It now appears that a vote will come down this week on health care reform. I need not point out that this vote very well may dictate the direction our country takes for decades to come. It will also define our generation in the annals of American history…

All things that we cherish and hold dear are now being threatened. What will YOU do? Will we, as American citizens, be up to the task? Will we honor our civic responsibility and the memory of our founding fathers? Can we look our children and grandchildren in the eye and be able to say ‘I did all that I could do’?

In today’s age, we throw quotes around as if they’re so many nickles, however, I ask you to take a silent moment and really read the following quote;

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done” — Ronald Reagan

There is a rally being held in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, for those who can, you should be there! For those who cannot, then you should visit the local office of your U.S. Representatives. In most cases, that will take an hour out of your day. For those who cannot do that, a phone call or fax will work just as well.

This is a serious time in America, folks…does it matter to you how our generation will be viewed by those who follow us? We CAN make a difference, if we harness that great American spirit, as so many have done before us, and unleash it upon those who wish to oppress us!

“If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace” Thomas Paine

Reconciliation appears to be the weapon of choice, and Nancy Pelosi is calling on her fellow Democrats to throw themselves down on the sword, urging her colleagues to back a major overhaul of U.S. health care even if it threatens their political careers.  Reconciliation is unprecedented and unusual for a few reasons. 

First, the left is using reconciliation as a procedure of last resort to get ObamaCare passed.  ObamaCare passed the House in November and the Senate on Christmas Eve, yet they are resorting to reconciliation because they know they can’t get one Republican to support the President’s health care bill in the Senate. 

Second, reconciliation has never been used to amend a bill that has yet to pass.  It will be used to pass a new bill that amends the Senate passed version of ObamaCare. 

Finally, reconciliation has not traditionally been used to steamroll the will of the American people.  The American people should take note that Washington continues to view their opposition with contempt and politicians would like you to believe that they know what is best for America. 

Your federally elected officials are telling you right now — You shall get ObamaCare, whether you like it or not.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TELL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS?

The article that follows is the first piece in what will be an ongoing series on the “Tea Party” phenomena- both as a movement, and as an official political party in the State of Florida.  The Shark Tank’s objective is to provide an open forum for a wide variety of perspectives on this topic, as we will encourage guest authors to publish their viewpoints.

- The Editors of the Shark Tank

FLORIDA TEA PARTY HIJACKED – CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS DECLARE WAR

By Michael Johns

The American Tea Party movement emerged as one of the top stories of 2009, and for good reason: the mass movement of millions of liberty-minded Americans into the political arena is the largest shift of its kind in modern times.

I was honored to play a role in the Reagan Revolution as a young man. Then, I considered myself a conservative first and a Republican second; I still do today.  Thirty years later, the Tea Party movement has eclipsed that era fourfold.

Unfortunately, we are probably also four times as likely to see our movement spin out of control.

In fact, according to the mainstream media, we are already self-destructing.  As usual, the reporters are mistaken. But America’s Tea Party organizations (TPOs) are facing serious challenges on several fronts.

Conservative Republican political strategist Stephen Gordon recently told MSNBC that our movement was ripe for a hijacking from the start.  His reason: inexperienced Tea Party activists needed the help of experienced GOP operatives. Gordon wisely noted that, in the end, the professional consultants “want those email lists, they want the dollars, they want to control the organization.”

Gordon is right; we are a takeover target. Already major TPOs are being accused of lining the pockets of top-notch Republican operatives and individual entrepreneurs in the Tea Party movement.  In Florida, three men disguised as Tea Party activists are flat-out hijacking the movement to promote unfit candidates.

The name “TEA Party” was quietly registered in Florida last summer and rolled out to the great surprise and dismay of state activists.  Nobody had heard of the founders; nobody had met them at Tea Party events.  Soon the party announced their support for State Senator Paula Dockery, a RINO candidate for governor, and threatened legitimate TPOs with trademark litigation if they continued using the Tea Party moniker.

A spokesman for the newly registered party, Doug Guetzloe, has a long and notorious record of running political trick plays and compromising on core conservative ideals.  The deceptive Florida TEA Party could be used to promote Guetzloe’s clients and, more importantly, hurt their opponents. Guetzloe has, for instance, spoken supportively of liberal Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), who Tea Party activists hope to replace with a more conservative, liberty-minded candidate this November.  He also has been an advocate of Dockery’s candidacy, which is requiring probable Republican nominee Bill McCollum, a solid conservative, to dedicate resources to a primary battle that would be better spent in the highly contentious general election campaign.

Worse: a U.S. Senate candidate by the name of Jorge Lovenguth has made noise about running under the Florida TEA Party in the general election.  This is another clear signal, this time to both Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist, that the new party intends to be at the general election table. According to Guetzloe’s record, that means money.

In just one month, the leaders of the registered party have been quoted representing Florida TPOs in the state media and even in the recent New York Times Magazine feature on Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio.  Clearly the media has been duped already; rank-and-file Tea Party activists are next.

Fortunately, Florida Tea Party activists and organizations quickly united in a federal court action against the perpetrators of the new party.  Their complaint against the Florida TEA Party and its founders, filed last week in Miami federal district court, asks for a declaratory judgment separating the two groups and a court order to stop the party’s threats of litigation.

The unified coalition, built so rapidly behind the lawsuit, is an indication of just how robust our Tea Party movement is today.  South Florida Tea Party v. TEA Party proves TPOs are united when we face a common enemy out-of-step with our shared values, bent on hijacking our movement.

Because that spells trouble for liberals in both parties, they naturally want to close their eyes and pretend we are disappearing or self-destructing.  We will not.  Impressively, America’s Tea Party movement boasts approximately five million members today. According to a recent Rasmussen Poll, a majority of Americans view the Tea Party movement “favorably” or “very favorably.” Clearly our upside growth potential is hugely significant to the future of American politics.

Nobody knows better than the grassroots how this movement comes alive at Tea Party protests, 912 rallies and other events.  There is a lot of potential energy there to be harnessed. Of course, many politicians cannot resist the urge to poach.  And then there’s the money.  I don’t begrudge any entrepreneur, but the buyer–and the seller–must beware, especially in cases like the Florida TEA Party.

Let the liberals mistake our growing pains as a death rattle. In truth, our remarkable and promising movement is sorting itself out in a healthy manner, even when facing major political obstacles, and we’re not yet one year old.

We must protect our independence vigilantly and pursue our shared goals with enthusiasm and collaboration.  Every day we are not working together, we take one step forward and two steps back. With the unity we have demonstrated against the so-called TEA Party of Florida, we proved we are at our best when we stay focused on the whites of the enemies’ eyes.

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Michael Johns, a former Heritage Foundation policy analyst and White House speechwriter, is one of the founders and national leaders of the Tea Party movement.  He is Chairman of The Patriot Caucus, a national Tea Party organization, and a board member of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition.