What a long strange year its been

By Christine Morabito, member since April 2009

It’s been almost a year since the Tax Day Tea Party on the Boston Common, an event that proved to be the kick-off for an exciting and powerful movement here and across the country. For me personally, it was my first foray into the world of political activism. I chose to get involved because I felt it was of vital importance to our country. Over the past several years I’d watched our government become more expansive, more powerful, more corrupt and more intrusive into our lives than ever before. Something had happened to our checks and balances.

The arrogance of the Obama administration has our neutered Constitution weeping in the corner.  It was the talk of redistribution of wealth that was more than I could take.  Like millions of others I got tired of yelling at my TV and decided to find an outlet for my growing frustration.  Attending my first Tea Party was almost a religious experience (relax, I said almost).  Most profound for me was the feeling that I wasn’t alone. I had never been so outspoken about politics before. Although I often disagreed with my friends and coworkers about certain issues, I usually bit my tongue rather than risk alienating myself.  At Tea Party gatherings I felt at home among such a diverse group of like-minded, passionate people.  I could finally “come out” as a Conservative without feeling marginalized.

As I emerged from my conservative chrysalis, I soon discovered that defenders of the nanny state would not go quietly.  However, nothing could have prepared me for the viciousness and slander that was to follow.  I’m now convinced that when Liberals cannot debate an issue on facts they resort to their signature move—the personal attack.  True to form, the Obama administration and the mainstream media, that does their bidding, began to relentlessly belittle and demonize the Tea Party Patriots.  Let’s recap:  We’ve been called an angry mob, domestic terrorists, radical right wing extremists, astroturf (a la Nancy Pelosi) and birthers.  Oh, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before—racists.  And lest we forget, being labeled “tea baggers” by the foul-mouthed Janeane Garofalo.  Nice, Janeane.  Real classy.

I was a little confused. Weren’t these the same Liberals who espoused tolerance, compassion and diversity? Yet here they were being downright nasty to those exercising their First Amendment rights.  Could it be their tolerance ends when you disagree with them?  They were behaving like the schoolyard bully who pushes you down and takes your lunch money.  The tactics they used were straight out of Rules for Radicals, the leftist how-to for community organizing.  Their mission—to isolate and ridicule the opposition.  If they thought that by doing this they would discourage others from joining our movement, they were sadly mistaken.  Much to their chagrin the opposite proved true.  The American people continued to wake up and were coming out of the woodwork to join our ranks.

On September 12, 2009 I attended (at my own expense) the enormous rally called the March on Washington.  I remember thinking, “How could they possibly ignore us now?”  I was incredulous when the mainstream media, displaying what amounts to journalistic malpractice, minimized our numbers and our impact.  Media outlets reported numbers ranging from “scores of people” to tens of thousands.  False.  I’m no judge of crowds, but I don’t have to be.  There are formulas for estimating crowd size.  Based on aerial photographs of the event and Park Service reports, it was determined there were between 1 and 1.5 million people there. Thank you Fox News.

Incredibly, with that large a crowd, there was not one arrest.  The Capital Police said we were the most polite protesters they had ever encountered.  When we left, there was hardly a piece of trash left on the ground.  Nevertheless, there are currently rumors circulating that the west lawn may soon be off limits to protesters, which surely must be unconstitutional.  But we can’t have those crazy, Constitution-loving Conservatives protesting, now can we?

Allow me to kvetch about a huge thorn in the side of the Tea Party movement as well as a personal pet peeve.  It’s an issue that has caused us to be demonized and wildly misunderstood.  I’m referring to the rally attendees who display the “Obama as Hitler” and swastika symbols. Make no mistake, these are NOT Tea Party people!  Our events are continually co-opted by this radical fringe group associated with the perpetual Presidential candidate, Lyndon LaRouche.  I believe he’s run for President no less than 7 times.  Here in MA they have a candidate running against Barney Frank.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m eternally grateful for anyone running against B.F. but the LaRouche party is not the solution.  What’s ironic is that their party advocates for more government control over our lives, not less.  They are hoping to capitalize on all the dissatisfaction with our current government, but they definitely have their own agenda. Their M.O. is to pepper themselves among Tea Party members to give the illusion that there are thousands of people who share their kooky ideology.  Not so.  The Tea Party members I know find their Nazi references highly offensive and many have told them as much.  They are about as welcome at our events as a skunk at a lawn party.  Unfortunately, their use of such provocative imagery garners much attention from the mainstream media who are more than willing to show the Tea Party in a negative light.

Those who oppose us seem utterly baffled by the enigma that is the Tea Party.  They appear to be frantically searching for some nonexistent “leader” whom they can demonize.  They won’t find one, as this is a truly a grassroots endeavor.  The majority of us wouldn’t have it any other way.  Their malice is evidenced by the way MSNBC practically goes into orbit every time Sarah Palin’s name is mentioned.  One thing’s for sure, by denouncing Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, they will always tell you exactly who they are afraid of.

For those people on the left, allow me to demystify the Tea Party for you.  It’s really quite simple.  We are an ever growing group of proud Americans who love this country.  We believe that if left alone to live our lives, and yes, even to make mistakes, people will ultimately make good decisions.  We do not need the government to solve the world’s problems or to treat us like children.  We do, in fact, know what is best for us.  We will be having none of this socialist utopia you speak so highly of.  We believe America is the greatest country on earth and will not apologize for it.  We do not believe this country needs to be radically transformed or our wealth redistributed.  We believe in smaller government, lower taxes and more personal responsibility.  So please don’t lecture us about “social justice” and the “greater good.” Terms like these are like an ice pick to the conservative brain.

And to our lawmakers, hear us now and cut the malarkey.  Or, start working on your resumes, ‘cause you’re gonna’ need ‘em!