They got behind like-minded candidates and crafted an agenda. Now it’s time to govern, those involved in the Tea Party movement say.
A new effort stationed at NowWeMustGovern.com aims to do that.
The website is the work of former Republican leader Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks organization and a Houston-based activist who developed the Tea Party-backed “Contract from America.”
The governing website will offer specific legislation based on that Tea Party document, a list of 10 legislative desires chosen by conservative activists and unveiled in the months leading up to the midterm elections.
“I think there will be a lot of new congressman who want to write legislation around the Contract,” said Ryan Hecker, who developed the idea for the “Contract from America.”
The Contract includes provisions like requiring each bill to identify where in the Constitution Congress has the power to do what the bill does, a balanced budget amendment, scrapping the internal revenue code and repealing the health care law. In polling released by FreedomWorks, almost every one of the ten policy items addressed in the “Contract from America” polled at least 60 percent positive among the general public and nearly 90 percent positive among Tea Partiers.
Another organization, the Tea Party Patriots, also has plans to make their mark on the incoming class of Congress. At a Wednesday morning press conference, the organization spoke of its plans to host a freshman orientation seminar for incoming members, inviting newly elected members from both parties. They also plan to operate a job bank for people who share Tea Party values who would be interested in working as staff on Capitol Hill.
Joe Wierzbicki, who helps run the Tea Party Express, a Sacramento-based political action committee very involved in the 2010 midterm elections, could not be reached for comment. But a spokesman for the organization told The Daily Caller on election night that the group plans to be involved in recruiting and endorsing candidates in the 2012 elections.