Tea Party Movement

Choosing Words

Matt O'Brien

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

George Orwell

In  “Politics and the English Language”, George Orwell said  “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. ”   In corrupting the use of words, our competitors are able to disrupt the common sense of the citizenry.   “Social justice” is one good example of such corruption.  You’d have to be very cold hearted to oppose something called social justice, so what’s wrong with social justice?  Well, to begin with, and end with, it has nothing to do with justice.  By throwing together two good words and using them in a way that deceives the listener, the anti-liberty crowd has been able to fool the uninformed.

 

One of the main purposes of the Tea Party Movement is to convey the message of liberty.  To do so, we need to be careful about the words we choose, but more importantly, we need to point out the misuse of words by those who look to steal our freedom.   “Liberal” and “conservative” are two perfectly good words that have been corrupted.  Tea Partiers make the error of using the word “liberal” as an insult, when it should be compliment.  We have ceded this word to those who blasphemy it’s real meaning.

 

The left has a habit of changing the language when it stops working for them.  “Global Warming” seemed scary enough, until it didn’t work for them anymore.  They were forced to switch to the less scary phrase “Climate Change.”

 

Remember how a few decades ago, poverty was such a big concern?  We don’t hear so much about poverty anymore because the worldwide poverty rate has unexpectedly plummeted.  The lowest 10th percentile income earner in the U.S. enjoys an economic lifestyle that is better that almost every other country on earth.  What are the progressives to do if poverty is plummeting?  Let’s change the word.  Now poverty becomes “income inequality.”  All inequality is bad, isn’t it?  So income inequality must also be bad.  If income equality is bad, then one could make the case that income redistribution is good.  We lose just by accepting the phrase “income inequality.”

 

At this month’s Worcester Tea Party meeting, we heard two speakers on Agenda 21.  The very next day, I saw the agenda for next week’s meeting of my town’s Board of Selectmen.  I saw the phrases “International Property Maintenance Code”, “Master Plan Implementation”, and “Revised Water Conservation Language”.  Immediately, bells went off in my head.  I knew that they were using corrupted words that sounded perfectly well-meaning so that they could be used to advance an ideology that disputes private property rights.

 

The words of liberty, as articulated by our classical liberal founders, ring true in the ears of almost every American.  It is only those who seek to deceive by twisting good words into bad that we need to fear. They are charlatans who will lead people down a disastrous path.

 

Be careful in the words that you  choose.  Be honest.  Don’t deceive in the way our competitors do.  When you are speaking the truth about the value of liberty, you do not have to grovel in the gutter of euphemistic deception.

 

In liberty,
Ken Mandile
Matt O’Brien

There is a time for everything, a time to be silent and a time to speak.

Matt O'Brien

On Thursday, we hosted a viewing of Michelle Malkin’s Rocky Mountain Heist at our January meeting.   The movie exposes how the wealthy left was able to seize power in Colorado.   The “Colorado Plan” wasn’t just a strategy to win a few seats in the state legislature.   It was a brutal and thuggish plot to wipe conservatives and moderates from every office in the state.   Rocky Mountain Heist discussed how four wealthy Progressives were able to pool their money to build a political machine unlike any before it.

The Colorado Plan was so successful, that it is now being replicated,  state by state, to weaken the Republic.

The good news is that there are many forces opposing this quiet revolution.   It’s also good that we have resources like this movie to inform us about the threats that we face.  This “intelligence” is an important tool in resisting the latte liberals who oppose liberty.

Even greater news is that we are already starting to see the collapse of the Colorado Plan.  As the Progressives took over, their ideas were put to the test and, as expected, they failed.

The Tea Party movement doesn’t enjoy the luxury of having wealthy benefactors.  Our one luxury is a set of principles that have been tested by time, principles that have made America great.

As individuals, we can do our part to elect leaders who honestly believe in these principles of  limited constitutional government, free markets, and fiscal responsibility, but our most important goal is to teach the beauty of living free.  Wealthy Progressives will always be able to buy an election now and then.   We should expose them when they do, but their wins will be short lived if we dedicate ourselves to keeping the idea of liberty alive.   That is a challenging, honorable, and important task.  It is one that cannot be stopped by wealthy leftists who try to put chains on us.   In this new year, live free, speak freely, and have faith that liberty will always win.
In Liberty,
Ken Mandile 

A Battle Won

A Battle Won

Ken

 

“There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing.” 

 Henry David Thoreau

In the summer of 1776, when our Founders committed treason against England and King George, they righteously justified their actions by citing the moral purpose of government:  To secure our rights.  While we have expanded immensely the scope and purpose of government over the past 238 years, the only moral purpose of government remains the same.

If I were to point to the most important achievement of the Tea Party movement, it would be the success in exposing the damage that our government has done to the ends for which it was created.  The US government has lost its legitimacy as the protector of individual rights.

A Rasmussen Poll released on Friday found:

  • 54% of Americans think that their government is a threat to individual liberty, rather than a protector   
  • 67% believe that the government is a special interest group that looks out for its own interests rather than those of citizens

These are startling numbers

 

After 5 years, a majority of the American public have sided with the Tea Party on its primary message.  To say that our government is a threat to our rights would be an understatement.  It has destroyed those rights.

 

Last week’s standoff at the Bundy Ranch wasn’t only about cattle and land, it was about a militarized police force threatening private citizens.

The NSA spying story wasn’t about national security. It was about a government that treats its citizens as suspects.

The ACA is not a law that guarantees us health care.  It codifies the denial of an individual’s free choice.

The stimulus and bailouts that sparked our movement were not just more government waste and corruption.

 

They were acts all of aggression against our right to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

When the Tea Party movement started five years ago, we knew we needed to get the American people on our side first.  It took five years, and we have suffered defeats, but we can take heart at the new attitude of the American people.  Their eyes are open to the evil of big government.  This is a major victory for our cause.  Now, let’s hold onto this victory and destroy the ideology that sets the state above the individual.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

The Declaration of Independence

 

An Irish Democracy?

An Irish Democracy?

Ken

We are fast approaching the 5th Anniversary of the first Tax Day Tea Parties.  In the spring of 2009, Americans had become deeply suspicious of the institutions that defined our society.  The government, large corporations, banks, legislatures, Congress, and political parties had betrayed the American public.  We were fed up and decided to let our leaders know that we were mad as hell and we weren’t taking it anymore. 

 

Five years later, we’ve become what is one of the greatest and longest lasting political movements in US history.   To many, it is unclear whether our mission will be successful, but many more of us have no doubt that we will eventually free America from the oppression of a bloated government and the crony-capitalists that control it.

 

We have changed from an angry movement lacking direction into thousands of very effective small groups and individuals doing the daily tasks of restoring liberty.  Whether it is aiding a campaign, being a candidate or educating and rallying citizens to an important cause, each action is a step in the right direction.  There is one tactic that has not been sufficiently used until recently.  It is called “Irish Democracy.”

 

Professor Glenn Reynolds recently quoted Professor James Scott in USA Today:  

 

“More regimes have been brought piecemeal to their knees by what was once called ‘Irish Democracy,’ the silent, dogged resistance, withdrawal, and truculence of millions of ordinary people, than by revolutionary vanguards or rioting mobs.”

 

Whether it is refusal to sign up for Obamacare, gun owners avoiding registering their guns in Connecticut,  willful disobedience of immoral laws or entire states nullifying drug laws, we as citizens are learning to exert authority over their own lives.  In this mixed up and confusing political paradigm, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, and even Democrats, are finding common ground with those of us willing to stand opposed to a growing and intrusive tyranny.  After 5 years of the Tea Party movement, many Americans are finding the truth in our message, even while they voice hesitancy about us.

 

Anthony Codevilla, a Research Fellow at The Independent Institute, recently wrote:  

 

“The principal feature of today’s ruling class is precisely that it reigns in open contempt of the Constitution of 1787 and of their fellow Americans who wave copies of it in forlorn attempts to limit the ruling class’ pretensions. History is univocal: any ruling class self-referential to the point of defaulting on its obligations leaves the ruled no alternative but to turn their backs on it, and eventually to revolt.”

 

We are still learning how to resist their betrayal of our Constitution and our values and we are still learning how to revolt.  We are running for office, calling talk radio, writing letters, picketing, voting, and, when we can, withdrawing.   

 

In the words of Professor Reynolds,  

 

“As we struggle, mostly in vain, to rein in the metastasizing power of a federal government that has grown out of control, perhaps Irish Democracy offers a solution. Sometimes it seems like that’s the only kind of democracy that’s likely to 

make a difference.”

 

The late 20th century showed us many times that peaceful resistance to tyranny is one of the most effective tools available to liberty seekers.  It is only one tool of many that we have available, but in this time of crisis, we need to use every tool possible.  

 

Think about opportunities to practice Irish Democracy as we move into the 5th year of the Tea Party movement.

Letters to the Editor

Ken

Many Tea Party members are not sure what their role is in the movement.  If you are not comfortable with getting involved at the organizational level, there is a simple, effective, and very important role for each of you.  You are our messengers.   One of the most effective ways to promote the Tea Party message of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and adherence to the Constitution is by writing a letter to the editor.  Well written letters supporting our cause can light brushfires in the minds of people who may not fully understand the nature of the challenges facing our country.  They also give us an opportunity to show that freeing the individual from the chains of a bloated and oppressive government is the most effective way to raise every American’s liberty and ability to pursue happiness.

What makes a good letter to the editor?

  • Topical
  • Factual
  • Concise
  • Positive

Here are a few pointers for writing an effective letter to the editor:

  • Grab the readers’ attention in the first sentence.
  • State your opinion clearly in the first paragraph and repeat it in the last paragraph.
  • Do not use personal attacks. Don’t rant. 
  • Back up your opinion with facts.  Verify your facts.
  • Giving your opinion is important, but you should also offer solutions.  Remember though, often the best solution is to do nothing!
  • Be positive!  Explain the value of freedom.  Be optimistic.
  • Keep your letter to 250 words or less.  This is very challenging, but many newspapers have word limits and readers will completely read a short letter.
  • The Worcester Telegram has the widest readership in our area, but weekly local newspapers shouldn’t be overlooked.  Your neighbors and friends are more likely to be influenced by your well written opinion.
  • Get in the habit of writing letters every month.  Most newspapers will limit you to once per 90 days, but if you choose three newspapers, then you can rotate one per month.

Some of our members have volunteered to help with proof reading letters and helping you polish your message.  They can offer as much or as little help as you need.  You can contact them at:Letters@www.worcesterteaparty.com.

You can use the same email address to tell us when your letter is published, so we can let everyone know to comment on it.  Be prepared to be ridiculed in the online comments.  Don’t respond with the same kind of vile nastiness that they throw at you.  If we can get our message out this way we can influence public opinion and ensure that our children will live in culture that values freedom.

Lessons From U.Mass.

Lessons From U.Mass.

Ken

 “You can tell people they are wrong by a look or an intonation or a gesture just as eloquently as you can in words – and if you tell them they are wrong, do you make them want to agree with you? Never! For you have struck a direct blow at their intelligence, judgment, pride and self-respect. That will make them want to strike back. But it will never make them want to change their minds. You may then hurl at them all the logic of a Plato or an Immanuel Kant, but you will not alter their opinions, for you have hurt their feelings.”
-Dale Carnegie

 

One of the speakers at Thursday’s Worcester Tea Party meeting was Nathan Fatal, a recent Political Science grad from the University of Massachusetts. While at U. Mass., Nathan founded the New England Objectivist Society to promote the philosophy of Ayn Rand.  In this effort, he connected with liberty activists across Massachusetts and he was a speaker at our 2012 Tax Day Tea Party in Lincoln Square.

On Thursday, Nathan talked to us about his painful experiences as a student dedicated to promoting liberty while living in an academic community blindly committed to a statist

dogma. You can imagine the challenges that confronted him in his efforts to convince his fellow students that individual liberty was preferable to the collectivist ideology that was instilled in them in the classroom. He was frustrated by the futility of his task, but he didn’t give up.  He learned.

What Nathan learned is something that the Tea Party movement needs to learn.

Trying to get students to show up at a meeting to talk about Ayn Rand had become a waste of time. Nathan was committed to getting his message out to his fellow students though, so he switched tactics. He started to use Dale Carnegie’s philosophy of “How to Win Friends Influence People”. What Nathan learned was that he needed to relate his message to each individual that he was speaking to. This personal connection allowed his listener to receive Nathan’s message in a completely different light. The responses that he started to receive were much more positive.

Nathan and his coalition of college students are a major reason that liberty will thrive in the United States and around the world.  They are part of a cultural wave that will wash away the Progressive ideology that has sickened our society for almost 100 years.  Let’s use their wisdom to promote the Tea Party message.

Bashing our opponents with insults does nothing to win the support of our fellow citizens who hover in the center of the political spectrum or who have only been exposed to the toxic agenda of leftist academics.   We cannot do this with a negative message.  Our message is one of optimism and faith in individual Americans.  By being more careful with the words that we choose, we can win more supporters.

Addressing the faults and philosophical ignorance of today’s politicians will only yield a short term victory, because these politicians will be replaced by similar charlatans.  We need to destroy the dangerous ideology of these politicians.  What we need to win is a cultural change, one where Americans once again value their freedom.

We must strike at the root.

Many Tea Party members are not sure what their role is in the movement.  If you are not comfortable with getting involved at the organizational level, there is a simple, effective, and very important role for each of you.  You are our messengers.   One of the most effective ways to promote the Tea Party message of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and adherence to the Constitution is by writing a letter to the editor.  Well written letters supporting our cause can light brushfires in the minds of people who may not fully understand the nature of the challenges facing our country.  They also give us an opportunity to show that freeing the individual from the chains of a bloated and oppressive government is the most effective way to raise every American’s liberty and ability to pursue happiness.

What makes a good letter to the editor?

  • Topical
  • Factual
  • Concise
  • Positive

Here are a few pointers for writing an effective letter to the editor:

  • Grab the readers’ attention in the first sentence.
  • State your opinion clearly in the first paragraph and repeat it in the last paragraph.
  • Do not use personal attacks. Don’t rant. 
  • Back up your opinion with facts.  Verify your facts.
  • Giving your opinion is important, but you should also offer solutions.  Remember though, often the best solution is to do nothing!
  • Be positive!  Explain the value of freedom.  Be optimistic.
  • Keep your letter to 250 words or less.  This is very challenging, but many newspapers have word limits and readers will completely read a short letter.
  • The Worcester Telegram has the widest readership in our area, but weekly local newspapers shouldn’t be overlooked.  Your neighbors and friends are more likely to be influenced by your well written opinion.
  • Get in the habit of writing letters every month.  Most newspapers will limit you to once per 90 days, but if you choose three newspapers, then you can rotate one per month.

Some of our members have volunteered to help with proof reading letters and helping you polish your message.  They can offer as much or as little help as you need.  You can contact them at:Letters@www.worcesterteaparty.com.

You can use the same email address to tell us when your letter is published, so we can let everyone know to comment on it.  Be prepared to be ridiculed in the online comments.  Don’t respond with the same kind of vile nastiness that they throw at you.  If we can get our message out this way we can influence public opinion and ensure that our children will live in culture that values freedom.

Worth Defending At All Hazards

Worth Defending At All Hazards

Ken
“The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men.”

It  wasn’t that long ago that most of us were happily oblivious to the world beyond our families and our jobs.  Others of us were involved in politics by being loyal to a political party.  A few of us were involved in the battle against the tyranny lurking beneath the surface anxiously awaiting its invitation.

In an ideal world, most people should be able to spend their lives in the first group, blissfully ignorant of what the government is doing.  In fact, for most of our history, the government was not a factor in the average citizen’s life.  That time has passed though.  It is unlikely that we will ever again be able to take leave from our vigilance in defense of our liberties.

We are drawn into this cause of liberty because of a sense of responsibility to our ancestors who, as Sam Adams said, “purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood”.  More importantly though, we have a responsibility to ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and future generations.

 We are blessed that we can fight this cause without the violence that our ancestors needed to use.  Our opponents are not taking arms against us, but they have cheated us of our liberties “by the artifices of designing men.”

Our opponents cannot use reason and logic against us.  They have no principles upon which their beliefs are based.  They are materialistic people only value envy, greed, and power over equality under the law, honesty, and the American Dream. In desperation, they use vile words, nasty rhetoric, and outright lies.

We have proven to be better equipped than our opponents.  We have the words and actions of our Founders.  We have the logic of natural rights.  We have the greatest documents ever know to the human race which codify the proper moral society and the subsequent case for freedom; our Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

Our opponents will continue to attack each of these.  In fact, they have already done much damage to the Constitution and rendered the Declaration of Independence insignificant in our public discourse.  Yet in the march of history, liberty always advances.

We need your help, not only to defend against the attacks from our opponents, but also to spread the message of liberty.  It’s not enough to just respond to those who may never understand.  We need to win the hearts and minds of our friends and neighbors by showing them that they are being cheated out of the fruits of their labor and of the rights that they were born exercise.

Please consider getting more active in our cause, whether it is through our organization or one of the many that are allied with us.   

 

“The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”

Did You Read This ????

Did You Read This ????

Matt O'Brien

 

How many times have YOU

read comments like these:

 news paper

“The tea party people amongst us are certainly
a frenzied and irrational bunch of unpatriotic citizens
that have used technicalities in the law and the rules of government
to obstruct the everyday workings of government . . . “

– Telegram & Gazette Saturday, December 7 2013

 

“The tea-party Republicans claim that they did not get anything
from the shutdown.  Well, what they should get is arrested
for putting our country into more debt and chaos.  
What true American man would do this?”

– Telegram & Gazette Friday, November 22, 2013

 

Are YOU going to sit by and allow this to be said
by those who want to take your liberties? 

Attacks such as these are just starting and will only get worse.  While our opponents’ policies are leading to extraordinarily obvious failures, as we knew they would, they are desperate to change the public’s focus.  As the floor falls out from under those who support more and more government oppression of our rights, they are out in full force to demean and denigrate YOU.
  The American people are turning on them, they are desperate, and . . .

 

They are against the rope

 boxer boots

NOW is the time to fight back because the pen is truly mightier than the sword.  Those who oppose us may buy ink by the barrel, but the truth and our Founders are on our side.  

 

The the propaganda machine is moving with full force in a desperate attempt to distract from the mess we are witnessing.
We have editors and resources to make you succeed, all you need is the desire and time to put your thoughts on paper.

Interested?  Please contact us today via email at

letters@WorcesTerteaParty.com.

In liberty,


Matt O’Brien
Ken Mandile
John Niewicki

The freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards

Matt O'Brien
“The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men.”

 


It wasn’t that long ago that many of us were happily oblivious to the world beyond our families and our jobs. Some of us were involved in politics by being loyal to a political party. A few of us were always involved in the battle against the tyranny that has degraded our freedoms. In an ideal world, most people should be able to spend their lives in the first group, blissfully ignorant of what the government is doing. In fact, for most of our history, the government was not a factor in the average citizen’s life. That time has passed though. It is unlikely that we will ever again be able to take leave from our vigilance in defense of our liberties.

 
We have been drawn into this cause of liberty because of a sense of responsibility to our ancestors who, as Sam Adams said, “purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood”. More importantly though, we have a responsibility to ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and to future generations.
We are blessed that we can fight this cause without the violence that our ancestors needed to use. Our opponents are not taking arms against us, but they have cheated us of our liberties “by the artifices of designing men”.
 
Our opponents cannot use reason and logic against us. They have no principles upon which their beliefs are based. Statists only value envy, greed, and power. In desperation, they use vile words, nasty rhetoric, and outright lies. We have been proven to be better equipped than they are though. We have the words and actions of our founders. We have the reason of natural rights. We have the greatest document for freedom in the history of mankind, the United States Constitution. They will continue to attack each of these. In fact, they have already done much damage to the Constitution, but in the march of history, liberty always advances.
 
We need your help, not only to defend against the attacks from our opponents, but also to spread the message of liberty. It’s not enough to just respond to those who will never understand. We need to win the hearts and minds of our friends and neighbors by showing them that they are being cheated out of the treasure of their labor and of the basic rights that they were born with. Please consider getting more active in our cause, whether it is through our organization or one of the many others that are allied with us. “The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”
 
In Liberty,
John Niewicki
Matt O’Brien
Ken Mandile

How the Tea Party Movement is Like Spiderman (and Who is the Greatest Enemy of the Tea Party Movement?)

Matt O'Brien

ultimate-spider-man

When I was a boy, I read every comic that Marvel Comics produced.  Even the titles lost in the sands of time (does anyone else remember Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur?).  Today, even though I have grown, I still draw from the lessons I learned from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and Roy Thomas.  The principled heroics and moral clarity of superheroes is something I try to live up to in my own life.

This vast knowledge of comic books allows me to state categorically that the Amazing Spiderman is the super hero that the Tea Party Movement is most like.  It must seem weird to think of the Tea Party Movement as the Amazing Spiderman but it can be helpful for those out side or new to the movement, who seek understanding.

A radioactive spider transformed the intellectually gifted but physically unimpressive Peter Parker into the athletic and muscular Spiderman.  Likewise it was the sting of the housing bubble bursting and the toxic responses of both the Bush and Obama administrations that spurred many off their couches and into the streets on April 15th 2009 for the first Tax Day Tea Party rallies.

Just as teenage Peter Parker had to learn and grow to become the hero Spiderman, so has the Tea Party Movement learned from the many elections and initiative campaigns that we have worked on.  We are a very young movement, and have suffered some growing pains.  Like Spiderman with each new adventure our strength and skills grow.

A sad way we are like Spiderman is that we too have lost our uncle and mentor when Andrew Breitbart left this world on March 1, 2012.  Spiderman remembers “…with great power comes great responsibility,” we  #RememberBreitbart with all his boundless energy, irreverent humor, and incandescent joy at doing what we can to thwart those that would keep us on our knees.  Every one of us continues the battle in the ways that he taught us.

If we look at Spiderman we see he has fought many super villains but one foe has always vexed him and made his life hard.  J. Jonah Jameson has used his newspaper the Daily Bugle as cudgel to beat Spiderman and call him a menace.  Spiderman can never get credit for any of the good he does because Jameson always blames him for everything that happens.  Even when Spiderman captures bank robbers, the headline on the front page of the Bugle reads “Masked spider escapes! Leaves rest of gang behind!”

So who is the greatest enemy of the Tea Party Movement?  jjonahjameson

The Legacy Media. 

How many times have you read or seen reports that the Tea Party Movement is racist?  The Tea Party Movement has been instrumental in electing dozens of black, Hispanic, Asian, and women candidates to office across the country.  The only black man serving as in the US Senate is a Tea Party supporter.  But that is not in sync with the narrative that the Legacy Media is pedaling.  So they never mention it.

The Legacy Media will continue to print lies about the Tea Party Movement even as it costs them what little credibility they now have.  They are so consumed with pettiness that they often refuse to capitalize the words Tea Party in their stories while they always capitalized the word Occupy in the fawning odes they published about that group. 

Spiderman gives us an example of how we should deal with the Legacy Media.  Spiderman never goes to the offices of the Bugle and tears Jameson from his chair and dangles him from the roof tops of Manhattan.  No Spiderman is a hero.  He doesn’t have time to sweat the small stuff.  Spiderman has rescued Jameson and the Bugle many times.  And he laughs off all the twisted headlines and slanted editorials.  And so should we. 

Since the Legacy Media is willing to fabricate stories to harm our movement there must be something we can do to defend ourselves.  The best course of action for members of the Tea Party Movement is to be on our guard not to fall into any of the Legacy Media’s traps.  More importantly we must laugh at them.

When Ronald Reagan debated President Jimmy Carter in 1980 he didn’t get angry and shout at the distortions of his record as governor of California.  He laughed and sighed and famously said ‘…there you go again.”  Some credit that debate performance with winning Ronald Reagan the presidency.

We are working to save our country that is the most serious endeavor a person can ever attempt.  But we can not let the seriousness of our goal rob us of our joy.  None of us is Spiderman, or Ronald Reagan.  But we can all learn from their example.  We can collect the thorns and hate thrown at us, and hand back roses.  Laughter at the ridiculousness of these blowhards works better than shouting.

Advice courteous of your friendly neighborhood Tea Party Man!