WHAT IS THE TEA PARTY? by Tim Lintz

[Tim Lintz]

Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots

Editor’s note: The following guest column was written by Tim Lintz, a director of the Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots. Lintz is also a trustee on the Elba Township Board of Trustees. For the last five years the Tea Party has become one of the fastest growing grassroots organizations in the country. Who are we? We are “The People.” We are moms and dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, Republicans and Democrats — just regular Americans who care and are very concerned about the nation and the future of our children.

Our goal is to help bring public awareness about issues in our country and our government, also to encourage people to be active participants in our government. The Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots was started in 2009 by two people, Danette Starr Lowery and Dave Wheeland. They weren’t politicians or public speakers, they were people who thought citizens should be more informed and educated about what was happening in our government. To quote Danette Lowery, “Thus, the Tea Party movement was born. We are truly a grassroots organization. We are not backed by a political party. We do not have wealthy sponsors. We are not politicians. We are ordinary, hardworking, average American citizens who want the best for our children, grandchildren and all future generations. We love our country and think it is the best on earth. We want her preserved, forever the land of the free and the home of the brave. We believe that in our numbers there is strength. In our voice there is power. In our silence there is defeat.”

Our weapons in this fight are our voices and our pens. We encourage every American to exercise their right to participate in the greatest country in the world. We, like most of you, are troubled by the news coming out of both Washington and Lansing about our economy, our national debt, and the rate at which the government is spending money! We’re concerned about the increasing amounts of intrusion the government is exerting in American’s personal lives and the freedoms they are trying to take from the people. Some of these freedoms are ones that have been guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution. The same Constitution our representatives swear to uphold when they’re elected.

We encourage every American to exercise their right to participate in the democratic process so that the United States can continue to be the greatest country in the world.

We are guided by three core values: fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets. Our goal is to Attract, Inform, and Mobilize (AIM) other Americans. We are organized to provide a means by which persons interested in supporting and promoting these values and goals may join together.

We desire to facilitate educational activities that promote conservative government as well as fiscal responsibility. Furthermore, we want citizens to realize the potential of letting their views be heard by fellow citizens and elected representatives.

So how do we accomplish these goals?

At each of our monthly meetings we have special guest speakers. These speakers consist of experts from many different organizations and interest. Some of our speakers come from the Heritage Foundation, Freedom Works, and the Mackinac Center. We invite government officials like our State Rep. Kevin Daley, Senators Mike Green and Phil Pavlov, Rep. Candice Miller and Supreme Court Justice David Viviano and many others.

A question and answer period always follows to give the audience an opportunity to ask specific questions they may have.

We encourage people to write to their representatives with our Post Card Program. Leading topics are explained, and addressed postcards are available. People can express their concern and opinions, and mail them to their Congressmen. The postcards are read and often a reply is received. The voice of the people does make a difference and this is a good avenue to be heard.

Our book lending table is full of popular books from authors like Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and many others. If you like to read, there’s a vast array of books on the table covering politics, history and biographies.

If you are looking for specific web addresses, a copy of the Constitution, summary of pending bills, or items of interest like Common Core, you can find it all on our information table.

The Lapeer Tea Party website is available to everyone at www.lapeerteaparty.org. This site not only keeps you updated about what is happening in the government, it also includes many other topics that may be of interest to you. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

If you share our values and you want these things for your family, we encourage you to please come and join us at our monthly meetings. Our meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month at: Maple Grove Church, 148 Maple Grove St. in Lapeer at 7 p.m.

Together we can make a difference and God knows we need your voice now more than ever.