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Congressman Dave Brathas faced a lot of criticism in the past weeks in Virginias 7th District. He faced even more when he came into the national spotlight about a week agoand for good reason.After refusing to host Town Hall meetings for his constituents in Virginias 7th District until 100 days into the Trump presidency, thesecond-term Congressman (who affiliates with the Tea Party) was recorded saying some not-so-flattering things about the women at what can only be described as astand-up comedy routine with a bit of policy talk thrown in for good measure.

While the second-term Congressman said a lot of things that rubbed many of his constituents the wrong way, one statement was particularly notable. Early into his speaking engagementwhich, by the way, was given in Virginias 1st District on January 28, while he is stillrefusing to host a similar event in his own DistrictDave Brat hinted at why he wasnt open to talking to his own constituents despite heading to Arizona to speak at a Town Meeting there later this month.

Since Obamacare and these issues have come up, the women are in my grill wherever I go, Brat said to a room full of Republican supporters in Virginias 1st District. They come up and they ask me whens your next town hall? andbelieve meits not to give positive input. The statement was met with a hearty round of laughter from the crowd as Brat chuckled at his own hilarious disregard for the concerns of the people he was elected to represent.

One such womanwho is most certainly in his grillis Maureen Hains, a 33-year-old resident of Midlothian, Virginia and the founder of the7th District Town Hall MeetingFacebook Group (which has over 1,000 members at this time). In fact, it might just be Hains and her friends who Brat was referring to in hisinsensitive and misogynistic speech. See, as Brat became more and more evasive regarding his constituents requests for a Town Hall meeting regarding the Obamacare repeal, Hains decided shecould no longer take it. Although shesays shes never had a background in local politics, Hains decided she had todo something aftergetting the runaroundfrom Rep. Brats office.

And what was she calling them aboutabout? The date and time of the next Town Hall meeting hosted by the Congressman who she voted for.

Yes, thats right. Despite painting the women as the enemy of reason and conservative values in his bizarroDef Comedy Jam-style speech to a room of mostly male supporters, it turns out that at least some of thewomen hes referring to actually did vote for him, which would indicate that they at least agree with some of what he wants to do.

That hasnt stopped Brat from painting Maureen and the rest of his discontented constituents as rich liberals and paid activists as an excuse todismiss their concerns without a second thought. Hains isnt upset about the policies necessarily (though she doesfeel uneasyabout the promise to destroy theJohnson Amendmentamong a few others), its Brats apparent contempt for the people he represents that got her fired up and ready to fight.

The aforementioned video didnt help his case, of course. Maureen explained that she wasabhorred he would refer to hisconstituentsas the Women.' She said that it reminded [her]of Donald Trumpsrhetoricwith theMexicans and the Blacks. [Brat]doesnt realize that its not just women who want to be heard. But that wasnt the biggest problem. She founded the group before Brats speech had even happened.

While Hains said she found the Congressmans comments condescending and sexist, she explained that her concerns do not lie only with what he may or may not planto do. Imconcerned hes changed. Im concerned hes become a sell out. Im concerned that he is lying when he says he wants peoples voices to be heard. Im concerned he doesnt care how his actions in the first 100 days will affect his constituents, she explained.

And thats an important distinction to make. Just because you demand transparency from your representatives does not mean that you are opposing them or out to criticizewhich seems to be what Brat doesnt understand (that said, Dave Brat, I, personally, oppose everything you are doing, just FYI). The women who are up in hisgrill arent out to get him. Its not a witch hunt. Its not an attempt to demonize himor hissupporters. They want to do their civic duty and make their voices heard.

His defensive argument that hes held so many town hall meetings in the past doesnt answer our question. Were not asking if hes done them before, we know he has, we are simply asking, When is the next Town Hall meeting? Its not an accusation, its a question. We still have not heard the answer, Hains explained of her position. You cant represent if you wont listen to both sides.

That seems pretty reasonable to me, Congressman. Seriously, if you cant wrap your head around that, get out of politics and make way for someone who actually cares about the will of the people.

Thelast few weeks have been fatiguing to say the least, but Maureen Hains story does speak to one important silver liningto the current political situation: the apathy that has marked American politics for far too long seems to be coming to an end. People all over the country who have never participated inthe political process (outside of voting) are getting involvedwhich actually bodes well for the future of our country.

Although things are admittedly bleak in Washington at the moment, the renewed interest in defending our rights as citizensfrom marriage equality and healthcare to church/state separation and access to our representatives indicates that, ifwe make it through the next few years (months? days? weeks?), we will be in a better place than we ever have beenand this time, it seems, women are leading the fight.

So, getused to us being in your grill, Congressman. The women arentgoing anywhere Except maybe to Washington to take your job.

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'Women in His Grill': Is Tea Party Congressman Brat the Biggest Chicken in the House? - AlterNet

To The Daily Sun, The Lakes Region TEA Party's February meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at the Moultonborough Library at 7 p,n,. Our speakers will be Representative Glenn Cordelli, and Jim Thompson. Representative Glenn Cordelli (Tuftonboro) will provide an update on the legislature's activities including key issues and possible items needing our support.

Jim Thompson will provide with an update about the Refugee Resettlement Program and about Laconia's Martin Luther King Day celebration at it relates to refugees and immigrants.

Jim's presentation will be followed by a group discussion of President Trump's first 35 days, starting with his progress on his "Contract with the American Voter" (see: http://tinyurl.com/hw4allz). Bring your thoughts and plan to participate in our discussion.

The Lakes Region TEA Party meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Moultonborough Library, 4 Holland Street. The public is invited to attend to listen, learn, and respectfully participate in our discussions. In case of inclement weather, check the latest news section of our website (lakesregionteaparty.net) to see if there is a cancellation notice. Don Ewing Meredith

Link:
Next Lakes Region TEA Party meeting will be held on February 15 - The Laconia Daily Sun

What The Left Can Learn From The Tea Party NPR Heard on Morning Edition. Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist and early Tea Party movement organizer, talks with Rachel Martin about how liberal activists may be borrowing activist tactics from the Tea Party movement. Facebook; Twitter. Google+.

See more here:
What The Left Can Learn From The Tea Party - NPR

Dont be sure liberals can replicate the right wings resistance to governmentor that it will benefit them if they can do it.

On Tuesday, Democrats voted lockstep against Betsy DeVoss for secretary of education. It was a sign that the party had moved toward a strategy of obstruction. It is an ironic tip of the cap to Donald Trump and the Tea Party. And it might be a big mistake.

Nothing succeeds like success. Whenever someone does something that works, the natural instinct is to replicate it. This happens in politics, business, and sports. Everybody plays Moneyball now.

Democrats have watched what the Tea Party and Donald Trump, respectively, pulled off, and now they want to seek revenge by mimicking the very tactics used by their adversaries. The problem is that (1) not everyone is positioned to do the same things, and (2) times and situations change. Sometimes fighting the last war works; other times, it doesnt.

Faced with a surprising loss, our carnal instinct is for crude revenge, a tit-for tat. But revenge is a dish best served cold. Many columns describe Democrats as becoming the party of no. To my knowledge, none of these columns were written by someone on the center-right, and that makes a certain amount of sense. It would be easy to suggest that what Im about to say is concern trolling. But what follows is sincere advice.

Before attempting to replicate what conservatives did, its worth asking if it is replicable. There are reasons to believe the techniques and strategies are not transferable.

First, the Tea Party was, as I have lamented, an anti-intellectual movement. Conversely, the Democratic base is full of people who listen to NPR. Whipping up the same kind of fervor that shunts the nuances of governing is unlikely to unify the left. A corollary to this is that a large portion of people on the left actually like government. So how do you get the left to unify around a shutdown tactic?

Second, politics is about choices, and copying Trumps tactics would deprive Democrats of a favorable contrast. Keep in mind, the fundamental choice may not always be left vs. right. Donald Trump has tried to make the choice about insiders vs. outsiders, and (to a certain extent) this strategy has worked. However, that was the last wara war he defined. Maybe the next election will focus on chaos vs. normalcy or incompetence vs. competence.

If that happens, Democrats would be foolish to abandon this unique selling proposition. Politics is about addition, and there could be demand for a rational and thoughtful party in 2020. Democrats would essentially abandon this emerging coalition by seeking to ape Trump.

Its hard to see how a race to the bottomthat serves to further weaken faith in institutions and governmenthelps the brand of big government. Instead, Democrats need to offer an alternative vision of how sensible, thoughtful, nuanced governance is the preferred alternative to Trumpism.

Even if liberals were to replicate everything that happened during the last eight years as Republicans resisted President Obama, theres no guarantee that it would end with a victory for their team. After all, Trump did lose the popular vote. It took a confluence of numerous external events for Trump to win. Adopting a radical strategy of reflexive resistancebased on the assumption that liberals will inexorably win the presidency in 2024seems like an unwise gamble.

But forget about winning back the presidency, there is no guarantee Democrats will even be able to replicate what Republicans did in 2010 and 2014. To be sure, Democrats won the 2006 midterms by essentially running as the party of no against a flailing George W. Bush administration. However, that was year six of his presidency, and the wheels had come off. What is more, while it is not unusual for a presidents party to lose seats in midterms, Democrats will be playing defense in 2018, defending several incumbent Senate seats in states where Trump won.

While whipping up the base is likely to increase midterm turnout, midterms typically skew much older and whiter than do presidential elections. This is all a long way of saying that while its possible Democrats could have good midterms, its a steeper climb.

Its one thing for Democrats to unite in opposition to Trumps cabinet picks; thats easy. What happens when the budget comes this spring? What if it defunds Planned Parenthood? Do Democrats force a government shutdown over that, or do they merely vote against it? There is extensive range between these two strategic decisions. The base will surely be clamoring for a shutdown, butagainthis is an off brand move for the Party of Government that might want to come to the rescue if Trumps chaos finally backfires. Warren Hardings return to normalcy offers us a model for winning after a period of turmoil.

Now, I have no illusions that liberals will heed my warnings any more than conservatives did. Just as Republicans were effectively leaderless for nearly a decade (between George W. Bush and Donald Trump), Democrats now find themselves without a de facto (or de jure) leader. Therefore, the initial instinct is to fight. The heart wants what the heart wants.

The first and most basic form of resistance is to take to the streets (just as the Tea Party did). Marches can be good for morale, but (with a few obvious exceptions) they are overrated in terms of change. The big Womens March was probably more about resolving intersectional racial tensions within the left (emphasizing its nonwhite leadership) than it was about winning the future.

Democrats have the chance to emerge as a serious and competent opposition party. However, scorched-earth tactics are not going to accomplish that goal. An economic populism that brings together working-class whites and African-Americans and Hispanics is within their reachbut the partys internal interest groups and actors each have a perverse incentive to stoke anger. Republicans spent a decade dealing with the tragedy of the commons problem. Now, it is the Democrats who are up at bat.

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The Left's Lame Tea Party Play - Daily Beast

February 7, 2017 11:56 PM By Shirin Rajaee

SACRAMENTO Its a step-by-step online handbook for resisting President Donald Trump and his agenda.

Its called the Indivisible Guide and it was written by former congressional staffers who witnessed the rise of the tea party.

It started as just a Google Doc that was posted on Twitter about a month after the election, but it soon started making its rounds online.

And since then, its been downloaded over 1 million times and groups all over the country are adopting it.

What were finding is the Indivisible Guide is actually a road map because most people who are getting involved right now have never been activists, theyve never protested, said Tracie Stafford, one of the organizers of the Sacramento Womens March.

The guide is based on the practices that the tea party used in getting Congress to listen during President Obamas administration.

Theyve taken the lessons that theyve learned from the tea party, and what they did as a party. The tea party disrupted the members of Congress, and they were visible, they were active, said Barbara Dehart the co-founder of Indivisible Women Nevada County.

Deharts group is one of hundreds putting the guide into action.

Its about resistance and your local communities rising up, she said.

The key tea party strategies being used to resist the Trump Agenda are building small local groups in your community and focusing on defense.

According to the guide, this means demanding that your local members of Congress be the voice of opposition on Capitol Hill. Its also about constantly saying NO to the Presidents agenda.

Grass Valleys Mark Meckler, the co-founder of the tea party weighed in via Skype.

The idea that theyre imitating tea party methodology, well theres no fixed or regular tea party methodology. So theyre claiming to imitate something that doesnt exist, said Meckler.

He adds Theyre doing it from the top down, telling people this is how you do politics, this is how you do a grass roots movement, but the idea of trying to recreate something organic in an inorganic way by trying to recreate it from the top down, simply doesnt work.

The guide goes in depth about how to write letters, how to protest, how do make phone calls to local congress members.

And while many of the groups are adopting it, some also say theyre making it their own.

More:
Groups Taking Lessons From Tea Party For Resisting Trump - CBS Local