One of my greatest complaints with the Tea Party/Tom Morrissey/Rob Haney crowd is a lack of intellectual consistency, so it's refreshing to see a little bit of common sense ruling the day today.
From an email sent out by GPTPP today:
A message to all members of Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots
Let Governor Brewer know that we would like her to VETO SB1402. Call and email her today!
http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2011/04/20/brewer-mulls-dont-tread-on-me-license-plate/
http://www.azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp
(602) 542-4331
The basis for opposition of this bill by the Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots, is that the Tea Party was founded to fight bigger government, and this bill creates a commitee appointed by Senate and House leadership and the Governor's office to disburse funding to tea parties.
The problem is that this is using public money and governmental regulation to raise funds for the Tea Party movement. One of our major tenets is self-reliance, based on the assumption of personal responsibility. Another is fiscal responsibility, which is directly tied to the size of government and a need to prioritize is spending and duties.
This bill violates our expressed principles in the Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots of Fiscal Responsibility. In addition, it violates a basic principle of our founders in that it is counterproductive in realizing self-sufficiency.
What this bill does is create a welfare system to fund the Tea Party, in the hopes that the Tea Party will return the favor and vote for those who create it.
In the future, who is to determine what is and is not an eligible "Tea Party" to receive disbursement funds?
Why, naturally, it is going to be unelected beaureaucrats appointed by party leaders in the State Government.
i.e. CZARS. Who do the House Speaker's, Senate President's and Governor's appointed bodies decide should receive funding? Do you just have to have the name, "tea party" in your corporate identity? What would stop La Raza, for instance, or ACORN, or SEIU or anybody else, like Bob down the street, from declaring themselves a tea party and receiving funding?
Taxpayer-funded corporate welfare is countermanded by the Tea Party's very existence, founding and purpose. To doubly offend with an expansion of government with a committee highly susceptible to political favors and machine building is quite simply unacceptable to any honest Tea Party member who wishes to reduce government spending, reduce dependence on government entitlements, and reduce corruption and machine building.
PLEASE call the Governor TODAY!!
Michael BaileyI'll try not to make praising the Tea Party a habit. ;-)
Director of Legislation
Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots
1 comment:
Way to go Mike! There are many of us in the tea party who agree with Mike on this. AND there are many of us who want Morrissey out! There were plenty of us who did not support him and still don't.
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