Category: Activism

Flea Party Vs Tea Party II

Philadelphia Inquirer carried a large, front page story, Oct. 7, about the “Occupy Philadelphia” protest near City Hall which drew about 700 flea partyers.

Contrast this to the almost non-existent coverage it gave the Independence Hall Tea Party’s 4th of July event which brought about 1,500 to Independence Mall and featured Herman Cain and John Bolton as speakers.

One’s sure they have their reasons for the stories they choose to play up.

Update: Teri Adams of the Independence Hall Tea Party tells us that the turnout on July 4 was actually over 2,000.

Flea Party Vs Tea Party II

Flea Party Vs Tea Party

As the unwashed Obama supporters continue their protest on Wall Street against the washed Obama supporters, a story regarding the privately owned park in lower Manhattan where they are camping serves as a comparison between their movement and that of the Tea Party.

Brookfield Office Properties, which is the owner of Zuccotti Park, says the park has become a sanitation disaster with the protestors willfully ignoring the posted rules which are designed to guarantee all access to it.

Compare this to the much-larger Tea Party protests which famously left the Washington Mall spotless.

Tea Partyer To Take On Little Bobby C

Tom Smith of Armstrong County has thrown his hat in the ring to be the Republican candidate to take on Democrat incumbent Senator Bob Casey.

Smith, is a Tea Party leader and one-time coal company owner.

Take that Rob Gleason.

Hat tip Tracie Mauriello

Did Gleason Say The Cool Kids Don’t Hang With The Tea Party?

A  little birdie has told me that Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Rob Gleason has given a directive that all prospective candidates stay away from the Tea Party crowd.

I think what the little birdie has told me is true.

I’ll be glad to be shown otherwise.

 

Tea Partyers Haven’t Forgotten HB 42

The first meeting of the season of the Delaware County Patriots, tonight, Sept. 22, brought about 80 persons to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Newtown Square to hear Leo Knepper of Heritage Action for America-PA describe how the Pennsylvania’s Republican congressmen are no where near as fiscally conservative as is commonly thought,  and the inspiringly enthusiastic Jenn Stefano of American Prosperity Pa explain how it easy it is to win committee seats.

Mrs. Stefano, at the end of her talk, got pledges from a dozen-plus participants to run for the unheralded but important office.

Knepper singled out for special criticism Congressman Pat Meehan, whose 7th District includes Newtown Square. He said Meehan only scored a 48 percent on the Heritage Action Scorecard which charts the votes legislators make as whether they advance or detract from the cause of commonsense conservatism.

“On the big issues, he’s been there, but on the small issues he’s been dropping the ball” Knepper said.

Knepper gave an example as to how Meehan voted against a seemingly uncontroversial bill that would have cut farm subsidies to $250,000 and restrict them to actual farmers rather than seekers of tax breaks.

Knepper said the only members of Pennsylvania’s delegation to score at least an 80 on the score card were Congressman Joe Pitts of the 16th District and Sen. Pat Toomey. No other Republicans scored above a 60 he said.

Knepper said that the United States has reached the point where the debt equals the entire gross domestic product.

“We are going to collapse if we keep going at this rate,” he said.

Mrs. Stefano said time for talking was over and it was now up to Tea Partyers to start doing the walking, namely by running for office, specifically committee seats. Local committee people run at the precinct level and are the ones who pick the leaders of the established parties and write the party bylaws. 

It requires 10 signatures to get on the ballot, Mrs. Stefano said.

Republican bylaws require that each precinct be represented by a man and a woman. Often this office is unfilled.

Failing to get involved is a mark of shame, Mrs. Stefano said.

“You cannot say you are a patriot. Our children and grandchildren will have to pick up arms and fight and die for the things we gave away,” she passionately said.

Mrs. Stefano singled out Delco Patriot Lisa Esler for special praise.

“Politicians are afraid of her,” she said.

After the speakers, it was announced that the Delco Patriots were signing onto a push to get HB 42 to a vote in Harrisburg.

HB 42 is the proposed state law that would undermine much of ObamaCare in Pennsylvania.  It has been bottled up in the House Appropriation Committee since Feb. 8.

The committee is chaired by Bill Adolph of Springfield who represents the 165th District.

Adolph indicated to the Patriots on May 19 that there would be a vote on the bill before the end of the year.

A Tea Party In Brooklyn

A Tea Party In Brooklyn — Republican Bob Turner, who ran as a Tea Party supporter, crushed Democrat opponent David Weprin in a special election last night (Sept. 13)  to take the 9th District New York congressional seat that was once held by ultra-lefties Chuck Schumer and, most recently, Anthony “Little” Weiner.

A Republican has not won there since 1920.

It was a rout with Turner getting 54 percent of the vote, almost the percentage Obama got when he won the district that consists of parts of Queens and Brooklyn, in 2008.

So, does Allyson Schwartz, the ultra-left, secular Jewish, one-time abortion clinic executive director who represents Pennsylvania’s 13th District, feel someone walking over her grave?

She certainly should.

And speaking of Montgomery County, parts of which are represented by Ms. Schwartz, Tea Party activist Bob Guzzardi points out that businessman Steve Welch, who is seeking to be the GOP’s answer in 2012 to incumbent Senator Little Bobby Casey, was a strong supporter of leftist Congressman Joe Sestak and voted for Barack Obama in the Democrat Primary, albeit he says he voted for John McCain in the general election.

It’s good that you saw the light, Steve, but there are other potential candidates who saw it sooner and see it brighter and those are the ones that thinking people will want.

 

A Tea Party In Brooklyn

Pa GOP Tea Party Trouble

Pa GOP Tea Party Trouble — Pennsylvania’s Republican establishment has a Tea Party problem.

As indicated in an earlier post, establishment fav Steve Welch is not warming the hearts of those whose votes he needs.

Now, Paula Stiles of the Chester County Patriots is sounding the call for the common folk to attend the General Republican Meeting of the State Committee, which is 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Sept. 17, at Harrisburg Hilton, 1 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg.

“We are asking constituents from every county in Pennsylvania to attend. . . and personally experience the disdain that PA GOP leadership has for their fellow Republicans,” she says. “Please understand, the”leadership” is not elected.”

She says she already has at least one van-full of those attending this rather inconveniently scheduled event.

She asks that those planning to attend to RSVP at terminatorgop@hushmail.com.

 

Pa GOP Tea Party Trouble

 

Pa GOP Tea Party Trouble

 

 

I’m A Hobbit

I’m A Hobbit — John McCain, yesterday, July 27,  quoted a dig at Tea Party members made in the Wall Street Journal saying:


The Republican House that failed to raise the debt ceiling would
somehow escape all blame. Then Democrats would have no choice but to
pass a balanced-budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the tea-party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor.

This is the kind of crack political thinking that turned Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell into GOP Senate nominees.”

I’m not one of the conservatives who hate John McCain. He showed sagacity in his push for “the surge” in Iraq and political courage in  his outspoken yet ignored warnings about the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac meltdowns.

But even leaving aside the obnoxious and pointless digs at a couple of decent women who were motivated by love of nation to enter the political arena at much personal cost to themselves, he and the Wall Street Journal are dead wrong.

It is not the “Republican House” that has failed to raise the debt ceiling. The Republicans who control America’s House of Representatives are more than willing to raise the debt ceiling. They have passed a plan that raises the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion to $16.7 trillion.

It was McCain’s fellow senators that voted to kill it.

And not raise the debt ceiling.

McCain’s fellow senators are unwilling to cut the gravy train to the government-connected, which it should be noted includes greedy rich things Goldman Sachs and General Motors. This is what motivates the Sharron Angles and Christine O’Donnells and the rest of us Hobbits to get politically involved.

You are a decent guy Senator and I do wish you were the president but you have your guns turned in the wrong direction.

And something else Senator, a Hobbit like Miss O’Donnell would never have caved into threats from Wall Street fat cats and vote for TARP a month before a presidential election.

 

I’m A Hobbit

Bachmann Wins Philly Independence Day Straw Poll

Bachmann Wins Philly Independence Day Straw Poll — The Third Annual July 4th Tea Party on Independence Mall, featuring Herman Cain and Ambassador John Bolton, drew over 1,500 this year and included seven other speakers including the Honorable Anna Little and American Energy alliance spokesman, Dan Simmons.  The program lasted slightly over two hours.

Cain, a businessman and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for US president. This is believed to be his first appearance in Pennsylvania after he announced his candidacy, although it was not necessarily a political one.

“He was here for the right reason, to honor the Declaration of Independence,” said Teri Adams, president of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, which sponsored the event along with the Cherry Hill Tea Party of New Jersey and the Diamond State Tea Party of Delaware.

Despite Cain’s presence, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN6) finished first in the presidential straw poll according to unofficial tallies.  Cain finished second.  Ms. Adams noted that several Ron Paul votes were disqualified after event officials caught some of his supporters stuffing the ballot box.  Paul, Christie, and Perry finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

This year’s event was named the 2011 Energy Independence Day Tea Party and a Declaration of Energy Independence, written by  Association member Lin DeCesare, was read by Association co-founder Don Adams after Ms. DeCesare was unable to attend due to illness.  The audience then voted to adopt the Declaration of Energy Independence by acclamation.

“Ever since Richard Nixon, presidents have declared for energy independence,” Adams said. “Congresses have come and gone and we’re as dependent on foreign energy as we were in 1973.”

Adams noted that last year, because of the excessive heat, only about 1,000 people attended the Proud to be an American July 4th Tea Party which featured commentator Bill Kristol as keynote speaker. Over 2500 attended the 2009 inaugural in which the late Herb Denenberg had the honor.

Adams said 20 groups involved with promoting limited government were involved this year. He also praised for WPHT talk show host Dom Giordano for his support. Giordano was among the speakers.

Among those receiving awards were Joey Vento, owner of the legendary Geno’s Steaks in South Philadelphia, who was given the 2011 Patriot of the Year Award, and Lancaster resident Sharon Cherubin of UNITEPA who won the 2011 George Washington Tea Party Leader of the year Award.

Weekly Standard editor and Fox News contributor, Bill Kristol, received the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Award for Courageous Journalism, in absentia.

Other award winners were:

Betsy Ross Activist of the Year for Delaware, Kristin Sherman;
Betsy Ross Activist of the Year for New Jersey, Bill Miller;
Betsy Ross Activist of the Year for Pennsylvania, Carol Klein and Phil Schieber.

One disappointment was that story, while covered by the Daily News and featured on several TV broadcast stations, it was not picked up by either the Philadelphia Inquirer or KYW News Radio.

Associated Press photos of the event ran in several publications throughout the nation, including the Washington Post.

The Independence Hall Tea Party’s next event on Independence Mall will be Constitution Day, Sept. 17.

Check out the group’s website at independencehallteaparty.com or call 215-690-4043 for more information.

 

Bachmann Wins Philly Independence Day Straw Poll

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa — Independence Day in Springfield Pa was kicked off in traditional hometown fashion — from the high school, down Saxer Avenue to Memorial Park on Springfield Road — with a parade featuring churches, fire trucks, community groups, antique cars and, of course, lots of kids on bicycles.

Here are some scenes from it:

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

 

The Delaware County Patriots were among the participants

 

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

Among the many red, white and blue bicyclists.

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

A series of homemade floats honoring all four branches of the military.

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa

Special transportation for the Republican Party.

 

July 4, 2011 In Springfield Pa