NYT: ‘Tea party’ avoids divisive issues
March 15th, 2010 . by TexasFredFor decades, faith and family have been at the center of the conservative movement. But as the Tea Party infuses conservatism with new energy, its leaders deliberately avoid discussion of issues like gay marriage or abortion.
God, life and family get little if any mention in statements or manifestos. The motto of the Tea Party Patriots, a large coalition of groups, is “fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets.”
The Independence Caucus questionnaire, which many Tea Party groups use to evaluate candidates, poses 80 questions, most on the proper role of government, tax policy and the federal budgeting process, and virtually none on social issues.
The Contract From America, which is being created Wiki-style by Internet contributors as a manifesto of what “the people” want government to do, also mentions little in the way of social issues, beyond a declaration that parents should be given choice in how to educate their children.
By contrast, the document it aims to improve upon — the Contract With America, which Republicans used to market their successful campaign to win a majority in Congress in 1994 — was prefaced with the promise that the party would lead a Congress that “respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.”
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NYT: ‘Tea party’ avoids divisive issues
I can just see *Tingles* Matthews and his buddy, Keith Olbermann in a small closet getting all up in the air as they *tingle* all over each other before they rushed to the MSNBC website guru to BEG if necessary, in their effort to get a post up that shows the TEA Party in what they perceive to be a bad light!
Tea Party leaders argue that the country can ill afford the discussion about social issues when it is passing on enormous debts to future generations. But the focus is also strategic: leaders think they can attract independent voters if they stay away from divisive issues.
“We should be creating the biggest tent possible around the economic conservative issue,” said Ryan Hecker, the organizer behind the Contract From America.
I realize that most TEA Party members are voting and supporting GOP candidates. What other choice do we have? But we can’t just accept any and all that come walking in and claiming to be Conservative.
The GOP is filled with RINOs, Republicans In Name Only. The TEA Party, in MY opinion, doesn’t need to jump on that band wagon and walk like zombies into THE BIG TENT!
“I think social issues may matter to particular individuals, but at the end of the day, the movement should be agnostic about it. This is a movement that rose largely because of the Republican Party failing to deliver on being representative of the economic conservative ideology.
As the Tea Party pushes to change the Republican Party, the purity they demand of candidates may have more to do with economic conservatism than social conservatism. Some Tea Party groups, for instance, have declined to endorse J. D. Hayworth, who has claimed the mantle of a fiscal conservative, in the Republican Senate primary in Arizona.
But these groups find his record in Congress no more fiscally responsible than the man he seeks to oust, John McCain.
An endorsement, so I am told, is strictly out of the question. I would say that supporting and/or endorsing Hayworth would fall under the auspices of the good folks of the various TEA Parties in Arizona and their individual likes and dislikes.
To use Hayworth in Arizona as an example of TEA Party sentiment nation wide is a bit of a misdirection by the writer of the original story I believe. I can’t VOTE for a candidate in a state election in any state other than Texas. Why would I, or any Texas TEA Party member be concerned with endorsing one elsewhere? The TEA Party is being painted with a very broad brush.
The Tea Party defines economic conservatism more strictly than most Republicans in Congress would — the Tea Party agrees about the need to do away with earmarks, but the Contract, for example, also includes a proposal to scrap the tax code and replace it with one no longer than 4,543 words (a number chosen to match the length of the Constitution, unamended.
We have before us, right now, a health care bill, ObamaCare, and it is well over 1,000 pages in length, filled with lots of gobbledegook that even it’s authors don’t understand.
Legalese. Mundane verbosity. BS!
Jenny Beth Martin, the leader of the Tea Party Patriots, complained that she spent the days after the convention answering questions about social issues.
“When people ask about them, we say, ‘Go get involved in other organizations that already deal with social issues very well,’ ” she said. “We have to be diligent and stay on message.”
If WE have issues, and we do, and the run of the mill GOP candidate is NOT going to fill the bill, and in many cases, they don’t, if that candidate is less than Conservative, shouldn’t we be supporting, and putting forth, candidates that are in tune to what Conservative TEA Party members want?
Don’t we have an obligation to this nation, to ourselves and our descendants, to demand, and craft nothing but the best government possible?
If that is the BIG TENT to which Ryan Hecker speaks, that is a BIG TENT I can go along with. I can’t however, accept every individual that comes to us and says, “I’m a Conservative, help me help you” when their previous record speaks otherwise and they only exhibit their conservative chops come election time.
I can’t accept the idea of a person being a part of a TEA Party, at ANY level, just so they can say *I belong*, as a good thing. It’s not about numbers, it’s about actions and deeds!
If you’re not going to work for the TEA Party, if you’re only in it because you see a position on a Board of Directors as a prestige thing, or because you want to use the TEA Party to fluff your resume, that’s NOT what this is all about. And I have seen that very thing happen, 1st hand!
There are, what I consider to be, some real and factual statements made in the original article, I saw some parts that I personally question. Please read it ALL and make up your own mind, but know this, the TEA Party has enemies, the media is the leader of the pack! The MSM, Main Stream Media, is the hand maiden of the Obama administration.
Be ever vigilant and guard your TEA Party groups from those that would do us harm and from those that seek to use the TEA Party for their own personal gain!
Shying away from social issues is a big mistake. If you are going to back a candidate you need to know what he or she stands for in all aspects of society and government. Not only is the candidates conservatism important but the candidate must be of impecable character. Political correctness and social engineering have damaged this country to the point where whats right is wrong and whats wrong is right. We don’t need anymore Clintons, Shumers, McCains, Dodds, Obamas, Massas or Barney Franks. Its high time to get things right the first time.
At his point in what will be a long uphill struggle, we must not search for that candidate who is represents all we agree with for that man doesn’t exist. We must have a limited approach and like a toddler, take one step at a time building a strong foundation as we progress toward our goal. A strong house isn’t built over night and without a solid foundation isn’t worth having. Like most who read this blog, I would prefer that the Tea Party movement adopt strong stands on social issues, but that is not to be at this time. We will have time somewhere down the line for that, after all victory will come to the patient. The road ahead is filled with many obstacles and hidden mines and must be navigated slowly and methodically less we fall victim to our own zeal and eagerness for victory.
Now is the time for caution, and although we can begin to see some light it would be a mistake to rush the center of the enemy’s line as Lee did at Gettysburg in hope of achieving that crowning victory. The enemy’s flank is weak, let us hit him there and then advance on to Washington!!!
“I would say that supporting and/or endorsing Hayworth would fall under the auspices of the good folks of the various TEA Parties in Arizona and their individual likes and dislikes”….AMEN, AMEN, and AMEN!!!
God, life, and family are very important to me but we have to remember what TEA Party stands for…Taxed Enough Already. Minuteman is right in that Political Correctness has damaged this country but I, personally, don’t believe it’s a good idea for Tea Parties to get too heavily involved in social issues. I think if the local Tea Parties stick to the issues which brought them together, the social issues will work themselves out. After all, the overwhelming majority of those who are fiscal conservatives also think God, Life, and Family are very important.
You are right, the Tea Party does have enemies and the media is at the head of the list. But we can’t let them divide us and we certainly can’t let them tell us that we need to be more inclusive to those that disagree with us, that is why the Republican party is in trouble with us, they forgot their base. We have certain values that we beleive in and if we allow more people with different view in than all we are doing is watering down our own movement, we might as well go back to the Republican party if that is the case.
WOW! So which is it? A party ran on the premise of economical changes or as Lisa McGirr states the Tea Party uses a type of code to talk about Social issues. “When they talk about returning to the values of the Founding Fathers, they are talking about life as a social issue.”
Is this a consolidation of Social and Economical issues or primarily a party that has been “taxed enough already”? Makes me ask about the primary focus.
Personally, I’d like to see it include both economical and social but what’s eating at me is what is this “code” to discuss Social issues? Does anyone know? Is it found by reading in between the lines??
And Fred, there never has been doubt that the MSM is the bride of BHO, any slant on a Conservative article or any doubt they can place in a persons mind is their success story!
BobF, the article said that there are some (D) that support God, Life & Family. As the Primaries close in, they will certainly play that card heavily. This issue is important in our country. But, as Fred states, those that call themselves the “Conservative” may be just more egotistical fluff. How do we judge them? We have nothing else to look at except yesterdays behavior. I want the Ultra Conservative TP Candidate as much as you but we must be sure theyre who they claim to be or they’ll be an Obstruction to Conservatism! The left will move to the Right, no doubt. Will the Right be able to campaign & support the best Candidate to represent the TP? Let’s hope, so our work is not in vain!
MinuteMan26, I believe you’re absolutely correct. Social issues does determine who a person really is……………….
Big tent=big failure in 2010 and 2012. IF that is the goal then look forward to 4 more Obama years. Core values are what is needed. The core principles of conservatism are what the people want. They got complacent under GWB. EVEN the hispanics LEGAL Hispanics are in large part conservative by nature. Anti Abortion, anti-gay marriage, strong on national defense and fiscal responsibility. These basic principles were voted on in the most hispanic populated areas in Cali and they all went RIGHT. Yes they voted for Obama, they voted for a good speaker who promised them money….MOST people did….that’s how he got elected. Hows that working out? Buyers remorse has set in.
As far as the tea party having enemy’s. We’ve talked about that at length Fred, and I posted something about it not long ago. I seriously expect some daggers to be thrown from our friends Carville and Clinton and their media lap dogs….The one thing that worries me more than the media is; I’m not sure SOME tea party faithful can take the heat. I’m concerned that those “weekenders” among us will cave and run home at the first sign of controversy real or imagined.
There are those in the party with balls of steel, a lot of them comment here. There are also those with little bitty balls of glass that wouldn’t know when to fight, how to fight or care to learn… those are the ones I’m concerned with. Strengthen up the weak links and full steam ahead brother.
[...] That last paragraph further punctuates the reasoning behind the WHY of TEA Party groups not making endorsements. NYT: ‘Tea party’ avoids divisive issues. [...]