Political Lipskip

Thoughts on the Nashville Tea Party Convention

I haven’t been a big fan of the Tea Party convention in Nashville. It seems to kind of go against what it felt like to be a part of it last year. Meaning, it felt grassroots. It felt organic. When I went to the tax day Tea Party in Nashville I figured I’d be with about 500 people. But thousands showed up through word or mouth. It didn’t seem all that organized and I liked that. Same with the DC Rally. It was surprising.

Now the Tea Party movement has gotten itself pseudo-organized I guess. This convention may or may not be a good thing. The Tea Party on one hand wants to be taken more seriously, and on the other it wants to stick to its disorganization.

And I think that may be the point. People who have participated in the Tea Party maybe feel like they are rebelling against the government. When a group tries to organize it, it feels less like a rebellion than an organization. But even as the original Tea Party patriots dumped tea in the harbor, the movement ended up being an organized army fighting the tyrannical British and a new government. Perhaps this is ultimately what needs to happen with the Tea Party.

Anyway, Sarah Palin had some sane thoughts about being a speaker at the convention. She makes some good points in USA Today:

The nature of the Tea Party movement means there may never be a “perfectly orchestrated” event: Democracy in action doesn’t come with a manual. But we must not get caught up in the politics or the controversies that some hope will distract from the heart of the movement. The focus must remain on our ideas and beliefs, and on supporting those ideas and beliefs however we can.

This weekend, it’s Nashville, but in March, I’ll head to Searchlight, Nev., for the kickoff rally at the Tea Party Express III. In April, I’ll be in Boston for a Tea Party gathering there. Across the country, tea-partiers will be sharing our vision for America’s future, a vision that promotes common sense solutions to out-of-control spending and an out-of-touch political establishment.

The process may not always be pretty or perfect, but the message is loud and clear: We want a government worthy of the fine Americans that it serves. And we’re going to keep spreading that message one convention, one town hall, one speech and one election at a time.

She’s right. The message needs to be heard and spread. Whether it is at some convention or rally downtown, the Tea Party needs to continue to get the word out that we are sick and tired of the spending and big government.