I imagine those who read the title of this column might initially think, “Nutcases!” However, others might have questions about what the tea party is. There seems to be a copious amount of confusion about the group.
My name is Nicholas Brightwell and I am the coordinator of George Mason University’s Tea Party Patriots. My goal is to inform you about the tea party and what a member’s perspective entails.
The tea party movement is a grassroots political movement. This means that it is an organization established by the people themselves.
They are completely funded by themselves, all under a common interest and a constitution.
Also, the tea party does not have a large structure. It is primarily comprised of multiple local and state tea party organizations with one or two regional to semi-national organizations.
A few of the larger organizations are the Tea Party Express and Tea Party Patriots. Additionally, there are no recognized leaders of the tea party.
There are some locally supported tea party candidates, but there is no national tea party leader.
The interests of tea party organizations differ typically based on local and state interests.
However, a few core values particularly found within the Tea Party Patriots include fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets.
All three have changed within the past decade for the worse. The debt has increased to a horrendous amount, the federal government has positioned itself supra-constitutional with more frequency and as for the Obama administration in particular, the market system has been threatened with new regulatory reform and taxation.
The threatening of these core values has sparked public attention across the nation and has led to meetings and mass protests.
As the news and media coverage put a spotlight on the party, our modern day national political movement was born and became a leading influential force within our political system.
Amidst the rise of the tea party, there has been controversy, including the issue of racism. This is because President Barack Obama happens to be an African-American.
There is no denial that racism exists in America and that some of these individuals might decide to hide behind an organization that critiques the president’s policies.
However, these individuals are not tolerated and typically are asked to leave protests and meetings.
Mason’s Tea Party Patriots in particular will not tolerate racism at one of the most diverse universities in the nation.
I hope some information about the tea party has clarified some issues and answered some questions.
The Mason Tea Party Patriots is a grassroots organization against unconstitutional big government, fiscal irresponsibility and regulated markets.
We do not have a leader, and we are compromised of small organizations. We are in no means racist as an organization.
We will be having a meeting promptly to establish a constitution and elect a group of students for the organization’s body. We will be fighting for our rights, will you join us?
If you are interested, search for the GMU Tea Party Patriots on Facebook, or e-mail us at gmutppatriots@gmail.com.
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