Please enjoy these encouraging words from one of the original Tea Partiers, Eric Odom:
Time for a Tea Party!Fellow Patriots,
On this day a year ago, about 850 tea party organizers were scrambling to finalize plans for their part in the Historic April 15th, Tax Day Tea Party of 2009.
I remember it well, because I was one of those organizers. I was also fortunate enough to be a "national organizer" (yes, there were national organizers in 2009) and I along with Amy Kremer (Now with the Tea Party Express), Jenny Beth Martin (Now with Tea Party Patriots), Michael Patrick Leahy (Now with National Tea Party Coalition), Stacy Mott & Teri Christoph (Smart Girl Politics), and MANY others were working tirelessly to field media calls, organize volunteers to handle mass amounts of incoming email, and put the finishing touches on a strong network of activists who would work together to get out the message on April 15th.
On April 15th of 2009, the number of concerned Americans to hit the street by far exceeded our expectations. In Chicago, a city that many refused to believe we could get more than 500 people to rally, we had an estimated 5,000 patriots gather in protest.
There were several cities in Texas and other states where an estimated 20,000+ Americans gathered. In total, many experts believe the total nationwide numbers exceeded 900,000 across the country on April 15th last year!
The year that followed
Much has happened in the past 12 months. Our group, Liberty First PAC, quickly became a prominent "Tea Party Activist PAC," playing a big role in the Scott Brown election and now working in 40 races. Tea Party Patriots came out swinging on the advocacy front and dominated the movement in fighting government growth and take-over of the private sector. Tea Party Express made huge surges forward in rallying activists for the purpose of electoral activism, and also played a critical role in several key races to date.
Local organization
On a much more local scale, literally thousands of new patriot groups and coalitions now thrive. Think about that for a second.
It took the "progressive movement" decades to organize in local communities. It took patriots about 14 months.
Things you can do this week
-Liberty First PAC
We've had our list of targeted races live for several weeks now. You can view the entire list here.We ask that you share the list with as many people as possible, and consider a contribution to help us oppose the incumbents in these districts.
Electoral activism is vital this year, and our group will work aggressively to ensure that activists are manning campaigns for the purpose of defeating incumbents.
-Contract from America
Sign it. Pledge it. Share it. Spread it.-Tax Day Tea Party
When you attend an event this week, make sure you take cameras and document the event. Don't let media twist the event. If there are thugs trying to cause problems, document their actions and make sure bloggers know about it.Make your message clear and simple. Government is expanding, intruding on our rights, and wasting our money. There is no need to to go beyond these basic flaws.
-Electoral Activism
No matter what kind of rally you attend, no matter what group you're a part of, don't leave a tea party without finding a campaign to volunteer for. Every single tea partier should be volunteering for a campaign this year.Make phone calls, send emails, knock on doors, hand out materials, organize meet-and-greets, help raise money, do whatever you can but do it for campaigns!
Don't let your activism end at a rally!
Finally, on behalf of our coalition here at TaxDayTeaParty.com and Liberty First PAC, I want to thank the thousands of patriots who contribute to our efforts. Your help has been instrumental in helping us build a foundation on which to oppose incumbents, and we greatly appreciate each and every one of you.
Now let's go take our country back!
For Liberty,
-Eric Odom
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