2010 saw the power of people. For the first time we saw strong, committed conservatives take to the streets. The movement grew from individual to individual. All of America was swept up as everyday Americans gathered arm in arm to protest bad policy, bad politics and bad politicians.
And it worked. Scott Brown in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia in 2009. And, of course, the massive statement made this past November.
It’s clear, America capital “L” loves Tea!
But the movement is young and inexperienced. After all, protests and gathering is something new to hard-working Americans. Those involved in the Tea Party movement are normally working during the day, not gathering on the mall, town center or state capital.
Organizing grass root movements is not something that comes naturally to those that consider themselves Tea Party. The idea of picketing and gathering and yelling is foreign to them, or at least is a tactic that they left behind many many years ago in the halls of their college campus.
Protests are for the young, the idealistic and the naive.
Until now.
The success of the Tea Party was truly amazing. I never would have believed it. And I continue to doubt if we’ll see a continuation of the effectiveness in 2011 and 2012. But if we are going to see that success, I have some advice for the folks running and involved in the movement:
Grow up!
Joe Miller finally conceding defeat after 2 months and then acting like a child doesn’t serve the ideals of the folks it represents:
JUNEAU, Alaska – Republican Joe Miller has conceded the Alaska U.S. Senate race to party rival Sen. Lisa Murkowski, ending nearly two months of debate and court litigation.
…
Miller had not called Murkowski to congratulate her, said his spokesman, Randy DeSoto. To say that she’d won it fair and square, DeSoto said, “is not in his thinking.”
This is childish and it only serves the opposition. If this is the behavior of the candidates backed by the Tea Party, why would ANYONE want to support them going forward?
Further, when choosing candidate to run, the fact that someone has “Tea” in their stump speeches does not mean they are qualified and strong candidates. We saw that in Delaware and in Nevada.
To be sure, Castle is a horrible example of a conservative. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to say with a straight face that he even IS a conservative. But O’Donnell is a certifiable loon. And that fact should have prevented her nomination. The same can be said for Sharron Angle; she’s nuts.
The future looks good for the folks claiming Tea. They are more organized this year than last; they’re more experienced. And they have won significant elections; Rubio, Rand to name two. But, if they’re gonna truly break through in 2011, they’re gonna have to learn to add quality cream to their Tea, and some sugar too.