Peggy Noonan/WSJ: Why It’s Time for the Tea Party

This fact marks our political age: The pendulum is swinging faster and in shorter arcs than it ever has in our lifetimes. Few foresaw the earthquake of 2008 in 2006. No board-certified political professional predicted, on Election Day 2008, what happened in 2009-10 (New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts) and has been happening, and will happen, since then. It all moves so quickly now, it all turns on a dime.

But at this moment we are witnessing a shift that will likely have some enduring political impact. Another way of saying that: The past few years, a lot of people in politics have wondered about the possibility of a third party. Would it be possible to organize one? While they were wondering, a virtual third party was being born. And nobody organized it.

Here is Jonathan Rauch in National Journal on the tea party’s innovative, broad-based network: “In the expansive dominion of the Tea Party Patriots, which extends to thousands of local groups and literally countless activists,” there is no chain of command, no hierarchy. Individuals “move the movement.” Popular issues gain traction and are emphasized, unpopular ones die. “In American politics, radical decentralization has never been tried on such a large scale.” Here are pollsters Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen in the Washington Examiner: “The Tea Party has become one of the most powerful and extraordinary movements in American political history.” “It is as popular as both the Democratic and Republican parties.” “Over half of the electorate now say they favor the Tea Party movement, around 35 percent say they support the movement, 20 to 25 percent self-identify as members of the movement.”

for full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703440604575496221482123504.html

Free Republic: MoveOn.Org in Panic Mode

This is a letter from MoveOn.org to its members. It was posted at FreeRepublic.com. Note that they referv to themselves separate from “the Democrats”. This is a true sign of the “progressives” in full force:

Dear MoveOn member,

After one bad Senate election, most Democrats in Washington are on the verge of full-fledged retreat.

Everything we’ve fought for together hangs in the balance. President Obama has signaled he’s open to dramatically scaling back health care reform.1 The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee says he might gut the financial reform bill to appease Republicans.2 And on top of all that, the Supreme Court just opened the floodgates of corporate cash on politics!3

We need to show Democrats that we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore. So MoveOn members are organizing an emergency rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday to urge Democrats to show some backbone—starting with passage of a real health care reform bill.

We need a big turnout to show Democrats we’re still waiting on them to deliver the change we voted for—on health care and everything else. Can we count on you to attend?

Yes, I’ll be there on Tuesday at 12:00 PM Sorry, I can’t make it

The lesson from Massachusetts is that voters are angry and it’s time for Democrats to stand up to corporate interests and fight for working families by passing health care reform and taking on Wall Street.

And make no mistake: Democrats still have the ability to pass health care reform and other progressive legislation. They have a larger majority in Congress than Republicans ever did under George W. Bush—and even in Massachusetts, polls show that voters continue to support a bold, populist agenda.4

But it took an unprecedented grassroots movement to elect this President and Congress—and it’ll take all of us standing together now to get their attention, and get them to show some backbone.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2436104/posts

Obama Hopes GrassRoots Efforts will Win the Healthcare Battle on Capitol Hill

From his “mybarackobama.com” website:

Remember this date: Saturday, June 6th, 2009. We will look back on that day as the moment when the fight for real health care reform began in your neighborhood — perhaps even in your own living room.

On June 6th, in thousands of homes across the country, we’ll gather to launch our grassroots campaign for health care. We’ll watch a special message from the President. We’ll build the teams and draw up the plans for winning health care reform the same way we won the election: Building support one block, one neighbor, one conversation at a time. And we’ll put those plans into action.

These kickoffs are so crucial that President Obama will join confirmed hosts and attendees on a live conference call.

Sign up today to host or attend a Health Care Organizing Kickoff.

There’s no prior experience required. We’ll send you the details for dialing into the President’s call and provide you everything you need to make your meeting a success.

After the election, people gathered at over 9,000 meetings across every state to set priorities for health care reform. Our voices were heard. Now the race is on to make sure Congress produces a plan that reflects the President’s call for reduced costs, guaranteed choice, and quality care for all.

To make that happen, we need to build a groundswell of support in every district and every state, and we have no time to lose. All summer we’ll be reaching out to our neighbors, knocking on doors, serving in our communities, and building a grassroots network strong enough to win.

These gatherings on June 6th are just the beginning of a battle between those who fought and believe in change and those who would protect a broken status quo. The stakes for our country could not be greater.

Some call this strategy pie-in-the-sky. They say we’ll never have enough volunteers to make a real impact; that you need insiders and Washington lobbyists to make a difference. But you and I know firsthand how wrong they are. Starting June 6th, it’s once again time to show this country how bottom-up change is done.

Please sign up today to host or attend a kickoff near you.

http://my.barackobama.com/HCkickoff

These kickoffs will be both effective and fun. You’ll meet likeminded supporters in your neighborhood, share stories, enjoy good company and a shared mission, and know that no matter what this effort requires of us, if we work together we’ll be ready to face it and persevere.

I look forward to joining you and the President to chart our course.

David Plouffe
Organizing for America

P.S. — This week, President Obama asked us to send in our personal health care stories. Hundreds of thousands of people have already responded, and the stories are simply incredible. Here are just few that help remind us what we’re fighting for:

I am a single parent and have lost my teaching job effective in June. I’m scared to death because my son has a serious pre-existing condition (Neurofibromatosis) and can’t go without medical insurance. However, my employer has just informed me that continuing my family coverage under COBRA will cost $1,400.00 a month! That’s a house payment for me. Or three times my car payment! How can I keep my family covered without going under financially?

–Cathy
Apple Valley, Minnesota

Since I lost my job in 2006, I have had no health insurance. After paying for insurance through my employer for 30 years, I have no major medical. But now that I am approaching 60, I may need insurance more than ever. I have not had a mammogram for three years because it would be too stressful to find anything suspicious. Risky but true.

–Kathy
Macon, Georgia

My husband isn’t getting enough hours at his job to qualify for health insurance so we have been looking around for a provider. He has a pre-existing health condition (non-epileptic seizures) and he is being denied left and right. We don’t make a lot of money, about $23,000/year and we can’t afford to not have insurance, in case he needs to go to the doctor. And it looks like we can’t afford to have it either. We are stuck.

–Amanda
Pasadena, California

Note to Obama: The “Tea Bags” that you have chosen to ignore are ALREADY mobilized against you!!