Not On My Watch

On February 19, 2009 a then little known CNBC analyst named Rick Santelli stood on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and lit a fire under the feet of millions of Americans. Found here, his 4 minute 58 second explosion, amidst the stimulus, auto and mortgage bailout talk, contained two words that would go on to once again redefine America's identity: Tea Party. He urged one in Chicago, but he got one across the nation.

People began with sending envelopes to Washington, containing nothing more than a tea bag within. It's reported congressional aides had to carry them out by the trash bag full, quite a metaphor in imagery itself. These folks, whom had finally found a historical image to give shape to their mountains of frustration did not stop there. They began to gather. First in homes, car pooling to town meetings. They faced down professional politicians armed not with talking points, but with copies of their Constitution. Their Constitution. They went on ... Amazon soon reported an explosion in book purchases focusing on the Founding Fathers and original intent, these distraught patriots attempting to make sense of how and when we strayed from both. Conservative authors flooded the best seller lists, a tidal wave of newly self educated Constitutionalists overwhelmed the air waves on talk radio and TV. This was no average movement. Town Hall meetings were canceled out of fear of "looking bad" at the hands this newly engaged citizenry. The media attempted to paint them as fringe, as kooks for chanting such insane requests as "read the bill." Rallies were held in cities and municipalities across the nation, with not a single piece of trash left behind, not a single arrest. The crowds got bigger. They showed up with grandparents, came pushing strollers, with toddlers on their shoulders and poorly constructed signs whose slogans didn't really rhyme and acronyms that didn't really line up, and for a simple reason ... they hadn't done this before. At the 8/28 National Mall rally a group of anti Tea Party protesters infiltrated the gathered masses and began to shout down the speakers. Those gathered did not yell back, did not scream. They gathered in a circle surrounding the professional protesters, held hands, lowered their heads and prayed for those attempting to cause a confrontation ... these are good people. As the mid-terms edged closer all of this energy, activism and new found involvement could have easily been channeled into a third party. But with the savvy of a political veteran these citizen activists focused their attention on primary races. No longer would the establishment pick the candidate for them. And 18 short months from the moment the first tea bag was sealed inside the first envelope the Tea Party stamp of approval has become the most coveted endorsement in all of American politics. The opposition, both in the Democrat Party and traditional Republican power brokers, don't know how to stop them. Like so many Zulu streaming across their pittance of a Royal defense wall there is no flank left invulnerable, there is no untraveled angle of approach. The aptly named Ben Jealous of the NAACP called them racists. Simpatico media outlets painted them as unsophisticated rabble rousers. The president disregarded them, and Republican elites threw temper tantrums ... but they issued no press release in response. They would pick no official leader to retort on their behalf. They have chosen the time, they have chosen the place to respond ... election day, the sanctity of the voting booth.

Like a citizen soldier from history, watching the coast line for the nation they love, they have drawn a line in the sand of their shores and declared "here, and no further." And as they now see the sails of their opposition approaching, they are ready. The alarm has been sounded, the people ... awake. And in 42 short days they will grab the pitchfork of the ballot box and the lantern that is their God given right to choose their own destiny and they will alter the course of American, of world, history ... and all because they made one simple yet profound decision not more than a year and a half ago - NOT ON MY WATCH.