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What is government if not the people who occupy it?
Paul Broun, Republican U.S. Representative from Georgia's 10th congressional district (2007–present) and a member of the Tea Party Caucus.
Phil Gingrey, Republican U.S. Representative from Georgia's 11th congressional district (2003–present) and a member of the Tea Party Caucus.
Tom Price, Republican U.S. Representative from Georgia's 6th congressional district (2005–present) and a member of the Tea Party Caucus.
Lynn Westmoreland, Republican U.S. Representative from Georgia's 8th (2005–07) and 3rd (2007–present) congressional districts and a member of the Tea Party Caucus.
To me these people represent their part of the government, and are quite obviously influenced by the TP. Its really not a thin string that connects them, while I understand you don't like the semantics. To me it feels like you are creating an argument...just for the sake of arguing thus detracting from the original question.
And your first post on page one seemed to agree with my initial analysis and you were the first to mention any relation to government. Until the conversation got derailed to where the exciting dialogue we're having now!
Unless our surplus is over 50 billion bucks this year, I'm much more concerned with debt.
I never put words in their mouth. Their ideology is plainly written out on a multitude of websites and newsletters. In fact I've copied and pasted directly from their website more than once. Their words, not mine. From the beginning I have only questioned their silence on this particular topic of how your tax dollars are spent.
Maybe I'll ask another way. Is it hypocritical for the Tea Party to be silent on the 285/400 billion dollar intersection? Should they not have an opinion one way or another? Is it not their job to have an opinion? This isn't a question of adding bollards or guard rails...its a billion dollars to allow people from Sandy Springs and north to save a few minutes on their commute. There are much cheaper ways to make it safer if that's a concern. Maybe it should be funded another way?
Round Three!
You're reaching a bit here...
You're argument has evolved from talking about Debbie Dooley & the Tea Party, to the government figuratively (at which point I assumed you were at least sticking at the state level), and now we are talking about just a handful of US representatives.
Sorry, but keeping the subject matter straight is important. It is getting old. I can't tell if you're confused about the subject or if you need to subject shift to something else to fit an argument.
This is a state-level issue and the original subject was about a non-government political organization and an affiliated person who is not in office. The majority of all people in these office do not answer to the tea party.
I have addressed the bolded and underlined above in sufficient detail to show it to be entirely incorrect, but I guess you're sticking to your guns. It doesn't make it correct, though.
They are just people... it isn't their 'job' to think anything and it not necessarily hypocritical to be silent.
You're argument has evolved from talking about Debbie Dooley & the Tea Party, to the government figuratively (at which point I assumed you were at least sticking at the state level), and now we are talking about just a handful of US representatives.
Any evolution in the conversation had its impetus in your questioning semantics. Which is fine. Just don't make an assumption I wanted it to go this way...Cause I sure didn't! No level was implied, just drawing a link between the two.
Sorry, but keeping the subject matter straight is important. It is getting old. I can't tell if you're confused about the subject or if you need to subject shift to something else to fit an argument. If its getting old then stop responding. its an easy way to save yourself frustration.?
This is a state-level issue and the original subject was about a non-government political organization and an affiliated person who is not in office. The majority of all people in these office do not answer to the tea party.
I have addressed the bolded and underlined above in sufficient detail to show it to be entirely incorrect, but I guess you're sticking to your guns. It doesn't make it correct, though. I've done the same, its gotten us here.
They are just people... it isn't their 'job' to think anything and it not necessarily hypocritical to be silent.
That's fine. I think it would be nice if they had an opinion though!
It would still be interesting to hear from a die hard TP'er on their opinion.
It would still be interesting to hear from a die hard TP'er on their opinion.
If you are looking to hear an opinion from a so-called die-hard Tea Partier on the $1 billion+ cost I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction, you probably are not and here's why...
You're probably not going to hear an opinion on the $1 billion+ cost of the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction because the project is at a very major interchange that many die-hard Tea Partiers (and those who align with them politically, socially and culturally) most likely have to drive through every workday.
Many conservative suburbanites and exurbanites who align and sympathize with the Tea Party political movement drive through (and get delayed by) the I-285/GA 400 interchange everyday while commuting to and from jobs all over North Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Those I-285/GA 400 commuters (many, if not most, of whom are conservative in their political, social and cultural leanings) are not going to complain about a major transportation project that is targeted directly at helping improve their rush hour and peak-hour commutes.
Governor Deal actually announced the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction project (along with the I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor, I-85 Northeast and I-75 South toll lane projects) in 2013 as part of the lead-up to his re-election campaign.
The I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction and I-75/I-575 Northwest, I-85 Northeast and I-85 South toll lane construction projects were actually all strategically politically targeted at the geographical corridors that figure the most heavily into statewide elections (specifically statewide GUBERNATORIAL elections).
The I-75/I-575 NW Corridor toll lane project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Cobb and Cherokee counties.
The I-85 Northeast HOT Lanes extension project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Gwinnett and Hall counties and Northeast Georgia.
The I-75 South toll lane project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Henry County in Southeast Metro Atlanta.
The I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction was politically targeted at conservative voters in North Fulton and Forsyth (and Dawson) counties in suburban North Metro Atlanta.
All of the aforementioned suburban counties (Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, North Fulton and Forsyth counties) play a massive role in Georgia's Republican-dominated political climate.
Most of the aforementioned suburban counties (particularly Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, Hall and Forsyth counties) are also heavily dominated by Tea Party and Tea Party-affiliated political factions to varying degrees.
The aforementioned freeway construction projects also were not just meant to increase the chances of Nathan Deal's re-election in 2014, but were also intended to help Georgia Republicans maintain firm control over the state's political climate farther into the future as the state's demographics change from "majority-white" to "majority-minority".
The conservative voters who affiliate, align and sympathize with the Tea Party movement definitely may not like to see their taxes increased to pay for transportation projects....But also definitely they do like it when major transportation projects are targeted directly at improving their often hellish rush hour commutes on major highways, no matter what the cost may be to the state as a whole.
Like any other political group, faction and/or constituency, the Tea Party and their millions of supporters like it when the government caters directly to them and acknowledges their importance and their dominance in the political climate.
You're not going to hear anything from the Tea Party about the billion dollar-plus cost of the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction because it is a construction project that the Tea Party and its followers and supporters (a faction which has been much more dominant in Georgia than in most other states) think will benefit them personally after the project is completed.
With the Tea Party movement being a dominant force in the Republican-dominated Metro Atlanta suburban political scene that currently completely dominates Georgia's statewide political scene, Tea Party movement affiliates, followers and supporters (a political force which is much larger than just Debbie Dooley's Atlanta Tea Party Patriots faction) have accurately ascertained that the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction and the I-75/I-575 NW, I-85 NE and I-75 S toll lane projects are aimed directly at pleasing them.
Tea Partiers are going to keep quiet about the $1 billion+ I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction project because they like it....They think that the project will make their lives easier in the intermediate to somewhat long-run because so many of them have to drive through that interchange everyday.
(...Tea Partiers also know that the I-285/GA 400 interchange will potentially very quickly be rendered obsolete just like the I-75/I-285 NW and I-85/I-285 NE interchanges were quickly rendered obsolete after their major reconstructions in the 1980's because of the continuing massive growth on the Northside along the GA 400 corridor and beyond....But they don't care because they know that the construction project is targeted at them politically.)
Let me show the above comment without the contrived political rebranding... I continue to stress to this because it is essential to acknowledge that this is a rebranding, not a separate entity, despite efforts to rebrand it as such (reality doesn't match the rhetoric). I agree with the other aspects of the comments as accurate though...
Quote:
If you are looking to hear an opinion from a so-called die-hard Tea Partier on the $1 billion+ cost I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction, you probably are not and here's why...
You're probably not going to hear an opinion on the $1 billion+ cost of the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction because the project is at a very major interchange that many die-hard conservatives (and those who align with them politically, socially and culturally) most likely have to drive through every workday.
Many conservative suburbanites and exurbanites drive through (and get delayed by) the I-285/GA 400 interchange everyday while commuting to and from jobs all over North Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Those I-285/GA 400 commuters (many, if not most, of whom are conservative in their political, social and cultural leanings) are not going to complain about a major transportation project that is targeted directly at helping improve their rush hour and peak-hour commutes - because conservatives like hand outs and big guv'ment just as much as anyone else.
Governor Deal actually announced the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction project (along with the I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor, I-85 Northeast and I-75 South toll lane projects) in 2013 as part of the lead-up to his re-election campaign.
The I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction and I-75/I-575 Northwest, I-85 Northeast and I-85 South toll lane construction projects were actually all strategically politically targeted at the geographical corridors that figure the most heavily into statewide elections (specifically statewide GUBERNATORIAL elections).
The I-75/I-575 NW Corridor toll lane project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Cobb and Cherokee counties.
The I-85 Northeast HOT Lanes extension project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Gwinnett and Hall counties and Northeast Georgia.
The I-75 South toll lane project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Henry County in Southeast Metro Atlanta.
The I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction was politically targeted at conservative voters in North Fulton and Forsyth (and Dawson) counties in suburban North Metro Atlanta.
All of the aforementioned suburban counties (Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, North Fulton and Forsyth counties) play a massive role in Georgia's Republican-dominated political climate
The aforementioned freeway construction projects also were not just meant to increase the chances of Nathan Deal's re-election in 2014, but were also intended to help Georgia Republicans maintain firm control over the state's political climate farther into the future as the state's demographics change from "majority-white" to "majority-minority".
The conservative voters definitely may not like to see their taxes increased to pay for transportation projects....But also definitely they do like it when major transportation projects are targeted directly at improving their often hellish rush hour commutes on major highways, no matter what the cost may be to the state as a whole because conservatives like to spend everyone's money too.
Like any other political group, faction and/or constituency, Republicans and their millions of supporters like it when the government caters directly to them and acknowledges their importance and their dominance in the political climate.
You're not going to hear anything from the GOP about the billion dollar-plus cost of the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction because it is a construction project that the Tea Party and its followers and supporters (a faction which has been much more dominant in Georgia than in most other states) think will benefit them personally after the project is completed.
With the conservative movement being a dominant force in the Republican-dominated Metro Atlanta suburban political scene that currently completely dominates Georgia's statewide political scene, Conservative movement affiliates, followers and supporters (a political force which is much larger than just Debbie Dooley's Atlanta right wing faction) have accurately ascertained that the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction and the I-75/I-575 NW, I-85 NE and I-75 S toll lane projects are aimed directly at pleasing them.
Conservatives are going to keep quiet about the $1 billion+ I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction project because they like it....They think that the project will make their lives easier in the intermediate to somewhat long-run because so many of them have to drive through that interchange everyday.
(...Conservatives also know that the I-285/GA 400 interchange will potentially very quickly be rendered obsolete just like the I-75/I-285 NW and I-85/I-285 NE interchanges were quickly rendered obsolete after their major reconstructions in the 1980's because of the continuing massive growth on the Northside along the GA 400 corridor and beyond....But they don't care because they know that the construction project is targeted at them politically.)
You're argument has evolved from talking about Debbie Dooley & the Tea Party, to the government figuratively (at which point I assumed you were at least sticking at the state level), and now we are talking about just a handful of US representatives.
Any evolution in the conversation had its impetus in your questioning semantics. Which is fine. Just don't make an assumption I wanted it to go this way...Cause I sure didn't! No level was implied, just drawing a link between the two.
Sorry, but keeping the subject matter straight is important. It is getting old. I can't tell if you're confused about the subject or if you need to subject shift to something else to fit an argument. If its getting old then stop responding. its an easy way to save yourself frustration.?
This is a state-level issue and the original subject was about a non-government political organization and an affiliated person who is not in office. The majority of all people in these office do not answer to the tea party.
I have addressed the bolded and underlined above in sufficient detail to show it to be entirely incorrect, but I guess you're sticking to your guns. It doesn't make it correct, though. I've done the same, its gotten us here.
They are just people... it isn't their 'job' to think anything and it not necessarily hypocritical to be silent.
That's fine. I think it would be nice if they had an opinion though!
To your red responses...
That is the problem. You are having a logical inconsistency. I don't know if you are trying to be difficult or just merely lack the mental aptitude, particularly to the bolded above.
You haven't done the same. You're consistently trying to put arguments and words in my mouth that are not true referencing my original comments on the subject. This is not a semantics issue. That is not a gray issue. I never shifted, 'nor did I ever completely agree with you. In fact my first reply was pointing out generalizations you made. I found hypocrisy on a different point and it was a tangible one that I didn't have to envision, because they failed to take up an issue publicly.
I'm sorry if this confuses you, frustrates you, but these grade-school/college-aged antics do not make it correct. You're playing lose with facts or failing to understand some of the subject matter.
When you make too many generalizations you really 'muddy' an issue that can be much more 'clean-cut.'
If you are looking to hear an opinion from a so-called die-hard Tea Partier on the $1 billion+ cost I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction, you probably are not and here's why...
You're probably not going to hear an opinion on the $1 billion+ cost of the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction because the project is at a very major interchange that many die-hard Tea Partiers (and those who align with them politically, socially and culturally) most likely have to drive through every workday.
Many conservative suburbanites and exurbanites who align and sympathize with the Tea Party political movement drive through (and get delayed by) the I-285/GA 400 interchange everyday while commuting to and from jobs all over North Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Those I-285/GA 400 commuters (many, if not most, of whom are conservative in their political, social and cultural leanings) are not going to complain about a major transportation project that is targeted directly at helping improve their rush hour and peak-hour commutes.
Governor Deal actually announced the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction project (along with the I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor, I-85 Northeast and I-75 South toll lane projects) in 2013 as part of the lead-up to his re-election campaign.
The I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction and I-75/I-575 Northwest, I-85 Northeast and I-85 South toll lane construction projects were actually all strategically politically targeted at the geographical corridors that figure the most heavily into statewide elections (specifically statewide GUBERNATORIAL elections).
The I-75/I-575 NW Corridor toll lane project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Cobb and Cherokee counties.
The I-85 Northeast HOT Lanes extension project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Gwinnett and Hall counties and Northeast Georgia.
The I-75 South toll lane project was politically targeted at conservative voters in Henry County in Southeast Metro Atlanta.
The I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction was politically targeted at conservative voters in North Fulton and Forsyth (and Dawson) counties in suburban North Metro Atlanta.
All of the aforementioned suburban counties (Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, North Fulton and Forsyth counties) play a massive role in Georgia's Republican-dominated political climate.
Most of the aforementioned suburban counties (particularly Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, Hall and Forsyth counties) are also heavily dominated by Tea Party and Tea Party-affiliated political factions to varying degrees.
The aforementioned freeway construction projects also were not just meant to increase the chances of Nathan Deal's re-election in 2014, but were also intended to help Georgia Republicans maintain firm control over the state's political climate farther into the future as the state's demographics change from "majority-white" to "majority-minority".
The conservative voters who affiliate, align and sympathize with the Tea Party movement definitely may not like to see their taxes increased to pay for transportation projects....But also definitely they do like it when major transportation projects are targeted directly at improving their often hellish rush hour commutes on major highways, no matter what the cost may be to the state as a whole.
Like any other political group, faction and/or constituency, the Tea Party and their millions of supporters like it when the government caters directly to them and acknowledges their importance and their dominance in the political climate.
You're not going to hear anything from the Tea Party about the billion dollar-plus cost of the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction because it is a construction project that the Tea Party and its followers and supporters (a faction which has been much more dominant in Georgia than in most other states) think will benefit them personally after the project is completed.
With the Tea Party movement being a dominant force in the Republican-dominated Metro Atlanta suburban political scene that currently completely dominates Georgia's statewide political scene, Tea Party movement affiliates, followers and supporters (a political force which is much larger than just Debbie Dooley's Atlanta Tea Party Patriots faction) have accurately ascertained that the I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction and the I-75/I-575 NW, I-85 NE and I-75 S toll lane projects are aimed directly at pleasing them.
Tea Partiers are going to keep quiet about the $1 billion+ I-285/GA 400 interchange reconstruction project because they like it....They think that the project will make their lives easier in the intermediate to somewhat long-run because so many of them have to drive through that interchange everyday.
(...Tea Partiers also know that the I-285/GA 400 interchange will potentially very quickly be rendered obsolete just like the I-75/I-285 NW and I-85/I-285 NE interchanges were quickly rendered obsolete after their major reconstructions in the 1980's because of the continuing massive growth on the Northside along the GA 400 corridor and beyond....But they don't care because they know that the construction project is targeted at them politically.)
Born2Roll,
Several general things to point out...
The I-85 HOT lanes weren't really designed to win anyone over. That was a losing thing to public opinion. I feel like I have been faced with an uphill battle just to make people understand how they work and their purpose, but they were certainly not to appease anyone politically in Gwinnett County.
I also think we are running a slippery slope confusing tea party, conservative, and GOP/Republicans.
Particularly, referencing the bolded above. This seems to be a rather aggressive statement.
The Tea Party is the ultra-conservative faction, but they are not the same as the others. They are a much smaller, albeit louder and more confused faction. I don't think we can confuse the ides of playing to the appeal of conservatives and suburban moderates in the region to equate to the pandering of the tea party. All of those counties are very auto-centric and have some political diversity in the population, especially in places like Gwinnett. So to me it is troubling to think this is merely just pandering to Tea Partiers, compared to conservatives, but also troubling to forget about its appeal to moderate liberals and moderates that live an auto-centric lifestyle.
I really feel like you're giving the Tea Party too much credit to their level of control, especially in an era where the state Republicans are looking at financing more transportation when they haven't for a few decades before the Tea Party existed. I see this much of what is currently happening in Congress is many Republicans slowly starting to become more moderate on key issues.
The I-85 HOT lanes weren't really designed to win anyone over. That was a losing thing to public opinion. I feel like I have been faced with an uphill battle just to make people understand how they work and their purpose, but they were certainly not to appease anyone politically in Gwinnett County.
That's an excellent point.
The I-85 HOT Lanes obviously were not designed to win anyone over. The I-85 HOT Lanes were basically designed to attempt to reduce traffic congestion in the carpool lanes with the placement of variable tolls on them.
Though the lanes had a very rocky startup, many (though most certainly not all) Northeast Metro Atlantans and Northeast Georgians who must use I-85 on a frequent basis have at least come to be more accepting of the lanes than they were in the very beginning
Many I-85 NE commuters have come to be more accepting of the I-85 HOT Lanes because at the very least the lanes provide an option to bypass some of the worst rush hour traffic on I-85 between Spaghetti Junction and the GA 316 merge/split....Even if that option to basically escape traffic jams is kind of pricey.
Because I-85 NE commuters have come to be a little more accepting of the I-85 NE HOT Lanes and because major Georgia state government investments in transportation infrastructure improvements have unfortunately been all-too-rare, news of the extension of the I-85 HOT Lanes from Old Peachtree Road to Hamilton Mill Road was greeted somewhat very favorably by Northeast Metro Atlanta and Northeast Georgia voters.
Are Northeast Metro Atlantan and Northeast Georgian voters crazy about the I-85 HOT Lanes?...Most likely not.
But Northeast Metro Atlantan and Northeast Georgia voters realized that the extension of the I-85 HOT Lanes was probably all that they were going to get for awhile in terms of significant transportation upgrades....So they accepted the announcement of the project ahead of Governor Deal's re-election campaign as being better than the absolutely nothing that they probably would get otherwise.
....Almost just like in Cobb County and the I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor where voters greeted news of the construction of the I-75/I-575 Northwest toll lane project with a sense of joy after many years of very little (if any) investment in transportation improvements by the state in an area of worsening traffic congestion along the I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor.
25 years ago, conservative Cobb County and OTP suburban NW Metro Atlanta residents would have never accepted the implementation of untolled HOV lanes, much less toll lanes, along Interstates 75 and 575.
Heck, the State of Georgia knew better than to even attempt to place HOV lanes on I-75 because the state knew that deeply conservative Cobb County and OTP suburban NW Metro Atlanta voters would have raised all hell at the sight of carpool lanes being implemented through an area as deeply conservative as Cobb County.
(...Transportation planners at GDOT had supposedly wanted to implement carpool lanes on I-75 Northwest through Cobb County as part of the "Freeing-the-Freeways" roadway expansion project of the 1980's and had thought about implementing carpool lanes on I-75 between I-285 and I-575 by making the far-left travel lanes HOV-2 lanes....But the state supposedly backed away from the plan because they did not think that carpool lanes would be received all that well by the public through such a deeply conservative area...
...Many in state government thought that some of the more hard-line conservatives in Cobb County and OTP NW Metro Atlanta might view the lanes as some kind of socialist plot to destroy the American way-of-life by encouraging people to ride together during rush hour...
...So the state backed away from a carpool lane plan that it thought might cause a major political dust-up in an politically crucial area of the state in Cobb County that plays a major role in determining the outcome of statewide elections....This is one of the major reasons why the I-75 Northwest carpool lanes were never extended beyond the I-285 NW Cobb Cloverleaf.)
With the commuting public still not being happy with toll lanes but generally becoming much more accepting of toll lane in light of the total lack of other alternatives....And with OTP suburban Metro Atlanta voters not quite having yet become totally accepting of transit as one of those alternatives, Governor Deal turned to using suburban toll lane projects as a potent political tool to help shore up his re-election prospects.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cwkimbro
I also think we are running a slippery slope confusing tea party, conservative, and GOP/Republicans.
Particularly, referencing the bolded above. This seems to be a rather aggressive statement.
The Tea Party is the ultra-conservative faction, but they are not the same as the others. They are a much smaller, albeit louder and more confused faction. I don't think we can confuse the ides of playing to the appeal of conservatives and suburban moderates in the region to equate to the pandering of the tea party. All of those counties are very auto-centric and have some political diversity in the population, especially in places like Gwinnett. So to me it is troubling to think this is merely just pandering to Tea Partiers, compared to conservatives, but also troubling to forget about its appeal to moderate liberals and moderates that live an auto-centric lifestyle.
Those are some good points.
Though, one thing to consider is that the Tea Party movement has a lot of pull even amongst more moderate voters in Georgia, particularly in the areas with a much more conservative electorate outside of the I-285 Perimeter (...moderate voters who are generally significantly more conservative in a place like Georgia than moderate voters in other parts of the country....for example, moderate voters in Georgia and much of the Southeast may generally be much more conservative than moderate voters in places like the West Coast, the Northeast and the Great Lakes).
Many moderate voters in Georgia relate to and/or sympathize and identify with the message of the Tea Party movement....Which is why the Tea Party movement has much more political pull (even more political pull than may be apparent to many on this board) in Georgia and much of the Southeast than the Tea Party movement may have in other parts of the country.
Many prominent Georgia politicians at all levels of government affiliate with the Tea Party movement in varying forms and degrees depending on the situation, location, demographics of the population in a particular area, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cwkimbro
I really feel like you're giving the Tea Party too much credit to their level of control, especially in an era where the state Republicans are looking at financing more transportation when they haven't for a few decades before the Tea Party existed. I see this much of what is currently happening in Congress is many Republicans slowly starting to become more moderate on key issues.
The thing is that many seem to underestimate the influence of the Tea Party, particularly on the political scene in a state that is as deeply conservative as Georgia.
Many people (particularly those who may not live in a locality where the Tea Party may not seem to be dominant in local politics) also seem to see a Tea Party activist like Debbie Dooley on television and think that Debbie Dooley's Tea Party organization (the Atlanta Tea Party Patriots) is one of the only (if not the only) Tea Party organizations in Metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia because Debbie Dooley's Tea Party organization is the most visible, always on and in the regional and local news publications in Atlanta, etc.
It is a mistake that many people make that the Tea Party movement is a small faction of the political scene.
The Tea Party movement has a much more extensive reach in a state like Georgia than many seem to be aware of.
The Tea Party movement may not necessarily be THE dominant force in Georgia politics, but the Tea Party movement is A very dominant and influential force in Georgia politics that absolutely must be acknowledged and reckoned with.
I think that just about every county in the greater Atlanta metro region (except maybe Clayton and/or maybe DeKalb) has at least one local chapter of the Tea Party (...many counties may have multiple Tea Party chapters).
The Tea Party movement may not have a traditional organizational structure like a major political party. But the Tea Party does have a large enough of a presence in the political arena to have to be contended with on a frequent basis (...I think that someone did a count a few years back and found there to be somewhere in the neighborhood of at least about 100 different groups that claimed the Tea Party as part of their name in Georgia).
Despite the lack of a traditional organizational structure and sometimes even the lack of coordination amongst Tea Party groups, Georgia politicians and political aficionados underestimate and ignore the Tea Party movement at their own peril....Much the same statement applies nationally as well.
The Tea Party may appear to many to seem "small and confused" and often unorganized and uncoordinated, but the Tea Party mustered more than enough organization and focus to lead the way in helping to sink the 2012 regional T-SPLOST (...a T-SPLOST referendum that was admittedly flawed and vulnerable to being rejected by the voting public).
Even if they may not label themselves Tea Partiers, many politicians affiliate and many voters identify with the Tea Party movement in a deeply conservative state like Georgia where much of the electorate remains highly-averse to the concept of tax increases and growing the size of a government that they never really trusted.
It is in this highly tax-averse and government-averse political climate where state government will likely have (and is already having) major difficulty selling a plan to raise revenues to maintain and increase transportation investment.
I regret that libertarians like myself helped fuel both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements. They both started off with the noble goal to reign in government abuse and spending. Unfortunately, the "Tea Party" as we know it today has basically become a radical social conservative branch of the establishment. They could care less about spending matters from a public vs. private point of view as long as Jesus' leadership (the church) is in support.
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