Tea Party Patriots Ordinary citizens reclaiming America's founding principles.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Tea Party Patriot 2010 Schedule of Events


Dear Fellow Tea Party Patriots,


Thousands of you responded to our "Three for Tea" survey at the end of 2009. Thank you for taking the time to help set the direction for Tea Party Patriots. The National and Local Coordinators took those results and have created the plan you will see below. It was a lengthy and thoughtful process, which we describe below.

Outline of What is to Come in 2010
  • Final Voting on Contract from America Begins: February 18, 2010
  • Recharge the Movement Protests: February 27, 2010
  • Nationwide Screenings of Tea Party Movie: February 27, 2010
  • Tax Day Tea Parties: April 15, 2010
  • Rollout of Final Contract from America: April 15, 2010
  • Constitutional Educational Training, Founding Principles Bus Tour
  • Activist Educational Training
  • Independence Day Events: July 2 - July 4, 2010
  • AUGUST HEAT - Congressional Town Hall Meetings
  • 912 March on DC: September 12, 2010
  • Get Out the Vote and Voter Education: October - November, 2010
  • ELECTION DAY, Tuesday, November 2, 2010
  • Year-Round grassroots lobbying when legislation arises
February, 2010

Three exciting things are happening in February of 2010:
February 27th marks the 1-year anniversary of the Nationwide Tea Party movement and we cannot let that pass without highlighting where we have been, what we have accomplished and where we are going. To highlight what we have accomplished and where we are going, we will roll out our final 20 options for the Contract from America at a press conference on February 18. That will begin the final voting process for the Contract from America. Be sure to watch for an email telling how to vote for it so you have an impact on the final document.

On February 27th, to show where we have been and that we intend to continue to make our voices heard, we will have a round of Tea Party Patriots Street Demonstrations called Recharge the Movement Demonstrations. These will be very raw and rough like the first round of tea parties were last year. Most locations will not have lots of predetermined people to speak and instead will use bullhorns and be a bit more unscripted as they were on February 27th of last year. The messaging will continue to be our core values of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets.

April, 2010 - TAX DAY TEA PARTIES

Last year on April 15th, we had over 850 tea parties with over 1.2 million people in attendance, on a Wednesday, protesting out of control government taxing and spending. These tea parties were all over the country. This year, we will have Tax Day Tea Parties again on April 15th.

We will have tea parties both small and large around the country. There will be several major regional events including in Washington, DC, Atlanta, and Sacramento. We are also working on regional events in 1 - 3 other locations which are still to be determined. The regional events will be in the late afternoon (on the west coast) and evening hours (on the east coast) and will be webcast across the country. Additionally, keynote speakers at each of the locations will be simulcast on jumbotrons to the other regional locations.

This approach will hopefully give people who want to participate in a larger event the ability to do so without having to go to through the full expense of traveling across the country to a single location. Additionally, it will give those who want to participate from their home the ability to do so via the webcast.

At the Tax Day Tea Parties, we will roll out our final version of the Contract from America. We will ask you to sign the Contract from America and we will also be asking elected officials to sign the Contract from America at the Tax Day Tea Parties.

Last year many organizations signed on as coalition partners for Tax Day Tea Parties. We are working to do the same this year. So far, we have Freedom Works and American Liberty Alliance as coalition partners. We will be announcing more coalition partners in the weeks to come.

April - June, 2010

Our focus in May and June will be training. We will have training opportunities for you regarding the Constitution and founding principles. Additionally, we will have training to teach you how to become a better activist.

The training will show you how you can become more involved in the tea party movement. Whether it is writing blog posts about our core values, walking door to door to teach people about our core values, or making phone calls to elected officials, you will learn about ways you can use your talents to get more involved.

While this training is scheduled to start in April, it will be ongoing throughout the year.

In addition to the training, we will watch for educational and grassroots lobbying opportunities regarding hot legislative topics. These activities will be similar to what we have already been doing with Cap and Trade and Government Takeover of Health Care.

July, 2010

Since we are patriots, we cannot let July 4th go by without celebrating America's Birth and Independence. Rather than compete with existing and traditional Independence Day celebrations, this year on July and around July 4th, we are encouraging each local coordinator (or representative of a local tea party group) to organize your local tea party group to participate in Independence Day Parades, Fairs, and Festivals in your local communities.

Tea Party Patriots is also exploring an idea for a bi-coastal Independence Day Family Tea Party Event. This idea is in the preliminary stages and we will have to see how it plays out.

We also encourage you to host a Tea Party Patriots Backyard BBQ and Ice Cream Social in your own home in July. We will have 1 day around the country where we are asking Tea Party Patriots members to host house parties. At these house parties, we will teach our own circle of influence about what the tea party movement is, what we stand for, and why it matters. We have some fun activities planned to go along with these Backyard BBQ and Ice Cream Socials. Stay tuned for details.

August, 2010 - TOWN HALL HEAT

In 2009 Tea Party Patriots, like you, redefined the traditional Town Hall meetings held by members of Congress during their summer break. Congress will be on recess in August 2010 and back at home in their districts around the country. We will keep you up-to-date on Town Hall dates, times, and locations, as well as the hot legislative issues which will be on the agendas.

In addition to Town Halls, we will be planning for our second 912 March on DC.

September, 2010 - 912 March on DC

We had many questions and thoughts regarding whether or not to do the 9/12 March on DC again this year. Do we have the resources? What are our expectations? Etc. In the end, the question became, "How can we not do the march again this year?" You, the grassroots members, want to come back to Washington, DC on a single day to make your voices heard.

We are a grassroots, bottom-up organization and we honor your desire. So, we are headed back to DC on September 12 for another March on DC. Again, Freedom Works will be the primary host of the event. We will be one of their coalition partners. Our National Coordinator, Jenny Beth Martin, will again be National Co-Coordinator for the 912 March on DC along with Freedom Works' Brendan Steinhauser. Just like with the Tax Day Tea Parties and last year's 912 March on DC, we will reach out to other like-minded fiscal and constitutional organizations to partner with them as we plan and implement the March on DC.

Like last year, there will be opportunities for training and networking. Also, Tea Party Patriots will host the Sign Making Party again on September 11.

Watch for details in the coming months regarding other partnering organizations, speakers, training events, and more.

October - November, 2010

As we draw closer to Election Day, we will have voter guides online that will compare candidates for various offices based on our core values:
  • Fiscal Responsibility
  • Constitutionally Limited Government
  • Free Markets.

We will provide you the information you need to make the best decision when you are at the ballot box.

December, 2010

One way to grow is to evaluate what you have done and what lessons you have learned from your actions. In December, we will do just that. At the end of the year, we will recap what we have done, what we have learned, what we can do better, and how we can make a bigger and better impact in the future. There will be another survey similar to the Three for Tea Survey that individual members may fill out to offer their input on what we have done, where we should go, etc.

We will use this feedback to plan for 2011 and beyond.

The Process

After reading the responses to the 2009 survey, the First Coast Tea Party in the Jacksonville, Florida area graciously sponsored and hosted the National Coordinator team at a Board Strategy Meeting. The National Coordinator team reviewed the results and created a plan for what they thought you our grassroots Tea Party Patriots wanted.

But, the National Coordinator Team never makes a final decision without input from the Local Coordinators. We know that they are in touch with you on a daily basis and we trust their judgment. After the Board Strategy Meeting, Local Coordinators from around the country came to Washington, DC for a Local Coordinator Leadership Summit.

You may not be aware of the fact that many dedicated Tea Party Patriots Local Coordinators around the country have quit their jobs or stopped their second jobs to promote this movement. They are having to make decisions about whether to continue with the movement or to go back to work to pay for their bills or cut out all the niceties like going out to dinner or date nights with their spouses they enjoyed before last February. Most of the local coordinators we talk to no longer watch TV at night but instead are on long conference calls and meetings to keep the momentum moving. They have dropped their involvement in other activities they used to participate in to give every spare minute to the movement. They are literally sacrificing their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. We wanted to make sure we could accommodate as many of those people as possible with your generous donations.

While in DC, the local coordinators went through the plans and refined them. It was an incredible meeting! There were members of 912 Groups and members from Freedom Works who also participated in the meeting. Finally, they had the opportunity to meet others face-to-face who they have talked to over the phone for the past year. They also discussed the best practices, plans for the 2010, plans for beyond 2010.

Since several more Local Coordinators could not make it Washington, DC (most only had 5 days notice), we took the 2010 plans to the Local Coordinator Leadership Council weekly conference call this Monday for final approval of the plan. With their final approval, we present the plan to you. We present it knowing that each individual member of Tea Party Patriots has had the opportunity to set the direction for the tea party movement this year and beyond.

You are the heart and soul of the Tea Party Movement. Thank you for promoting the causes of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets with us!

Your Tea Party Patriots National Coordinator Team,
Debbie Dooley, Mike Gaske, Kellen Giuda, Ryan Hecker, Jenny Beth Martin, Mark Meckler, Sally Oljar, Diana Reimer, Billie Tucker, and Dawn Wildman

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Support OH's Freedom of Choice Health Care

From The Cleveland 9.12 Project --

We're still in limbo on the healthcare bill in DC. Earlier this week, in a blog titled “The State of the Undead Bill,” Hot Air argued that “The only safe conclusion is that the Democrats are, at some level, still trying to pass ObamaCare, including the politically risky step returning it to the front burner closer to the election.” http://hotair.com/arc...

While the legislation in Congress is stalled, many states have been formulating legislation to inoculate residents from any federal healthcare mandates. Good news. The Washington Post reported the other day that “Virginia's Democratic-controlled state Senate passed measures Monday that would make it illegal to require individuals to purchase health insurance, a direct challenge to the party's efforts in Washington to reform health care.” http://www.washington...

Here is a website that is monitoring "Freedom of Choice Health Care" legislation in all 50 states : http://www.alec.org/A...

As most of you know, last summer, members of the Ohio House of Representatives proposed HJR3, a joint resolution to free Ohioans from federally mandated health insurance. You can read the resolution here http://www.legislatur...

Rep. Ron Maag is one of the sponsors of this resolution. I am told by Rep. Maag’s office that the HJR3 had one hearing and is now stuck in the Insurance Committee. Rep. Dan Dodd is the chair of this Committee, and he needs to hear from us.

The message: the Chair of the Insurance Committee needs to put the second hearing of HJR3 onto the calendar, so it does not die in committee. We want to see this resolution get voted out of committee and onto the House floor, and then get on a ballot before Ohio voters. Ohio should follow Virginia's lead, and join other states (per the link above) that are proposing similar resolutions or bills to protect citizens from federally mandated healthcare insurance.

In addition, Rep. Maag will be grateful for any ammunition you can provide him, with your calls / faxes/ e-mails to him on this resolution. The committee and the House are both Democrat-majority, so this alert needs to be sustained. For those of you who prefer, snail mail is also an option. Be sure to cc: your own representative.

Here are details:

Representative Dan Dodd (D-District 91), Chair of Insurance Committee
77 S. High St., 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Tel: (614) 466-2500 Fax: (614) 719-6991
Email: district91@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Ron Maag (R), co-sponsor of HJR377
S. High St., 10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Tel: (614) 644-6023 Fax: (614) 719-3589
Email: district35@ohr.state.oh.us

If you live in District 10, your representative is:

Representative Robin Belcher (D- District 10)
77 S. High St., 13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Tel: (614) 466-7954 Fax: (614) 719-0010
Email: district10@ohr.state.oh.us

If you live in another district, find your representative here: http://www.house.stat...

Let's let them start hearing from us!

A Bailout for Greece?

Monday, February 8, 2010

Central Valley Tea Party Patriots (CA) Question Congressman Costa about his Lies

The below video is from our buddy Ben Bergquam of the Central Valley Tea Party Patriots (CA).

In the video Ben & his fellow Patriots question Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and his lying about votes in which he supported cutting of water to the Central Valley farmers.

Politics 101 Class (Replay)

Patriots,

The Cleveland 9/12 Project and the Cleveland Tea Party Patriots are teaming up and hosting Politics 101 Workshops.

What: Politics 101 Workshop #2 (Replay)
When: February 14, 2010 3:00 PM
Where: Pinnacle Condos
Address: 701 West Lakeside Ave. 3rd floor lobby Cleveland, OH 44113


We are repeating this workshop #2 for members who have expressed interest in the meeting they missed, or for those who want to repeat the experience -- it's a lot of information. This is the second of several must attend workshops to provide some ABC's on how politics in Cleveland and environs, Cuyahoga County, and Ohio are organized.

The Cleveland 9.12 and The Cleveland Tea Party Patriots are scheduling these to give all of us as voters insights into the process of identifying and selecting candidates, or working on issues. These workshops will also detail the structure of the political partys and exposing how the party County Central/Executive Committee and State Central Committee operations are conducted.

It is in these committees where all the back room political deals get made. It is at these levels and on these committees that your involvement is needed most. If you are tired of voting from the lesser of two evils -- you will not want to miss this class.

It will also provide those brave members who are considering running for office -- from local City Council to US representative - valuable information on how to proceed.

Workshops like these are being held all over Ohio to give us the tools and information we need to make a difference. Bring with you your ward and precinct details. Look on your Cuyahoga County Board of Elections voter location card, which shows your ward and precinct.

If you can’t find your voter location card, go to the Board of Elections website at http://boe.cuyahogaco... to find out. If all else fails, call the Board of Elections at 216.443.3200. The deadline for applying for committee slots in Feb. 18, 2010.

If you are interested in attending please RSVP at the Cleveland 9.12 Project (click here) or email: clevelandteaparty@gmail.com with Politics 101 RSVP in the reference line. Due to size constraints seating is limited to the first 50 people.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Power of Coalitions event


There is a Power of Coalitions event being hosted by Cuyahoga County for Liberty occurring this Saturday, Feb 6th at the Beachland Ballroom is shaping up to be a great afternoon! There will be several individuals and groups giving presentations on a wide range of pro-Liberty, pro-Constitution topics. The doors open to the public at 11:30am and the presentations run until 3:30pm. The representative groups will have tables setup so you can gather information and learn more about them. Food and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) will be available for purchase.

By capitalizing on the strengths and similarities of all the groups in Cuyahoga County and by creating a friendly exchange between groups, we will strengthen our mutual interests and pave the way to government from the bottom up as the Constitution intended.

When: Saturday, February 6, 2010
Time: 11:30 AM-4:00 PM.
Where: The Beachland Ballroom

Address: 15711 Waterloo Rd. Cleveland, Ohio 44110

THIS IS A FREE EVENT, THE PUBLIC IS NOT ONLY WELCOME BUT ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND. (http://www.beachlandballroom.com/menu.html)

Keynote Speakers
  • Jason Gloyd Chairman – C.O.A.S.T., Cincinnati, OH Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes

  • William Peirce, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus CWRU & former Chair of the Economics Department Former Libertarian Party Gubernatorial Candidate.

  • Walker Todd, J.D., Ph.D. Research Fellow, American Institute for Economic Research Former Adjunct Professor, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Former Officer Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland & New York
Local Groups Presenting;
  • Cuyahoga County for Liberty
  • Libertarian Party of Cuyahoga County
  • Westlake-912
  • Cleveland Tea Party Patriots
  • Young Americans for Liberty – CWRU
  • Oath Keepers
  • We the People
  • Ohio Freedom Alliance
  • John Birch Society
  • Fully Informed Jury Association
  • American Open Currency Standard