There is a new “grassroots movement” joining the political mix – meet the Coffee Party. What is the Coffee Party? Do you really need to ask? They are the Progressives’ anser to the Tea Party, of course! Their slogan – “Wake Up and Stand Up.” Their mission statement states that the federal government is “not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges we face as Americans.”
Let the brainwashing continue…
The NY Times recently wrote an article on the new movement. Read NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/us/politics/02coffee.html )
This article sparked an editorial in the Tyler (TX) Morning Telegraph based on the NY Times article. See the Op/Ed below:
New Hand Being Dealt At Political Roundtable
Welcome to the table. There’s plenty of room.
Conservatives and Tea Party activists should warmly greet the newest movement — the “Coffee Party” folks, for the very traits that make them different.
“Fed up with government gridlock, but put off by the flavor of the Tea Party, people in cities across the country are offering an alternative: the Coffee Party,” the NY Times reported last week. “Growing through a Facebook page, the party pledges to ‘support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.'”
The group’s motto is “Wake Up and Stand Up,” and the slogan for its upcoming convention is “Meet Me in the Middle.”
“The mission statement declares that the federal government is ‘not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges we face as Americans,'” the times explains.
“We’re not the opposite of the Tea Party,” says organizer Annabel Park. “The way I see it, our government is diseased, but you don’t abandon it because it’s ill. It’s the only body we have to address collective problems. You can’t bound government according to state borders when companies don’t do that, air doesn’t. It just doesn’t fit with the world.”
How refreshing!
The real value of the fledgling Coffee Party movement is in such invigorating honesty — in its open acknowledgement of a different philosophy.
Let the discussions begin.
Those talks — really, the testing of ideas — have been stalled for years, since the days when President Bill Clinton declared the era of big government over and Democrats began adopting Republican rhetoric. That continues through this day, as the Senate adopts “pay-as-you-go” rules (which are immediately ignored) and President Barack Obama warns lawmakers about the rising deficit.
Because truly there are two different philosophies here — two very different views on the proper role of government.
Tea Party activists have made it very clear where they stand: Government must be restrained, they say. The free market should be allowed to function unshackled by excessive regulation. And individualism is an American trait of which to be proud.
Coffee Party supporters are expressing the other view: Government is good — and is the proper means for effecting positive change in our lives. Free markets are fine in theory, but in the real world restraints and regulations must be put in place to protect the public. And the collective good trumps individualism.
Both sides should welcome dialogue, trusting their ideas can withstand scrutiny and trial.
The Coffee Party seems ready. It even has a civility pledge: “As a member or supporter of the Coffee Party, I pledge to conduct myself in a way that is civil, honest, and respectful toward people with whom I disagree. I value people from different cultures, I value people with different ideas, and I value and cherish the democratic process.”
So coffee drinkers and tea drinkers alike, pull up a chair. Fill your cups, and let’s talk.
One real smart guy (my Dad) responded to this article and put it in its’ proper perspective. See his letter to the editor below:
To: The Tyler Morning Telegraph, Tyler TX <opinion@tylerpaper.com>
Date: Thursday, March 11, 2010, 1:38 PM
To whom it may concern,
Your editorial introduced us to the alternative “Coffee Party”, via the spin of the ultra-liberal New York Times. Your editorial seems unduly impressed by the Coffee Party’s blatantly Marxist credentials.
Why in the world would you say that “conservatives and tea party activists should warmly greet the Coffee Party folks for the very traits that make them different”? This would be political correctness run amok! Their stated philosophy is that government must restrain, and regulate the Free Market System, and that the collective good trumps individualism, ie; personal liberty and freedom.
The Coffee Party seeks to engage conservatives and tea parties in debates, in order to gain credibility for their organization. They should be IGNORED. We know their ilk, and we are surprised that you, apparently, do not.
Q. W. Johannes
So I guess the message for all conservatives should be – let’s not validate a progressive “astro turf” movement designed to create a new way for the left to confuse the issues and the electorate.
This is just another attempt to move the progressive agenda forward with a new propaganda machine. Listen to their message – “Government is good — and is the proper means for effecting positive change in our lives. Free markets are fine in theory, but in the real world restraints and regulations must be put in place to protect the public. And the collective good trumps individualism”.
Wake up America! We don’t need coffee – we need strong conservative leaders and a conservative alliance that helps return our country to its’ Constitutional form of government – A Republic which favors limited federal government, a free market economy, states’ rights and values individual freedom.
Restore the Republic, Reject the Agenda of the Progressive Left!
“With respect to the two words ‘general welfare,’ I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.” — James Madison
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand” – Milton Friedman
Uncommon Sense 