Column by Jan Mills, 2009 Altoona mayoral candidate
Dear I Love Altoona Editor,
We should encourage the function of the TEA Party principally as a Grass Roots Organization! By that, I mean the power and effectiveness of the organization should be no larger than county wide! I suggest this for each county nationwide!
County TEA Parties can work together for a concern as the need indicates. As a group of counties, they can be effective to a region and eventually the state if necessary. TEA Parties should never be a political entity! They should be a forum for expression. They should be a “Think Tank” of the collective ordinary citizens of the common interests of that county. Collectively the counties could advocate change that addresses the common wishes of the common folk!
All of the political parties should utilize the TEA Parties as a source for the pulse of the people!
Just as our potential of good is cultivated in our own back yards, so is the beginning of our growing corruption. However, where is it easier to weed than in our own small back yard plots? If we do not keep our back yard gardens properly cultivated, we see the uncontrollable spreading to our neighbor’s yard. Allowed to go unchecked, we soon see the Kudzu effect! Read of the impact of Kudzu throughout the south! It also started as a good thing! The importation of the Kudzu plant to the south was to be a quick-fix! As history has shown us over the years, “quick-fixes” never work and certainly never last!
The nation as a whole can only be cleaned and maintained one back yard at a time! The positive effectiveness lies in the ability to clean and maintain your own back yard and not the massive collection of all the back yards!
The power of the nation needs to go home! The power and effectiveness needs to come from the home, not over the home!
Who wants to live in an unkempt place? Who wants to wallow in mud and slime? Who will do a better job of cleaning the mess than the one living in the mess? The power has always been in the people. It is the people who abdicated that power to others. Shame on us for not taking it back!
When you consider political parties, the TEA Parties should never be a party of the political machine. The TEA parties need to remain a platform for ideas. The political parties need to LISTEN to the intent and desires of the TEA Parties.
No political party should ever be allowed to take over a TEA Party! The Democrat Party and the Republican Party should remain! Two more parties could evolve! Perhaps a bonafide Conservative Party and a bonafide Libertarian Party. The titles, Republican or Grand Old Party in no way define that party. To this writer, Conservative makes a definitive statement that would allow conservatives from either party a place to hang their hats!
Technically those other two parties exist, but they are not given the significant status as bonafide parties. If they were, they would have merit to challenge either of the current parties of prominence, although that stature would evolve over time with consistency of party ideals and principles.
Each party has an obligation to state its tenets loud, clear and in simple, understandable terminology to enable the prospective or potential joiners to make their intended choice. Since this is not happening, the citizen who is not actively involved is not sure what the particular party represents as far as precepts. Pathetically, many times those that are actively involved do not agree on what their party stands for on specific tenets.
Sincerely,
Jan Mills, Sr.
ILoveAltoona.com has produced the Blair County Family Fun Card. 
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I wholeheartedly agree! As a people, our region, our state and even our nation have become lax to the point that not only do they refuse to take part in how their government is run, but have adopted the mentality that government should do everything for them! If history tells us anything, it’s to be wary when the governing body is issuing handouts. It is about time we returned to self-reliance as a way of life and put ourselves back in control of how our business is done.
The people in power, including our own governor, are eager to silence the word of the people they are hired to represent and enjoy passing off the grassroots movements as militants, extremists and fanatics simply because they disagree with what is being fed to them. Cheers to Atty Gen. Tom Corbett for executing the will of the people when Gov Rendell continues to toe the line!
It is OUR responsibility as citizens to keep watch over the people WE hired to do our business. It is OUR responsibility to take care of our towns, cities and country. It is OUR responsibility to contribute to society by working for what it is we want and not expecting someone else to carry our burdens. “Government for the People” was not meant to read “Government supporting the People”.
I fully concur with your enlightened view of the grass roots movements Mr. Mills and am happy that you are aware of the line between the parties and the TEA Party movement. One is not required to be a Democrat or a Republican to value freedom. I believe that the parties as they exist have fallen to far into their agendas to realize the popular needs of the people they represent. Grassroots activism is the best way to help bring these parties up to speed on the will of their people. It seems the conservative-minded among us have managed to figure that out more quickly and will surely have the opportunity to turn things around after November.