SWGA Politics

4 Principles. 20 Reasons. New Movement.[ March 7, 2010 – 11:28 am]by Jeff Posted in » General

Last week, I told y’all about a mostly Democrat-oriented response to the mostly Republican-oriented Tea Party that is calling itself the Coffee Party. I was even invited on The Morning Drive with Frank Barnas on NewsTalk 105.9fm in Valdosta to discuss this movement.

After much discussion (admittedly mostly joking about it), the liberty movement is starting our own response to both of these movements, which I also mentioned on air Friday (jokingly even then):

The Beer Party.

Our aim is simple: To restore genuine Liberty in this land – and to have some fun while doing it.

The Tea Party is a bunch of pissed off people mostly mad because the OTHER guy gets to dictate what you will or will not do now. The Coffee Party is a bunch of people finally happy that THEY get to dictate what you will or will not do now – and ironically, their actions haven’t been very much different from the people they were so “oppressed” by.

We in the Beer Party just want to leave you the Hell alone and get government OUT of your daily life, since it was never meant to be there to begin with.

We’re a very young movement, with very old ideas (like, Founding Fathers old). But we do have a FB fan page, and we’re working on getting everything else set up, such as a website, twitter account, etc.

The Libertarian Party of Southwest Georgia Annual Convention will be just under 3 weeks from now, on March 27 at 3pm. I’m looking at possibly kicking off the area Beer Party at Harvest Moon after that meeting, probably around 5-6p.

Anyone and everyone is welcome at either event. Don’t like alcohol? We’re not forcing you to drink, and we won’t judge you if you don’t. Feel free to enjoy the beverage of your choice. No worries!

Here’s a couple of resources to get an idea of what we think (and remember, unlike those other two Parties, we actually genuinely encourage open debate around these ideas!):
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Tea Party, Meet the Coffee Party[ February 27, 2010 – 4:51 pm]by Jeff Posted in » National

One central belief of Tom and I is that by and large, when a movement springs up on one end of the political spectrum another corresponding movement will spring up on the other side.

Fascism and Communism are examples. Liberals and Conservatives are another. Democrats and Republicans. Greens and Constitutionals. You get the idea.

Is it therefore any surprise that the Tea Party has a similar opponent forming as we speak, with chapters across the US – including here in Georgia?

This opponent is the Coffee Party.
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Tea Party in Plains, Georgia[ July 5, 2009 – 10:04 am]by Bill Waller Posted in » National

How did you spend your Independence Day? If you live in Southwest Georgia, did you remember the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence by going to the lake, watching fireworks, or grilling in the backyard or did you go to Plains, Georgia?

The Independence Day Tea Party in Plains, Georgia attracted an estimated crowd of more than 400, not too shabby for a town with a population of 700. We had watermelon, games, and close friends. We gathered in the same spirit of the signers as we took a stand against an out of control government. We even had James Brown, Jimmy Buffett, and Elvis! Okay, James Brown is a pastor from Barnesville that spoke, Elvis was sung by entertainer Jimmy Hudson, and Jimmy Buffett was a llama that shares the same name as the famous performer and is the second famous “Jimmy” in the small town of Plains.
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Listening To The People?[ May 12, 2009 – 3:02 pm]by Tom Posted in » General

On April 15, 2009, hundreds of thousands of Americans literally took to the streets to protest the federal government.  The entire staff of SWGA Politics hit the tea parties, with Bill Waller serving as co-organizer of the Albany Tea Party and I as a speaker.  Jeff was conspicuous at the Leesburg Tea Party as well.  This was, in my opinion, one of the finest moments in American History.  It was the system of free speech at work.

However, I read time and time again about how the tea parties were astroturfing.  In a recent post on The Democratic Strategist, attacks were leveled against some core libertarian groups. Read More …

Marginalizing The Tea Parties[ April 28, 2009 – 5:30 am]by Tom Posted in » National, State

On April 15, tens of thousands of people literally took to the streets to protest the federal government. Most protested using tax dollars for stimulus. Others focused on auditing the Federal Reserve Bank. In Atlanta alone, estimates are that 15,000 people showed up to have their voices heard. However, the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s blog begs to differ in this post by Jim Galloway. Read More …

Albany Tea Party Speech: Tom Knighton[ April 17, 2009 – 5:36 am]by Tom Posted in » Local

My name is Tom Knighton. I’m not that different from you all. I’m married to a wonderful woman. I have an amazing son who I’m so proud of I can’t begin to describe. I have a home, two cars, a cat, and a dog. Really, I’m as close to the quintessential American as any of you are. And I’ve always wondered how it is that a man who robs you at gun point is a thief, unless he works for the IRS? After all, then it’s taxes! The problem is, we’re all victims of theft.

That’s right, we are all victims. Victims to a government who takes our wages before we even have an opportunity to even see them. They take our money by force, making us work for months with essentially no wage.

We’ve all done this for years I suspect. We’ve been silent in our victim hood, because we believed Washington when they told us it was for our own good. We were told that taxes were the price we paid to live in a civilized society. We were told that our taxes were going to make the world a better place. And we foolishly believed them.

Guess what folks? Apparently, to make the world a better place, we have to pay for incompetence. We have to pay for ineptitude. We have to pay for arrogance. And we have to pay for fraudulence.

All over the country, we have been told how we have to bail out Wall Street. We have to Bail out Detroit. We have to bail out those who bought houses they couldn’t afford. My question to Washington is “why?” Why do I have to bail out those who lied? Why do I have to bail out those who didn’t think? Why do I have to bail out anyone?
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Albany Tea Party Speech: Bill Waller[ April 17, 2009 – 5:01 am]by Jeff Posted in » Local

On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists in Boston staged a protest against the British crown. The colonists wanted Boston to return three ships of taxed tea to the king. The colonists, dressed as Indians, boarded the ships and tossed the tea into the Boston Harbor. It is in that spirit that we gather here today!

If you have ever seen the movie “National Treasure” you know that the characters in the movie examine the Constitution for clues to a treasure. While I do not know if such a treasure exists, I do know that there is a clue hidden in the Constitution. The founding fathers put it there for occasions such as this. They didn’t really make a big effort to hide it either. Instead, they made the letters far bigger than the rest of the text of the document. WE THE PEOPLE…

You see, the government gets its power from us, not the other way around, and when we have allowed the government to get so big that our representatives do not represent us, it is time that we take it back.

It has long been said that the majority of people in America live conservative values. We go about our lives in an independent fashion and we are slow to complain or speak out. But the silent majority will be silent no more!
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Post Tea Party Commentary[ April 15, 2009 – 9:43 pm]by Tom Posted in » Albany Dougherty County, National

So here we are, post tea parties…for now.  More are coming, of that I have no doubt.  Since that’s the case, I wanted to offer a few of my own personal observations on this amazing event.

First, there’s a lot of people asking “where were you when Bush was pushing for TARP?”  First, I’d like answer that I was in the exact same place.  I had the opportunity to speak at the Albany Tea Party.   Speakers focused on different things, but I focused on bailouts of banks, car companies, and people who bought homes they couldn’t afford.  Obama didn’t cause this crisis, that I’ll agree with 100%.  However, his policies aren’t going to end it either.

A great number of people at the Albany Tea Party made a point of saying that BOTH parties up in Washington were responsible for the mess we’re in.  And no, these weren’t just Libertarians.  These were people from various walks of life and political affiliations.    They were just as sick of the spending as I am, and I’m thrilled to have them as allies.

There’s been a lot of talk about Republicans co-opting the tea parties as a way to try and build back momentum.  Here’s the thing to keep in mind.  Tax protestors are now energized.  We’ve been part of something beyond my imagination just a few months ago. There have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,000 tea parties in the United States today.  Never in my life have so many locales coordinated in protest.  My mother, who vividly remembers the civil rights marches and anti-war protests of the 1960’s can’t either.  3,000 different places.

My point is, so what if Republicans tried to co-opt the message.  All over the place, people were focusing on the message of taxation and spending, rather than partisan BS.  Republicans can try and hijack the message, and they’ll fail.  We Libertarians are the largest party in the United States that had nothing at all to do with this mess, and that will come out in time.

As for the allegations of funding for the tea parties from wealthy Repubicans, I’m looking forward to the check for my speaking fee! (this bit blatantly ripped off from another speaker at the Albany tea party).  However, I don’t think I’ll ever see a dime from it, and I’m very OK with that.

Regardless of the backstory, something amazing happened today.  A coordinated protest the likes of which we’ve never seen took place.  People from all walks of life gathered to be heard.  The quesion is, does anyone in Washington even care?

[UPDATED]SWGA Tea Parties in the News![ April 15, 2009 – 5:09 am]by Publius Posted in » Local

SWGA Politics now has confirmed reports that at least one local media outlet will be at both the Albany and Leesburg Tea Parties. We will post the reports/articles as they appear, but look for a preview around Noon, with actual stories tonight!

[UPDATE] I’ve now heard that BOTH local TV stations will be out and about at SWGA Tea Party events. Jenna McWilliams from Fox will be at the Leesburg TEA Party, and as I hear more I will let you know. I am told that due to the timing of the events, first coverage on TV will actually begin at 10:30 tonight.

[UPDATE 2] Mike Sabot, the coordinator the the Leesburg Tea Party, now reports that he is being interviewed at 1p by both WALB and WFXL so that they can have something to report in the evening news at 6p.

[Update 3] This just came in from WALB via their WALB News Update email:

There is plenty of other tax news though. There are TEA parties scheduled for Albany and Leesburg, and several other towns in 10 Country. These are folks who say Americans are ‘Taxed Enough Already.’

[Update 4] Jenna’s work phone number is (229) 291-7718. If you are in the area and attending a TEA party, she would LOVE to talk to you. She will also be at the Leesburg TEA party tonight needing comments

Want a REAL Tea Party?[ April 14, 2009 – 6:14 pm]by Jeff Posted in » National

This just came to me from LP-National, and it sounds solid to me!

The Libertarian Party Prosperity Plan

1. Repeal the income tax: Adopt legislation repealing the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. Until the income tax is repealed, adopt legislation preserving the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and enacting across-the-board income tax cuts.
2. Adopt the Balanced Budget Amendment: Adopt a constitutional amendment requiring the federal budget be balanced, and balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes.
3. Abolish corporate welfare and bailouts: Adopt federal legislation prohibiting any federal spending program that provides payments or unique benefits and advantages to specific companies or industries, terminating programs that provide direct grants to businesses, eliminating programs that provide research and other services for industries and ending programs that provide subsidized loans or insurance to businesses.