The numbers: OWS vs. Tea Party

It's hard to get any sort of accurate sizing of Occupy Wall Street or the Tea Party protests of yesteryear.  In the past others and I had posted about the underestimation of the Tea Party rally sizes, and many have pointed out the disproportionate coverage estimates of OWS crowds.  They are in no way equal in size to the Tea Party rallies, but that is just too difficult to prove, especially given the slant of coverage facing both protest movements.  Which leads to my main point.  With the favorable coverage of OWS versus the unfair treatment of Tea Party rallies and Tea Partiers in general, it's not surprising that OWS is winning the numbers war, where numbers can actually be measured.

Obama says flood the phones, so flood 'em

President Obama took to the airwaves yesterday to demand that people demand Congress act.  It's his first good idea in his presidency because the conservative wing of the Republican voting public is capable of doing just that.  Since they've learned to march and protest, calling should be easy.

If you are a member of a Tea Party group, call your Congressional representative and tell them you want Cut, Cap and Balance.  If you are a conservative or a libertarian, call 'em.  Flood 'em.  let them know anything less than common sense will not do.

Flood the phones.  Don't let the progressives, liberals, socialists, and Democrats overpower your voice.  Keep the pressure on every Republican, Democrat or Independent in Congress and in the Senate.

Why I Now Support a Third Party Option For 2012

Leading up to the 2010 mid-term elections I wrote about the reason I felt the Tea Party should thrown its support behind the GOP and not start a third party to compete in the mid-terms.  In effect, they would end up splitting the vote and leaving a gaping hole for Democrats to waltz back into a comfortable majority.  Thankfully that didn't happen.  But reading something today has led me to do a 180 reversal on the subject.

Tea Party March Madness

Dallas 2009 Tax Day Tea Party.

In an interesting post on Hot Air, Allahpundit echoes Michael Barone who asks if the Tea Party has given up on Wisconsin. While Allapundit rightly and deftly answers with a collective call to arms, Barone asks a valid question and the answer is very worrisome indeed.

Conservatives are getting gamed - again.

Conservatives are getting gamed. Democrats are once again proving that strategically, they are outsmarting us because we are busy focusing on the fine print instead of the big picture.  It doesn't mean Democrats, liberals, progressives, unions and special interests are right.  It doesn't even mean that they are necessarily being effective. What it does mean is that they are playing the game to win in 2012, while conservatives are focused on doing what we think is right for the economy and for America, right now.  Conservatives often forget that doing what is right for America requires political victory too.  Democrats know that to enact their agenda, they have to score political gains and that is what we are witnessing them attempting to do in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Why conservatives and even those in the Republican party can't see the bigger picture is astounding.

Tea Party over?

Exactly.

Since conservatives made inroads by electing Republicans in Congress to 63 more seats than in the previous Congress, it seems things have let up in the progress towards rolling back progressivism. Recent polls out of AP/GFK and later Rasmussen have shown a softening of people's opposition to Obamacare. Sarah Palin's approval is down and President Obama's have crept upward. Conservative personalities have been blamed for the tragedy in Tucson. What happened?

Is it just a matter of having won, Republicans are back to being viewed as a part of the problem? Or is it part of a letdown after a big win - are we coasting after having stewed and grown ever more energized over the last two years?

That's possible. I argued right after the midterm election results that it was not time to let up, that a Tea Party rally the day of the swearing in of the new Congress would send a big signal to Democrats, Republicans the press and the people of America that this was not about partisanship but about common sense and responsive government. It's not too late. Tax Day is coming again, and there is still a need to keep the momentum up.

Where is the Tea Party now? It's course is not run out. Is the Tea Party over, or in remission until 2012? I hope not because liberalism and bad government decisions do not take a holiday.