Is the GOP the party of conservative principles?

   
By now it should be no surprise that many of those driving the Tea Party movement are conservatives who've fled the Republican party in response to the party's abandonment of conservative values and principles.

Prior to this "great awakening," conservatives assumed that the Grand Old Party (GOP) was championing the tenants of smaller government, lower taxes, and greater personal freedom. In truth, the GOP was more concerned about winning elections than holding strong to its founding principles--so much so that they often elected candidates whose beliefs were more in line with the Democratic party than their own.

It's been well over a year since the first Tea Party signs started popping up all across the country; and of course, the GOP now says it too favors smaller government, lower taxes, and greater personal freedom. But does it really?

In California, our first opportunity to answer this question will be during the Republican primary election for US Senate as it is the only high profile race that offers a real choice between a constitutional conservative, Chuck DeVore, and two so-called moderates, Tom Campbell and Carly Fiorina.

If the GOP plans to continue mimicking the Democratic party in hopes of drawing in more liberal voters, they will be well served by electing either Campbell or Fiorina. Both candidates have expressed their approval of the Wall Street Bailout, Cap-n-Trade, and the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor. Campbell is for gay marriage, abortion rights, and stricter gun control laws. Fiorina is for the stimulus package, taxation of the Internet, and limiting free speech. In many cases, Campbell and Fiorina's views are so in line with the incumbent Democratic candidate Barbara Boxer that at times it is difficult to tell the three of them apart.

If, on the other hand, the GOP has learned from its past mistakes in electing Republicans in name only (a.k.a. RINOs), they will be much better served nominating Chuck DeVore as their candidate for US Senate. DeVore's political views are in stark contrast to not only his opponents in the primary on the aforementioned issues but to Boxer as well. DeVore is the perfect candidate for those voters who know that the Republican primary election isn't about unseating Boxer or even the Democratic party so much as it's about unseating the political ideology that is drowning our country in massive debt, entitlements, and regulations.

The choice is clear. Come Tuesday, June 8th, we will know exactly where the priorities lie for Republican voters in California. So, don't forget to vote.

2010 Tax Day Tea Party Speech

The following speech was given on April 15, 2010 at a Tax Day Tea Party Rally in Oceanside.
 
Hello everyone!

My name is Dana Matas and I am the Marketing and Internet Outreach Director for Stop Taxing Us. I am also a mom to three young children and am very concerned about their future freedoms.

America has always been known as the "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave." But since when are free people forced by their government to buy services they may not want or need, such as healthcare insurance? And since when do brave people expect their government to bail them out or take care of them? I know that without the freedom to fail, my children will no longer have the freedom or motivation to succeed!

Got Freedom?

 
In 1773, our ancestors stood up against the autocratic British government at the Boston Tea Party, declaring their independence and inciting the American Revolution. 237 years later, we find our country drifting towards an oppression similar to what our founding fathers fled; except this time the threat of tyranny isn't from some distant land but from our very own government.

Tea Party organizers must think beyond Palin and the GOP

 
Allow me to get a few things off my chest about Governor Palin, the GOP, and the future of the Tea Party Movement.

First of all, Governor Sarah Palin was asked to speak at a Tea Party Convention in Nashville on February 6--not the Tea Party Convention. She nor Tea Party Nation, the group that organized the event, speak for the millions of individuals and thousands of groups working to take back our country from a corrupt Washington establishment fostered by both political parties. And while I commend Tea Party Nation for trying to harness the passions of Tea Party-goers so that we can better organize, placing too much importance on any one person, group, or event will only serve to provide a target for our critics to attack in hopes of defusing our momentum. We must remain as we are, much bigger than that.

Alternative site for Carlsbad power plant flawed

 
Today I received in the mail a "Power Plant Update" from the City of Carlsbad regarding its opposition to the proposed NRG Energy Power Plant along the Carlsbad coast and highway 5. In the mailer, the City highlights the multiple reasons why it opposes this project, which include safety, air pollution, and reduced home values among other things. Yet given these concerns, the City is still "willing to locate a new plant in its industrial area east of El Camino Real and North of Palomar Airport Road."

Those of us who live near the proposed alternative site know that this industrial area is tightly surrounded by residential property--arguably, it is surrounded by more homes than the existing site. Not to mention, should the alternative site prevail, the power plant would seemingly be in the direct line of flight traffic from nearby Palomar Airport--the busiest single-runway airport in the country that that has experienced several plan crash incidents in the last couple of years.

What's with all the secrecy and back door deals on healthcare?

 
I have to ask...

If the healthcare legislation currently being voted on is so great and so wanted by the American public, then why would the most important votes be taken during the cover of night at 1am on a Monday morning and during Christmas Eve? Wouldn't you want everyone to see what a wonderful thing you are doing for the country...if it truly is wonderful?

Tea Party E Pluribus Unum!

(Re-post from October 2009)

Since the very first handmade protest signs surfaced back in February, many have been wondering, "Who is leading the Tea Party Movement?" Is it the Republicans or the Independents? Is it Sarah Palin or Ron Paul? Is it this group or that group?

What even the most active of Tea Party enthusiast may not realize is you need not look any further than your own bathroom mirror to see that the real leader of the Tea Party movement is you. In other words, it is every taxpayer who waves a "Don't Tread on Me" flag or who helps to organize a Tea Party. It is the mom who picks up the phone to call her Representative demanding her family be represented. And it is every individual speaking out for the first time, not just about their dissatisfaction with the other party, but their own party as well.