Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots Response to the County Press Wall Street Protest Editorial

[William Gavette]

The Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots Leadership, in response to a recent County Press editorial, makes the following statements. First, we categorically reject the notion that the comparison of the Tea Party Movement to the Occupy Wall Street Protestors is in any way significantly similar. The small number of protestors, the nature of the protest, the obvious organizational and financial support from specific radical groups, the lack of specific values and issues, the disregard for basic decency and utter contempt for law and order totally separate the nature of the two groups.

 

For over two years now, Tea Partiers have stood firmly on principle and helped shape the political debate in this country. They believe in time-honored American values, principles and systems. They believe freedom from government allows entrepreneurs to prosper. They do not believe this country should be divided by class, but united in a return to the principles that enhance our nation’s success. By contrast, those occupying Wall Street and other cities, want less of what made America great and more of what is damaging to America: a bigger, more powerful government spending more on programs to increase dependency.

The Tea Party, meanwhile, was a spontaneous, organic and fast-moving movement, but with a cogent message: a demand for fiscal responsibility in government. Tea Party rallies have always been safe and clean. Unlike in New York, we can find no reports of Tea Partiers being arrested. They are not lawbreakers, they don’t hate the police, they don’t even litter. A quick glance at the TV reveals the sharp contrast posed by the Wall Street occupiers.

 

The Tea Party has kept the movement "public", does not picket private residences, we haven't cost cities millions of dollars, it doesn't engage in any unlawful activities nor lewd activities like defecating on a police car, hence the Tea Party does not have the "mob quality" displayed by these protests. There are however some things in common to be acknowledged: Both are Americans expressing anger and frustration, both have the right to do this and that right should be guarded, both appear to be against the government bail outs, but with different focus as to who is responsible, both groups should be taken seriously for their actions and potential actions.

 

What appears to always get lost in the discussion is the basic three principles of the Tea Party; we support free enterprise, we acknowledge personal responsibility, and strive for limited constitutional government. As a result, we believe bigger government, deficit spending and increasing debt are threats to the future of this country and our children. These are basic long standing American values and mainstream to most citizens. We are also unhappy with the performance over many years of both parties growing a larger more intrusive government. That is why we count as members Democrats, Independents, Republicans, union members, small business owners and many other citizens upset with the trend of government.

 

Due to the editorial claiming the Wall Street Protest as reflecting valid working family concerns, we offer these questions so the reader can make up their own mind: What are the protestor’s goals? Is it to collapse Wall Street and the financial system and replace it with what: a guaranteed income stream, or free homes, or student loan forgiveness or the usurping of all wealth from millionaires, or forced redistribution of wealth, what other outcomes do they expect? Where does the typical citizen see evidence of 'average working people' in this?

 

In summary, the Wall Street Protest is not intellectually honest. The leaders have planned this, manufactured it and intend to take it worldwide this weekend. They are hiding behind a number of shadow organizations providing funding with principles most citizens would find offensive and Un American. While the Tea Party has been falsely demonized, the mainstream media have as equally mischaracterized the Wall Street Protestors as noble. To provide a better answer, The Lapeer Tea Party has recently held monthly meetings with the only agenda being public education on key issues. In September we hosted Congresswoman Miller and in October we held an Education Forum with Superintendents from the county school systems and our Legislators. There has been limited local media coverage of our events so for perspective we offer to you and the public a way to view the complete meetings on our web site at http://www.lapeerteaparty.org/. Once the nature of our meetings and our basic principles are understood, the comparison between us and groups opposing the basic structure of this country will become much clearer.

Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots Leadership

[Pasquale J Battaglia, (Pat)]

I wish to address the conclusion of your recent editorial titled “Country’s ‘anger’ could turn face” dated September 14, 2011.

 

In my opinion the 912, Tea Party and affiliated patriotic groups has not, nor do they wish to co-opt the Republican or any other political party, as they currently stand, in any way, shape or form. Citizen Patriots who participate in these patriotic groups understand the we live in a country that was founded as a Constitutionally Limited Republic. The powers enumerated to the Federal Government by that constitution are few and specific. These powers have been usurped and vastly expanded over the last 100 years or so. What we are seeing today, the complete deterioration of our Republic, is a direct result of that expansion. We The People fell asleep at the switch. We the People are now awake. This movement is not about compromise, it is about right and wrong, nothing less. We have a road map that although not perfect, (it was developed by man, and man falls short of perfection), is the best system of government this world has ever seen. In the first 150 years of its existence American freedom lifted the entire world out of darkness… literally… We were reading by candlelight a couple hundred years ago and it was our God given freedoms that, unencumbered by the oppressive governments that our founders were fleeing from, flourished and propelled human existence beyond anything achieved in the entire previous history of man.

 

No sir, this is not about “coming around to the establishment’s party line” or dictating to any political party… actually, this is not about anger. This is about what it means to be a Citizen Patriot, about checking the power of those who would manipulate the freedoms we all enjoy to their own ends, this sir, is about taking responsibility for rights endowed by our Creator.     

 

In His service,

 

Pasquale J. Battaglia, (Pat)

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