Is The AFP/Tea Party Petering Out?

4-15-2009

4-15-2010

According to last night's AFP Meeting at Brew River, yes. Considering the speakers and guests scheduled for last night's meeting, very few people actually attended last night's meeting. I was not present but Salisbury News had people in attendance and all reports came back with around 50 people, then you have to subtract invited guests and their posse. That would make the numbers down to 35 people, or so. I have attended AFP Meetings where they packed two rooms at Brew River and many people had to stand the entire time. Last night's meeting was one room and every one had a seat.

Now let's look at this a few different ways. The Tea Party event at the GOB in 2009 was much larger than the event held in 2010. Why, because many local people did not want to see Obama elected into Office. They gathered and spoke out about how angry they are at our government and Obama was NOT the kind of "Change" this country needs. Moving forward to 2010, the crowd was about 50% less than it was the year before. More radical people got up to speak and a serious fight almost broke out.

So just how angry are these people? Just what is the AFP/Tea Party accomplishing?

I have spoken to several people who have been attending both Tea Parties and AFP Meetings and quite frankly a serious reality struck us in these discussions. Many believe that the democrats are laughing all the way to the bank because NOTHING is really being accomplished. NIGHT MEETINGS? While it is a step in the right direction, I believe Stevie Prettyman's proposal to make it ALL night meetings would have been the right thing to do. The AFP challenges Stevie Prettyman by stating she is against night meetings, (completely untrue) yet Stevie was the one who proposed all night meetings at the last council meeting.

The AFP recognizes their attendance is dwindling and are searching for "NEW TOPICS" to bring up as a sort of Master Plan. But in the end, what are they really accomplishing. Making threats towards a private citizen and or someone in the Press certainly isn't going to help their cause, hence last night's major reduction in attendance. Can you disagree with these groups?

The democrats are also enjoying watching all these people come together and then implode. With the proper leadership, this can be avoided. However, the AFP, (at least locally, anyway) has no interest in reassigning the right people into place to avoid such violence and threats. Therefore many are opting out and I can't blame them.

I have attended meetings where some people there had far too much to drink. Some have complained, (several times) about one of the AFP Co Chair person drinking too much. Some members get a few drinks in them and start interrupting speakers, something very difficult to control. Heck, there have been times when I've gone where some members are at the bar having a few drinks, rather than participating in the meeting. So what do you do about that, you hold the meetings at the Chamber of Commerce or the Library where no alcohol is served. That is, unless you're really trying to just get out of the house one night a month and have a few drinks. Then what's really being accomplished.

Again, managing and strategies is the key to a really good group/movement. I believe, in the end the local AFP will regret making some of the decisions they have chosen to make. As a whole, I see a lot of Americans wanting to make a difference but here's what I'd like every one to rally think hard about. In the last American Revolution, only about 3% of our country actually fought in that war. America has grown quite a bit since then. Even IF today's Americans became so angry that they wanted to actually FIGHT back, do you really believe you'll get 3% of the public to actually gather arms and start fighting this government? Just how far do you believe they'll get against our Armed Forces alone, let alone the other 97% of Americans against their movement.

Yeah, Freedom of Speech it's a great thing. I truly encourage ALL Americans to gather and voice their thoughts and opinions. However, you'd have to be a nut case to believe you're truly going to make a difference and the democrats know that. When Candidates get up and speak and they talk about taking our government back, (local or national) do you really believe you can actually make that happen.

Now, that being said. Yes, you can make a difference at the polls. How's it working for you? You can gather, scream, yell and even threaten people with physical violence and even death threats. However, what's it going to get you in the end. While I support and believe in people gathering for a cause, I also believe proper management and goals, (including rules) need to be set. If someone violates those rules, they're out. Without those rules, all you have are a bunch of angry people getting out and punching brick walls.

The AFP/Tea Party people need to get smarter about how they're doing things. The democrats don't want you to know that. They are enjoying the implosion and when election day comes along you can expect pretty much most Americans will vote the way they were going to vote in the first place, along their party lines. Local elections will be different though, as they should be.

Last night's meeting sent a clear message. One, not many people are interested in Joe Ollinger. Two, MANY people were upset at the physical threats against me personally. Three, without a Master Plan, this movement will fail, at least locally.

Regroup AFP.