Via the Orange County Register:

The Tea Party Express has been the target of suspicion and derision from some fellow Tea Partiers since the outset of the movement... Critics have complained that because it’s run by consultants, it’s not part of the true grassroots and worry that it’s trying to hijack the movement to help the Republican Party....

 

“We have become the biggest and most successful Tea Party group in the country,” [political consultant Sal] Russo said. “We’ve raised the most, we’ve spent the most, and we’ve been the most successful.”

 

Russo also acknowledged that the Tea Party Express has become the biggest project of his consulting firm. That firm has received $326,000, according to its federal filings....

 

[Bryan] Myrick writes, “ethical concerns may arise among those individual tea partiers who, believing in a cause bigger than themselves, have given time and money to the Tea Party Express during the past year and a half.”

 

But Russo see criticism coming from elsewhere.

 

“We face some jealously from some of the [Tea Party] groups who feel we’ve stolen their thunder,” he said.

Your thoughts?  Please share below.

NRA Board Member Cleta Mitchell Weighs in on the NRA's Backroom Deal for an Exemption from the DISCLOSE Act:

"For its part, the NRA -- on whose board of directors I serve -- rather than holding steadfastly to its historic principles of defending the Constitution and continuing its noble fight against government regulation of political speech instead opted for a political deal borne of self-interest in exchange for "neutrality" from the legislation's requirements. In doing so, the NRA has, sadly, affirmed the notion held by congressional Democrats (and some Republicans), liberal activists, the media establishment and, at least for now, a minority on the Supreme Court that First Amendment protections are subject to negotiation. The Second Amendment surely cannot be far behind...

 

Democrats would effectively neuter the [Citizens United] decision by requiring the names of multiple donors to be recited in ads (thus shrinking the time spent on actual speech), requiring the CEO of a corporate donor to personally appear in campaign-related ads, expanding the coverage period to virtually the entire election year, and including myriad other rules that the NRA described last month as "byzantine" and an "arbitrary patchwork of reporting and disclosure requirements."

 

The NRA's wheel-squeaking bought it an exemption from those requirements. Tea Party organizations arising spontaneously since 2009? Out of luck. Online organizations with large e-mail followings but perhaps no formal dues structure? Forget it."

What do you think of the NRA's backroom deal with Nancy Pelosi?

(800) 392-VOTE (8683)
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The Common Sense Citizens Network is a nationwide network of non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organizations dedicated to citizen education and empowerment.  Grassroots organizations sharing our core principles and mission, and meeting our basic criteria for membership, are encouraged to apply for membership in The Common Sense Citizens Network by contacting Katrina HERE.

As noted, in order to be eligible for membership in The Common Sense Citizens Network, an organization must meet certain basic criteria.  In particular, such an organization must:

A. Function as an expressly non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to citizen education, empowerment and engagement.

 

B. Establish and maintain an express statement of affiliation with The Common Sense Citizens Network, including a reciprocal link to CommonSenseCitizens.net on its website home page.

 

C. Establish and maintain a statement of principles on its website, including endorsement of at least the following Five Core Principles:

 

1. Limited Government
2. Fiscal Responsibility
3. Personal Responsibility
4. The Rule of Law
5. National Sovereignty 

Political campaign organizations and party organizations are expressly excluded from membership in The Common Sense Citizens Network.  Each member organization of The Common Sense Citizens Network must expressly agree that the member organization will abide by the following Code of Conduct:

A. The organization will not be organized as, or function as, a political party or single-candidate or multi-candidate political action committee as defined under federal or state law, be officially associated with any such organization, or share majority board membership with such an organization.

 

B. The organization will not issue, as an organization, formal public endorsements of candidates for elected public office or use any financial, logistical, communication or other resources of the member organization to support or benefit certain candidates for elected public office in a different or disparate manner from other candidates for the same public office.

 

C. The organization's public rally events will not be directed, in whole or in part, to support for any political party, political candidate or candidate-specific campaign or include an appeal for votes, donations or other campaign support for any political party or candidate.**

 

D. The organization will not host political party officials,* holders of elected public office,* or filed or declared candidates for elected public office* as speakers at public rally events** organized by the member organization--except as generally-acknowledged, issue-specific experts having unique expertise, speaking at an issue-related rally outside of a campaign season solely in their capacity as issue-specific experts, not as political candidates or party officials.***  

 

E. The organization will not include, nominate, elect or appoint as an officer, director, chairperson, treasurer or other holder of a formal decisionmaking role within the member organization any political campaign operative.  The term 'political campaign operative' includes:  

 

 1. a holder of, or filed or declared candidate for, elected public office*; or

 

 2. an officer, director, chairperson, treasurer, manager or staffer of:

 

a. any campaign, committee or other organization formed for, or acting with, the purpose of electing, supporting or otherwise benefitting one or more specific candidates for elected public office* or

 

b. any state or county political party.

Grassroots organizations agreeing to the above criteria can apply for membership in The Common Sense Citizens Network by contacting Katrina HERE.

* - Precinct Chairs and candidates for Precinct Chair may serve in a leadership role in the member organization subject to certain conditions.  Contact Katrina at the link above for more information.

** - As used herein, the term 'Public Rally Event' refers to a speaker-driven, non-interactive, public event.  Audience-driven, interactive events open to the public (e.g., town halls, candidate forums) and certain other interactive events (e.g., debates) may feature party officials, elected officials and political candidates.

*** - The exception allowing elected officials and party officials to speak as issue-specific experts does not apply within 90 days ahead of an election featuring the speaker on the ballot.

Grass-roots activism is about to be taken to the next level in the political arena!

Get EVERYONE signed up, and in a couple of weeks be the first to take part in the next phase of taking our country out of the hands of career politicians and special interest groups and putting back into the hands of the people.

Stay tuned...

Tea Parties Share Common Goals but Speak with Many Voices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2010

Contact:  Greg Holloway (512.585.7631)

               Ken Emanuelson (469.363.5808)

Last week’s announcement that 23 tea party groups from around the nation had organized into a single coalition – the National Tea Party Federation – in order to provide a unified message and media response platform was met with both encouragement and caution by other tea parties around the nation.

“We really like the idea of tea parties collaborating to bring a message of limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets across the country,” said Ken Emanuelson of the Dallas Tea Party and the statewide group of Common Sense Texans.  “Too often, control of messaging on issues that are important to all Americans has gone to the heavily funded media machines of the far left.  We have always worked to discuss ideas with our groups around Texas and the nation in order to test our ideas and to share best practices.  We do not believe, however, that any one group or person is – or should be viewed as being – the leader of a movement as diverse and far-flung as the tea party movement.”

“We congratulate our many friends in the Federation in their focus on the central tea party message,” agreed Greg Holloway of the Austin Tea Party Patriots and fellow member of the Common Sense Texans, “but we know that local and state tea parties, 9-12 groups and other grassroots conservatives each have their own voice, because they realize best what is most important in their communities.  The tea party that meets in the town square with 50 local citizens brings a voice that is equally important to that of larger groups in the big cities.”

One of the key players in the nation’s largest tea party network concurs.  “Ours is a loosely connected organization by design,” said Jenny Beth Martin, National Coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots.  “One of our initiatives this Spring was a video project in which patriots from across the nation announced that each of them was the tea party leader.  We were responding to attacks from James Carville and Bill Clinton, who were looking for tea party leaders to vilify.  We say ‘good luck’ finding that one leader.  All Americans who hold dear our Constitutionally-protected principles of limited government are tea party leaders.”  Added Mark Meckler, fellow National Coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, “The day that we are recognized as the leaders of the tea party will be the day that we have not lived up to our objectives."

Tea partiers across the nation generally do not desire to be part of organizations that consist of pedestal positions such as leader or director.  There are in excess of 1700 local groups and millions of tea party and 9-12 project members across the country that sometimes formally, and often informally, share tools, resources, training and networking.  Many are already part of statewide networks and many are part of the Tea Party Patriots network, but all address their local politics and issues.

“I don’t view the Federation as saying they are the one voice going forward for all tea parties,” stated Sally Oljar of the Seattle Sons & Daughters of Liberty, “although we can certainly imagine the media running with that notion because it’s convenient for their own narrative. The message of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally-limited government, and free markets hasn’t changed in the 14 months since the beginning of our movement. We remain united and focused around those core principles. We trust one another to express those principles in our own way, in our own communities, and using our own best judgment of how to communicate effectively.”

“The strength of the tea party movement is the fact that it is leaderless, non-partisan and grassroots,” added Andrew Ian Dodge of the Maine Tea Party Patriots. “We do not need leaders, but merely people to help and advise those on the ground to maximize their efforts to overturn the socialist majority in both the House and the Senate. Americans are clearly tired of top down politics at any level.”

One of the newest tea parties, the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, made it clear that its voice needs to be heard.  Its organizer, Gary Stein, pointed out, “In the Armed Forces we wear the same uniform, have the same haircut, and swore the same oath, but have different thoughts. We have come together as a band of brothers and sisters in uniform to stand for what is right. We share a life that unique only to us, we share a Tea Party that unique to us.  We are the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots and our voice will be heard!”

###

If you're like us, you know that good policy is really not all that complicated.  Experience and common sense teaches us, for example, that:

1. Spending money you don't have and have no hope of getting is a recipe for disaster.

 

2. More government is rarely the solution to a problem.

 

3. Each individual must take primary responsibility for his own well-being and that of his family.

 

4. Every judge and prosecutor has a duty to apply the law as it is written, and not as he or she wishes it could be.

 

5. The people of a nation should determine for themselves the laws which will govern their lives.

Although the above ideas are common sense to us, we have learned that they are not common sense to everyone.  Bigger government, larger debts, irresponsibility, emotional decisionmaking and internationalism seem to be the order of the day.

If you believe, as we do, in limited government, fiscal responsibility, personal responsibility, the rule of law and national sovereignty are encouraged to SIGN UP so that we can help you find like-minded citizens in your same area.

The Common Sense Citizens Network is not a GROUP so much as it is a CONDUIT to connect each common sense citizen to other common sense citizens.in their area.

Fellow Tea Party Patriots and Common Sense Citizens:

At this time of Thanksgiving, we all have many things to be thankful for.

We can be thankful that we still live in a free nation and have the right to speak out for liberty and against injustice.

We can be thankful for the men and women who have toiled, and fought, and died to establish, and win, and protect our precious freedoms.

We can be thankful that we live in the nation that serves, more than any other, as a beacon of liberty to a darkened world.

One thing that we should never neglect to be thankful for is each other.  We can be thankful that, in this crucial struggle for liberty, WE DO NOT STAND ALONE.  We stand SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER with millions of brothers and sisters united for the cause of liberty.

Going forward, we should always remember to be thankful TO one another.  Each of you deserves a sincere 'thank you' from all of your fellow citizens for getting UP, getting OUT and getting INVOLVED, and we should not be shy in expressing that gratitude to one another.  If you're reading this, please know that we are thankful for you, because of the role you have played in making this happen.

We can and should all be thankful to have the opportunity to stand alongside such an incredible group of people fighting for the common principles we all hold dear.  This is a movement of regular citizens willing to step into the ring and mix it up with the self-anointed 'elites.'  None of us are professionals, but we're sharp and focused, and what we don't know we will learn.  We can and should be thankful and PROUD to be a part of this movement.

And for those on the left (and right) who continue to suggest, with a mixture of hope and fear, that this grassroots revolt is somehow fading, we have five words for them:

As you may have heard, the race is really heating up in New York's 23rd Congressional District, with the Republican establishment doubling down for Dede Scozzafava, the 'movement conservatives' mostly weighing in for Doug Hoffman and the Democrats licking their chops at the thought of taking control of this seat for the first time since the 19th Century.  It's a free-for-all, and it's anybody's race at this point.

In this clip, Newt Gingrich makes the case for Dede Scozzafava:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FETumfkPqwQ

In this one, Fred Thompson makes the case for Doug Hoffman:

http://www.fredpac.com/2009/10/clip-of-the-day-102009/

Finally, Bill Owens makes the case for Bill Owens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPdKYT9zIZ8