Tea Parties, The Republican Party And The Future (Part 2)

In Part 1 below, I gave a little personal background information that I think is relevant to my discussion on the Tea Parties, the Republican Party and the future.

I was elected Salem Republican Chair in the Spring of 2008. I had decided to work from the inside to "reform" the Republican Party rather than from the outside to fight it. And there is no question, we needed reform. Just look at our choice of Presidential nominee in 2008. While I was proud to support McCain and work for his election once he was our nominee and Obama was the opposition, he was far from my first choice. Frankly, it was John McCain's brand of Republicanism that I was fighting against. That's why I was a Fred Thompson supporter in the primary. Anyway, I digress.

I first saw the Tea Party up close in the Spring of 2009 (around the time of its inception). I was in San Francisco working on a case and I went to lunch in Oakland on tax day. I was with a California lawyer and we came upon a huge crowd of people. She asked me what was going on and I explained to her that it was a Tea Party. Her response? "We don't have those type of people in California." I told her "you have them, they've just been quiet...and I don't think they're gonna be quiet anymore." She was clearly unhappy.

Over the next year, I was encouraged by the growth of the Tea Party. I saw them up close and personal and I knew that they were essentially fighting the same fight I was fighting. They were fighting for Constitutional principles, smaller government, less taxes, accountability, transparency, etc. etc. I attended the July 4th Tea Party in Roanoke and I saw passionate folks just trying to make a difference.

I didn't see racism, homophobia, hate or anger. I saw frustrated citizens participating in the purest form of political speech. It was rough but it was beautiful. I was excited, challenged and, frankly, a little uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable in a good way. There was clearly a paradigm shift underway. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, it felt like the moment when the Bible was being translated into a common language that the common man could directly access for the first time. These were citizens directly accessing their government and taking ownership of their futures. I don't care what side of the political aisle you come from, this is how it's supposed to work.

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So I'm rambling again. Time to take a break. Looks like my post will ultimately be a three parter. I'll finish up with how I view the relationship between the Tea Parties and the Republican Party and where we go from here.