Editorial: A Patriot by any other name

“Right Wing Extremist”, “Angry Mob Leader”, “Astroturf” and now I’m a “Nazi”? I have been called a lot of things in my young almost 50 years, but I can honestly say that the word “Nazi” has never been one of them.

I have to admit when I started the St. Johns County Tea Party Movement I was very naïve and actually, to be truthful about it, I guess I still am. I signed up to host the Tax Day Tea Party on March 23rd of this year, knowing full well that Tax Day was just over three weeks away. I had heard about the Tea Party’s and wanted to attend one, so I went online and tried to find one within a close proximity and the closest was Jacksonville. Well I didn’t want to drive to Jacksonville, so I decided that I would host a Tax Day Tea Party protest right here in St. Augustine, and what better to place to host it than the infamous, never conquered, Historic Castillo De San Marcos. So with some great help, and in three short weeks, we managed to garner over 1200 people in attendance on that day, and now the rest is history in the making as we move forward.

My point is that I have never ever done anything like this before, I am a single mom that works 60 hours a week to make ends meet, and much of the cost of the first event was out of my own pocket, and the rest was through private individual’s donations. I did not have any “Republican” backing, and I don’t ever want any “Republican” backing. We don’t have any big “Insurance” companies feeding us information to spread to our members and if there is any Nazi’s in our group, I am not aware of it.

The Department of Homeland Security has called us “Potential Terrorist” and “Right Wing Extremist” back in April, and then after Tax Day Nancy Pelosi called us “Astroturf”. Of course there was that female, (not a lady), from the show “24”, I won’t give her the privilege of mentioning her name, but she called us “Racist Tea Bagger’s” and then the most recent, our very own Speaker of the House, has blatantly rejected the notion, that conservatives could oppose the President’s policies based on legitimate concerns, and has proceeded to tell everyone that critics of Obama’s health care overhaul are brandishing “swastikas and symbols like that” at town hall meetings. So now we are all “Nazi’s”.

I have never ever been so disgusted in my life with so many blind politicians that will not see that the “Tea Party Protestors” are not the “well dressed” people that Barbara Boxer claims. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that we don’t dress well, but the words “well dressed” infer an image of a suit and tie and the only suit and ties I see at our events are the people that come to speak and want to present a professional image. I can honestly say that other than that, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone in our crowds in a suit and tie. Think about, we’re in Florida. What I have seen is a lot of Tank Tops, Halters, T-Shirts, Polo’s, even some with shorts and bathing suit tops, after all its almost a hundred degrees here sometimes, can you blame them. I have never seen anyone with a “swastika” on their arm or any other body part for that matter.

I just find it so mind boggling that countless times in during the Bush administration, Newspapers printed headlines about “Brainless Bush”, people drove huge buses bashing him, groups wrote and sang songs against him, and others created Huge signs comparing him to Hitler, and that of course, no argument from me, was their right, their right to “Free Speech”. But ironically, not a single politician spoke out against that. So it was okay to speak out against Bush, but its not okay to speak out against current policies that we disapprove of. In other words it’s okay to be a “Community organizer” as long as you are affecting “liberal change”. But, other than that, if you are actually expressing legitimate dissent, than you are a, pitch-fork toting, racist, Gun-Toting, NASCAR loving, civil debate hating, Nazi, of course that is based on words most recently spoken by Nancy Pelosi, Lanny Davis, and Brian Baird.

It is so sad to be witnessing such a huge disconnect between our Elected officials and the people that put them in office. They have forgotten that the only reason that they are where they are, is for the sole purpose of representing us “We the People”, yes we are their bosses, and yes, we are their constituents.

I ask you this my fellow Americans, when you are in charge of giving someone a “job” , than doesn’t that make you responsible for making sure they are performing their duties as to the best of your specifications? So…. that would mean that “We the People” are simply, asking them, “Our Elected Officials”, yes, the ones that we gave their “job”, to actually perform their duties in the best way possible that represents us, “We the People”. According to the most recent Polls, the majority of their constituents do not want this Health Care Bill rammed down their throats, and are speaking out, Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike. Speaking out and saying things like, “Read the Bill”, “Will there be rations”, and “Are you going to fix Medicare and its 70 Billion in fraud and wasteful spending”. Yes, “We the People” have the “audacity” to ask such questions, and in doing so we are now “Nazi’s”.

I have never ever been so completely ashamed of so many of my elected officials in all of my life, and it is because of this that I have never ever been so determined to make a difference.

“We the People’ need to be much more selective in choosing future representation. We have been so nonchalant in the past, and yes, complacent, and look where it has gotten us. We need to stand up and tell our Representatives to not only “Read the Bill’s”, but to “Read the Constitution”, and start with the First Amendment.

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

It doesn’t matter what you call us, it will not change our determination, if anything it will only add fodder. When someone lowers themselves consistently to name calling such as our Speaker of the House does, on a regular basis, than you have to wonder what this country is coming to. How can someone who is our third in command not even have the capability to hold her tongue when talking about people that she has never even met or taken the time to find out what they truly are about. That’s okay, Speaker Pelosi, when I go to sleep at night I go to sleep with a clear conscience because I know on a daily basis that I am doing everything in my power to save my country and the principles it was founded on. I sleep well and I wake refreshed, and reinvigorated to battle the hypocrisies of my elected officials, yet another day.

Until next time, Stand Proud, Be Passionate my fellow Patriots and we will prevail.

BreeLee Johnston is the founder of United American Tea Party which is a Chapter of Just Patriots Inc in St. Johns County. She is a member of the National Leadership Council of Tea Party Patriots as well as the Florida Coordinator for ICaucus.org and contributes a regular guest editorial to Historic City News.