Leaderless, but not Rudderless

As Democrats prepare to launch a full frontal assault on the Tea Party movement, it seems appropriate to go on the record with a few thoughts.

Public opinion of the Tea Party movement is mixed, but growing steadily more favorable. Media depiction is, by and large, intensely derogatory, degrading and delirious. Those we oppose have called us every name in the book, even making up a few new ones especially in our honor.

A recent poll of Tea Partiers gives some insight. The heart of the movement is our belief in the United States Constitution, and the grand, unique experiment in liberty which it facilitated. The primary concerns of our members lie in the arenas of finance and defense. I always think of the goal as being "to put government back in its box." In my head, government is like a giant, living ooze that was once a child's toy, like Silly Putty, but has mutated into a suffocating, ever-expanding force for evil. I want to shrink it by about 80%, put it back in its box. Note that I do not specify a level of government - they are all much too bloated and oppressive. The poll painted us as a leaderless group, implying that we might be drifting without purpose or course. We are leaderless, in the traditional sense of the word, but we are certainly not without leaders.

Who are the Tea Partiers? We are the best that America has to offer, in many ways.

We are strong, self-reliant people who work hard, spend responsibly and help those less fortunate than ourselves because it feels good and is the right, moral thing to do.

We are all leaders - or nearly all of us. Each of us is involved in this fight because we believe it is our solemn duty as citizens, as "We The People," to speak out, loudly, when the supreme law of our land is being used to line the bottom of the birdcage.

We are passionate about our country and its rare and precious freedoms, we believe in our fellow Americans. We believe that, left to their own devices, with no safety net, most men would rise to the challenge and make decent lives for themselves. We wish there had never been such things as Income Taxes, Social Security and Medicare. We certainly don't want government healthcare! We believe in the goodness of Americans, and the ability of private churches, charities and other organizations to take care of the less fortunate infinitely more efficiently than government.

Though the majority of our members are Christian, and virtually all strongly support Christian values and morals, those issues are not leading our fight. This seems to have caused some confusion. It shouldn't - it's really quite simple and logical. If we do not rein in the growth of government and government spending, there will be no country left. The ooze will suffocate all who produce. What good will it do to battle abortion if we are leaving the child we save with a future of indentured servitude to pay for our generation's fiscal irresponsibility? We believe in the power of a free America, and we know the contagious nature of success. We know that by bringing our nation closer to her founding principles, we will be improving her morality as a natural consequence.

This is the epic battle of our lifetimes. We aren't playing games, we won't "get bored" and go home. Losing is simply not an option. It is cold, hard, statistical fact that the growth of government in the last two years - even the last ten years - has been exponential in both size and spending. It is impossible - not merely difficult or uncomfortable - impossible to continue this behavior indefinitely. What do you think will ultimately happen to the debt our government is incurring? Have you thought about it? This government continues to borrow ever more every year, and they never pay a penny of the principle. The debt never shrinks. Borrow more, pay this year's interest...hmm, the interest is a lot higher this year than it was last...

We do not see this as a partisan problem - both parties have been guilty of budgetary abuse. We are sick and tired of politicians who buy votes with our money. We have a fair understanding of the Constitution, at least enough to know that the founders never intended any branch or level of government to serve as a cradle-to-grave nanny, standing ready to kiss our boo-boos when we fall down.

We believe in personal responsibility and self-determination. We ask only the freedom to make our own choices and follow our chosen course with as little bureaucratic involvement as possible, and we pledge to accept whatever consequences our choices bring, for better or worse. We do not believe that we, through the simple fact of our existence, are entitled to any worldly goods purchased by the production of others. We believe ourselves adequate to such tasks as deciding, based on our personal health and circumstances, whether to purchase health insurance or take a chance and pay our doctors out of pocket, as needed. We resent deeply any implication that we aren't smart enough to understand the wisdom of the political class, or appreciate their grand designs. We understand, quite clearly, and we reject, quite completely.

We reject the government's vision of this country as composed of feckless incompetents incapable of self-sustenance.

Ours is the ultimate "big tent party." Our platform is the Constitution, our only requirement is love of liberty.

We do not have leaders because we do not need to be led. We are each on our own personal crusade to save the nation we love. We all have different pet causes and passions - this tends to happen among strong, fiercely independent thinkers - but we are all working toward the grand goal of restoring America to her former glory as the land where all things are possible because free men are encouraged to grow wealth through hard work and ingenuity.

This video illustrates the point beautifully. We are "We The People."