Confessions of a Tea Partier: An Open Letter to the GOP

Dear GOP Establishment,

We need to talk. It’s not us. It’s you.

Any successful relationship must be based upon trust, mutual respect, and understanding. We are 0 for 3 in those categories. There is a deep schism within this Party between a Conservative Tea Party base and an elitist Progressive leadership. Things just don’t seem like they’re going to work out between us due to irreconcilable differences.

First off, we in the Tea Party don’t trust you guys. How can we when you break your campaign promises to us again and again? No matter how Conservative a Democrat candidate will try to appear when running for office, those who are foolish enough to pull the D-lever know exactly what they’re going to get: higher taxes, social welfare expansion, a reduced military, and more intrusive government regulations that further limit individual liberties. Democrat politicians run a limited gamut from the very Progressive Harry Reid all the way to the extremely Progressive Barack Obama. That is why we Conservatives cannot support the Democrat party. But don’t misinterpret that as us automatically granting our support for the Republican Party.

In a lot of ways it is often scarier and more frustrating to vote for the Republican candidate because there is really no telling what we are going to end up with. A GOP candidate may be pro-life or pro-choice, pro-traditional or pro-gay marriage, fiscally Conservative or pro-government expansion. The fact that the Republican Party can house both a Ted Cruz as well as a Chris Christie does not testify to the success of a Big Tent policy. It is evidence of a house divided, and sooner rather than later one of the factions is either going to have to change or pack up and move out.

You Establishment types know you can trust us Tea Partiers to stand for upholding the rule of law, supporting limited government, and championing personal responsibility. And that is one of the main reasons you don’t support this relationship. We say exactly what we mean and we mean exactly what we say. We expect no less from our elected officials. Because of our principles you label us “purists” and as Haley Barbour has said, “In politics, purity is the enemy of victory.”  That’s the issue. Our goal is not just to win at politics. We want to promote our principles and we want elected officials who will defend them because politics is the enemy of liberty. The electoral success of Wisconsin’s Scott Walker proves our point. We refuse to “play the game” or support those who do. In fact, we reject the game scenario all together. America is not a game to us – it is our life and legacy. We were honest about who we were from the beginning, but you constantly try to change us.

We don’t trust you guys because you have proven to be less than honest with us. You even deny your own existence by claiming “there is no Republican establishment,”. So, if you’re not the Establishment, what are you?  You’re certainly not Conservative, and you’d rather die than call yourself Tea Partiers. You won’t even stand up for us when we are called Tea Baggers, racists, homophobes, xenophobes, or a myriad of other derogatory terms. Your silence indicates you are in agreement. Sure you conduct investigations into the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups, but you knew about such tactics months before the November 2012 election. That doesn’t make us feel like you are on our side.

The term RINO (Republican in Name Only) has been coined to identify those who tout the Republican label while disavowing the Party values. But which is the true Republican Party? Is it the Conservative Tea Party base who stand firm for the Constitution and the rule of law? Or is it the elitist leadership of those such as Karl Rove who merely enjoy the wheeling and dealing of politics? The GOP Establishment must grasp this fact: if the leadership of the Republican Party truly represents what this party stands for, then the millions of Conservative Tea Partiers who generated historical 2010 electoral success are RINOs. We hold no allegiance to the Party or its selected candidates and the only qualms we have over exiting the GOP is that it ensures the Democrat party will never lose another election. But you seem to be saying you’re just fine with that. Have you really always been this self-destructive and delusional?

Many of us Conservatives only embraced the Republican Party because of the principled leadership of Ronald Reagan. But now the Establishment proclaims, “The Age of Reagan is officially over.”  If Ronald Reagan is no longer welcome in this Party we obviously aren’t either.

You act like you are ashamed to be seen with us in public. You can’t praise us enough during primary season when you need our votes. You court us, woo us, and make us all kinds of grand promises–then as soon as the election is over, and you don’t think you need us anymore, you don’t return our calls.  Much like John McCain, who pledged to “Build the danged fence” in a campaign promise, and then called us “Tea Party Hobbits” from the safety of post-election.

You just don’t get us. You incorporate buzz words, wave a flag, and throw in a “God Bless America” as if that makes you one of us. You then create political groups such as The Conservative Victory Project to masquerade as conservatives while attempting to knock off our candidates. You point with derision to Sharon Angle, Christine O’Donnell, Richard Mourdock, and Todd Akin – all candidates you actively undermined – but don’t acknowledge or even seem to care how much better our country would be had they won their elections. At the same time you implore us to rally around something called “Party unity.” Then, after you lose an election with “the only candidate that can win” you create an “Autopsy Report” to determine where to point the finger of blame. The Tea Party suggests you take a look in a mirror.

You obviously aren’t Mr. Right, but at times you don’t even seem like Mr. Right of Center. What does today’s Republican Party even stand for? The leadership certainly doesn’t seem to be working for the nation’s best interests. You don’t listen to us and blithely dismiss our concerns.

When we stand for legal immigration and enforcement of current law, you call us nativists.

When we call for smaller government and a cut to unsustainable entitlements, you vote to expand programs.

When we call for stronger border security and the rule of law, you vote to grant amnesty to millions of illegals.

When we call for the dismantlement of Obamacare, you stage empty votes for repeal while abandoning any attempts at real abolition.

When we send new Tea Party representatives to Congress each election, you hinder their efforts, seduce them through DC witchery (what did you do to our Rubio?), or order them to “Get your ass in line.”

You cheat on us as you opine about “widening the tent” as if this is some kind of Bill and Hillary open relationship. We’re a little skeptical of your faithfulness to our principles when you keep insisting on making Progressive side deals with other people. When you insist upon new roommates who don’t respect the house rules you are really telling us it is time to pack our bags and leave. You seem intent on your maddening quest to become the Democrat party. Just remember, if that was what we wanted we would have voted Democrat in the first place.

We have grown apart, but then, maybe we never really were together. You have abandoned our founding principles and that leaves us unequally yoked. We are a Party divided against itself. By the 2016 Presidential election the outcome will be clear. We will either nominate, support, and elect a truly Conservative candidate who will attempt to restore our Country or the Establishment will run another “only candidate who can win” who is doomed to fail. And then this relationship will be over for good.

We really wanted this to work, but, well, you’re you. We’re obviously not your type. We are living two different country songs. You, the Republican Establishment, are determined to force us to sing, “Stand by Your (Party) Man” while we Conservative Tea Partiers realize this relationship is heading for a “D-I-V-O-R-C-E.”