Tea Party - Jan 3, 2011

As far as I know, there aren't any Tea Parties on the immediate horizon. I hope I'm wrong about that. Maybe I haven't been looking in the right places. What I do know is that there are a few reasons that the Tea Parties need to continue. Just because the Republicans won, doesn't mean the need for Tea Parties has stopped. Consider the following points;

• The Republicans need to remember they are on borrowed time to prove themselves. They needn't be worried about being held responsible for blockage coming from Democrats or the President. They need to be held accountable for their new majority in congress.
• As many are pointing out, the campaign for President in 2012 started on November 3rd. The Tea Parties didn't win as big a victory in the Senate as in Congress. The Executive branch is an even bigger prize, which means it will require even more work. That means Tea Parties need an earlier start than in the previous cycle.
• Keeping Tea Parties in the public eye will stop it from becoming yesterday's news or a forgotten movement. Having nothing on the horizon does not look good.
• When the new Congress is sworn in a Tea Party rally would prove to those in Washington that the movement is not to be ignored now that the election is over. That means, in contrast to the note above about Republicans, that Democrats should take notice too.
• It also helps destroy the myth that the Tea Party movement is not just a re-branding of conservative Republican voters but that the purpose of the movement is to put everyone in Washington on notice that the voters are not just Republicans but rather concerned citizens of all stripes.

There's ample reason to do this, not the least of which is the reason it started in the first place - government debt, government intrusion and government  over-reach.  So, disparate Tea Party organizers, next rally, DC, Jan 3rd, 2011? What do you say?