The Silent Tea Party
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| Mike Landry |
“Tell your wife I went and voted in the school board election,” he says. "She was right, there was nobody there, no line. I got in real easy.” The man is our neighbor down the road. The Cutest Community Organizer to whom I am married has been out talking to the neighbors, getting them to vote, encouraging them to support good candidates. Cutest Community Organizer has designated herself as our local precinct captain. That’s remarkable, since our county Republican Party does not have precinct captains, but that doesn’t stop her. The man said he had followed her advice: “Tell her I called the courthouse about an absentee ballot.” (his health is not very good). “They said they’d mail me one, so I imagine I’ll get that in a few days.”
Enjoying a beautiful Ozark morning, the man and I talked politics. Despite the health problems that have caused him difficulty in going to vote, he is knowledgeable about political personalities and what’s going on. Finally, having solved all the world’s problems, we wound up our conversation. Said the man: “I’m a Tea Partier. I’ve never been to one of their meetings, but I’m a Tea Partier.”
A Tea Partier. But he’s never been to a meeting or been to a protest. A silent Tea Partier. How many others like him?
A few days later, some of our local Tea Party people met at a local steak house with a coalition of other Tea Partiers from around the state. After the meeting, several of us hung out in the meeting room, enjoying dessert when a young man came in and began bussing the tables. I don’t remember who started it, but we got into a conversation about politics. He demonstrated keen knowledge of what is going on. He talked of issues, voiced knowledgeable criticisms, and said he liked the Tea Party.
A potential Tea Partier? But he’s never been to a meeting or been to a protest. A silent Tea Partier? How many others like him?
Today, Cutest Community Organizer went through the drive-through of a local fast food place. As the teenage boy serving at the window gave her change and a receipt, he slipped her a piece of paper. Taped to the paper was a printed question: What is your opinion of the Obama healthcare bill? Cutest Community Organizer pointed thumbs down and drove off.
The Silent Tea Party.
It speaks November 2…
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Dr. Mike Landry is a university business professor, a former minister, journalist, radio talk show host, He is actively involved with Arkansas' Washington County Tea Party and he blogs the Wildcat Creek Review where this article was first posted.
Tags: TEA party, tea partier, silent, Silent Tea Party, silent voices, Mike Landry, Arkansas, November is Coming, 2010 election To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 4:05 PM - Post Link
1 Comments:
I wanted to make a comment about the"school board election" mentioned in the post. Recently, my wife and I voted early in a school board election that was about a significant additional bond debt for our local school district. I commented that there would be probably no one in line when we arrived to vote. Boy was I wrong! There must have been 30 people in line, all teachers!
The moral of this story is -- teachers always vote for more debt for their districts. Always vote in every election you can if you want to reduce your local, state and federal debt. If you don't, the people who feed of this debt will be there voting for you!
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