Posted on 11/14/2010 3:38:40 PM PST by kristinn
A gay conservative group and some Tea Party leaders are campaigning to keep social issues off the Republican agenda.
In a letter to be released Monday, the group GOProud and leaders from groups like the Tea Party Patriots and the New American Patriots, will urge Republicans in the House and Senate to keep their focus on shrinking the government.
"On behalf of limited-government conservatives everywhere, we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement," they write to presumptive House Speaker John Boehner and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell in an advance copy provided to POLITICO. "This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue."
The letter's signatories range from GOProud's co-founder and Chairman Christopher Barron — a member of a group encouraging Dick Cheney to run for president and who has been known to post images of his bare torso to Twitter — to Tea Party leaders with no particular interest in the gay rights movement.
As of Sunday evening, the letter had 17 signatories. They include tea party organizers, conservative activists and media personalities from across the country, including radio host Tammy Bruce, bloggers Bruce Carroll, Dan Blatt and Doug Welch, and various local coordinators for the Tea Party Patriots and other tea party groups.
"When they were out in the Boston Harbor, they weren't arguing about who was gay or who was having an abortion," said Ralph King, a letter signatory who is a Tea Party Patriots national leadership council member, as well as an Ohio co-coordinator.
King said he signed onto the letter because GOProud seemed to be genuine in pushing for fiscal conservatism and limited government.
"Am I going to be the best man at a same sex-marriage wedding? That's not something I necessarily believe in," said King. "I look at myself as pretty socially conservative. But that's not what we push through the Tea Party Patriots."
That indifference is essentially the point of the gay conservative group.
SNIP
TEXT OF LETTER
Dear Senator McConnell and Representative Boehner
On behalf of limited government conservatives everywhere we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement.
Poll after poll confirms that the Tea Party’s laser focus on issues of economic freedom and limited government resonated with the American people on Election Day. The Tea Party movement galvanized around a desire to return to constitutional government and against excessive spending, taxation and government intrusion into the lives of the American people.
The Tea Party movement is a non-partisan movement, focused on issues of economic freedom and limited government, and a movement that will be as vigilant with a Republican-controlled Congress as we were with a Democratic-controlled Congress.
This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check.
Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.
We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.
The Tea Party movement is not going away and we intend to continue to hold Washington accountable. Sincerely,
Christopher R Barron
Chairman of the Board, GOProud
Andrew Ian Dodge
Coordinator, Maine Tea Party Patriots
Pam Stevenson
Coordinator, Arizona Tea Party Patriots
Dianna Greenwood
Executive Director, New American Patriots (Ashland, OH)
Jim Mason II
Chairman and State Coordinator, Nebraska’s Tea Party Patriots
Ralph King
Co-coordinator Cleveland Tea Party Patriots
Co-coordinator State of Ohio Tea Party Patriots
Jack Lien
Coordinator, Tea Party Patriots of Great Malls (Montana)
Tammy Bruce
National Radio Talk Show Host
JP Weber
Coordinator, Annapolis (Maryland) Tea Party
Doug Welch,
Blogger and member Southern Illinois Tea Party
Bruce Carroll
Conservative Activist and Blogger
Pam Stout
Coordinator, Sandpoint Idaho Tea Party Patriots
Dan Blatt
Conservative Activist and Blogger
Everett Wilkinson
Coordinator, Florida Tea Party
Jimmy LaSalvia
Executive Director, GOProud
Paul Crockett
President Santa Clara (California) Tea Party
David Thor Andreasen
Cumberland County (Maine) Tea Party
Bye!!!!
homosexualty and abortion are not “social issues”.<<<<
Get the fing government out of the social engineering
buisness!! Leave the moral choices to the individual and get the slop out of the schools!
homosexualty and abortion are not “social issues”.<<<<
Get the fing government out of the social engineering
buisness!! Leave the moral choices to the individual and get the slop out of the schools!
>A gay conservative group and some Tea Party leaders are campaigning to keep social issues off the Republican agenda. <
That strategy worked “so well” in Massachusetts this past election...
New Mass. Republican Party Chairman says party will no longer oppose same-sex “marriage”, abortion, other “social issues”
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/09b/nassour/index.html
Mass. Republicans lose ALL statewide & Congressional races
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/govt10/election10/general/results_statewide.html
Mass. Republican Party’s RINO strategy a big part of election losses in top state races
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/govt10/election10/gop_strategy/index.html
No, Pelosi is open about her desire to destroy conservatism, people like you are Benedict Arnolds who will just stab us in the back.
The MSM didn't shut you folks up or down and they are royally pissed at that failure.
What do you mean by "you folks" troll?
Isn’t slavery a moral issue best left up to the states or individuals to decide? That’s what the Democrats argued at the time.
1. It is not unnecesary. You are not in a position to make that judgement.
2. Social conservatives can not lose at this point. If we do not hold power, we share no part in the blame for the current pain. The MSM carried water too long, it is collapsing in influence and credibility. The left has lost control of the narative.
Unemployment brings introspection. Since the 2008 the country has turned sharply to the right across the board, and the longer it goes on, the further to the right the electorate moves.
There is zero reason to compromise, and every reason to stay the course.
“But we sure as hell don’t have to play footsie with those groups who most abhor and ridicule the Tea Party. You know, those groups who refer to us as tea baggers.”
-You mean the people who actually ARE teabaggers and like it...
"The MSM didn't shut you folks up or down and they are royally pissed at that failure." What do you mean by "you folks" troll?
I meant Pelosi as described by some as meaning 'bullshit' and 'you folks' means I can't get my oxygen tank out on the street anymore.
Calm down; I'm on your side.
“Great answer. Let’s remove all funding for Planned Parenthood, AIDS research and sex education and then say it’s not about social issues. It’s about fiscal issues and watch how fast they change tack.”
Don’t forget federal funded embryonic stem cell research. That’s a lot of money.
Reposted especially for RINO/CINO trolls like you:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2627159/posts
DON’T TREAD ON ME!!
If you refuse to defend our God-given Liberty, then you are not part of the solution; you are part of the problem!!I'm all about defending out God-given Liberty.
Reposted especially for RINO/CINO trolls like you and your light in the loafers friend brucie (you two should get a room):
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2627159/posts
DON’T TREAD ON ME AH!!
God, Family, Country, Life and Liberty will never take a backseat on this bus, pal. Get the hell OFF of FR if you don’t like it!
“Fiscal conservatism is a sure winner, everytime. And now more than ever in this political climate.”
Not every time. We are more likely to win over blacks and Hispanics with social conservatism.
Calm down; I'm on your side.
Here is what you wrote earlier troll:
They are not arguing for rights, they are against wasting time on crap that doesn't need committee time.
YOU are the one who thinks that opposing abortion and the homosexual agenda is "crap" and a "waste of time" and that makes you a troll. You ARE NOT on the side of conservatism and the fact that you have been a member here for over a decade and have less than three dozen posts is further evidence of that.
Yeah, some birthers favor this. They think spouting their conspiracy theory crap trumps babies being murdered and gays in the military. I don’t. Liberals.
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