A Message to the Okaloosa GOP

In response to your blog entry at http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/08/message-to-tea-party-movement.html...

From the Fort Walton Beach Tea Party, thank you to the Okaloosa GOP team for attending our Tea Party Rally. It was a shame you didn't get to speak and explain exactly what you just explained in your blog entry. Many folks in the Tea Party are deeply frustrated with the GOP. Unfortunately, the GOP took the brunt of a media campaign to discredit Tax Cuts as an expense to the government rather than a great way to stimulate economic growth, encourage entrepreneurship and investment as well as increase economic freedom for the whole nation rather than a few politically connected businesses and people, which is exactly what the 2009 Stimulus Program has been.

The other GOP problems of complacency in office, pork and increased spending, lack of initiative to curb runaway entitlement programs, lack of coherent marketing strategy to educate the public on the Constitution and Free Markets, and lack of a reaffirmation of your dedication to your Core Values. We would love to support the GOP, so we hope you will help your party dedicate to upholding our unique American freedoms and values.

The Core Values of the Tea Party are:

1) Support and Obey the U.S. Constitution and maintain the States' Sovereignty per the 10th Amendment
2) Balance the budget, spend within the means of current revenues and figure out a strategy to pay off the National Debt
3) Reduce taxes to increase economic freedom and growth
4) Find new ways to increase freedom for individuals and privately owned businesses
5) Hold anyone in power accountable even if it means giving up some short-term political power.

We are fighting a media perception war which says the Tea Party movement is orchestrated by the GOP and other national organizations. As the organizer of our local Tea Party group, I can assure you we are completely independent of any group. I am not affiliated with any political party and the official policy of our group is that we will support those who believe in our Core Values and confront those who don't.

We won't vote Republican as the "lesser of two evils" any longer. If the GOP gives us a candidate who will fight for the little guy and our nation, we will vote. If the Democrats give us a candidate who will pledge to uphold our values, we will vote for them. Integrity is generally defined as "doing the right thing for the right reason." We will maintain our independent integrity and have all pledged to each other to hold those public servants we elect accountable, but we will support them if they are trying to do the right thing.

We thank you for the chance to respond to your blog entry and look forward to working together when our objectives are complementary but we will maintain our own identity until the GOP completes several political cycles and show that your platform as well as actions in office warrant us giving you official support.