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Yes, this is a NH House legislator. Those of you who are “NH political junkies” can probably decode the House Vanity plate and already know whose car this is. For those of you who are not, the answer is after the jump.
The bumper stickers? Revealing:
(H/T: loyal ‘Grok reader, Jean, who nailed this the day of the Right To Work override vote)
There is one very upset and confused guy on one of the email lists I’m on; a Libertarian TEA Party kind of guy, he JUST cannot for the life of him, understand why Newt Gingrich is surging so with Movement Conservatives. And why TEA Partiers are flocking to Newt just is beyond his comprehension. So, the above question uttered from his fingertips. Never wishing to leave a challenge undone, I answered: “A tool“. Now, in many groups, that would be fightin’ words – in this case, merely “a tool with which to achieve an end”. And I wish, at the time, that I had thought of that two word answer. Silly me, had to go and use a whole bunch more instead (H/T: Gallup for the chart) (lightly edited):
I will agree with you that beating Obama is not a done deal. We all, as uber-political junkies know that because we know that a lot of effort is going to be done by the vast Left Wing / Union conspiracy in their GOTV (Get Out The Vote) efforts. We all, from our lofty positions (heh!) known that many people are not really all that knowledgeable about ALL the issues and all of the nuances thereof, and will therefore , may well vote for Obama. Again.
Being here in NH, I can tell you the overriding issue to Movement Conservatives and TEA Partiers is not to beat Obama right now but to beat Romney. That is the near term issue that is forefront on every TEA Party / 9-12 / Conservative’s mind. Five weeks to go.
The Libertarian part of the Republican Party has already…
It is rumored that Governor Gary Johnson might consider a third party run as the Libertarian candidate. Given that a center right GOP electorate will not be nominating Ron Paul, and Ron Paul seems to have enough sense not to split the party himself, a Johnson third party run presents some interesting possibilities, including the likely reelection of Barack Obama and the knock out punch to the America the Libertarians swear they are defending.
Even if Johnson is right to argue that he has been ignored by the media is having a hissy fit really the answer? There is no third party electoral victory in America and only an arrogant fool would think otherwise. The Best hope we have is to continue taking over the GOP and replacing its moderate leadership from below.
But I think the elites in the liberty movement are too impatient for incremental change. Many of the "principled" libertarians are so possessed of their own agenda that they would split the vote giving Obama and the czars four more years of liberty destroying power, rather than elect any other Republican as a stop gap until they can make further in-roads into the party establishment.
A Johnson third party run could be the best thing to happen to Obama since the Media.
…given that the super-majority of people casting ballots in the (Democrat) primary contest will be white, will voting against Joann Dowdell in the Democrat primary be considered racist, or will voting for her be be considered racist?
I ran across this at The Lonely Conservative – a perfect info-graphic showing the issue that binds the TEA Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements together…
(larger version here)
…and where they rapidly diverge on both the cause and the cure. Sure, the problem is that of crony capitalism / corporatism:
The unholy alliance where politically connected biz people exploit politicians AND bureaucrats for both profit and advantages over their competitors, as well as the converse of politicians AND bureaucrats exploit the marketplace to both extend their political power as well as to attempt to achieve their ideological ends.
I have one more video to post from two weeks ago that aptly demonstrates this point: The TEA Party believes that Government is too big; so big that there are too many "points of entry" for lobbyists (both for profit AND non-profits) to gain advantages that normal folks cannot. By reducing the size of government, the number of points disappear and Government is easier to keep accountable (less "dark corners" have to be patrolled). Constitution? The TEA Party believes that with its Checks and Balances, it is the most magnificent document ever created to protect the most radical idea ever conceived: that government exists to protect Individual Liberty and Freedom.
In essence, pushing government back into the bottle and lessening its reach – and thus making it less attractive for influence as Society re-exerts its traditional role of determining how Society will function (instead of being ruled from DC and its phalanx of bureaucrats). Self-reliance is not an abstract idea.
OWS, while agreeing there is a problem, totally disagrees with the
To the Editor:
Mr. Veverka and Mr. Hightower would have you believe that any time a liberal imagines a need, the government should reach into your pocket, or at least your neighbor’s pocket, and take your (or his) money. Or, more accurately, the government should borrow money from the Chinese for which we promise repayment of principal, interest, and a little bit of the opportunities, freedom, and standard of living of our children, grandchildren, and future generations of Americans.
Anyone who does not immediately jump at this “bargain” will be the target of name calling, lies, and hysterical personal attacks. This intimidation is to blame for a significant amount of our current approximately $15 trillion national debt and so many flawed government programs.
To the Editor:
Apparently I can read better than Mr. Veverka can hear. In his October 6th letter in the Laconia Daily Sun, Mr. Veverka adamantly assured us the term “TEA Party” did not exist in the Hightower article referenced by my letter. “TEA Party” can found near the beginning of paragraph 8.
The focus of my letter was on the TEA Party, what it is and isn‘t, its criticisms of both parties and wasteful government operations, and its focus on principles, not political party. My letter was inspired by the Hightower column, the most recent (at the time) attempt to malign the TEA Party and its principles.
Hightower’s article and Veverka’s letter are just partisan attack pieces. It is a common liberal technique to attack anyone who tries to stop or even slow the growth of government. Anyone who won’t cave to whatever liberals demand will be smeared. It doesn’t matter whether the program works, is worth the cost, is counter-productive, or is affordable.
Jim Hightower’s recent article titled, “Playing politics with humanitarian aid”, (see Jim Hightower.com) is just another anti-TEA Party screed falsely attempting to link it with the Republican Party. The article can be summarized: Republicans and TEA Partiers cannot complain about Democrat wasteful and irresponsible spending which rewards Democrat supporters because Republicans similarly spend to reward Republican supporters.
The TEA Party objects, equally strenuously, to wasteful and irresponsible spending by both parties.
The TEA Party believes that politicians in Washington are only authorized to raise and spend money to pay for Constitutionally authorized functions. Politicians are not authorized to tax or borrow money to reward friends or to buy political support.
Janeane Garofalo should have her own breakfast cereal. It would have to come in a small, narrow box. We’d call it Gar ‘Awful" Oh’s, and it would come with the bitter taste of guilt. Left wing guilt. Guilt that makes you say and do incredibly stupid things. Because that is who and what Gar-awful-oh is, the poster child of this inanity about racism.
People like Karl Rove liked to keep the racism very covert. And so Herman Cain provides this great opportunity say you can say ‘Look, this is not a racist, anti-immigrant, anti-female, anti-gay movement. Look we have a black man.
Sound like projection?
If objecting to Mr. Obama’s lack of leadership, poor policy choices, and a destructive economic agenda is considered racist, then the "Morgan Freeman Rule" identifies as racist, anyone who speaks in opposition to the job performance of someone who is black.
It also exemplifies a narrowness of left leaning minds that requires them to assume objections must be based on the color of skin and not the character or choices of the man beneath it.
So having been handed this template I am more than willing to apply it to the real world with an equality no leftist ever would.
The entire staff at ESPN are racists.
I just happen to know who thinks they are in charge. I know who pulled the levers that lead to the establishment coup. I’m just working out the details, putting the time line together. Chasing the money. It may take days or even weeks, but I’ll get it all worked out. and I will share it with you. I’m patient like that.
This was a real full weekend – Gov. Rick Perry at Senator Gordon Humphrey’s, TEA Party Express in Concord, TEA Party Express in Manchester, with a trip to the gun show in Concord (nothing), back to the Belmont range (three new Second Amendment tools and a range renewal, and then a return trip on Monday just to play a bit). So, getting the videos processed and posted is, well, not exactly time friendly.
So, consider this a Grab Bag of videos from a number of events. Let’s start with the last one: TEA Party Express at Manchester. This is of the introductory ceremonies including the National Anthem. The image that will always stick with me is the newly minted Marine standing stiffly at attention in his dress blues (honor Marine at boot camp?) with a crisp hand salute. Then when Sarah Palin spoke, she pointed over to him to acknowledge his presence when she spoke about our military.
Introductory ceremonies
Well, even though returned from yet another TEA Party Express event today (where Sarah Palin was the headline speaker), I have still a few more videos to put up. Although the TEA Party Express (and the PAC behind it) is the main sponsor of their tour that took them to Concord last night and Manchester … Read more
Well, not only was there a TEA Party Express last night at Rollins Park in Concord, there was contingent of NH TEA Party folks there were there, not so much to be "anti-TEA Party Express" but more "anti-Romney" as I said in the post of Mitt’s talk:
Included in that number were folks who were protesting the TEA Party Express in that they saw TPE giving Mitt Romney a "TEA Party photo op" and, perhaps, the thinnest veneer of a TEA Party coattail.
Much was made in the genesis of the TEA Party movement that the politicians, the political class, has defrauded the American public and its founding principles. Thus, pols of all stripes were held at bay and at arms’ length – and I agreed with that at the time. However, as protest after protest was held against both Republicans and Democrats, it became clear that the movement had to hold to its core principles of fiscal responsibility, limited government, and the free market place. And become involved in politics to see those principles adhered to by our government. And no going back – as these folks stood up for. They don’t believe that Mitt Romney, who has not reached out to the TEA Party here in NH where he has a home, has had an epiphany upon a TEA Party road to Damascas:
Note: in speaking with someone in the know, watch what the TEA Party Express does in the near to mid term future – it was not so much that they all were all that enamored with Mitt as it was part of having the upcoming Presidential debate in conjunction with CNN. So, they may have had to "make nice" for now – while getting the knife sharpening wheel started going round…
TEA Party groups continue to pop up all over the State as more and more folks continue to awaken to the fact that Government has been running amok. In addition, via crony capitalism and "special favors", big government has decided not to compete and succeed in the free marketplace but use the force of Government … Read more
Tonite the TEA Party Express rolled into town. Tonite, the main draw was former MA Governor Mitt Romney (who also has a home in Wolfeboro, NH) and there were quite a few folks there to see him. Included in that number were folks who were protesting the TEA Party Express in that they saw TPE … Read more
I had originally come across this post at the WaPo as it seemed to want to pit the Tea Party Express folks against the FreedomWorks folks over whether or not to have Mitt Romney in for a speech (full disclosure: I have met and worked with folks in both groups):
"FreedomWorks is pulling out of a nationwide bus tour led by Tea Party Express over the inclusion of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney as a speaker, saying the group cannot endorse any event where the former Massachusetts governor speaks…
…The split signifies a growing divide between two groups that represent the ‘establishment’ of the tea party movement.
FreedomWorks was founded by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) and Tea Party Express was launched by longtime California GOP operative Sal Russo. Neither group shied away from backing insurgent challengers against longtime Republicans in 2010.
But Tea Party Express is a more conventional political action committee. The group is co-sponsoring a debate with CNN; it held a town hall at the National Press Club earlier this year. FreedomWorks, however, has positioned itself as a member-driven organization that will not lend its clout to anyone grassroots supporters deem too moderate."
While there is some delight, IMHO, amongst the MSM elite to watch the other side have their internal-to-the-TEA-Party discord (after all, food fights anywhere attract eyeballs, I’m thinking this is a wee tremble in a tea cup, myself. Romney has stayed away from the TEA Party movement here in NH – and for good (and the right) reason: he’s not a TEA Party kind of guy, to put it bluntly. It would be a mistake for him to now try to cozy up – he’d be laughed off the stage like this guy when he tried to coattail it.
Here in NH, some groups are choosing up sides:
A number of tea party groups are planning to join the Romney protest. According to New Hampshire Liberty Caucus Chairman Andrew Hemingway, the The Lakes Region Tea Party, the Raymond Tea Party, and the Granite State Patriots are all participating.
This caught my eye, however:
“Imagine a judicial nominee said ‘my experience as a white man makes me better than a Latina woman.’ Wouldn’t they have to withdraw? New racism is no better than old racism.” ~Newt Gingrich
To the Editor:
Leo Sandy’s column titled: “What is the tea party?” in Tuesday’s Laconia Daily Sun shows how difficult it is for him to write about opponents without slandering people he doesn’t know, revealing his ignorance or dishonesty or both, and his ability to draw conclusions based on his wishes rather than evidence. One expects better from someone entrusted with the education and well being of our young men and women. His article helps explain why our education system does such a poor job (even though at great cost).
‘Grok friend John Hawkins has lost his marbles – why, just LOOK at his latest Townhall column: The Top 5 Ways The Tea Partiers Are Ruining America If it wasn’t for those darn Tea Partiers, we’d already be in Obamatopia with unicorn-powered cars and an economy driven to new heights by unity, hope, and most … Read more