Credits:

Carole McManus - Chair of the First Coast Tea Party

Lance Thate - Chairman of the St. Augustine Tea Party

TRUE GRASSROOTS

8 years later

The inspiration started on February 19, 2009 when Rick Santelli ranted (in part) on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; “Our government is promoting bad behavior!  Are we going to reward people “carrying the water or those that are drinking the water?”

By February 26^th of that year, word was out that groups were going to rally in cities around the U.S. on February 27^th.  While big cities were doing their planning, a “spark” had ignited here in NE Florida.  Within 24 hours our greater community (a committee of 3, local businesses, a videographer and patriots of all ages) came together.  Ordinary people showed up at the Jacksonville Landing to share in this historical response to the rant that “shook the county.”

At “High Noon” on February 27^th, 79 people from all walks of life came together at the Jacksonville Landing for what would be the birth of the tea party movement in NE Florida.  Dr. James Nealis was the speaker for this historical occasion as patriots saw the opportunity to stand together and initiate what has come to be known as the grassroots movement of the tea party here on the First Coast.

Here we are 8 years later……………patriots have taken up the causes that mean the most to them and realize that they have a voice that can and should be heard by our elected leaders.  They joined forces as an outgrowth of that initial rally on February 27^th with the formation of the First Coast Tea Party.  These tea party patriots are all volunteers.  They are not privately funded by a group, they don’t operate from a “playbook/manual,” they are everyday Americans that continue to work towards “reclaiming America.” They participate in the effort to promote a strong America that protects and preserves opportunities for future generations. 

GRASSROOTS AT ITS FINEST!

AND NOW

The Communist Left Creating a New Tea Party

The Communist Left is ever evolving from one form to another, from one cause to another. The latest of these Communist organized groups to emerge in St. Augustine, Florida, is the “Indivisible St Johns. The Indivisible St. Johns organization claims that it is following a pattern the Tea Party used in 2009 and is using a publication entitled “Indivisible Guide” to aid their members. https://www.indivisibleguide.com/web

The publication makes some assumptions about the Tea Party that are absurd. The guide claims that the Tea Party stopped Obama by influencing members of Congress. The Tea Party got some people elected, but they did not stop Obama. The Congress continued to provide the funds for his agenda up to and including Obama’s last day in the White House. And, this was with the GOP’s cooperation. According to the guide the Tea Parties promoted their activities by threatening anyone they considered an enemy, physically assaulted and spat on staff, shouted obscenities and burned people in effigy. These will be future behavioral tactics for the Indivisible. The Communist Left always projects themselves on their enemies. Perhaps it justifies their behavior as seen in the anti Trump riots and the Black Lives Matter riots across the country.

On January 21, 2017, the Indivisibles staged a successful march in the historic district of St. Augustine, Florida. About 1500 participated in the march. Covering the event, The St. Augustine Record was in rapture with the so-called grassroots organization that marched under the banner, “Unity of Community”. The stories that appeared after President Trump’s inauguration were almost identical to the stories that appeared regarding the “Occupy St. Augustine” movement. The Record’s coverage in November 2011 was nearly identical in tone and description. They were overwhelmed by the grassroots organization being formed by Flagler College students, members of their faculty and others. In both 2011 and 2017, The Record reported that the grassroots organizations were organized by Terry Buckenmeyer. Terry Buckenmeyer and friends have a history of organizing left-wing protests and demonstrations in the St. Augustine area.
Photos by TCCR Staff

The St. Augustine Tea Party’s Town Crier Committee took on the Occupiers for a three month period. They did not relent until the Occupiers were vanquished. The Town Criers were threatened with violence in 2011. In 2017, Doug Russo, a Tea Party member was assaulted at the recent Indivisible march. The police gave assistance to Mr. Russo and a report was filed. The Record’s articles painted a tolerant, loving, embracing event. Witnesses report otherwise.

Communist Links

The intentional misrepresentation of the nature of the event is still further distorted by the failure of The Record to disclose Terry Buckenmeyer’s background. Mr. Buckenmeyer has been activist for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) for over 40 years. Terry Buckenmeyer, is pictured on the left. The IWW has a record of Communist activity since 1905. The union closely associates with other Communist identities. The Record failed to report the radical associations in 2011. The Town Crier Committee Report (TCCR) produced full disclosure of Buckenmeyer’s background in 2011. [See TCCR Vol 1 No 2 at Photos by TCCR Staff [www.staugtea.com] . The St. Augustine Record’s failure to disclose Terry Buckenmeyer’s background in 2017, continues to be a major distortion designed to confuse.

The Local Print Media are engaging in Community Organizing Activities
The Times Union and the St. Augustine Record are Involved

An Indivisible meeting was held on the February 10th at One News Place, St. Augustine, Florida. The featured speaker was Tia Mitchell.

Ms. Mitchell is the State House Bureau Chief for the Florida Times Union. The purpose was to train Indivisible members to be more politically expedient.
Tia Mitchell Times Union Photo

In the early days of the real Tea Party, “Americans for Prosperity”, conducted seminars on political activism. The Indivisible people are doing the same thing. What is interesting in St. Augustine, is that the local print media is engaging in Community Organizing activities. The meeting was conducted at The Record’s headquarters building. The speaker was an employee of the Florida Times Union. The Florida Times Union and the St. Augustine Record are controlled by the same corporate identity, Morris Communications.

The question is: Can objective journalism exist in a Community Organizing environment? Can you write an article, pretending to be objective and at the same time be training the very people that you’re writing about for political activism? Clearly, The St. Augustine Record and the Times Union have a serious journalistic ethics problem. They aided the Occupiers in St. Augustine in 2011 and, now, they are 'schooling' the Indivisible group in their own office building. And, they hide from their readers the fact that the “Indivisible” group is just another Communist front organization.

The Record has promoted an event, organized by Marxists activists, and then served it to the public in the fashion of the progressive’s proverbial “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”.
One can only wonder how far up the chain of command in the Morris Communications organization this Community Organizing activity goes.

FB Photos

"I think what the Tea Party movement is - I'm all for it; they're out there fighting for our rights, fighting for what our forefathers stood for."

Luke Scott