I’ve been ingrained in the conservative movement since 2005, when my obsessive reading of Townhall.com syndicated columns gave me the encouragement to apply for an internship in Washington, DC. Since then, I’ve met hundreds of grassroots activists, dozens of conservative leaders, interviewed great Republican politicians and stood strong for principles I believe in.
Since the Tea Party’s inception, I’ve heard numerous times that the GOP doesn’t support the movement. I work constantly with bloggers across the country, attending events and supporting the work of great organizations like Americans for Prosperity, Freedomworks and the Heritage Foundation. I’m always amazed when I hear this argument because it’s simply not true. True, there are some more moderate Members who choose to stay neutral, represent their constituents and remain quiet on the movement. But, for the most part, the Tea Partiers have great allies in their Republican leaders. Just yesterday I was walking down the halls of Congress and saw Rep. Phil Gingrey’s (GA) office with a huge poster outside saying “Welcome to the Tea Partiers.” I read an op/ed today by Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (MI) supporting them and saying, “rock on Tea partiers.”
Rep. Mike Pence (IN) has attended numerous Tea Parties and townhalls to speak on restoring fiscal discipline, upholding the Constitution and representing the American people. Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN) and Rep. Steve King (IA) have certainly lead the way in supporting the Tea Party.
On “House Call” Day several months back – a smaller version of 9/12 – I saw Rep. John Culberson (CA) standing tall and rallying the crowd by tossing out pages of ObamaCare. GOP leaders answered the call when it came to ObamaCare this year – banding together like never before the stop the government takeover of health care. Others, like Rep. Tom Price (GA) have participated in so many events, teletownhalls, tea parties and conferences, I don’t know how they have time to sleep! Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN) appeared at last year’s Smart Girl Summit and Rep. Joe Wilson (SC) has certainly shown his love for the movement as well
While not every GOPer is as active as Michele Bachmann, I believe there is much love and support for the tea partiers. The country moved so far to the Left with Obama’s election and it’s been the hard work, relentless activism and loud voices of these fed up Americans who’ve stopped the liberal torpedo. But Republican leaders have worked tirelessliy as well – making impassioned speeches on the House floor, working all hours the day, rallying constituents, making powerful TV and radio appearances and urging the Democrats to work bipartisanly. It has been a group effort to stop the Obama Administration’s lofty goals as best we could, to tear apart ObaamaCare and get rid of things like the public option, and to remind America – it’s time to get back on the right foot. As so many have said of late: “We will remember in November.“
Remember who stood up for you this year, folks. It wasn’t the Democrats.
