A post by Pat
Eric Odom, organizer and spokesman for the Tea Party movement, was interviewed on Fox News today about the movement’s future.
BW: What does the Tea Party want? What are they looking for as they continue to go forward? Obviously, you look at the poll that’s encouraging that some people are sort of glomming on to what you stand for?
EO: It really is simple. Our government, Congress, Senate, is elected and gives an oath to uphold the Constitution. Right now, through legislation that’s being proposed, they’re not doing what they’re suppose to do to uphold the Constitution. Also, what’s interesting about a lot of the polls including the one you cited earlier on the show, it’s clear all polls out there show the majority of the country do not support current proposed health care legislation. Why is it that those who are elected to represent us refuse to reflect the desires of the country? And that’s why you see the outrage out here and that’s why we’re going to take out some incumbents next year.
BW: So you’re going to move into campaign mode?
EO:Absolutely, and we’re starting to see this at a local level and a lot of people say that the Tea Party movement has gotten a little bit quieter and that’s true because what’s going on behind the scenes, you see it organizing across the country….
It’s phenomenal how rapidly the movement has grown and gained strength. It is, of course, essential to move at the grassroots level. How will the GOP hierarchy react in terms of fielding a national candidate? In other words, are they stuck on stupid?
And what’s with that Fox News poll showing 31% haven’t heard of the Tea Party movement?
He is right, the silence is deafening. You have no idea how ANGRY people are, and I live in SoCAl. I work for a small business and not one day goes by that people that come in to our office are not aware of what this administration is doing. Every day they are venting to us, I tell them where to go on the net to vent and take action, they need to become educated in the constitution and history. People do not know history! People better bone up and I think that is where the quiet time comes in, people are getting ready for next year. Watch and listen people get ready to take action! Thank you Tammy for your service to our country, YOU ARE AWESOME!!!
The “media” is looking for a one person spokeperson for all the Tea Parties and 912 Projects. This guy interviewed come off looking stupid to me when he tried to say what” everyone’ is doing. How does he know it is a “quiet time” and how does he know everyone is gearing up a campaign to field candidates?
It is winter time here but they are raising cane all over the nation with noisey rallies .
It would be nice if after the FIRST NATIONAL TEA PARTY CONVENTION Sarah Palin comes out as a leader of the pack but short of that a 23% leaderless political party isn’t all that bad.
Not a serious interview- they could have called me up and I could have given them my dumb guesses as to what is going on.
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Eric Odom is correct when he acknowledges that the Tea Party is experiencing a quiet time, but it’s not for lack of activism – it’s due to community organizing. We are thoroughly engaged all over the country in our local issues as well as state and national. Being quiet is not to be mistaken for being inactive – there is definitely ‘behind the scenes’ work being done!
Odom is one of the leaders of the national tea party movement so he does have a good pulse on what he’s seeing across the nation and yes, we are fielding candidates – we’ve been doing it since last spring. In Tucson, we just put a tea party member into our city council in November – an enormous defeat for the incumbent liberal Democrat who was very well known and well funded. Our candidate was written off as an unknown who could not win in an area that is 3:1 in the Democrats favor. We almost had another tea party candidate win in a different ward losing by only 240 votes. This was a huge shake up in a largely left city! In 2009, we have also seen two women run for city council in different AZ towns who are tea party and Smart Girl Politics members -and they were both brand new candidates running against well-known and well-funded incumbents. It is a trend that will carry into more local and state elections in 2010 and will have the momentum to flush the current GOP moderates down the collective toilet with their friends across the aisle in 2012.
The days of the RNC selecting their ‘brand’ of candidates is over. As long as the Bush element of the party has a stronghold of the GOP, they will lose more elections and more members – to US! Our grassroots candidates running for congress in Arizona’s CD-8 are all part of the tea party movement and we have given the incumbent Obamunist, Gabrielle Giffords (a Pelosi-mini-me), a reason to chafe. I also wish to add that our candidates may be running on the GOP ticket, but they are not RINOs nor are they thrilled w/ the direction of the party. The best policy is to change the party from within or have a third party (tea party) emerge and shake things up. We are witnessing such activity taking place.
Look what’s been accomplished since last spring on a grassroots level. We just began the fight to take this nation back this year, so think of what we can accomplish between now and 2012. Our focus should not be solely on elections, but also really working with the public and yes, community organizing. The difference between OUR community organization efforts and the left’s activities is this: we are working to liberate people from the bondage of liberalism. It’s liberalism that has been responsible for enslaving minds and diminishing the quality of life for very real people with very real difficulties. It is a cruel and horrendous crime the left have perpetrated onto citizens – and all for what? So government can have ultimate power. How truly disgusting and sickening!
Obama and his nest of libtards had better take note: The Tea Party is just getting started! We are everywhere; we are not going away and we’re getting in your g**damn face!
The video and its contents made me a bit anxious ; thus my first response. Since then I have stumbled upon a more comprehensive news article than the interview. The Washington Post broke down what is going on with the Tea Party Movement on 12/10/09: http://is.gd/5lFo2
Looks like the Wash. Post did some real research and did not try to get one spokesperson I have never heard of to tell “all”.
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Quote from the WaPo article you cite:
Eric Odom has creds to speak about the Tea Party movement. He has his point of view about the direction of the movement, i.e., he thinks it should concentrate efforts locally. Granted, he did express that opinion as a given in the interview. I’m sure others have counter-arguments. Frankly, I was hoping to hear them in response to the interview, but I think the man deserves recognition as an insider.
Many are asking the question, “What next?”, for the Tea Partiers. Perhaps a more centralized organization will emerge from the Nashville conference. I would like that to happen. Right now it is a loose conglomeration of grassroots groups. What could better highlight that fact than for Eric Odom, with his extensive history in the movement, to be pretty much an unknown personality?
Pat
Thanks Pat Ess…made me feel like East Coast Meets Mid West. I have never heard of ALA but I have heard of Freedomworks and PatrickPLeahy. That helped to read those names.
I’m hoping that as we kick out the bad candidates and put in place new ones willing to uphold Constitutionality that the “norm” doesn’t take place–and in the end they become corrupt.
I belong to one of Glenn Beck’s 9/12 We Surround Them groups here in PA and at our meeting last month that was one of the big concerns addressed. Our leaders to easily get led astray when they learn how to play the political games that, in the end, corrupt them all over again. I believe that is one of the biggest issues the Tea Parties and 9/12 movement needs to address–keeping our fingers on these people and making them accountable.
I personally support term limits on all members of Congress and the Sentate. But, as a nation we’ve been throwing that around for so long I don’t know if it is feasible or that people have the will to agree to get it done. That would be a big help in keeping out corruption.
I believe setting term limits would require a constitutional convention. You guys trust THESE GUYS currently in congress with having the whole enchalada on the table!? No! We must stay engaged, now and forevermore and make our choices known at the ballot box. WE set the term limits via the electoral process. The only way these old hags stay there so long is because the electorate let them. Never again can we let ourselves become complacent so as to just let what is going on, be “the norm”. That is unacceptable – if one year of the once hasn’t taught us that, we deserve what we get.