Fellow Patriots:
On the morning of April 1, (a/k/a April Fools' Day,) The Dallas Tea Party made a number of temporary changes to our website:
1. We replaced our standard Gadsden yellow color scheme with a deep blue pattern, copied directly from BarackObama.com.
2. We replaced our well-known Gadsden rattlesnake logo with a logo featuring a very goofy-looking cartoon snake over a modified version of Barack Obama's trademark 'O' symbol.
3. We changed our website header font from our traditional 'Declaration of Independence' script to Century Gothic (mimicking Barack Obama's signature fonts).
4. We revised our website header to replace our longstanding slogan 'Stand Up for Liberty' with Karl Marx' famous redistributionist maxim : 'From each according to his ability; to each according to his need.
5. We inserted a blog post announcing that we would begin, as of April 1, to formally endorse candidates, beginning with our endorsement of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham for President of the United States.
These changes created some confusion and consternation within tour membership. Some of our members thought that we had cut loose from our core principles, embraced Marxism and formally endorsed one of the squishiest and most progressive Republicans in the United States Senate.
In short, dozens of our members found themselves wondering if The Dallas Tea Party had fallen completely off its rocker.
We write today to set minds at ease. The temporary changes to our website were only a prank for April Fools' Day--nothing more. Just to make clear:
1. The Dallas Tea Party has not wavered from our core principles of Limited Government, Fiscal Responsibility, Personal Responsibility, the Rule of Law and National Sovereignty.
2. The Dallas Tea Party has always been--and continues to be--committed to ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP, which means that it is the RIGHT and the DUTY of all citizens to inform themselves, think for themselves, and make their own decisions.
3. Consistent with our commitment to active citizenship, The Dallas Tea Party is not endorsing, nor has it ever endorsed, any political candidate.
4. If The Dallas Tea Party should ever decide to endorse a political candidate, it is next to impossible that a squishy progressive like Lindsey Graham would even be considered.
And now, back to coverage of the man-caused disaster that is the House Republican 'leadership'...
After careful consideration, the Steering Committee of the Dallas Tea Party has made two monumental decisions.
FIRST, effective as of today, The Dallas Tea Party will be vetting and openly endorsing candidates for public office at all levels.
We did not come to this decision lightly. We have considered all points of view, and have given them all due consideration. On balance, it is our unanimous decision that the voters should no longer be left to find their own way without our reasoned guidance and direction. From now on, we will be giving voters the direction they need to make the right decisions at the polls. The stakes are simply too high to risk the chance that voters may make the wrong decisions.
SECOND, it is with great pleasure and pride that we announce Dallas Tea Party's very first endorsement.
This man has been a Senate leader for many years.
He has been in the middle of every key floor battle, standing on his principles.
Whether it was the Senate battle over 'comprehensive immigration reform,' the fight over cap and trade, or any of the other key battles on the Senate floor, the people of South Carolina have had a staunch and unwavering advocate in Washington.
It may be comforting to assume that Barack Obama will be easy to defeat in 2012, but this is by no means certain, The right candidate to take on Barack Obama will need rock-solid principles and an ability to connect to Americans on fundamentals. The difference between the right candidate and the wrong one may very well mean the difference between victory and defeat.
On one level, the decision of the right presidential candidate was a tough decision. On another level, it wasn't that tough at all.
There's a saying, 'when you've hacked off everybody equally, you've probably done it about right.'
On that score, the Senator from South Carolina has done it about perfectly.
In contrast to our current Commander-in-Chief, he rarely, if ever, shrinks from a fight.
He's been a staunch critic of 'birthright citizenship.'
He is a solid defender of the Second Amendment, rated 'A' by the National Rifle Association.
He's been willing to "throw out the playbook" when it comes to getting Republican judicial nominees confirmed.
He has shown himself capable of building effective coalitions and leading the charge for construcive change.
For these reasons and many more, we hereby formally endorse, for President of the United States, the senior Senator from South Carolina...
by Henry 2011-04-01 09:35:21
dallasjarrod
anonymous (BFE)
jkyle
Tammy
Dallas Tea Party's own Katrina Pierson got some great exposure and love from Michelle Malkin today:
Katrina Pierson is my people. She’s a feisty young Texas mom and Dallas tea party activist who supports limited government principles and rejects left-wing identity politics. She confronted the NAACP last year with a rousing manifesto of political independence and rebutted the left-wing group’s attacks on the tea party as racist:
“The reality is that we colored people no longer require the assistance from other Negros for advancement,” Pierson said. “These groups run to the rescue of distressed brown people only when the media deems it newsworthy. Meanwhile, there are inner city black children who continue to grow up fatherless while sharing a neighborhood with stray bullets, drugs and a plethora of liquor stores on every corner. … I don’t believe that the true meaning of this nation’s creed was to move black people from one form of slavery to another.”
The NAACP, she observed, is made up of “Democrats who bow to a Democrat master today as they once did over 200 years ago. Once this is realized by the forgotten society, race in this country will be as irrelevant as those who thrive off of it.” Amen, sister.
Go Katrina!!!
Via the Dallas Morning News:
For the first time in years — and perhaps ever — [Commissioners' Court] attendees were screened by a metal detector at the entrance to the commission chambers.
“You wanted decorum, you got decorum,” Price said after the meeting.
But many speakers said afterward they felt Jenkins was shielding Price and his colleagues from any sort of criticism.
“It's not fair that you can't speak your mind,” said Greg Byrne, whose public comments were cut short earlier by Jenkins’ gavel.
Former Dallas school board member Ron Price said he couldn't believe what he witnessed, comparing it to a “communist state.”
Ron Price said he was used to taking criticism from the public while in office.
“Sometimes you just have to take the shots,” he said.
Ron Price said he was calling on Jenkins and the commissioners to revise its conduct policy.
Jenkins said he was just enforcing a policy he inherited. But his enforcement of that policy this morning was more stringent that ever before.
Video from MyFoxDFW:
More from WFAA:
As longtime Dallas residents may know, John Wiley Price has a history of throwing temper tantrums...
Via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
DALLAS — The weekly meeting of Dallas County commissioners ended early and abruptly when a commissioner and audience members got into a shouting match.
The speakers were criticizing Commissioner John Wiley Price's role in Bruce Sherbet's resignation as county elections administrator. A speaker called Price "the chief mullah of Dallas County," a mullah usually defined as an educated Muslim trained in religious law and doctrine.
Price, the county's sole black commissioner, took offense at the term and asked, "Why are all the speakers white?" The audience shouted back, and Price told them to "go to hell."
As the shouting escalated, bailiffs stepped in and cleared the room.
Price later told KRLD-AM of Dallas he was bound to respond to being called a "mullah" in that context, which he thought to be racist.
More here.
LATEST NEWS ...
The Commissioner's Court was standing room only yesterday in support of re-instating Bruce Sherbet as Elections Administrator. Despite Commissioner Dickey's Court Order asking for a 2 year contract with Sherbet , it was denied 3/2 - Jenkins, Price & Garcia against and Dickey, Cantrell in favor.
Thanks to our 12 courageous speakers, the large public attendance and your numerous letters, emails and calls to the Commissioners, "the people" dominated the meeting and captured media attention. Who were the 12 speakers: Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Tea Partiers. This overthrow of our Election Department has united us all. Word has it that Jenkins and Price are tired of the public outcry on this subject and wish for it to go away. We have a news alert for John Wiley Price ... The Dallas Tea Party has no intentions of sweeping this under the rug. We already have another line-up of speakers for next Tuesday! And that is just the beginning...see below for how you can help.
The Dallas County Commissioners Court is learning that the scandal surrounding the ouster of Bruce Sherbet is not going away soon. On February 8th, a extended list of citizens showed up to speak out:
On Tuesday, February 1, a vicious winter storm descended on North Texas, rendering travel dangerous and many roads all but impassable.
Despite the nasty weather, a small but hearty band of citizens made their way to the County Administration building to let their voices be heard about the ouster of Dallas County Elections Chief Bruce Sherbet. Video of the Commissioners Court meeting is posted here:
The next meeting of the Commissioners' Court will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 8 and the Elections Department will be on the formal meeting agenda.
If you care about election integrity, this is the time to take a stand.
Details here:
Details via the Dallas Morning News:
Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet, under pressure from County Judge Clay Jenkins and County Commissioner John Wiley Price, said Wednesday that he would resign from the post he’s held for more than two decades.
Sherbet told The Dallas Morning News that he would submit a letter of resignation this morning and hoped to stay on the job until March 1.
“I don’t want to work under these conditions, where the county judge and the most powerful person in the county are against me for no legitimate reason,” Sherbet said. “I love my job, but I’ll go do something else.”
Jenkins released a carefully worded statement in which he misspelled Sherbet’s name...
Price had no reaction to Sherbet’s decision, but confirmed that he had talked to Sherbet Wednesday morning.
“It was good,” Price said of the meeting. “It was civil.”
But hours after that meeting, Sherbet decided to resign.
Sherbet has been Dallas County elections administrator since 1987 and is one of the most respected elections officials in the country.
Full article HERE.
More from Dallas Observer Why Is County Judge Gunning for Elections Chief Bruce Sherbet, 'One of the Good Guys'?
Good gag.
The endorsement may have been part of the prank, but still a good idea!
April Fools jokes aren%u2019t a good idea but I think ya all learned for sure what your members want. Silver lining.
PS Some of us don't need to have our blood boil.
ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT COMMIE OBAMA
even in jest, the thought of Mr Graham as a TEA Party candidate was enough to force me to take to my bed with a bottle of Makers Mark and a 12 pack of shiner and call it a day...
Many people were upset. Not a good time for fooling people.
"My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." Ronald Reagan, 11 Aug, 1984.
For those of you that got fooled, the very first clue that it was a prank was the statement that the board had decided to reverse its policy of NO ENDORSEMENTS. This is the first canon of the DPT and they would never reverse it without a much broader discussion.
So, from the first I was suspecting April Fools, but, as I read on, I began to think of Jim DeMint (an excellent choice), but the rest of the clues just weren't right, so I double-checked the date and knew right away it was a joke.
BTW, eventually the no endorsement policy MUST be reversed if the Tea Party is going to fulfill its promise of being the vanguard of the Revolution by taking over the Republican Party, competing with the Republican Assembly by making endorsements in the Primaries, and set out to change party rules to give the power to remove RINOs from the ballot to the grassroots.
I will concede on the endorsement part, for now, because it is not necessary for the main task, which is taking over the R party and CHANGING ITS RULES.
To put a point on it, the DTP must take the Dallas County party, because it is moribund. You need to recruit precinct chair candidates and, early on, a county chair candidate. You need to orgainze, raise money, etc. This task needs to start now.
BTW, I don't buy any of your arguments. You and I currently belong to an organization that has healthy in-fighting over candidates, that does not deny anybody (or their dog) the right to join, that does not require anybody to 'fall in line' after candidates are chosen ('endorsed') and adequately handles those logistics: it is called the Republican Party of Texas and last time I checked it OWNS Texas state government.
You shouldn't worry, the DTP is too big to be hijacked and you want more like-minded people joining. This is the nature of political organizations
Can the California voters put pressure on this RINO?