Seventy Novembers ago, on the occasion of the 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa, Sir Winston Churchill said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
That will be true for the future of the Tea Party movement on the day after the November 6th election – regardless of the outcome.
If President Barack Obama wins a second term, a wave of disappointment will wash over conservatives in general, and among Tea Party supporters, specifically. The depth of that disappointment will, to some extent, depend on the outcome of elections for control of the House and Senate.
If the Democrats win the White House and retain a majority in the Senate, conservatives and Tea Party supporters will gird themselves for four, more, dismal years of the Obama regime. A long and bitter slog, for sure.
If Governor Mitt Romney becomes President Romney, a wave of relief will wash over conservatives and Tea Party supporters. Although initial euphoria may soon be tempered, to some extent, by a wait-and-see attitude as to what a Romney administration brings.
Conservatives, for example, will watch for what “place” means in his campaign pledge to “repeal and replace ObamaCare”. We’ll closely watch his appointments to key government positions, as well as review new policy statements that will signal what his initial actions will be as President.
We’ll also monitor the behavior of Tea Party-supported candidates who won elections and take their oaths of office. Will they remember the principles behind the support that brought them victory?
So on November 7th, we’re likely to hold one of two political worldviews: Disappointment that will eventually evolve into a greater resolve, or, Optimism that we can now begin to reverse the Progressive Democrat trends that are “fundamentally transforming” America toward national disaster.
There isn’t much in-between – except another unthinkable, prolonged, court battle like that after the 2000 election.
In either of the two most likely cases – victory or defeat – November 7th will not bring the end of the Tea Party’s importance on the American political scene. Nor will it mark the end of a resurgence of interest in the U.S. Constitution and its role in our lives across more than two centuries.
Win or lose, November 7th will not even be the beginning of the end of the enthusiasm of the citizen activists who organized local TP chapters across America. Nor the beginning of the end of a renewed patriotism across generations of Americans.
The progressive movement, the antithesis of the Tea Party, will not fade away if their candidate loses the White House. Progressives will not see themselves as vanquished and simply evaporate from the political scene.
Of all things, the American progressive movement is relentless and dogmatic in its loyalty to an ideology in stark contrast to that of the Tea Party.
Progressives will step back, re-group, and take the field again at a later date. They always have.
American progressives do not surrender. They never will.
So, even should the Tea Party movement feel, on November 7th, that it played a key role, maybe the key role, in gaining a decisive victory at the polls, that day will not mark the beginning of the end of the struggle to keep alive the hopes and dreams of the Founders of America. Because…
Nothing will be over on November 7, except the November 6th election.
But, the day will mark the end of the beginning for the Tea Party movement.
For it will continue to grow. It will spread wider. It will attract more supporters, who will continue to re-discover the political heritage that is the underlying spirit of its principles.
The Tea Party Hobbits will march en masse on November 6th, and win or lose, on November 7th, they’ll begin preparation – for the next time.
~ TEAParty911.com exclusive by Dr. Lee Cary
