Free Republic

Why should we leave the law of the land to be decided by votes from Congress of whom which most its members have and/or were not allowed the sufficient amount of time to read the bill? In addition many of them lack the ability to understand the language within the document. Why can they not understand their own bills? Because they do not even write these bills themselves. They have others who specialize in legal jargon originate such paper work. So why does so much power lie in the hands of those who are apparently not intelligent enough to write...

The Tea Party movement has aroused a lot of energy, accelerated by continual disregard by our elected officials for the will of the people, the Rule of Law, and those principles upon which our nation was founded. Can this energy be focused in an effective manner to actually effect change? Many believe so. But there is disagreement as to how. Fightin Words welcomes Minnesota libertarian activist and budding politician Gregory Laney to discuss the flaws in the current two-party system and whether it can be fixed or circumvented.

Tens of thousands of people from across the country made a "House call" on the west side of the Capitol yesterday. These Americans traveled to Washington to register their objections to the mammoth government health care bill that Democrats are rushing through Congress. The size and spirit of the rally were a testament to the explosion in grass-roots activism opposed to the expansion of government under President Obama's and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's watch. The silent majority is silent no longer.

Republican gangs of New York wage civil war Attempts by Republicans to go "Obama-lite" have backfired disastrously, says Toby Harnden in Washington Published: 6:54PM GMT 31 Oct 2009 New York state’s 23rd District, which juts into Canada and is bordered by the People’s Republic of Vermont, is an unlikely place to send a message to the Republican party about how to defeat President Barack Obama in 2012. It is, however, home to the United States Army’s 10th Mountain Division, which has distinguished itself in Afghanistan, and the shot it has just fired by forcing the withdrawal of the party's official...

This is an AP story so I will chop up an excerpted quote. Note that the organizers of this so-called grass-roots phenomenon are handing out copies of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. Fired up? ... Obama's grass-roots supporters ... drowned out.... communities ... Obama organizers ... "silent majority," ... a government run plan to compete with private insurers.... opponents of ... health care revamp ... controlled the image war ... rowdy town halls ... Obama supporters ... mobilizing.... erroneous "death panel" accusations.... Organizer Geoff Berman.... Howard Dean.... tea party protests largely organized by FreedomWorks.... Spokesman Adam Brandon said all staffers...

We've all seen calls for a third party (which would be disastrous I think, given the lack of success third parties have had since 1860) and countering calls for taking control of the Republican Party. But what has been distinctly missing is any idea of how to do either of these things. I'm not going to bother about how to form a third party, as I think it would be at best a waste of time. Instead, I'm going to present an idea and a website that gives concrete instructions on how to start to take control of the Republican...

Liberals are having difficulty understanding the grass roots opposition to President Obama's plans for the government takeover of the health care industry, as well as the President's loss of support since his election. Equally disconcerting to liberals was the massive turnout on September 12th to protest a Federal government that is too big, too intrusive, and far too corrupt. As one who attended the September 12th rally at the Capitol, let me offer liberals the following explanation for what is happening. Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said, "Fatigue makes cowards out of all of us." And what are the American...

We've been seeing so many great posts at American Thinker and praising them lately that it was inevitable that Thomas Lifson's great site would publish something with which we would disagree. And so it has with George Joyce's "Where's Sarah?" which was posted to AT's blog late Monday afternoon. Joyce, it seems, is so bummed by Mark Steyn's conjecture -- in an NRO op-ed that ObamaCare will probably get pushed through eventually -- that he's gettin' mighty nervous. Joyce wants Sarah Palin, warrior princess, to ride in on a white steed and save the day: In light of this remarkable...

Currently, leftists have reportedly generated $1 million in donations for Rep. Joe Wilson's opponent last time, Rob Miller. Wilson, for his part has reaped about $750k. But there is a big difference beneath the surface: : Kos and DCCC immediately organized fundraising against Wilson. Wilson's $ is based on his own appeal and spontaneous contributors. From Paul Kane of the WaPo:

NY Congressman Tim Bishop tried to pack his town hall with unions on the ‘take’ for nationalized healthcare. The people of his district erupt in open rebellion when one of the union goons tries to speak! Union members, many from outside the district, were snuck into the hall beforehand in an effort to stack the deck with a friendly audience. The last straw came when one of the union leaders from outside the district was asked to speak. The citizens erupted in open revolt which almost led to violence from the union goons.

A local union leader was booed out of Rep. Tim Bishop's town hall meeting last night in New York.Like they tried to do here in St. Louis, union members, many from outside the district, were snuck into the hall in an effort to stack the deck with a friendly audience. There are reports that as many as three busloads were brought in.Things boiled over when Mr. Mitchell, head of the Long Island Federation of Labor, steps up to the podium and announces that he in fact does not reside within the borders of NY's First Congressional District.

More than 900 residents met U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop's promise to approve only a health care bill that "improves on a status quo that is unacceptable" with a mix of cheers and boos at a packed town hall meeting in Farmingville Thursday night.

Via Gateway Pundit, although I’m certain there’s an alternative explanation. Maybe the leader of the Long Island Federation of Labor couldn’t make it to the town-hall forum in his own district, or perhaps his Representative was busy hiding, like many House Democrats this August. His attempt to pander to the actual constituents of Rep. Tim Bishop results in catcalls and a full minute of disruption. Jim also reports that the Magical Mystery Bus Tour continued for this meeting, with unions sending three busloads of people to the event. Even so, the angry constituents shout them down fairly effectively … or...

n just a weeks time the 111th Congress will reconvene and Democrats in the House and Senate should stand up and pass health care reform. They should make it their first order of business. They should do it immediately. Once passed Obama should sign it into law immediately. Why not? The timing is perfect. Obama wants it, nay demands it before the end of the year. The far-left wing of the party (you know the one’s running the show now) want it and have wanted it for decades and they’re in control. They control the Senate to a point that...

After enraged constituents started showing up at Congressional town-hall forums to oppose ObamaCare, the unions acted quickly to counterdemonstrate on behalf of the Democratic agenda item. In at least one case, union representatives used violence to intimidate and harrass ObamaCare opponents. The same union, which represents a large percentage of government workers and would be presumably immune from any health-care reform action, issued memos demanding volunteers to “drown out” opposition to ObamaCare. But why? This report from the Detroit Free Press explains that the unions....

PITTSBURGH -- A group of Republicans, looking to recoup the party's clout, is borrowing a page from liberal Democrats by beefing up Internet efforts to energize the grass roots. The conservative Americans for Prosperity has further embraced Internet activism to energize its 700,000 members and point them to dozens of town-hall meetings with lawmakers over the past weeks, leaving Democrats on the defensive on a signature issue: overhauling health care. Americans for Prosperity held their conference Right Online here last weekend. It centered on ramping up the use of Facebook, Twitter and other online megaphones to rally conservative opposition to...

The question sounds facetious, since Texas Congressman Ron Paul failed to make any traction among GOP primary voters last year.Throughout the 2008 presidential primaries, Rep. Paul railed against the Federal Reserve Bank and the coming economic crash. And all the other GOP candidates seemed to look at him like he had just crawled out of the grassy knoll. So did most voters, except for a coterie of highly-motivated and mostly young primary voters he organized. Then economic reality happened, and the establishment GOP's economic model crashed along with the party's election hopes. Everything changed.Ron Paul's “rEVOLution” (revolution with “love” spelled...

Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the White House have called opposition to Democratic health care plans "Astroturf," while organizing their own "authentic" pro-Obamacare rallies at the same time. But there's one important question I have, checking out these protest photos from Denver, taken by Looking at the Left (link via Holy Coast). If opponents of Obamacare are Astroturf, then how come all of their signs are homemade, with all sorts of different shapes and sizes and colors and stuff... And how come all of the pro-Obamacare demonstrators have official-looking and uniform, pre-printed, signs?

IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure Discourse: At a town hall last week in Dallas, an elderly "mob" with "manufactured" outrage questioned AARP's support for nationalized health care, asking: "Do you work for us or do we work for you?"There were no swastika-wearing grannies at Tuesday's meeting, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might claim. Nor were they "taking their cues from talk show hosts, Internet rumor-mongers . . . and insurance rackets," as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said. But they were mad as hell at the perception that AARP was selling them out in the...

Our friend Bill at Governor Palin for President 2012 says that the citizen uprising that we are seeing reflected in the recent town hall meetings shows the wisdom in Sarah Palin's decision to resign: "So, what do these everyday Americans pushing back against socialist policies tell us? That there is real buyer's remorse going on. They bought the product because of the fancy packaging, but didn't read the fine print. They want to 'change' it back." We are struck by the timing of all of this. It could just be coincidence, but we believe that Sarah Palin sensed the growing...

Remember kids, it's the health care protesters who are being organized in a top-down manner. Because whatever Team Lightbringer says during their afternoon unicorn rides must be true. To recap: anyone who protests at a health care pimping rally is is part of a well-funded, super organized mob, according to our friends on the left. (You can practically feel the hopenandchange permeating the entire process now, right?) And on the other side...it's just a sincere, merry band of innocents. Top White House officials counseled Democratic senators Thursday on coping with disruptions at public events on health care this summer, officials...

You almost have to feel sorry for the progressives, this was all supposed to be so easy for them. Last year, they got the candidate they wanted, a guy so far left that he bumps into Fidel Castro any time he moves to the right. He easily dispatches the most formidable candidate in the primaries. Then the GOP hands him a candidate who wimped out and did everything but hide in Aruba during the general election. To make things run smoother than chocolate through a Rottweiler, the economy tanked before the general election under a Republican president's watch. By then...

WASHINGTON – Call it the tea party that never ends. A rebellion is brewing in home congressional districts of incumbent Democrats evidenced by the reaction at several town hall meetings. Members are being forced to suspend meetings with their constituents, screaming protesters are being dragged out of events by police and officials are being greeted by protest signs and chants. Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., has called off further events. "I had felt they would be pointless," he said. "There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what...

What can I do? I’ve written and called my representatives, and get a form letter, a stock answer or an argument. I’ve worked on campaigns. I’ve marched in Washington, and joined various groups. I’ve made my voice clear, and appear to be part of this overwhelming majority who have done the same in vain, constantly ignored, berated, pandered to, condescended, and held in contempt. When one set of bums is thrown out after the people have had enough, it seems another set of bums replace them; often it makes little difference which party they belong to other than the degree...

The political action committee associated with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin , SarahPAC, reported strong support from small donors in its mid-year report. SarahPAC reported $733,000 in total receipts through June 30, of which $420,000 was “unitemized� or from donors who contributed $200 or less. The PAC was established in January of this year with a stated goal of supporting Palin’s plans to improve the country as well as candidates who support her ideals. Palin announced July 3 she will resign as governor later this month and left the door open to possible plans to seek the presidency in 2012. Palin’s...

A concerned patriot wrote me the following. “...our Tea Party efforts are taking a weird turn. As you know the April 15th nationwide rallies were a BIG success! The issues were Runaway Federal Spending and lack of primarily, the Federal Government doing what is best for the people. ...we are receiving direction to turn our focus to the Local Cities, Counties, and School Boards and not to focus on National issues. This is not what started the Tea Parties and in my opinion is not where we should be going as a "Grassroots" group.” The following is my reply. There...

During the last 30 years we Americans have been so politically divided that some of us have called this left-right, liberal-conservative split a "culture war" or even a "second Civil War." These descriptions are no longer accurate. The precise, technical word for what is happening in the United States today is revolution. Because of our country's history, we tend to think of revolutions as military conflicts, and of the revolutionaries as the good guys; the image of Minutemen fighting valiantly against the British forces at Lexington and Concord lies deep within our DNA. But sometimes -- quite often, actually --...

WASHINGTON -- Last month's nationwide "Tea Party" demonstrations -- protesting massive government spending increases and rising taxes -- were minimalized by the national news media. Liberal big-government groups dismissed them as the work of right-wing advocacy organizations in Washington and claimed that the events were so dispersed, most of them in small cities and towns, no one could be sure how many had actually turned out to attend them. More than 600,000 people in nearly 600 localities -- from Bakersfield, Calif., to Atlanta, Ga. -- turned out to vent their anger over the Democrats' massive-spending levels. And a rally-by-rally account...

Hoping to recapture the grassroots energy of last month’s “tea parties,” Republican Govs. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Rick Perry of Texas will host a tele-town hall Thursday that’s being dubbed “Tea Party 2.0.” The Republican Governors Association said it is expecting 30,000 people to participate in the town hall, which will take place roughly one month after the much-publicized anti-tax tea party rallies held in hundreds of locations across the country on April 15, the tax filing deadline. Sanford and Perry will each speak for several minutes before opening up the town hall to up to an hour-long...

. . . . . Elected Republicans should govern by the principles they profess in campaign rallies and advertisements. Those principles were once the difference between the parties. . . . . . The Republican Party, at its best, is a party of broad ideas and principles. For example, those who tend to vote Republican believe in limiting the size and scope of government and respect the guarantees of individual freedom and liberty of our Constitution. They respect life and its diversity; and they understand that free market capitalism, the glue that holds the Republican Party, and our nation, together,...

Since the Tax Day Tea Parties on April 15, there has been much discussion on what to do with the Tea Party movement after the big protest. Jim Geraghty of National Review’s Campaign Spot suggested that Conservatives get involved and organized at the local level, starting at local city councils and school boards. Getting 1,000 people to show up at a town council meeting would have real impact, and would begin to push a Conservatism from the bottom up, rather from the top down. It may be a longer-term strategy, but possibly a more effective one over time.

...This picture is worth a 1,000 words and, I hope, dozens of defeated incumbents. 150 citizens, normal people, political novices and neighborhood activists jammed the dining room of Ken's Steakhouse at 8am on the most beautiful Saturday we've had in New England this year. Their hands are raised because I've just ask "How many of you plan to be on the ballot in 2009 or 2010."

A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues. There was Sen. John McCain's daughter and his campaign manager who last week demanded that their fellow Republicans embrace same-sex marriage. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman – the most devoted modernizer among the party's 2012 hopefuls – won approving words from New York Times columnist Frank Rich for his call to downplay divisive values issues. The party’s top elected leaders in...

Something that I wonder about...no one in the media (including FOX) ever mentions thedifference between a leftist demonstration and the TEA Parties...what is the most obvious "sign" that the lefties are organized by a machine and the grass roots of the TEA Parties are home made? It's all in the signs...notice that everyone in the lefty crowd magically shows up with IDENTICAL signs? Now look at what we show up with? Besides the fact that they are more clever, the TEA Party signs are obviously home made while the left has the ANSWER produced, Soros funded mill cranking theirs out......

"Let's be very honest about what this is about. It's not about bashing democrats, it's not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston Tea Party was about. They don't know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of tea-bagging rednecks. And there is no way around that... They are now dependent upon immigrant bashing, and hating the black guy in the White House. Will people act on that? It's not new, but Fox doesn't mind fomenting it. Michelle Bachman...

I have two concerns that I think the tea parties should NOT become (we should fight these anyway). 1. they should not primarily become movements to support the Republican Party, alone, and for Republicans to regain political power (though that doesn't preclude any one member or a group from supporting Republicans where they agree with US). 2. These tea parties are not about any ONE individual, either to demonize or for one person (or organization) to "lead", they are about citizenship leadership, spontaneity, and just FED UP Americans, we can not allow any one person to become leader to "dictate"...

AN incomplete survey of newspaper accounts and organizer estimates pegged this week's Tea Party protest population at a minimum of 250,000. If we use the crowd-counting math of left-wing activists, we can call it the Million Taxpayer March. To George Soros-funded grievance professionals, 250,000 is an insignificant number. But unlike recent anti-war and pro-illegal-immigration rallies padded with union workers, college students and homeless people, the Tax Day Tea Party demonstrations featured small-business owners, working taxpayers and families. A quarter-million people took time off in the middle of the workweek to raise their voices against reckless taxing and bipartisan spending. Multimillionaire...

Many writers have dubbed the Tax Day Tea Parties as inconsequential, a fad that will die quickly, and of foolish origins that have nothing to do with the American patriots of revolutionary days. Patriots dumped a ship full of tea into Boston Harbor, these folks contend, to protest one thing: taxation without representation. We modern patriots have representation and are therefore insane to protest, or so this line of argument goes. Folks who believe that the American Revolution was over nothing but taxation -- a penny more for a cup of tea or sugar or any of the other fees...

Please post what is happening at your tea party here, your location and attendance...and as always, lots of pictures:)

Congratulations to the hundreds of spontaneous grassroots organizers who have successfully organized the over 300 tea party events that will take place today across the country. Such events have already been widespread, and highly successful, with sudden big crowds: 2,000 in St. Louis, 3,000 in Cincinnati, 6,000 in Orlando, as recently reported by Peter Roff in a Fox News blog. Because these events are highly decentralized, with no significant institutional organization or funding behind them, they represent a genuine outpouring of grassroots opinion with enormous political importance. For every person out in the streets today, there are undoubtedly many more...

When his post-campaign organization was unveiled in January, Barack Obama vowed that the 13 million-strong grass-roots network built during his presidential campaign would play a "crucial role" in enacting his agenda from the White House. "The change we've worked so hard for will not happen unless ordinary Americans get involved, and supporters like you must lead the way," Obama told backers just before his inauguration. But in its first big test, the group dubbed Organizing for America (OFA) had little obvious impact on the debate over President Obama's budget, which passed Congress on Thursday with no Republican support and a...

More than 3000 protestors showed up. A plethora of pictures taken records conservative protest against Obama and his Administration. Click on link or source for photos! http://pereiraville.com/scribble/?p=7104

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford sees a strong future for the Republican Party, provided it's rebuilt in what he sees as the right way: on the local level, far from the halls of Congress and the GOP's national headquarters. Republican ideals haven't changed, he said last week, but he thinks the ways the party engages new people will have to. NEWSWEEK's Daniel Stone asked Sanford who's responsible to lead the party from here and what he thinks about the party's national leadership. Excerpts: NEWSWEEK: In devising a new strategy for the party, where do you go from here?SANFORD: There is...

A meeting is scheduled for 3/14, 3pm at the Right Wing TavernReply if you’re going to be there because we need a count by 3/13. We also need to determine the agenda. JimRob already has one established this guidelineInput is appreciated and we look forward to a great first meeting!

Calling all CT FReepers! (I was going to post this to the local board, but I don't know how many CT FReepers actually read the thing...) It's taken a while for me to be able to post this, so here goes - we're going to have another dinner/conference similar to the one we had in early 2007. Location: John Harvard's, Manchester, CT Date: Wednesday March 25, or Thursday, March 26 (I thought Friday might be better, but it can be mobbed in there on Fridays, and, IIRC, they don't do formal reservations.) Please let me know which day is best...

Word up - we must organize. Organize to lobby, to protest, get others involved...

It's time for the grassroots conservatives gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference to again lead the fight for the principles of freedom that have propelled America to greatness. "Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question." ~ President Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801 There has been a constant battle throughout history between those who wish to control others and those who...

Four months ago, the Republican Party seemed headed for the scrap heap. Today, things don't look quite so bad -- not because the party has done anything particularly brilliant, mind you, but because opposition parties almost always come back sooner or later -- and almost always for the same reason. The other party screws up. Or, to paraphrase Enoch Powell, the British politician who put it far more eloquently: all political careers ultimately end in failure. That's because leaders and political parties inevitably over-promise and over-reach. Already, President Barack Obama's efforts -- from the stimulus package to welfare reform --...

Okay everyone, welcome to the general Alabama thread on Free Republic! Use this thread to post interesting news, tidbits, plans, meeting times, or just to converse with your fellow people of Alabama. This thread will be used to properly coordinate FR activism and various other activities...and, if things go well, serve as the proper thread for Alabama FR chapters to plan and organize. Hope you all make good use of it!