Good for them. Romney is the antithesis of Tea Party principles. I’ll have FreedomWorks’ Tabitha Hale on Tammy Radio tomorrow to discuss this development and addition Tea Party news.
Here’s the FreedomWorks statement:
After months of distancing himself from the tea party, suddenly Mitt Romney wants to be one of us.
That’s right, the big-spending former governor who signed Massachusetts’ very own version of ObamaCare is scheduled to take the stage this Sunday at a rally in Concord, NH to lecture real conservatives about limited government and fiscal responsibility.
FreedomWorks and tea party groups from around the region will be there. But not to hear more platitudes from an establishment hack posing as an outsider.
We’ll be there to tell the real story about Mitt Romney, and to protest his record, which represents everything the tea party stands against.
After all, if we don’t hold candidates accountable for their actions while in office, who will? If we let ourselves be used as pawns to provide cover for the establishment, then what is the point of having the tea party?
We’re standing on principle, not politics. Will you join us?
DETAILS
Where: Rollins Park
Concord, NH 03301, USAWhen: Sunday September 4, 2011
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm EDT
And this coverage from Politico:
FreedomWorks will protest Mitt Romney appearance
A top tea party organizing group, FreedomWorks, is planning to protest Mitt Romney’s appearance this weekend at a New Hampshire stop of a bus tour intended to encourage tea party sympathizers to participate in the Republican presidential nominating process.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is among the leading candidates for the GOP presidential nomination but is viewed warily by tea party activists, who believe him to be insufficiently conservative and particularly blame him for the Massachusetts state health care overhaul he signed into law…
FreedomWorks, which had been participating in the Tea Party Express’s tour and had helped turn out activists at rallies during prior stops, decided it could no longer be affiliated with the tour, said Brendan Steinhauser, a lead organizer for FreedomWorks.
Instead, it began working with local New Hampshire tea party groups to organize a counter rally set for about the same time in the same park in Concord as Romney’s speech.
“We have to defend our brand against poseurs,” Steinhauser said…
FreedomWorks had voiced quiet displeasure with the Tea Party Express’s decision to grant speaking time at a rally in Utah earlier this summer to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who has been targeted by FreedomWorks. But when Romney’s participation was announced, Steinhauser said that represented “a major line we would not cross.
“If we can’t make any distinction between any of the candidates, if we’re just going to provide cover for the establishment candidates, then what is the point of having the tea party?” Steinhauser said. “We’ve got to have a brand, and we can’t water down our brand.”
Now I happen to think this is a good idea, but many of you may not. feel free to issue guff in Comments one way or the other 😉
I dunno. I don’t particularly care for Romney but I gotta ask if FreedomWorks would get this riled up if it weren’t an election season. Plus, aren’t Tea Party groups autonomous? Did this TP get funding from FreedomWorks? Who decided that FreedomWorks was the voice of all of Tea Party-dom? Seems kind of big brother-ish to me.
Let him show up and then be booed from the stage as soon as he opens his RINO pie-hole. The same would go for all the other RINOs out there.
LMAO! And BTW- can I get an Amen !!!
It isn’t just that Romney is the antithesis of Tea Party principles. What bothers me most is that he’s had nothing to do with the TP movement. He never spoke at any TP events, didn’t fight with us when ObamaCare was being rammed thru, said nothing when we were accused of the Tucson shooting, he endorsed a lot of candidates last year after they won their primary, etc. And now all of a sudden he’s on board – leading from behind.
Any PalinTAMS going to the rally in Manchester, NH on Monday?
Mittens is about as much Tea Party as Obama is…
There are two alternative paradigms for us. One is that the Tea Party supplants the party machine. The other is that the Tea Party makes the party machines answerable to the people. Tammy advocates the first. I think the second is more realistic. I don’t think the machines are going away; not unless the nation completely collapses. The sad irony is, if we can save the world, we’ll also save the machines. And we can’t save the world without bringing the machines on board. I don’t expect to see a President Palin, but a President Romney seems to me not unlikely. Given that expectation, I want candidate Romney to feel accountable to Palin, rather than regard her as an adversary. That’s how real world good can happen. Maybe you disagree; maybe you think President Romney is as bad as President Obama, or even worse, because he’ll further sully our banner. Maybe you’re right — but if you are, then I think we’re already doomed, so we might as well go home and enjoy what remains of our lives. Am I compromised? Yes, absolutely. It’s a compromised world, and there’s no way my ideology will prevail, not in today’s USA. The only way I’ll avoid compromise is to join or form a new group or nation or something. I haven’t found such a thing yet. So I’m stuck here. I hear you when you plea for what’s best. I wouldn’t want to lose sight of the concept of “best”. But in the real world, “best” is sometimes the enemy of “better”. So I’ll honor “best”, but I’m standing as a practical advocate of “better”. I will not make Romney the enemy. If we become enemies, it’s because he makes an enemy of me, as the Democrat leaders have done with their disgusting hatemongering. By the way, I think Palin would be with me on this point. I don’t see Palin as going out of her way to make enemies. She’s seeking common ground, even with RINOs. Heck, I may end up with a “Romney” sticker on my car before this cycle is done.
Rather than “Issue Guff” I will ‘State My Beefs’
(Hat tip to the late great Joe Pyne,LA’s original confrontationial TV talk show host(Tammy may be ‘too young’ to remember him…) But I digress.
Well Done: The obvious transparent opportunist play at the Tea Party Rally.
Medium Well: Still waiting for his 2,500 word Policy Paper written in his own hand on any subject on his Facebook page.
Medium: Acts like a CEO, not a leader. Too Power Pointy.
Rare: Someone said “Too Plastic”
Raw: Scott Brown’s Uncle
And the ONLY statistic that matters? Facebook Page ‘Likes”
Palin: 3,231,437
Romney: 1,095,246
Bachmann: 462,540
Perry: 143,405
The DB: 22,844,412
Lady Gaga: 43,070,866
Eminem: 46,354,410
Therefore: Eminem for President!!!
Ciao’
posted 8/31 840pm Texans for Palin Time.
PS- Tammy is working Labor Day. Now that’s a great Holiday to sub for Laura, lots of opportunity to talk Unions, Employment and Palin!
I support the Freedomworks protest. Romney is an infamous flip flopper; positioning himself opportunistically depending upon the public sentiment du jour. The waters are so muddied with all (except Huntsman) claiming the conservative mantle, that efforts to create distinctions and clarity are essential. Non-violent protest and freedom of speech are honorable American traditions. The old machine way of taking care of business where the next in line was automatically annointed without serious vetting has proven woefully inadequate. Today we need a candidate of substance with the right stuff. Romney is not the man for this moment in history. What sends that message more clearly than his attempt to distance himself from the teaparty movement and then reverse course and seek to embrace it? That is not a demonstration of vision or leadership; only of political maneuvering. It’s appropriate to call him out on such failings. Honesty and scrutiny must be top priorities. There is too much at stake to play it any other way.
I agree with you 100% about Romney. He definitely is no friend of the Tea Party nor does he represent its’ core values. I think it is the local TP who actually ‘failed’ in this instance by not denying Romney the chance to seize an opportunity to appear TP friendly. With that said, I don’t think it is FreedomWorks’ job to protest at a TP event. Nor will the optics bode well for us on network news. Wouldn’t their energy be put to better use by tutoring the local TP leaders in what the principles of TP are? They do a wonderful job in training citizen activists. It’s possible this is a perfect opportunity to train TP leaders on how to say ‘no thank you’ to high profile politicians. It is also a chance to see if the NH TP is actually a TP or a fake one like some of those in FL.
Karl with a K
I also agree with you, but not with Freedomworks planed protest. The “fair and balanced” establishment news will report that the “Tea Party is divided, bickering in the ranks and not so open to everyone as they claim.” Let Romney, the flip flopper, speak without boos and cat calls, and without applause. He’ll get the message, we TPers have heard you and rejected you, thank you, but no thank you, get off the podium, how’s next to speak? If that were to happen, I wonder if the press would report the truth or just say “Mitt Romney received a cool reception at the Tea Party meeting.”
It’s called growing pains. Every movement begins with purists who debate and refine the principles of the movement. They create a basic, miniumun standard upon which all agree. As the movement grows others join. Some of these folks are of the “lesser of two evils” mode, but still agree with the principles of the group. The larger the movement, the more difficult it becomes for all to agree and the more internal debates occur. It happened in anti-slavery movement, the temperance movement, the women’s right movement and the right to life movement. That it happens with TEA is an indication of growth. It is unpleasant, but should not shock anyone. It should not devolve in a pissing contest with folks claiming to be more TEA than others. There are merits to both points of view. The purists need to see the need for pragmatic ideas which bring small gains, but the pragmatists need to keep the purist ideals in view.
Mittens up coming appearance means he sees TEA matters. Good. On the other hand, he needs to see that TEA is serious and will not be bought off.
In 1980 Reagan wanted the Right to Life line in NY. Even though he did not meet the standard the party had set, many argued he should have it anyway. The purists insisted he needed to be treated in the same manner as all other candidates. I had the opportunity to question him. His responses, while cordial, indicated to those present that he did not meet the standard we had set. We ran our own candidate instead of giving away our endorsement. It was a hard decision, but after much dialogue and thought, we felt it was important to do.
I do not know how TEA will deal with those who seek a TEA approved rating for their own purposes and not to “help” TEA, but I do know this indicates the importance of TEA and it would be helpful to all if our wordsmiths begin to address the phenomenon.
Bravo! Excellent points! John Hawkins has some excellent points in his article today:
[sorry, link to rightwingnews redacted due to no links rule]
Still, even though I agree wholeheartedly, it’s not good for the movement for a “protest.” Strategically inserting people in the audience to boo Romney off the stage would have more impact and the TP would not appear splintered. This public war of sorts will be the story instead of the fact that folks in New Hampshire(NEW HAMPSHIRE!)are just as fed up as folks in the heartland.
My bad. I should have read the rules. Thanks!
Excellent article on this subject in today’s Boston Globe. I’ll post the link to the TAM-Wire.
Would Romney be better than an Obama? I have no doubt. But can a Romney beat an Obama and would he the best choice for this Country? No, I think, on both counts. Sorry, but it’s too late for him to try and win Tea “Party” approval. It’s phony. I agree with Freedom Works stand.
Romney is part of the “machine”. That machine won’t be supporting Sarah Palin. But that just doesn’t matter, and the establishment STILL doesn’t get it. Tea Party choices have done just fine without the backing or approval of said “machine”. Once Palin announces her candidacy, she’ll have all the money she needs, while the (irrelevant) RNC will be standing on street corners with a tin cup.
The times have changed–forever. Don’t have to do away with the Republican Party, but the Republican Party will have to become the party of true conservatism. It has already been infused with TEA—and the brewing has just begun. 🙂
IMO only Palin has a chance in this age and time to beat BHO. Time will tell. Also, who besides Mittens, thinks he is entitled to be the POTUS choice? Is it just his life plan that tells him this is the next step? If anything, he should have gotten the msg that he is not what folks have been hoping for. Perhaps, that is why he seems to keep changing his position and now seeks to “embrace” TEA. So MITTENS, JUST WHAT ARE YOU GOOD FOR?
Kudo’s to Brendan Steinhauser . Hopefully, they can make all “Establishment” campaign’s irrelevant and meaningless so to purge all R.I.N.O’s at primary time.
I say let the man speak. Then someone should shout from the crowd and ask Mittenz why he wants to be President. I guarantee he can’t answer that question.
ANY people who made the decision to allow romney to speak at this rally MUST BE FIRED!…it shows they have no idea what the tea party is all about
Pretty funny coming from FreedomWorks “…if we can’t make distinctions between any of the candidates….”
Maybe Dick Armey of FreedomWorks should make a distinction between LEGAL immigrants and ILLEGAL aliens! Dick Armey called Americans who oppose illegal immigration as “militants”. Just google Dick Armey and AMNESTY or go to their website the scathing letter from Dick Armey is posted on their website.
FreedomWorks is a sham an old RHINO dressed in Teaparty clothing! And no I’m not supporting Mitt Romney because he is SOFT on illegal immigration too.