My First Tea Party

I'm not reflecting on a plastic Fisher-Price toy set --- I'm talking creative signs, Gadsden flags flying high, patriotic music and bad hot dogs. Held in Wasilla, naturally.

Here's what I love about being a right-winger, at our best moments. We have solutions. They aren't all bumper sticker pithy, or even popular at first glance, but we hold the key to America's current struggles in our love of liberty. We must persist in this cause, and let our enthusiasm grow, even if the cause has quieted down on some fronts. The threats certainly haven't. We're seeing the momentum of the Obama administration gear up with alarming arrogance --- to re-elect this man would untether any restraints currently sensed by our president or his advisors. We must match their energy with evidence of the good, the true and the beautiful of American life. (Bring your children.)

My first Tea Party felt like the beginning of something. Tables overflowed with sign-up sheets to remain in contact with the organizers, local personalities took the stage and rallied for the cause. Unknown fathers and soldiers also spoke their piece. One in particular still jangles my nerves with purpose when I think of the way he shared. He clearly wasn't a guy looking for the spotlight, and he took no enjoyment in addressing the threats we face under our current Commander in Chief and his ilk. This gentleman wasn't lofty in word choice and he spoke very briefly. His voice was gruff, Texan and pitched with righteousness: "No one will tell me I can't homeschool my babies or protect my family with guns if I gotta. Let 'em come for me." I know his family and consider them friends. His wife is European and can describe from experience the end result of intrusive government gone unchecked.

I've offered about six toasts in my life, and I think my husband has been the subject of four of them. Usually, I just panic and quote Calvin Coolidge with alacrity. After recently learning that Susannah Bean, widow of Andrew Breitbart, was a direct relative of our thirtieth president, I swooned anew at my go-to Coolidge quote. It's convicting, inspiring and equalizing, just like America's founding principles.

 

 “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Let's propose this spirit, perhaps keeping Breitbart himself in mind, as a guidepost for the Tea Party in Anchorage and beyond. Especially with the imminent dissolution of George Soros'

Occupy Wall Street spectacle, it's important that we remain visible and resolute. Between the two movements, some of our frustrations are shared, but we see different villains. Where they have chaotic rage and public fecal displays, we have the answers in our platforms --- human dignity, personal responsibility and limited government.

We were privileged to hear Michael Reagan speak a few years ago (thanks, Eddie Burke!), and he offered many pragmatic keys to success in politics. Most notable was his proposition that conservatives had repeatedly failed to keep momentum between election cycles, whereas the liberal machine works overtime in any season. He implored us to mark our successes, but continue as if the battle still existed two days after a victory. And it does.

My first Tea Party felt like the beginning of something, and I'm committed to doing my part to ensure that was not simply a feeling. We must publicly mark our willingness to fulfill the duty before us. Your presence and your voice matter, and I hope to see you on April 15. It's a Sunday. So, are we meeting at Wasilla Lake?