We had a meeting a couple of nights ago and along with our regular attendees two new people also showed up.  As we went around the room and introduced ourselves, one of the new attendees told everyone this meeting was his “coming out” party.  He felt he could now come out of the closet and define himself as a tea party member and he was proud of it.

All of us “busted a gut” and that began a night filled with laughter.  It was a great meeting and one where I walked away thanking the big guy above for bringing new recruits to the mission.  And ones with a sense of humor too!

I am always so excited to see new faces.  They come just as some of those who have been working tirelessly in this movement since ’08 need a break, or have a personal issue that takes them away, or get sick, or just have to get back to making a living again.  Fresh new recruits are eager and excited to be a part of the movement and we are happy to welcome them in.

A year ago I was asked to speak at an event with Heritage.  It was a big day for me because I had admired Heritage from afar.  I knew they were a conservative organization who put out great research and wrote in depth white papers about issues facing our country.  They had been leading the charge for conservatism for a long time.  To be asked to speak to THEM was mind boggling for me.  What could I bring to them that would be of any value?

As the time came for me to give my speech, I was awed when I realized Ed Meese was going to introduce me.  How the heck did this happen!  Here was another person I had admired and watched from the White House and on news shows for years and now HE was introducing ME.   What a hoot!

I gave my speech and after it was over there was a lot of joy in the room.  Why would the tea party message bring joy to Heritage? 

Answer:  New recruits!  The millions of people who woke up were now reading their white papers, taking heed of their research and asking for copies of Constitutions for their grassroots organization.  The relationship between Heritage and the grassroots organizations rapidly expanded and education for new recruits was happening all over this country.

Heritage is just one organization that has been there for this new movement.  Freedomworks, Americans for Prosperity, CATO Institute, State Policy Network, Let Freedom Ring, Patrick Henry Center, and many other conservative organizations need a big pat on the back.  Individuals were also praying for new recruits to show up and I'm sure Jim DeMint was one of them.  They were out there for years before we woke up and they deserve a lot of praise for holding the front line for us.

Liberty Central deserves a lot of praise too.  This new conservative organization in DC was birthed by Ginni Thomas who was moved by the movement at the 9/12 DC March.   After the November elections, Liberty Central and Patrick Henry Center joined forces to create a collaborative effort to help intersect the grassroots with the DC landscape and Gary Aldrich, another long ago awakened conservative leader, will be leading the charge of this new enterprise.

So why all the lovey-dovey remarks about these organizations?   Well, the month of Love is nearing and I feel it is time for us to stand up and thank these wonderful organizations and their leaders for staying the course and trying to wake us up all those years. 

Also, in recent days, I have seen these fine organizations slammed by some in the movement who profess to be our leaders.  We are unsure why they are doing this.  I’ve been around for a while and I’ve seen this behavior before.  It is sad, it is immature and it does not help us win the war.

We have work to do and …

• We need these solid, conservative organizations who have the manpower and expertise to help us with educating our members
• They need US to ignite the flame of liberty in our hometowns, our state and across this country

The new recruits are awake and ready to serve our country.  Katy Abrams in Pennsylvania stated it so well at a summer town hall with Sen. Arlen Spector.  She said “you guys have awakened a sleeping giant.”  See the video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgpSoiiWNww&feature=related

The conservative organizations are available to help us and I encourage you to partner with those you feel can best meet the needs of your organization as we fight for Liberty’s sake.

Support them financially, if you can, and encourage your members to do the same.  They need funding so they can continue to produce the work to educate our members.

Speaking of funding, let us not forget to take care of our own home grown grassroots organizations.  They struggle every day to fund their efforts and during these economic times it is even more difficult.  

Let’s make February, the “Love Your Local Tea Party” month.  Consider supporting them/us in the month of February with a donation in memory or in honor of a loved one.  If you can’t find your local tea party organization, please contact us and we will make that connection for you.   You can reach us at:  admin@firstcoastteaparty.org.  To make a donation to the First Coast Tea Party, please send a check to: 11437 Central Parkway, Suite 107, Jacksonville, FL 32244 or donate online here on our website.

Thank you to everyone who woke up years ago and to those who woke up last night.  The awakening has begun and Liberty will be won.  Together we can do this – Yes we can!