The Tea Party immediately sells itself out proving P.T. Barnum's assertion: "There is a sucker born every minute and someone to take him every second." I have tried to tell my many liberal friends not to demonize the Tea Party ala Ron Paul - but the Tea Party - appear to be tories
excerpted from
http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/05/28/tea-party-roll-call-may-2011-patriot-act/
It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time of barricaded roads and new paths. Maps fade and direction is lost as we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we pass, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Gone are the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.
A number of politicians running for Congress in 2010 were endorsed by the organizations Tea Party Express and FreedomWorks (which refers to itself as “Tea Party HQ”). Dozens of politicians elected to the U.S. House of Representatives chose to join the Tea Party Caucus as official members.
Reflecting the rhetoric of the broader Tea Party movement, Tea Party Express, FreedomWorks and the Tea Party Caucus each proclaim themselves to be organizations dedicated to constitutional government. If we take these declarations seriously, then we should expect members of Congress associated with these three Tea Party organizations to cast votes against bills that subvert the United States Constitution.
This week, that expectation was put to the test when the House voted 250-153 to renew the USA Patriot Act for four years without making any reforms whatsoever to its vast search and surveillance powers, which operate below the standard of probable cause warrants specified by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. Defenders of constitutional government in deed, not just in rhetoric, should have voted NO.
The following members of the House of Representatives were endorsed by Tea Party Express, endorsed by FreedomWorks, and/or joined the Tea Party Caucus in the 112th Congress. Here’s how they voted this week on passage of the Patriot Act without reforms:
Tea Party members of Congress who voted YES on Patriot Act reauthorization, May 26 2011
Rep. Sandy Adams (Republican-FL, District 24)
Rep. Robert Aderholt (Republican-AL, District 4)
Rep. Rodney Alexander (Republican-LA, District 5)
Rep. Michele Bachmann (Republican-MN, District 6)
Rep. Lou Barletta (Republican-PA, District 11)
Rep. Joe Barton (Republican-TX, District 6)
Rep. Charles Bass (Republican-NH, District 2)
Rep. Dan Benishek (Republican-MI, District 1)
Rep. Rick Berg (Republican-ND, District 0)
Rep. Brian Bilbray (Republican-CA, District 50)
Rep. Gus Bilirakis (Republican-FL, District 9)
Rep. Diane Black (Republican-TN, District 6)
Rep. Mo Brooks (Republican-AL, District 5)
Rep. Larry Bucshon (Republican-IN, District 8 )
Rep. Michael Burgess (Republican-TX, District 26)
Rep. Dan Burton (Republican-IN, District 5)
Rep. Ken Calvert (Republican-CA, District 44)
Rep. David Camp (Republican-MI, District 4)
Rep. Francisco Canseco (Republican-TX, District 23)
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (Republican-WV, District 2)
Rep. John Carter (Republican-TX, District 31)
Rep. Bill Cassidy (Republican-LA, District 6)
Rep. Steven Chabot (Republican-OH, District 1)
Rep. Howard Coble (Republican-NC, District 6)
Rep. Mike Coffman (Republican-CO, District 6)
Rep. Tom Cole (Republican-OK, District 4)
Rep. Chip Cravaack (Republican-MN, District 8 )
Rep. Rick Crawford (Republican-AR, District 1)
Rep. Ander Crenshaw (Republican-FL, District 4)
Rep. John Culberson (Republican-TX, District 7)
Rep. Jeff Denham (Republican-CA, District 19)
Rep. Charles Dent (Republican-PA, District 15)
Rep. Bob Dold (Republican-IL, District 10)
Rep. Sean Duffy (Republican-WI, District 7)
Rep. Blake Farenthold (Republican-TX, District 27)
Rep. Stephen Fincher (Republican-TN, District 8 )
Rep. John Fleming (Republican-LA, District 4)
Rep. Bill Flores (Republican-TX, District 17)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (Republican-NE, District 1)
Rep. Trent Franks (Republican-AZ, District 2)
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (Republican-NJ, District 11)
Rep. Elton Gallegly (Republican-CA, District 24)
Rep. Cory Gardner (Republican-CO, District 4)
Rep. Scott Garrett (Republican-NJ, District 5)
Rep. Jim Gerlach (Republican-PA, District 6)
Rep. Bob Gibbs (Republican-OH, District 18)
Rep. John Gingrey (Republican-GA, District 11)
Rep. Louis Gohmert (Republican-TX, District 1)
Rep. Paul Gosar (Republican-AZ, District 1)
Rep. Tim Griffin (Republican-AR, District 2)
Rep. Michael Grimm (Republican-NY, District 13)
Rep. Frank Guinta (Republican-NH, District 1)
Rep. Vicky Hartzler (Republican-MO, District 4)
Rep. Joe Heck (Republican-NV, District 3)
Rep. Walter Herger (Republican-CA, District 2)
Rep. Bill Huizenga (Republican-MI, District 2)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (Republican-CA, District 52)
Rep. Lynn Jenkins (Republican-KS, District 2)
Rep. Bill Johnson (Republican-OH, District 6)
Rep. Mike Kelly (Republican-PA, District 3)
Rep. Steve King (Republican-IA, District 5)
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Republican-IL, District 11)
Rep. John Kline (Republican-MN, District 2)
Rep. Doug Lamborn (Republican-CO, District 5)
Rep. Leonard Lance (Republican-NJ, District 7)
Rep. Jeff Landry (Republican-LA, District 3)
Rep. James Lankford (Republican-OK, District 5)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (Republican-CA, District 41)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (Republican-NJ, District 2)
Rep. Frank Lucas (Republican-OK, District 3)
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (Republican-MO, District 9)
Rep. Cynthia Lummis (Republican-WY, District 0)
Rep. Daniel Lungren (Republican-CA, District 3)
Rep. Kenny Marchant (Republican-TX, District 24)
Rep. Thomas Marino (Republican-PA, District 10)
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Republican-CA, District 22)
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (Republican-MI, District 11)
Rep. David McKinley (Republican-WV, District 1)
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Republican-WA, District 5)
Rep. Patrick Meehan (Republican-PA, District 7)
Rep. Candice Miller (Republican-MI, District 10)
Rep. Gary Miller (Republican-CA, District 42)
Rep. Mick Mulvaney (Republican-SC, District 5)
Rep. Randy Neugebauer (Republican-TX, District 19)
Rep. Richard Nugent (Republican-FL, District 5)
Rep. Devin Nunes (Republican-CA, District 21)
Rep. Alan Nunnelee (Republican-MS, District 1)
Rep. Erik Paulsen (Republican-MN, District 3)
Rep. Stevan Pearce (Republican-NM, District 2)
Rep. Mike Pence (Republican-IN, District 6)
Rep. Ted Poe (Republican-TX, District 2)
Rep. Tom Price (Republican-GA, District 6)
Rep. Ben Quayle (Republican-AZ, District 3)
Rep. Jim Renacci (Republican-OH, District 16)
Rep. Reid Ribble (Republican-WI, District 8 )
Rep. Martha Roby (Republican-AL, District 2)
Rep. Michael Rogers (Republican-MI, District 8 )
Rep. Dennis Ross (Republican-FL, District 12)
Rep. Edward Royce (Republican-CA, District 40)
Rep. Jon Runyan (Republican-NJ, District 3)
Rep. Steve Scalise (Republican-LA, District 1)
Rep. David Schweikert (Republican-AZ, District 5)
Rep. Tim Scott (Republican-SC, District 1)
Rep. Pete Sessions (Republican-TX, District 32)
Rep. Michael Simpson (Republican-ID, District 2)
Rep. Adrian Smith (Republican-NE, District 3)
Rep. Christopher Smith (Republican-NJ, District 4)
Rep. Lamar Smith (Republican-TX, District 21)
Rep. Clifford Stearns (Republican-FL, District 6)
Rep. Steve Stivers (Republican-OH, District 15)
Rep. Lee Terry (Republican-NE, District 2)
Rep. Patrick Tiberi (Republican-OH, District 12)
Rep. Frederick Upton (Republican-MI, District 6)
Rep. Timothy Walberg (Republican-MI, District 7)
Rep. Greg Walden (Republican-OR, District 2)
Rep. Joe Walsh (Republican-IL, District 8 )
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (Republican-GA, District 3)
Rep. Joe Wilson (Republican-SC, District 2)
Rep. Kevin Yoder (Republican-KS, District 3)
Rep. Todd Young (Republican-IN, District 9)
Tea Party members of Congress who voted NO on Patriot Act reauthorization, May 26 2011
Rep. Justin Amash (Republican-MI, District 3)
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Republican-MD, District 6)
Rep. Rob Bishop (Republican-UT, District 1)
Rep. Paul Broun (Republican-GA, District 10)
Rep. John Campbell (Republican-CA, District 48)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Republican-UT, District 3)
Rep. Jeff Duncan (Republican-SC, District 3)
Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (Republican-PA, District 8 )
Rep. Tom Graves (Republican-GA, District 9)
Rep. Morgan Griffith (Republican-VA, District 9)
Rep. Richard Hanna (Republican-NY, District 24)
Rep. Raúl Labrador (Republican-ID, District 1)
Rep. Tom McClintock (Republican-CA, District 4)
Rep. Dennis Rehberg (Republican-MT, District 0)
Rep. Phil Roe (Republican-TN, District 1)
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (Republican-CA, District 46)
Rep. Scott Tipton (Republican-CO, District 3)
Rep. Allen West (Republican-FL, District 22)
The numbers tell the story: 120 Tea Party members of Congress voted FOR the Patriot Act. Only 18 Tea Party members voted against it.
If we go by deeds rather than by words, the congressional Tea Party record on the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is downright dismal. It seems that for most of those sporting a Tea Party label in the House of Representatives, support for liberty is just a pose.
Tags: 112th congress, congress, freedomworks, house, patriot act, roll call, surveillance, tea party, tea party caucus, tea party express, vote, voting
theotherjimmyolson says:
When tea baggers blah blah about the constitution, they should always add the famous addendum; “this was not intended to be a factual statement”.
JustKidding--Probably says:
When it comes time to purge the Republicans these lists will come in handy. You know speaking as a liberal, you’d think if they wanted to curb terror and murder the Patriot act might have some gun control in it, but no… weird. I think the people in government are just pervy voyeurs.
Ann Kay says:
The assumption made here is that the Patriot Act provisions are against the Constitution. If that were so, than why don’t Democrats prepare a bill for Obama’s signature abolishing the IRS?
The real hypocrite here is Barack Obama who refused to vote for the Patriot Act when a Republican was president but now is for it. But then, he has changed his mind on dozens of other issues, some of which he campaigned on, hasn’t he, without you calling him a hypocrite.
Jim Cook says:
You’re so right. We’d never call Barack Obama a hypocrite.
The IRS is not contrary to the Constitution. See Amendment XVI.
Also see Amendment IV, which will clarify for you the sub-constitutional nature of Patriot Act powers.
Kenneth says:
I’m curious as to who was voted in as a tea party candidate and who took on the mantle of the tea party themselves. Many republicans I’ve seen claim to be a part of the tea party whilst not voting in line with tea party beliefs.
Samantha Barragan says:
If the “so called Tea Party” were REAL, then they should’t have an “R” by their name. Why didn’t they choose to be an Independent? Because they saw the gravy train and wanted to ride it. Pure and simple.