Mission Statement.

[Gene Clem]

For discussion.....

(I have attached a pdf copy as 'ning' strips all nice formatting.....)

Mission:

The mission of the Southwest Michigan Tea Party Patriots is to:
· Elect officials who support our core principles.
· Communicate these core principles in a firm, direct and positive manner to our elected officials with our desire and expectation they will operate in accordance with them..
· Inform our fellow citizens of the principles behind the founding of the constitution of the United States of America.


Support of above statement:
· Our target is a return to a federal republic based upon the constitution, as written and understood by the original designers.
· To do that we need liberty minded, elected officials at all levels of government.
· Once they are in office, we need to continue to monitor and keep them on track.
· We need numbers; that is many citizens on our side. It is assumed that for many, all we need do is inform them of our principles and they will join our movement. (Knowing that there are those who ardently desire to give up freedom for security….. can’t inform determined ignorance).
· The details go in the statement of principles. Have to be careful not to put everything under the sun in there.

I looked at our desired results and the work of the mission/platform committee to structure the mission statement above. Our target is to return to the understanding of the federal government in the era before the progressives came to power (ie: T. Roosevelt and W. Wilson). The Obama administration coupled with a Congress that is ramrodding progressive monstrosities down America’s throat, will start the pendulum swinging our way. We can’t get where we want to be by using the same ol’, same ol’ elected officials we have now. Therefore my thoughts are that we need to build our numbers, get constitutionalists elected in the primaries, and then in the midterm 2010 elections. The mission reflects these steps.

Next, we must whittle the principles down to one page, or less….in 14 point text (not 6 point!!!)……..

[Gene Clem]

Bruce Wheatley said:

wow...WOW.... I am proud to be associated with this thinking. W O W....

Yeah, well the wife says "Quit sitting around thinking all day and get out there and cut the grass. You want the neighbors to think we're hillbillies?" duh!

[Melvin Valkner]

Gene, another item you may want to add in the mission is to lobby for repeal of harmful Amendments to the Constitution (such as the 16th and 17th Amendments).

[Gene Clem]

Melvin Valkner said:

Gene, another item you may want to add in the mission is to lobby for repeal of harmful Amendments to the Constitution (such as the 16th and 17th Amendments).

In my view, these details would go into the principles. As in the example: "We favor the replacement of the income tax by the FairTax." There are lots of other actions that must be taken to get us to where we want to be and we need to elect people who will do that.

Another thing that could go into principles is 10th admendment stuff like this (youtube here)

[Gene Clem]

Bruce Wheatley said:

Gene, Is this a result of the commitee that met last Wednesday?

Yes. I took their results and word-smithed it a little, added my thinking (hopefully adding clarity) and then added the supporting verbage. Easy for me to think clearly as I didn't have to sit through the heated arguements. ;-)

[Joanne Simon]

Ever the teacher :-) How about considering this language change in the second point?· "Communicate these core principles in a firm, direct and positive manner to our elected officials with our desire and expectation they will operate in accordance with them." (Just trying to end the statement without a preposition.)
It's so easy to comment/edit when you've done the basic hard work of generating a document, Gene. Thank you, thank you, for helping to establish and develop our collective voice.

[Gene Clem]

Joanne Simon said:

Ever the teacher :-) How about considering this language change in the second point?· "Communicate these core principles in a firm, direct and positive manner to our elected officials with our desire and expectation they will operate in accordance with them." (Just trying to end the statement without a preposition.)
It's so easy to comment/edit when you've done the basic hard work of generating a document, Gene. Thank you, thank you, for helping to establish and develop our collective voice.

That's right. I was gonna work on that, but forgot to go back and fix it. Done.

[Dan Matecki]

I just sent out this on email. Gene's above MS states pretty much the same thing.

We intend to act as a force to elect people, and to hold accountable those elected to represent our core beliefs. To communicate a firm and positive message which will influence our politicians to return to the principles, laws and virtues upon which our nation was founded: love, honor and respect for God, Country, and the Constitution. We are a grassroots movement, not a political party, and our efforts are strictly non-partisan.

[Dan Matecki]

Here were some of the Principles that were went around. Yes we must cut these lists down to the most important or core beliefs.

1. Be a true grassroots organization

2. government has grown too big and too powerful at all levels

3. individual freedoms/responsibility

4. desire for a return to the vision of our Founding Fathers

5. stop our courts from becoming an unelected legislature

6. We believe that a czar is a tsar

7. fiscal responsibility

8. Balanced budgets and transparency of expenditures is paramount to public trust

9. Responsibility of the government is the protection of individual rights of the citizen.

10. strong and vibrant military with the most well-trained

11. nation’s borders Illegal immigration laws must be enforced at all times

12. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. believe the Second Amendment as important as the First Amendment

13. parents and local school boards must exert more control

14. Oppose Federal government in the banking, financial and corporate industries, any governmental collusion with corporations, unions or special interest groups

15. marriage is between one man and one woman

[Joe Zerbel]

I will not compromise my values, apologize for them nor ask anyone else to. However, the current power brokers in Washington as well as the MMM have popularized the notion that dissention, for whatever reason, is purely hate-motivated. It's dishonest and irresponsible and I'm sick of it. It would be my most fervent hope therefore, that we find a way to weave a constructive response to this within the fabric of our mission. I don't harbor the illusion that there are not those among us who subscribe to less tolerant ideologies, but from what I witnessed at the Tea Party in Kalamazoo, I am proud to say that is not who we are.

[Dave Smith]

Excellent job, Gene. (grammar not withstanding :)) And, thanks to all who participated in thinking this through.

The purpose of a Mission Statement is for communication, and you have kept it brief enough to help us make it understandable to others. Of course it all depends on the Core Values, which should be clearly stated and kept free of our individual axes that may need grinding. That is ..don't let us load them up with our individual pet issues, but keep them foundational. The positions on issues should be recognizable as consistent with the principles.


Dave

[Gene Clem]

Dave Smith said:

Excellent job, Gene. (grammar not withstanding :)) And, thanks to all who participated in thinking this through.

The purpose of a Mission Statement is for communication, and you have kept it brief enough to help us make it understandable to others. Of course it all depends on the Core Values, which should be clearly stated and kept free of our individual axes that may need grinding. That is ..don't let us load them up with our individual pet issues, but keep them foundational. The positions on issues should be recognizable as consistent with the principles.


Dave

Thanks Dave. You are correct about the core values. It is tempting to insert all the current pet peeves. However, we must keep our eye on the goal in order to get there. Our principles must also support our target. For example, if we cut the federal level of government down to its proper functions, it will no longer need the income tax system, but instead be able to function with a sales tax instead.

[Kevin hall]

Great! I am proud as well to be part of our Tea Party.
Sounds like we don't have a real "gathering" on Memorial day, but I hear nationally we are shooting for a July 4th event?
KH