Tea Party

I am curious why some of my friends are opposed to the "Tea Parties" that have spread across the American political landscape in recent years.  I have not visited a Tea Party gathering but I have read of them and their philosophies and am, in general, in line with their thinking.

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The TeaParty.net site stated this:

Our mission is to recruit like-minded Americans to the Tea Party movement in order to advance the principles of limited government, fiscal restraint, and individual liberty at all levels of government through promotion and education.

The Tea Party movement is a grassroots movement of millions of like-minded Americans from all backgrounds and political parties. Tea Party members share similar core principles supporting the United States Constitution as the Founders intended, such as

Limited federal government
Individual freedoms
Personal responsibility
Free markets
Returning political power to the states and the people

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The San Antonio Tea Party had this to say:

Mission of the San Antonio Tea Party

“ to restore government by and for the people”

We the People …

     RECOGNIZE …

          that God grants to all people certain unalienable rights,…
          that people in turn grant to governments their consent to be governed, and…
          that government’s role is defined by the people to preserve those rights.

We the People …

     ACKNOWLEDGE …

          the concept of American Exceptionalism, that the United States of America is a “city upon a hill,” a beacon of good at home  and abroad.

We the People …

     DEFINE…

          the mission of the San Antonio TEA Party, Inc., is to educate and advocate for…
          maintenance of a strong national defense to retain our National sovereignty,…
          protection of individual rights and liberties while promoting personal responsibility, morality, and religious expression,…
          strict adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law, and …
          exercise of limited government, sound fiscal policies, and free enterprise.

We the People …

     COMMIT to…

          remain non-partisan in our efforts, …
          ensure government policies and actions are in keeping with our mission objectives, and …
          hold our government officials accountable to …

We the People!

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I am in favor of these Constitutionally minded tenants and hope to attend a local meeting sometime in the near future in order to see if the fuss I'm hearing in the news media is real, or just another distraction from the vastly liberal minded media.