, the members of the TEA Party as a whole, don't have the right to exercise our participation in Christmas celebrations in our communities, and to show our love and respect for the troops, or for Christmas. At least according to some. The Tea Party float was one of 123 in the parade, said RaDonna Hessel, president of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the parade. About 30,000 to 40,000 people attended.
Hessel said the chamber will review its rules for changes to avoid a similar controversy in future parades. The chamber will try to balance opposing views with not stepping "on free speech and community involvement," she said.
If the NE Tarrant TEA Party wasn't trying to recruit new members, if they were only honoring the troops and celebrating Christmas, I fail to see what the problem is, but, I'm not a moonbat Dem or a loon on the left. Kathleen Thompson of Grapevine said the float surprised her.
"It was just a really ugly disruption," said Thompson, former president of the Mid-Cities Democrats. "People were there to watch their friends and family ride in floats and in cars. It was disruption of the whole idea of what a Christmas parade was supposed to be. ... Politics makes people very upset. Sometimes you just leave politics at the door."
Ahh, now the REAL problem rears it's UGLY head. The former president of the Mid-Cities Dems didn't like it. I thought that most of those folks were against anything Christmas and all for Winter Holiday and diversity?
Just sayin'...
I have NE Tarrant Tea Party linked in the sidebar of this blog as well and I encourage ALL TEA Party members to offer their support to these fine folks and let them know that their neighbors are backing them in their efforts.
