Constitution Party of Delaware Condemns Tea Party Factionalism

A post at Smart Girl Politics relays an "official statement from the Constitution Party of Delaware" by the party's state chair Earl Lofland condemning the recent announcement by the chairman of the Tea Party Express that the TPE will support "whoever the GOP nominates" in 2012.  Excerpt:

This week Amy Kramer, Chairman for the Tea Party Express stated "Tea Party Group Says It Will Support Whoever The GOP Nominates, Eve..."  Last year, when the TPE came to Delaware, to pull for Christine O'Donnell, I was very skeptical of their motives, asking the question; were they looking to support and defend the Constitution, as the founders originally intended, or was TPE only a shilll organization working covertly to promote the same initiatives and agendas that have been ongoing for at least 90 yrs...(reflections on the discovery by Mr Quigley in his book Tragedy and Hope)

It now is verified theTPE only endorses partisan views of one faction, and are not basing their decison on fundamental logic within the boundries of a limited government outlined in the Constitution. For the recent decison of TPE's Chair peson to make her decisions to discriminate any other candidates from other political factions, as the Chairman of The Constitition Party of Delaware,

If you are a member of, or support the views of the Tea Party Express; You are an enemy to the US Constitution. And are partakers of an organization who has infringed upon the rights of individuals to assemble based upon their affiliation to other political factions or having no affiliation to any faction at all. In Violation of what was erected when the Founders first declared Independence from a totalitarianism being forced upon the colonies by a tyrant in England.

The Constitution Party of Delaware therefore condemns the current decision of Amy Karmer in her decisions, and her organizations decisions of considering or disqualifying someone as a candidate for any elected office based upon the persons party affiliation and not upon the persons principles - whether or not they would uphold the oath to a sovereign God; to Support and Defend the Constitution against all its enemies foreign and domestic without any mental reservations.

NY-26: Davis Ain't Dead Yet

From WBFO:

The numbers may show a loss for independent candidate Jack Davis, but he says this is not the last you will see of him. Davis lost the 26th Congressional special election Tuedsay night. Davis hosted election party at Brennan's Bar on Transit Road in Amherst for his supporters. Davis says the independent candidates will continue to challenge the leaders of both the democratic and republican parties. . . . Davis said this race was only a milestone in an unfinished war.

Independent Marginalized by Mainstream Press in NY-26

From the Suffolk County Liberty Report:

Voters in New York’s 26^th Congressional District in Western New York are preparing to vote in a special election May 24^th to replace disgraced Republican Representative Chris Lee, the married “Craig’s List Congressman” whose solicitations of women on the internet was exposed earlier this year.

The race, which should be a slam-dunk for the GOP, is instead a more closely contested three-way race because self-financed faux “Tea Party” candidate Jack Davis has done well in the district. A Siena College poll taken April 26^th-27th, the most recent, reliable, independent poll, showed none of the three candidates with a majority. The leader was Republican Jane Corwin (36%), followed by Democrat Kathy Hochul (31%) and Davis, the “Tea Party” independent,(27%). The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, so the two major party candidates could be in a dead heat, but only because of Davis’ strong showing as an independent.

To read reports from the New York Times and the Associated Press, though, one would think this was only a two-way race. Davis, whose populist, anti-NAFTA, anti-immigrant, anti-Wall Street message has played fairly well among rank-and-file Republican voters, is barely mentioned in most news stories. The 27% Davis polls, and which comes mostly from Republican voters, isn’t mentioned at all. Instead, the liberal media portray the Davis’ candidacy as merely a “complicating factor”, practically a statistical blip in the scheme of things . . .

It is Time for the Tea Party to Declare its Independence from the GOP

From the Constitution Party of West Virginia:

The Tea Party needs to make a choice, but not from within the two-party system that Palin claims we are stuck with. The Tea Party needs to decide right now whether they are going to let this movement be stolen by failed establishment candidates, or whether or not it is going to press forward and elect independent and third party candidates.

We do have choices, and they are not limited to Republicans and Democrats. The Tea Party, from its beginning, was formed in response to the failure of both parties to listen to the will of the people. For Sarah Palin to suggest that we should pick between those same two failed parties is an insult. The rank in file members of the Tea Party movement should throw their current leaders out on their ear for allowing a movement of independents and Constitutionalists to be highjacked by either party . . .

NY-26: "Wall Street Owns Both Parties" Says Tea Party Candidate

From Sam Wilson at The Think 3 Institute:

This month brings a special election to New York's 26th congressional district to fill the vacancy created by Rep. Chris Lee's embarrassed resignation over an internet flirting scandal. Lee won the regular election last November by a landslide, but the special election is proving more competitive. While many reports attribute the close polling so far to Democratic fearmongering over Rep. Ryan's long-term budget proposals, another important local factor is the independent candidacy of Jack Davis, a local businessman, on a "Tea Party" line . . . His appropriation of the TP mantle has caused controversy and is clearly hurting Republican chances. Davis had the support of 23% of respondents in one poll reported last month.

Read the rest of Sam's analysis and commentary on Davis's independent tea party bid.  Davis has just released a new ad in the race declaring that "Wall Street owns both parties!"

Poll: 10% of Tea Party Supporters are Libertarians

From the Libertarian Party blog:

The Reason Foundation and Arthur N. Rupe Foundation recently collaborated on a public opinion poll. According to its website, the Reason Foundation "advances a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law." Here are a few of the poll results that may be of interest to Libertarians:

4.5% of respondents described their political philosophy as libertarian. People with college degrees were more likely to describe themselves as libertarian. Among Tea Party supporters, 9.7% described themselves as libertarian. . . . .

NY: Three-Way Race in CD 26 Special Election

From the Rochester Business Journal:

Republican Jane Corwin leads Democrat Kathleen Hochul by a margin of 36 percent to 31 percent in the campaign for the 26th District seat in the House of Representatives, a Siena Research Institute poll released Friday shows. Third-party candidate John Davis Jr., running on the Tea Party line, is supported by 23 percent of poll respondents, poll representatives said. A special election is scheduled for May 24 to fill a seat vacated by Republican Christopher Lee.

According to the poll, Green party candidate Ian Murphy is receiving only 1-2% support.

FL: GOP-Sponsored Election Law Overhaul Seen as Attack on Fledgling Tea Pary, May be Unconstitutional

From Tampa Bay Online:

TAMPA - A little-noticed provision of the state Legislature's controversial elections bill would make it extremely difficult for a new political party to put a candidate on the state presidential ballot – a provision some say is aimed at keeping a tea party candidate off the ballot.

The section says that a new party seeking a presidential ballot placement must be recognized by the Federal Election Commission as a national party, or must collect voter petition signatures equal to 4 percent of voters in the state's last presidential election – more than 335,000.

They must include 4 percent in each of at least half the state's congressional districts, a tough job in Florida's oddly shaped, gerrymandered districts. Getting FEC recognition is also problematic, said Richard Winger of San Francisco, an expert on ballot access laws who argues for easier access to ballots for non-major party candidates.

He said the FEC has no objective rules for recognition, but won't recognize a new party until after it has already run candidates for president and congress in several states.
That's why the Reform Party didn't get FEC recognition until 1997, following Ross Perot's run in 1996 as its candidate.

Winger said the provision appears aimed at keeping a tea party candidate off the 2012 Florida ballot. Peg Dunmire, chairman of a Florida party that says it represents the tea party movement, agreed.

"This is part of the assault to keep choice from the public," she said. "There's a concerted effort by the two parties to keep it a two-party system."

From Ballot Access News:

The bill, if enacted, would violate the 11th circuit decision Bergland v Harris, 767 F.2d 1551 (1985), which suggested that Georgia’s former petition requirement of 2.5% (of the number of registered voters) for presidential candidates was probably unconstitutional. That decision is based on Anderson v Celebrezze, which said that states must have easier ballot access for president than for other office. The Florida bill, if enacted, would probably also violate the Florida Constitution, which says “The requirements for a candidate with no party affiliation or for a candidate of a minor party for placement of the candidate’s name on the ballot shall be no greater than the requirements for a candidate of the party having the largest number of registered voters.”

NY: Third Party Tea Party Candidate in Special Election?

From Roll Call:

Jack Davis did not win the Republican or Conservative Party lines for the unscheduled special election to replace Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.). But the wealthy businessman is continuing to court tea party activists in the 26th district to help boost a third-party run.

“I just know that he’s been calling us and wants to get together with my husband,” Julianne “Jul” Thompson of TEA New York told Roll Call on Tuesday afternoon. Thompson and her husband, Rus, co-founded the group, which is the area’s largest tea party organization.

Davis, who ran for the seat in 2006 and 2008 as a Democrat, sought the Republican nomination last month, but the district’s county GOP chairmen unanimously selected state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, who also recently captured the endorsement of the state Conservative Party. . . . 

NY: Tea Party Groups Vow to Run Third Party Candidate in Special Congressional Election

From Roll Call:

New York state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin was chosen Monday to be the GOP’s representative in the special election to replace Rep. Chris Lee (R) in the Empire State’s 26th district.

The nomination of the establishment favorite, while celebrated by local Republican officials Monday night, drew an ominous warning from western New York tea party activists who immediately vowed to pursue a third-party candidate. . . .

Sound familiar?

Republican "Tea Party" Caucus Votes Against the Constitution in Support of Unamerican Patriot Act

From The Examiner:

Fourty four out of the 52 Republican members the official 'Tea Party Caucus' voted to renew expiring provisions of the Patriot Act on February 8th. Seven out of the 26 Republican Congressmen who voted NO on the Patriot Act yeterday are listed on Michelle Bachmann's official 'Tea Party Caucus' list.  

The seven were Roscoe Bartlett [MD],Rob Bishop [UT], Paul Broun [GA], Tom Graves [GA], Kenny Marchant [TX], Tom McClintock [CA], and Denny Rehberg [MT].
Doug Lamborn of Colorado, another Tea Party Caucus member, is one of five Republicans who did not vote on the bill.  

The official published list posted on Bachmann's website includes 52 members. The list has not been updated since July 21, 2010. Some reps may consider themselves aligned with Tea party type values, but for one reason or another, refrain from joining the list.

Only the most naive Americans could possibly believe that the GOP's so-called "Tea Party Caucus" is anything other than a PR stunt, or that these creatures have any respect whatsoever for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  The vote in support of these provisions is a vote for illegal and unconstitutional search, seizure and surveillance of the people of the United States by the federal government.  It is an abomination.  

Florida Tea Party Denounces Democratic-Republican Politics of Hate

A press release from the Florida Tea Party, sent via email:

Florida Tea Party Chairman Peg Dunmire denounced the shooting of United States Congresswoman Giffords and eighteen (18) other individuals in which six were killed, including a nine-year old girl today in Arizona.

"The 'politics of hate' that was so prevalent this past election cycle must be stopped," stated Dunmire. "We have seen it from many sources including the left and the right. It is unfortunate that many of the newer members of the tea party movement, that always talk about not having any organized leadership, may have indirectly influenced this deranged individual to take this action today. The attack on Congresswoman Giffords was a direct assault on the Constitution and the Republic," Dunmire stated.

"Even here in Florida we have seen self-proclaimed 'tea party leaders' like Everett Wilkinson become violent in public settings when he disrupted a news conference with Governor Rick Scott during the campaign. Antics like that give rise to more violence and should be removed from the body politic," Dunmire stated.

"I and many other leaders of the TEA Party have been subjected to the same types of written email threats and hate mail that were sent to Congresswoman Giffords recently and it's a truly frightening experience," Dunmire concluded.

Peg Dunmire is Chairman of the TEA Party of Florida 

www.FloridaTEAParty.US

The Case for a Third Party Tea Party

Mitchell Langbert makes the case that the tea party movement can only be a force for freedom if it recognizes the tyranny of the two-party state for what it is.  Excerpts:

I have been following politics on and off for forty years and I still can't grasp why Americans favor a two-party system.  It has resulted in their being taxed to fifty percent of their incomes to get a garbage government. Garbage at the federal level; garbage at the state level; and garbage at the local level.  Despite the complete failure of the two party system Americans remain much more loyal to it than they do to liberty. . . .

The two-party system has caused America's decline because both parties are responsive to interest groups.  The special interests that are subsidized by the Fed, to include the banking system and Wall Street, the media, government, and much of big business, all contribute heavily to Republicans as well as Democrats. . . . To be committed to a two party system is to favor the status quo. . . .

Compromise between two big government parties is not "moderate." The people in Washington and the state capitals are socialists, fascists and totalitarians. They are not moderates.  The only way that change can occur is through a rethinking of the smug, insipid policies of the past 50 years.  That will require change without compromise. 

Speaking of the threat to freedom and liberty posed by Democratic-Republican party politics, the construction of the militarized police- and surveillance state continues apace.  From the Washington Post:

Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.

The system, by far the largest and most technologically sophisticated in the nation's history, collects, stores and analyzes information about thousands of U.S. citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The government's goal is to have every state and local law enforcement agency in the country feed information to Washington to buttress the work of the FBI, which is in charge of terrorism investigations in the United States. . . .

Technologies and techniques honed for use on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan have migrated into the hands of law enforcement agencies in America . . .

The FBI is building a database with the names and certain personal information, such as employment history, of thousands of U.S. citizens and residents whom a local police officer or a fellow citizen believed to be acting suspiciously. It is accessible to an increasing number of local law enforcement and military criminal investigators, increasing concerns that it could somehow end up in the public domain.

WY: Crisis of Democratic Party is Opportunity for Third Parties and Independents

From the Billings Gazette:

The near wipeout of the Wyoming Democratic Party in the general election, coupled with the surprising showing of an independent write-in candidate for governor, is an opportunity for voters to look at third parties, old and perhaps new ones, political activists say. One of the surprises of the Nov. 2 general election was the write-in campaign of Taylor Haynes, a Tea Party member who also had the support of the Wyoming Constitution Party.

Haynes, a Laramie County rancher and retired physician, received nearly 14,000 votes to come in third in the Nov. 2 general election for governor. With 7 percent of the vote, Haynes outpolled Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Mike Wheeler of Casper, who received 5,362 votes. Wyoming Libertarians say there is talk of more third-party movements in the state, including the loosely knit Tea Party.

Michele Machmann Brags that She Helped Co-Opt Tea Party Movement and Undermine Independence of American Voters

Michelle Bachmann in an interview with Politico:

"I was instrumental in bringing tens of thousands of people to the U.S. Capitol to rally against Obamacare and to attend our press conference. I’ve been able to highly motivate people — from disaffected Democrats to independents to Republicans to nonpolitical people. My voice has been one that has rallied people to come to the cause. There was a real question, even 18 months ago, about whether the tea party would become a third party. I worked really hard to pull them to our party because we have to have a two-party system," says Bachmann. 

MA: Independent Candidate Describes Leftwing Tea Partisan Campaign for Congress

From Mr. Zine by Michael Engel:

I ran as an independent candidate for Congress in Massachusetts against a visibly tired and increasingly unpopular but entrenched liberal Democratic incumbent, and a Tea Party Republican.  My message was, "The old system is broken -- let's start building a new one!"  I stated that I wanted to fight what I described as the trend towards a corporate state.  In that context, I criticized an overgrown and unresponsive federal government, Obamacare, the stimulus package, financial regulatory legislation, and the bailouts.  In short, I took the Tea Party line leftward.

I advocated a decentralized, community-based approach to economic recovery and job creation and I explicitly described myself as a "democratic socialist" on economic issues.  I participated in four debates, got lots of radio interviews and decent media coverage, and was endorsed by at least one local paper, with favorable comments in two more.  The state Green-Rainbow Party endorsed my candidacy . . . 

OH: Tea Party Groups Endorse Libertarian Candidates

A press release from the Libertarian Party of Ohio, sent via email:

The North Central Ohio Tea Party announced yesterday that they are endorsing four Libertarian candidates for their respective offices: Charlie Earl for Secretary of State, Matthew Cantrell for state Treasurer, Jeffrey Blevins for 16th Congressional District, and Robert Brent Vollmer for Court of Appeals, 5th District. These are in addition to the previous Tea Party endorsement of William Yarbrough, who also received an endorsement from Outlook Columbus, as well as the endorsement of Matthew Cantrell for state Treasurer by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Lima News, and Charlie Earl for Secretary of State from the Freedom Institute of Erie County, the COAST Candidates PAC, and the Reform Party of Ohio. Ten Libertarian candidates were also endorsed by the Boston Tea Party National Committee.

“There is a mood all over the country of more acceptance of third parties and the Libertarian Party message of smaller government, more fiscal responsibility, and more individual freedom,” stated Kevin Knedler, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Ohio Executive Committee. “We are fighting against two old entrenched political machines, but we represent the future, and these endorsements validate that.”

The Libertarian Party of Ohio is the third largest political party in Ohio, and the only one dedicated to the principles of smaller, limited government, lower taxes, and more personal liberty for the residents of the State of Ohio. The Libertarian Party of Ohio has the same vision as the Libertarian Party, which is “for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.” For more information, visit http://www.lpo.org.

FL-8: Tea Party, Independent and Whig Candidates Debate Alan Grayson, Republican Refuses to Participate in Debate with Independent and Third Party Challengers

From the Orlando Sentinel:

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, the firebrand Democrat fighting a conservative onslaught to boot him from office, sat next to an empty chair during the campaign's first debate Tuesday night. His Republican opponent, Dan Webster, didn't attend. . . .  Grayson shared the stage with Peg Dunmire of the Florida Tea Party; George Metcalfe, an independent; and Steven Gerritzen, a write-in candidate from the Whig Party.

Webster cited a scheduling conflict in not attending the debate sponsored by the Central Florida Urban League at the Citrus Bowl's Varsity Club. But his campaign has also made it clear that he won't debate unless the match-up includes only him and Grayson.

So Webster says he couldn't make it because of a scheduling conflict, but it turns out that even if there were no supposed conflict he still wouldn't have shown up because he thinks he is above an exchange of ideas with third party and independent candidates.  Professional political elitism at its worst.  

FL-8: Third Party Tea Party Candidate Challenges Two-Party Duopoly, Draws Ire of Republicans

From Town Hall:

Peg Dunmire is running for Congress under the name of a political organization called the TEA Party. Under this designation, Dunmire is winning six percent of the vote in Florida’s eighth Congressional district against Democrat Alan Grayson and Republican Daniel Webster, according to a recent poll.. . .

Dunmire, a 63-year old grandmother and consultant, is resentful at the suggestion that she might be dividing the base, or that she is the member of a subversive third party. . . .

You’re repeating exactly what the Republican mantra is: going to siphon off the votes, you’re going to be a spoiler,’” she said in an interview, when asked about the possibility of her splitting the vote. “That’s Republican jargon, that’s their view.”

“This two-party system is only about power — not about solving our country’s problems. It is power, power, power,” said Dunmire. “What I talk about is taking power away from the legislators and giving it back to the people. And that is absolutely not what the Republican Party wants to do.” 

Pathetic? Sharron Angle Begs Third Party Tea Party Candidate to Drop Out of Race

From Sam Stein at the Huffington Post:

On Sunday, embarrassing audio surfaced in the midst of the Nevada Senate race, showing Republican candidate Sharron Angle personally pleading with an official Tea Party candidate, Scott Ashjian, to exit the race.

"I believe you can do some real harm, not to Harry Reid but to me," she said, in a conversation meant to be private but recorded and leaked to the press, most likely by Ashjian's campaign. "I'm not sure you can win and I'm not sure I can win if you're hurting my chance and that's the part that scares me."

Angle, of course, has been mislabeled the "tea party candidate" in this race, but, of course, she's nothing but a Republican.  Stein goes on to discuss the ways in which third party candidates for Senate may affect races across the country.