The Government Has Declared War on Our Way of Life

both articles from Newsmax:

Tea Partyers Vow Revenge Over Health Overhaul
Tuesday, 23 Mar 2010

Tea party activists aren't just angry that Democrats passed a major healthcare overhaul — they also are out for revenge.

They do not see passage of the landmark reforms that usher in near-universal medical coverage as the end of the debate. Tea partyers instead vow to support attorneys general who plan a lawsuit seeking to declare the law unconstitutional. They are demanding the bill be repealed or not funded and want to kick out of office all supporters of the measure.

So far, the nascent movement has almost reveled in its rebellious and grass-roots nature and has avoided becoming as much a part of the establishment as the Republican and Democratic parties. But some tea party organizers see the healthcare debate as a galvanizing force that could stir its followers to greater action and something to rally around with midterm elections this year.

In states across the country, tea party groups planned protests and vowed to target any congressional member who supported the measure passed Sunday night.

"There's going to be a whole, all-out effort for an Election Day onslaught," said Michael Caputo, a public relations consultant who works with tea party activists on the national level, as well as in Florida and New York. "The health care process has been an incendiary issue for the tea party organizations since day one. Losing that vote is going to inflame them more."

The number of tea party groups has been growing for a little more then a year. Many in the movement were previously not politically active and have a strong independent streak, making organization sometimes difficult.

Most share a common belief that government spending and influence should be limited and they're angry about policies President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress are implementing, including last year's $787 billion federal stimulus package and healthcare.

During a conference call with tea party activists Monday night, Eric Odom of the Patriot Caucus mapped ambitious plans to set up state chapters, organize voters online and raise money to oust incumbents who supported the healthcare overhaul.

He predicted that the vote would increase support for the movement across the country.

The government "has declared war on our way of life," said Odom, who is from Nevada.

"It's now time to boot them from office," said Odom, who chairs the Liberty First PAC, a fundraising arm of the group. "We absolutely must have your help."

In Florida, about 85 tea party groups encompass about 100,000 people, according to Everett Wilkinson, a leader in the state's movement. A small rally is being planned in Boca Raton on Tuesday with more likely the rest of the week in response to the vote, he said.

There are similar reactions elsewhere.

"We will be more determined than ever to see that this country is governed the way the constitution intended," said Brenda Bowen, a tea party organizer in Greenville, Ala. "We are all getting our second wind. When we do, you'd better watch out."

Even though they didn't stop the bill, Tim Dake, organizer of the Milwaukee-area group GrandSons of Liberty, said he and others intend to push for a state constitutional amendment that would prohibit forcing people to buy health insurance. Republicans introduced it in the Democratic-controlled Wisconsin Legislature, but a hearing is not scheduled.

The Republican-controlled Legislature is pushing a similar measure in Florida. If lawmakers put it on the ballot, at least 60 percent of voters would have to approve it.

Christen Varley, head of the Greater Boston Tea Party Organizers, said the House health vote was a "heartbreaking" wake-up call.

"I think we all went to bed a little dejected last night, but from the communication I received this morning, people are energized," Varley said.

Sarah Palin is scheduled to headline a tea party rally on historic Boston Common on April 14.

Massachusetts already has a form of universal healthcare, yet the state made passage of the bill more difficult when voters elected Republican Scott Brown to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who spent nearly his entire career pushing for healthcare for all. Brown's election took away Democrats' filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Willie Lawson, a Tampa-area conservative radio talk show host who speaks at tea party rallies, wondered what effect the vote will have on an April 15 event at a University of South Florida stadium.

"It's just a big punch in the gut. It really is to a lot of people," said Lawson, who wondered whether people new to the movement will be discouraged by the vote and not bother to come. Others, he's sure, will just be more fired up.

"For some people it will just be more raw meat, more raw meat out the back door to get people to come," he said. "The hardcore people will be there. They'll be angrier than ever."

Whether tea partyers will be able to turn anger into organization may vary from state to state.

"People in the Tea Party movement are fiercely independent. They don't like being told what to do. It's like herding cats," said Chad Capps, strategy coordinator for a Huntsville, Ala., group.

While tea party activists have made themselves heard, University of North Florida political science professor Matthew Corrigan said the movement alone won't be enough to oust incumbents.

"Do they have energy? Yes. Have they been getting into the media? Yes, but they still haven't sold me on the fact that they can swing elections," Corrigan said. He added, however, that tea party activists could be more influential if they work with Republicans against Democrats.

And for Wilkinson, it doesn't just stop at voting out the lawmakers who supported the measure.

"When they leave office, we're going to make sure the private sector is aware of who they are and we'll make it virtually impossible for them to have a job even after they leave office," Wilkinson said. "Wherever they are, we will be there. We are not stopping. We're not going away. This is just the beginning."


Tea Party Rebellion Growing After Vote
Monday, 22 Mar 2010
By: David A. Patten

The backlash against healthcare-reform has just begun, but already it's clear that tea party leaders plan to keep fighting.

Some tea party activists are leaving posts on conservative grass-roots Web sites implying that they will resort to civil disobedience, presumably by refusing to obey the individual mandate and purchase healthcare insurance.

"Well, they got their 216 votes," stated a participant on the Resistnet.com social networking site for conservatives. "How many of us are going to go along with this? I don't know about you all, but I will not."

One nihilistic post on SmartGirlPolitics.com, the up-and-coming networking site for conservative women, even remarked: "Close all of your accounts, stop paying taxes, stop producing, shut America completely down."

SmartGirlPolitics co-founder Teri Christoph informed Newsmax via e-mail on Monday afternoon: "Our group and the groups we work with don't advocate this kind of tactic. Our position is that we don't give up the fight, we work hard to become better activists, and we set our sights on the midterm elections."

GOP leaders, meanwhile, have called on grass-roots leaders to tone down or channel activists' anger in the aftermath of the vote.

Speaking on a weekly conference call to conservative grass-roots leaders Monday afternoon, Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price cautioned: "Many across this land are incredibly angry about this. And I think it's important as leaders in the coalition that all of you work as diligently as you can to focus that anger and that passion into a positive avenue of being irritated with the folks that put this in place at the federal level, as opposed to anywhere else, and that the opportunities for correcting this are in November. And if we concentrate on that and work positively for that, we'll be just fine."

How enduring the anger, and how it will impact the midterm elections, remains to be seen. But there are indications that an energized conservative base is already reacting to Sunday's vote, which saw a last-minute deal by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., give Democrats they needed to pass the measures that grassroots activists see as a blatant federal takeover of healthcare.

Less than 24 hours after the vote, for example, the FireThe219 Web site went live. A blog created by The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, the site targets the 219 House members who voted for healthcare reform.

"Fire the 219 is dedicated to removing from power all 219 members of Congress who voted to destroy the finest health care system in the world on March 21, 2010, through any and all legal means possible," the Web site declares.

Its No. 1 target not surprisingly: Stupak.

Other Democratic congressmen listed among the site's top 10 targets: Rep. John Boccieri of Ohio, Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, Rep. Allen Boyd of Florida, Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Rep. Solomon Ortiz of Texas, Rep. Bill Owens of New York, Rep. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, and Scott Murphy of New York.

The Tea Party Patriots organization responded to the defeat as well. It posted a petition to "Repeal the Bill."

The group's objective is to gather 1 million signatures.

Several other tea party organizations are holding conference calls to plan their next moves. They include the Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party and the American Liberty Alliance.