The Voice of Merrill

Seven Deadly TEA Party Sins

Amendment II of the Constitution of the United States:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The Constitution, in its brilliance, is intentionally vague.  The Second Amendment never assigns a definition to the word “Arms.”  One would believe that a well regulated Militia may be at liberty to use any means of arming itself in an effort to secure a free State.  The leading Militia in today’s revolution is the TEA Party.  In their battle against an oppressive state, they have taken new “Arms” including legal challenges, community organizations, underground media and voter education.  Today’s Minute Men are loose collection of farmers, businessmen, lawyers, blue-collar and white-collar workers, the patriotic minded and the socially active.

After attending the first TEA Party Leadership Training Conference, sponsored by the National TEA Party Coalition in Dallas this weekend, some concerns have arisen that could be used to harm the TEA Party.  The recent successes of the TEA Party in New York’s 23^rd District in preventing Dede Scozzafava election as a RINO and their success in providing a victory to the more conservative Scott Brown in Massachusetts, have given additional credibility to this grassroots movement.  The TEA Party was the driving force in the Town Hall meetings that led to the delay in passing Health Care Destruction legislation.  The Left understand the threat of the TEA Party and have begun a concerted effort to thwart their works.  The Right know they cannot succeed without TEA Party support but aren’t excited by the thought of relinquishing control to a group of politically inexperienced ideologues.

The following is a rough outline of Seven Deadly TEA Party sins.  These have not been assembled to in any way hinder the admirable and patriotic works of the TEA Party rather their identification is to offer the TEA Party an honest insider’s evaluation of areas that may be targets for improvement.  Without internal audits, any organization will succumb to its own flaws.  Consider this a first step toward strengthening the resolve of this fledgling Militia moving forward.

1. Emotional Drive – The double edged sword

• The TEA Party was borne out of frustration.  Without passion the TEA Party could not exist.  However, there must be moderation between passion and a logical and tactical approach.  A constant temperance of knee-jerk reactions and a reevaluation of emotional responses regarding how they relate to long term and sweeping goals is necessary to avoid showing vulnerability to those seeking to disrupt and sidetrack the movement.

1. Love of/from Republicans

• Perhaps the greatest external threat to the TEA Party movement is the Republican Party.  Just as the TEA Party is set on eliminating RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) through infiltration and pressure, the Republican Party is also infiltrating the ranks of the TEA Party.  Michael Steele says the Republican Party needs the support of the TEA Party and that their direction will be a guiding force for the Republicans.  Most believe this to be lip service to the organization.  However, with so many conservatives within the TEA Party likely to vote for the more conservative candidate, the Republicans stand to gain the most from the TEA Party’s efforts.  Expect the Republicans to continue pitching TEA Party ideas to the organization through the election season.
• Cesspool to Hot tub.  Vetting the candidates not susceptible to conversion and easily coerced upon arrival in their respective State legislatures or Congress will be a monumental challenge.   Even respected Conservatives erred in their journey when granted unexpected power.  Once a TEA Party approved candidate wins their election the Republicans will immediately target them as allies.  In doing so, the Republicans will be working to gather numbers in their army while looking to draw the credibility of the TEA Party candidate.  This has already happened to Scott Brown before he has even been sworn in.  Thus far, and fortunately he has been steadfast.

1. Fragmentation

• Division will lead to implosion.  The TEA Party has already been splintered.  The Nashville fiasco and other offshoot TEA Party groups capitalizing on the brand have emerged.  Michael Patrick Leahy pointed out that if differences with the group are so numerous that resolution cannot be found, fragmentation is the solution.  The point is well taken in theory; however, in practice this sin will divide and allow outside adversaries to conquer.  The initial instinct to solve this issue would be to form some sort of a “Big Tent” as the Republicans attempted.  Two issues arise with the “Big Tent”.  First, the “Big Tent” has never worked because the people under the tent have never subscribed 100% to the theory.  This is a human flaw, not a political one, but the results are sub-par.  Second, the “Big Tent” should not be necessary if members of the TEA Party are tolerant of one another provided they come back to the core principles as described by the Dallas TEA Party:

i.      Limited Government

ii.      Fiscal Responsibility

iii.      Personal Accountability

iv.      The Rule of Law

v.      National Sovereignty

1. Intolerance – Dallas is heading in the right direction

• Unification under these tenets should provide a clearer direction.  Note that none of these principles touch on social issues; the most divisive for any conservative movement.  Note that the charter documents of the United States do very little in the way of regulating any social elements.  If the TEA Party is serious and focused on these fundamentals, then any party crasher seeking to distract a group with issues of abortion, gay marriage or religion would not be a concern.  During the keynote speech of the Leadership Tea Party a gentleman sought to derail the group by firing the abortion gun at Richard Viguerie.  Viguerie has defended himself for 50 years against such attacks and is always prepared for such an event.  However, he shot back a standard conservative response and the crowd became upset with the gentleman for taking a stand for what he believed.  This the same tactic the TEA Party used at town hall meetings.  The biggest effect at the town hall meetings came from those who reacted so passionately and yet too many in attendance fell for the same tactic.  At a TEA Party conference abortion should never come up and when it does it does not deserve recognition. Abortion is one of the most fragmenting social issues of the century.  Abortion, as other social issues, is also not one of the core principles of the TEA Party.  Social issues are a distraction, divisive and will be used as weapons by those seeking to do the TEA Party harm.

1. Undefined Leadership/Direction

• The TEA Party has made a commitment to be less like the “spider” and more like the “starfish” in Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom’s The Starfish and the Spider – The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations. The premise is that a spider is vulnerable as cutting off its head destroys the beast but an organization that has no centralized leadership, similar to a starfish, may suffer blows to one organ but survive and regenerate the damaged section.  Again, this is an utopic look at the world as no leaderless organizations or societies have ever found lasting success.  In fact, the closest examples of successful “starfish” organizations are terror networks.  Even within the Al Qaidas and Talibans of the world, there is still a central brain.  Examples of Indian nations that survived for long periods without a centralized leadership neglect to say that eventually, they fell to the power of a well organized military.  The most successful organizations throughout time have a very well defined leadership model with men and women of high integrity at the helm.  The glaring impairment to the TEA Party should it implement such a structure would be the abandoning of the grassroots movement; something the TEA Party holds very near and dear.  Finding the proper hybrid between the Spider and the Starfish will ensure continued flexibility while maintaining direction.  Finding the right mix is something the Patriot Caucus has already identified as a goal and is working on with impressive vigor.
• The TEA Party has yet to define what it wants if to assuage successfully the onslaught of big government, unbridled spending and destruction of personal liberties.  Certainly, like the Revolutionary Patriots, the TEA Party Patriots unite against an oppressive regime.  However, once victory is attained, the TEA Party must identify the permanent changes to make.  The TEA Party is a collaboration of people eager for the government to do nothing.  Ideally, TEA Party favored legislators would go to their respective posts and introduce bills repealing the government’s roll.  TEA Party members will be asking the voters to elect them to go to the Capitols to do less work for the people.  The Progressives, on the other hand, will be campaigning on the promise of delivering more to the people.  This has enormous resonance with those who are either suffering or believe themselves to be suffering.  As Alexander Frasier Tyler said

“A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that Democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a Dictatorship.”

The recently reported, Contract For America is a step in the right direction.  However, unless this contract lays out specific details and guidelines for achieving long-term goals, it will be another charter with no teeth.  There must be something to present to the American people to assist in conveying the message that liberty, which is often taken for granted, is far more valuable than any other asset they may possess.

1. Corruption

• As long as the TEA Party does not have some sort of leadership model in place, they are “winging it.”  This opens the door for a smooth talker to convince a few who will spread the word virally through the TEA Party channels.  A Trojan Horse takeover of the TEA Party is as much a possibility as the National Precinct Alliance’s plan to perform a Trojan Horse takeover of local Republican organizations.  This may start as a well intentioned individual who becomes very active and highly visible within the organization.  Over time, as people gravitate toward natural leaders, one could potentially begin issuing marching orders that benefit their own personal agenda rather than the long-term goals of the group.  Just as Republicans of the 90s found themselves corrupted over time, well intentioned TEA Party members may lose sight, become corrupted and cause problems for the organization.

1. Hubris

• Republicans have the power to take down the TEA Party from the outside, but the most sizeable risk to the group is from within.  Hubris combines many of the themes of prior sins but adds a new element of foolish pride.  This was widely evident at the TEA Party Leadership training.  Talk of high school curriculums and blind applause permeated those in attendance.  The TEA Party must put itself in historical perspective.  The TEA Party is in its infancy and less than a year old.  It has had tremendous influence during that time, but just as the fervor of Hope and Change quickly eroded, the cheers for this group fighting for liberty are bound to subside as America’s focus changes from the economy and taxes to other issues not included in the TEA Party’s charter.  Many activist groups have sprung over the two and half centuries America has been fighting to gain and sustain her freedom.  Once influential political parties are little more than footnote references in today’s discussions.
• The perverse belief that for what the TEA Party stands is the only true and right cause is of narrow mind, short sight, intolerance and contrary to the Founding Fathers’ vision of America.  The only principles on which the Founding Fathers were able to agree, after many arguments and much convincing, were that they wanted to be free of British rule and that they would create a country that granted people certain inalienable rights.  History would instruct TEA Party members that there were, in reality, a number of Founding Fathers whose political leaning more closely resembles today’s liberal Democrats.  The TEA Party is very Jeffersonian, but may not accurately describe the climate of the Continental Congress; however, more likely it reflects the spirit.
• The TEA Party is a bias group.  Whether the members have an interest in accepting their bias or not, they will continue to be a bias group as that is the nature of politics.  Without coming to terms with the facts of the movement and putting it into historical perspective, the TEA Party will be just as the Whigs, Bull Moose and other non-third party groups which were necessary in their time, but ultimately short lived.

It is my sincerest hope that the TEA Party will heed these warnings not as threats but rather as an assessment of weaknesses before those weaknesses become liabilities.  Suppose the Chinese had better identified vulnerabilities in their Great Wall before the Mongols were able to break through, or reinforcements had shown up at the Alamo before Santa Anna destroyed it; those steadfast strongholds would have changed history.  I sincerely hope that the TEA Party recognizes my observations as a patriotic act rather than an attack on the organization.

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