Kathianne
11-27-2010, 01:05 AM
This is very good news, as the candidates gain experience and more importantly records at local and state levels. This time, they took who they could, got some good ones, got some not so much so.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/25/AR2010112504142_pf.html
Tea party hopes to plant local roots in Virginia for next year's statewide elections
By Rosalind S. Helderman and Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 26, 2010; 12:22 AM
With the November elections behind them, tea party activists are working to solidify their movement by pivoting quickly to state and local issues they think will allow them to show that theirs was not a one-time uprising tied to this year's congressional contest.
...
For the national groups, assisting activists with local elections helps sustain grass-roots enthusiasm with an eye toward the next round of congressional elections - and the presidential contest - in 2012.
And for the activists, local and state elections are opportunities to nurture candidates who share their political beliefs and to win offices the activists say hold the most influence over people's lives. After all, they say, their movement is built on the premise that power should be concentrated locally instead of in Washington.
"The tea parties are growing momentum every day," said Fran Telarico, a tea party organizer near Fort Collins, Colo., who is helping build a communications network among other local groups in Colorado to look ahead to 2012 as well as local races. "There are more people joining tea parties now than ever."
Opportunities in 2011
...
"For us to be effective, we have to learn the process. And we have to learn the process from the bottom up," said Mark Kevin Lloyd, chairman of the Lynchburg Tea Party. "When you have someone who's a political neophyte, and they jump into a bare-knuckled senatorial or congressional race, shoot, you gonna come out of that with knuckle bumps you weren't expecting."
Even before the elections, Virginia's activists plan to push an ambitious agenda during January's legislative session. How incumbents vote on the issues will help determine which face tea party challenges in the months ahead.
Top on the list is a bill expressing Virginia's support for a federal constitutional amendment to invalidate acts of Congress if two-thirds of state legislatures agree.
Some activists will also push for the elimination of the state's corporate income tax and for a bill that would make illegal in the state a federal cap on power plant emissions - the centerpiece of cap-and-trade proposals.
Party on a plate
One bill, submitted by a delegate from the Richmond area, would create a tea party license plate featuring the coiled rattlesnake from the Gadsden flag, which is often associated with the movement.
"This year, we did the best we could with the hand we were dealt," Hurd said. "But how do you effect change? You do it at the local level. Don't forget: Barack Obama was a state senator first."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/25/AR2010112504142_pf.html
Tea party hopes to plant local roots in Virginia for next year's statewide elections
By Rosalind S. Helderman and Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 26, 2010; 12:22 AM
With the November elections behind them, tea party activists are working to solidify their movement by pivoting quickly to state and local issues they think will allow them to show that theirs was not a one-time uprising tied to this year's congressional contest.
...
For the national groups, assisting activists with local elections helps sustain grass-roots enthusiasm with an eye toward the next round of congressional elections - and the presidential contest - in 2012.
And for the activists, local and state elections are opportunities to nurture candidates who share their political beliefs and to win offices the activists say hold the most influence over people's lives. After all, they say, their movement is built on the premise that power should be concentrated locally instead of in Washington.
"The tea parties are growing momentum every day," said Fran Telarico, a tea party organizer near Fort Collins, Colo., who is helping build a communications network among other local groups in Colorado to look ahead to 2012 as well as local races. "There are more people joining tea parties now than ever."
Opportunities in 2011
...
"For us to be effective, we have to learn the process. And we have to learn the process from the bottom up," said Mark Kevin Lloyd, chairman of the Lynchburg Tea Party. "When you have someone who's a political neophyte, and they jump into a bare-knuckled senatorial or congressional race, shoot, you gonna come out of that with knuckle bumps you weren't expecting."
Even before the elections, Virginia's activists plan to push an ambitious agenda during January's legislative session. How incumbents vote on the issues will help determine which face tea party challenges in the months ahead.
Top on the list is a bill expressing Virginia's support for a federal constitutional amendment to invalidate acts of Congress if two-thirds of state legislatures agree.
Some activists will also push for the elimination of the state's corporate income tax and for a bill that would make illegal in the state a federal cap on power plant emissions - the centerpiece of cap-and-trade proposals.
Party on a plate
One bill, submitted by a delegate from the Richmond area, would create a tea party license plate featuring the coiled rattlesnake from the Gadsden flag, which is often associated with the movement.
"This year, we did the best we could with the hand we were dealt," Hurd said. "But how do you effect change? You do it at the local level. Don't forget: Barack Obama was a state senator first."