Spartanburg Tea Party

If you are interested in working for a candidate via phone banking/walking neighborhoods between now and November election, please read this and contact Karen Martin at 864.384.7558.

A few Tea Party/liberty group members met on Monday with Jordan Sherer, who is working for Victory, an offshoot of the SCGOP which becomes active during election years. Victory’s mission is to GOTV for Republican candidates. We have the opportunity to work with Jordan in Pickens, Oconee, Anderson, and Greenwood Counties, and Jason Greer in Greenville, Spartanburg, and Union Counties. Karen Martin will coordinate with Jason.

Here is the game plan:
Jason will provide Karen with calling lists and walking lists (and door hangers) for Spartanburg and Greenville counties. He will provide a phone script which must be followed, which basically says “Please vote for Nikki Haley and Jim DeMint, and do you want to volunteer for either of those campaigns?” If you want to make phone calls for these candidates, or walk your neighborhoods please contact:

Karen 864.384.7558 / info@spartanburgteaparty.org

We will begin calling/walking next week hopefully and will make one contact at this time for the selected voters. THEN there will be an intensive 72 hour campaign Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday the weekend of the election, so the goal is TWO contacts each voter. As we work through the printed lists, we will make notes on the list so that Jason can “cull” those voters not interested, so we don’t waste time on the 2nd round of contacts. So we keep the lists current and turn them in via Karen periodically. PLEASE commit to the 72 hour period now, this is crucial.

We can arrange a meeting with Jason if needed, one in each region. Jason has committed to attend both the Spartanburg Tea Party meeting on 9/14 and the Greenville Tea Party meeting on 9/21 … BUT … the key is … to contact Karen NOW to express your interest in doing this work. November is coming. Whatever is on your agenda between now and election day should take a back seat to getting these candidates in office. We all know the stakes, including the redistricting issue.

Additionally Karen has been in touch with Mick Mulvaney’s campaign in District 05 in his effort to FLIP a seat from Democrat to Republican, and Mick is ahead, and is being helped by several national organizations including the RNC which is providing his campaign with cell phones to make the GOTV calls. Karen needs to know who would like to work on Mick’s campaign to make calls, and will provide you with call lists and a potentially a cell phone to begin that work as well.

PLEASE DO NOT CLOSE THIS POST WITHOUT GIVING SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO CONTACTING KAREN TODAY.

Dan Joling of the AP has this story today. I’m humbled by the tea party people in Alaska and all over the country who are reordering their lives, priorities, taking time from their families, studies, businesses to do the work on the ground to put Constitutional conservatives in offices held by not only Dems, but RINO incumbants.

Thank you Alaska.

A message from our Friend Randy in the Seneca Tea Party

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From: RandyS549@aol.com
Friends,

The purpose of this email is to establish the interest in buses for the 9/11 March on DC.

If you are interested, please respond to this email and let me know how many persons you are speaking for and where you would like to catch the bus.

For those in the upstate, I am considering a bus from Anderson if there is enough interest. In addition, let me know if Greenville or Boiling Springs would be the better location for other buses.

Here are some guide lines:
Trip(s) will be boom-a-rang.
Buses will depart after 8:00 PM Friday the 10th, and will return to the departure point between 4:00 and 6:00 AM Sunday morning the 12th.
I anticipate that the cost will be $70/person plus $6/person for a prepaid Metro ticket. It is customary to tip the bus driver. The amount is up to you if you chose to participate.
Additional cost will include breakfast Saturday morning before going into DC and dinner Saturday evening after we leave DC.
I will require all seats to be prepaid, including the Metro pass. Having the pass ahead of time prevents standing in long lines to buy tickets.
If there is adequate interest, I will try to get sufficient buses. I need your input by Wednesday 9/2. I you are interested, please reply to this email, or use the subject line above to help me find the emails from the many I receive each day.

For God, Family and Country,
Randy Simpson
Seneca Tea Party
www.senecateaparty.org

The Columbia Tea Party, The Lexington County 9-12 Project, and The South Carolina Campaign for Liberty are combining to offer a summit in Columbia for the leaders of the various liberty groups (tea party, 912, campaign for liberty etc.) I plan to attend and would like to know if anyone else in the Spartanburg Tea Party is interested in coming along. Each group can have two attendees. If you are interested in stepping up your involvement in the STP and coming with me to learn what other liberty group leaders are doing in their spheres of influence, let me know by emailing info@spartanburgteaparty.org or calling me directly at 864.384.7558. Here are the details for the September 25 event (8 am to 4 pm):

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(Note that there is a $25 fee for the event, includes a buffet lunch)

Its time for the grass roots leaders in South Carolina to come together and pool our collective knowledge! Over the past couple of years, I have learned a lot in the fight to defend liberty. I bet you have too! I want to learn from you and am willing to share what I have learned. Come prepared to share and to learn!

We want to provide an opportunity for the leaders of the various grass roots groups in South Carolina who are fighting to maintain our liberty to meet, build relationships, open lines of communication, and make our organizations more effective.

We think the best way to do this is to meet face to face and learn from each other. We have put together a format that we think will have enough structure to encourage good discussion and participation from all attending without stifling a healthy exchange of the wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience each of us have gained.

You are the cream of the crop of liberty fighters in South Carolina. After we spend the day learning from each other we will all be better armed to defend our liberty! We can prepare our people to navigate this storm and make our state a life boat of liberty… even an example to our sister states of how to protect and defend individual liberty against the oppression of an unrestrained government!

Topics to be discussed at our Liberty Summit include:

* Washington isn’t the answer (and they are not omnipotent)
* State legislative opportunities
* The philosophy of liberty / the political sovereignty of man
* “The real nature of politics” and political strategy
* The benefits of multiple groups that network and a decentralized organization
* Nullification and interposition (giving teeth to the 9th and 10th amendments)
* Both mainstream parties are a problem / How to move state politics

Lake Wylie Pilot, an interesting publication, has a great story of how the tea parties in Michigan worked diligently, patiently, and with great focus to win several hundred delegate seats recently at their Republican state convention.

From the article:

Now, the activists are positioned for an attempt to push the Michigan GOP further to the right and put hard-core conservatives on November’s general election ballot.

The tea party’s bid to capitalize on its delegate coup, which caught veteran Republican activists by surprise, is an important test for a national movement seeking concrete political impact.

and …

The tea partiers won the positions by running their members in precinct elections, which normally attract few candidates, and then turning out in force at many county GOP meetings to support the winners for state convention slots.

Other than actually running for elected office yourself, becoming a precinct delegate and having a voice in your local county GOP meetings, and the state convention is the surest way to move the Republican platform to the right … and back to conservative, Constitutional principles. Spartanburg precincts will be organizing in the Spring of 2011 and you need to begin talking to your friends in your precinct now about becoming delegates, coming out to support and vote for you. The Spartanburg Tea Party will be providing speakers and resources beginning in 2011 to learn how to join your precinct as a delegate.

Haven’t found an embed video link yet, but here is the Ustream URL:

http://www.ustream.tv/restoringhonor

JadedByPolitics has a great post at Redstate about the “splitting the vote” issue. Its catchy title “How to make the TEA Party irrelevant in one election cycle…” is spot on. I confess I struggle with wanting the emotional victory of mounting opposition to a RINO vs. the practical understanding that someone who will vote 85% correctly is better than someone who hands victory to the libs.

From the article:

Whether TEA Party candidates are placing that title on the ballot or running as Independents to “show them” they are by design electing the Democrat. I cannot believe the shortsightedness of the TEA Party, as they act as if 2 years from now they will not then have a BETTER shot at that seat and will send the RINO home. I cannot believe how small minded the TEA Party has become in what is going to be a decade long fight at least to send ALL THE BUMS HOME. To “accept” the winner of the Republican primary is NOT to sell your convictions down the river, oh no, it is to accept that person will vote with the Conservative caucus in the House and Senate at least 50% of the time (the Democrat will vote with the Alinskys 100% of the time. In 2012 that person can be primaried with a TEA Party candidate (Conservative) and held to account for those other 50% of the votes that he/she stood with the Socialists on.

It is easy for us to see how Tom Tancredo is really screwing things up in Colorado. It’s harder to swallow a 2 year delay in ousting one of those political elites in our own backyard. I think this is an area where the tea party may make some mistakes in its infancy. The things the tea party/liberty group movement is getting right are astounding for the brief amount of time we’ve been actively engaged in impacting elections and legislation. I’m hopeful a few missteps in the splitting the vote issue which definitely will occur will be not too harmful, and lessons learned quickly.

It is definitely an area for prayer that individuals and organizations who have been embattled with disappointments and betrayals can die to self and focus on big picture victory. And that those individuals whose race would lead to vote splitting would do what is best for our country and wait for the next primary instead.

I struggle with this conviction myself. Let’s hear your comments.

Alex Pappas of The Daily Caller writes about a push from a new Tea Party coalition, the BBA, for a Balanced Budget Amendment.

The coalition, named BBA Now, as in Balance Budget Amendment Now, plans to officially unveil its three-year plan in September, director of coalitions Kellen Giuda said in an interview. Part of the campaign includes petitioning 2010 congressional candidates, as well as presidential candidates in 2012, to sign a pledge in support of the effort.

A balanced budget amendment restricts the government from spending more than its projected revenue every year, except for in times of war or a national emergency.

BBA Now was formed out of “ReAL Action” the 501(c)4 arm of the Renewing American Leadership organization, whose honorary chairman is Newt Gingrich and whose mission is to “preserve America’s Judeo-Christian heritage.”

Just another start up? Good idea? Validity/strength/staying power? We’ll see. I see these things come and go online and in blogs. However, if shepherded correctly and on task, perhaps this effort may have some leverage. The article states “A spokesman for DeMint did not immediately return a request for comment on the Common Sense Balanced Budget Amendment Campaign” … but if Senator DeMint gets onboard, that’s validity enough for me. Anyone want to keep on top of this coalition and keep us informed of its mission and progress?

Here is a great report from our pal Harry Kibler of RINO Hunt about the importance of attending and getting involved at the county level. Tomorrow (Monday) is the August Spartanburg County Council meeting. 4:00 committee meetings, 5:30 general meeting.

Anyone got a video recorder???

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I recently attended the Greenville County Council meeting and the Summerville City Council meeting and they were both very enlightening. After the Greenville County Council meeting I was accused by a Councilman of being a Libertarian and an Anarchist. The Councilman is a well known RINO and just thirty minutes earlier had voted for a property tax increase that he introduced. When I reminded him that the Republican Party Platform calls for lower taxes and smaller government and that he just voted for increased taxes and larger government he was outraged. He adamantly told me “the people wanted the tax increase”. When I asked him if everyone wanted the tax increase he said “the majority wanted it”. This is a great example of why it’s important to know the Constitution. This Councilman thinks we live in a Democracy, were as long as the majority want something, it becomes the government’s responsibility to provide it. Our Constitution is the guiding document for a Representative Republic not a Democracy. There is a huge difference! Under a Representative Republic, the will of the majority cannot violate the rights of the minority; thereby protecting the rights of the minority. A Democracy is where the majority rules. Doesn’t it feel like we are living in a Democracy instead of a Representative Republic?

For many months citizens have requested that Greenville County Council become more transparent in their meetings. Many citizens cannot attend the meetings for various reasons, but still have a right to know what happens and how each Councilman votes on the issues. As you may expect, many on the Council like it just the way it is; if you are not there you don’t know. Well, transparency has come to Greenville County in the form of citizen reporting. I videotaped the Council meeting and will continue to do so until the Council implements greater transparency. From this point forward, I will be at every meeting with my camera and will share the video by way of you-tube over the internet. I do need some help on this. I am not technically savvy enough yet to know how to take a two hour video and break it into ten minute segments in order to post it on you-tube. If you are willing to help teach me this skill I would appreciate it very much.

On August 11, the Summerville Council had the first reading of an ordinance that would make it against the city law to rent to an illegal alien. It was to say the least, a heated debate. With nearly a hundred people attending, opinions from both sides of the issue were presented to the Council from citizens and business owners. There were at least seven speakers from the Apartment Associations asking Council to reject the ordinance because it would make their job harder and cost them profit. One businessman that owns a large apartment community and land that he intends to build another apartment community threatened to sell his property and land and invest in another town if the ordinance was passed. Another landlord called the councilman who sponsored the ordinance a racist who hates Mexicans. Several citizens stated that “Summerville needs the money that these people spend at our Fair”. A Hispanic citizen who claims to have served in Desert Storm said this is not what our soldiers are fighting for. And just for good measure, a person representing the ACLU promised a lawsuit if the ordinance was passed. Several unemployed or otherwise effected citizens spoke in favor of the ordinance and asked the Council to vote in favor of the ordinance. After nearly twenty citizens and business representatives had their say, the Council voted six in favor and two opposed to the ordinance. The ordinance will now go to second reading where I’m sure those opposed will rally their troops to intimidate the Council. It appears that every person that apposed this ordinance had some financial loss if it passed and those that spoke in favor had been personally affected by loss of jobs or crime. Once again, it comes down to who will government represent and protect, the citizens or the businesses that contribute to their re-election. I will be going back to Summerville to witness and video the second reading. If you would like to attend the meeting and support the ordinance please contact me as soon as possible.

Folks, this is where the real action is at. You may have though things like taxes, expansion of government and illegal immigration where only decided in Washington D.C. These issues and many others like the Comprehensive Land Use are being decided right in our back yards at City and County Council meetings. Do you care enough to get involved and speak your mind where you actually have a chance of elected officials listening to you; or, would you like to continue to visit the cesspool in D.C. and “feel good” because you traveled so far to give them a piece of your mind? I would suggest you remember the definition of insanity; doing the same thing but expecting different results. For one last comment about local politics; D.C. may be a lost cause and the Legislature in Columbia, SC may be out on break, but your local government never stops raising taxes, expanding government and plotting how to steal your property. They meet every month. Some can’t get enough of our money by meeting once a month, so they meet twice a month.

American Majority is just the zenith of grassroots training organizations. The videos, presentations, and podcasts they have on their website are first rate, full of practical information from subject matter experts. I’ve taken one of their day long training classes, and watched and listened to many of their online trainings. Spending an hour a week on their website learning how to do what we tea party patriots need to do to would NEVER be a waste of your time!

Recently they published two blogs that are helpful to those first time candidates who are in the “citizen patriot” category … regular folks like us who have just had ENOUGH! and decided to courageously run for office. Some of those folks won their races, some lost. There were lots of lessons learned, and I expect many of those first time candidates to run again in the next election cycle, and I expect many of them will win their elections this time as we all race up the learning curve of election politics.

For now … read these two American Majority blogs and be encouraged, continue to work, and begin laying out plans for next time!

From Brett Farley:
So you lost your election-now what?

It’s not the best feeling in the world. But this year is too important to not stay involved! What we do this year will determine how free we are in 20 years, who we are as a nation, whether my children will grow up to be able to start their own businesses and buy their own homes. Your leadership on the campaign trail is needed still. The lessons you learned are valuable for others, and the skills you gained need to applied in another campaign that is going on right now, today.

From Beka Romm
Campaign lessons from the Oklahoma primary

Particularly in down-ballot and local races, as much as 40-60 percent of voters don’t take the time to research the candidates. They simple go with the name most familiar to them. If you’ve run before, you’re as much as 20% more likely to win by running again simply because voters are already familiar with you. Here’s the lesson, boys and girls: if at first you don’t succeed, run, run again.