Tea Party members encouraged to use social media
The meeting room in the Faulkner County Library was packed with people of Faulkner County for activist training from the American Majority.
The Faulkner County Tea Party membership gathered in their fifth monthly meeting to learn how to use social media and to be encouraged to open the lines of communication with legislatures and local government.
Laurie Masterson, of Fayetteville, lead the training for the group, which became a lively discussion resembling a rally in some respects. Phrases like “Get the government out of my life,” “Power to the people” and “We are the power” were used.
Masterson is a mother and Sunday school teacher turned activist and trainer. She was offered a position by Little Rock’s American Majority chapter and turned her “hobby into a career.”
She is traveling and training. She addressed the group, explaining Google alerts, the power of Twitter and the world of Facebook. Masterson encouraged members to go home and start Facebook accounts to create a network to voice frustration and inform the network of local efforts.
“You should have your representatives in your phone. Let them think you are crazy. Do whatever you can to get them out of our lives,” Masterson said.
Masterson was involved in the beginning of Arkansas’ Tea Party movement when on April 15 she helped organize a rally in Fayetteville, which she called the “liberal armpit of Arkansas” that drew more than 1,500 people to the middle of town.
Masterson is also the founder of Arkansas United, an organization connecting local Tea Party groups on a national level.
Lowell McClanahan, treasurer and spokesperson for the local group, said the Faulkner County Tea Party’s vision is to promote constitutional government and fiscal responsibility to ensure future generations have rights and an opportunity to pursue happiness in America. The first meeting was held in September 2008.
Elizabeth Sotallaro, secretary, and her husband, John, are going to attend a national meeting soon where they will learn how to organize their local chapter.
“After the first few weeks of protesting in April, thousands of people came together. We are wanting to know what to do next. We’ve had enough, and we want our country back,” Elizabeth Sotallaro said. Sotallaro said they expect exponential growth soon.
Masterson concluded the meeting by telling members to pick an issue and get together on it. According to Masterson, the Faulkner County Tea Party is almost ready to endorse candidates.
The crowd also voiced frustration over the recent 1 percent pay raises to city officials.
“Go for the small offices. Our officials have to be tired of lying and cheating. Let’s do our duty as Americans and hold them accountable,” Masterson said.
The group will meet Feb. 11 to form committees that will take on various levels of local government with fact checking, letter writing and different levels of petitioning.
(Staff writer Courtney Spradlin can be reached by e-mail at courtney.spradlin@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
Comments (14)
Add commentFaulkner County Tea Party
I am a conservative and I have been trying to find suitable sites on facebook to discuss issues. Unfortunately, I have found several "We hate Obama" pages, but none that seriously discuss and go over the issues. I do not dislike Mr. Obama, i just disagree with his policies and I am wondering if someone can respond with a conservative facebook page that reflects how I feel?
Laurie Masterson--HAHA
Laurie Masterson...now there's today's typical Republican: Not one word of protest when their guy, former President Idiot Bush, was trashing the Constitution (tossing habeas corpus, retroactive immunity for warrant-less wiretapping, FBI visits to war protesters, and on and on) and wasting the budget surplus that Bill Clinton left the country on a based-on-lies War. But let the Democratic black guy step in to clean-up the Republican mess and it's all about their new-found love for our Constitution. Ha...hypocrites all.
a new party
i hope we will all see a new party emerge. One of accountability and quit pointing at the other party. Get over the pious party finger pointing and lets get down to smart thinking. Here's some ideas: Quit spending taxpayer dollars to give to those who won't work for it!!! Start listening to the voters. Democrat and Republican leaders quit listening a long time ago. No one party or Prez can take the blame or fame!!! Wake up America!! Get over your party alliance and make smart choices. Vote out all the incumbants!
except...
"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
Yep! the 'Master Plan'
Third party split the vote...Republicans steal the election. AGAIN!
Gotcha!
You guys make it so easy...
On January 4, less than two weeks ago, I said this in an unrelated conversation:
"I keep commenting about 'liberal hate' simply because whenever someone dissents with a liberal viewpoint, more often than not, the hate card, the race card, or the fear card is played right off the top of the deck against him or her."
Today, a professed liberal said this:
"But let the Democratic black guy step in to clean-up the Republican mess and it's all about their new-found love for our Constitution. Ha...hypocrites all."
Now, why do you figure the term "black guy" was included in a conversation that previously had no mention of race?
Hmm....
Funny, you, "Hate" the truth.
I ASSUME Mark, 'krg2' did it JUST FOR you.
Again only you...Mark, see 'HATE' in these "liberal" comments.
[filtered word]s are all about the 'LOVE'...'Eh?
"Today, a professed liberal
"Today, a professed liberal said this:
"But let the Democratic black guy step in to clean-up the Republican mess and it's all about their new-found love for our Constitution. Ha...hypocrites all."
Now, why do you figure the term "black guy" was included in a conversation that previously had no mention of race?
Hmm...."
Yup, I'm a flaming liberal and I said the above because it's an accurate assessment of the [filtered word]s' flaming hypocrisy regarding the standards they held Dubya to and the standards they are now trying to apply to Obama. Race, however, was inserted in this [filtered word]/Obama discussion by the actions of several [filtered word]s (there is ample photographic evidence of the racist signs at many of the [filtered word] rallies). It was not inserted out of nowhere...as was your baseless accusations of liberal hate within the earlier referenced discussion.
If, Mark, I comment about the racism involved in lynching I'm not 'introducing' it into the conversation I'm merely reflecting the evidence/truth of the discussion. Of course you and others can argue that 'racism' is merely a personal opinion rather than a demonstrable reality. I would argue, however, that the [filtered word]s own words/signs make the racism assessment far more than just my 'personal' opinion.
Are there [filtered word]s who dislike Obama for reasons other than race (and who have no problem with his skin color)...of course. But there are also many [filtered word]s who dislike Obama because he's black...and denying it or blaming liberals for applying the racist label doesn't change that truth.
After eight years of turning a blind eye to Dubya's wasting of Clinton's budget surplus and to his Constitutional decimation, today's Republican hand wringing over those issues is more comical than substantive.
The Tea Party protests
The Tea Party protests are a series of nationally coordinated grassroots protests across the United States since 2009. Tax season is about to come and I guess a bunch of people will protest against US income tax, or the so called tea parties. You'll notice a lot of them aren't CPAs. Most Americans know hardly anything about income tax returns, or the tax code, and the reason why is the absolutely pitiful number of people that will actually itemize deductions. Fewer than 50 million (1/6th the US population) itemize their tax deductions. All you have to do is keep track of a couple of receipts – it's not like you'll need to get payday loans or anything to hire a high priced accountant.
Speaking of Racism
From September 15, 2009:
""Tea Party" leader Mark Williams appeared on a CNN panel on "Anderson Cooper 360" last night and promptly set to work discrediting himself and his movement. Williams denounced those carrying blatantly racist signs against President Obama during the tea parties as "no more part of the mainstream of America than the hippies who wear nipple clips and feather boas in San Francisco streets during so-called peace demonstrations."
Cooper had done his homework, however, and caught Williams blatantly misrepresenting himself: "What you're saying makes sense to me here when I'm hearing what you say but then I read on your blog, you say, you call the President an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief."
Williams shrugs and responds, "Yeah, that's the way he's behaving." An incredulous Cooper asks Williams if he really believes Obama is an Indonesian Muslim and a welfare thug. The tea party leader digs the hole a little deeper: "He's certainly acting like it. Until he embraces the whole country what else can I conclude."
The [filtered word]s are a joke, and anyone who thinks racism is not a factor in the movement either lives in cave or is, as the [filtered word]s spell it, a total "Moran". This would include, judging by his blog, their "leader", Mark Williams.