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So who of you is willing to come to the Tea Party and maybe even speak about the things upon which we can all agree? Who would come and speak about the loss of our civil liberties and the endless wars to which we are subjected and for which we hand over our taxes?

Seriously. It’s an open invitation. Email me. erikafranzi@mac.com What we need is a dialog. Where do we start?

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This is a great primer on Asheville’s political landscape. Here’s a one-word primer on how to get Gordon Smith elected to Asheville’s City Council: Donate!

http://gordonforasheville.com/donate/

Thank you.

beep… beep… beep.

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Ron Paul supporters are not a special interest group.

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It was also meant as a quick primer, so there’s not much elaboration in the text on some key issues. They were handled conversationally between me and the client for whom the brief was composed.

I’d be happy to address any specific questions here as well.

Thank you to Gordon and all the Hooligans for making this the most intelligent and politically informed blog in Asheville.

MM

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Th one in Franklin was entirely financed by Freedom Works. No other groups were allowed to participate.

Americans for Prosperity and other groups have also stepped in front of the movement, using the opportunity to add email addresses to their vault.

Michael P Leahy destroyed the TCOT label(Top Conservatives on Twitter) by making it all about him and what he wants. He wanted top down control, and most of the others serving with him left and started new groups to provide support for those wishing to have their own demonstrations, but the “grass roots” organizations with their head quarters in state capitols and in Washington have, in my opinion, thoroughly poisoned that well.

Asheville is one of the few exceptions. Erika Franzi has kept it free from all special interest groups, save Ron Paul supporters. At least her people aren’t getting money from Raleigh or Washington-based groups to act as seed money.

The actions of those organizarions has shaken my perspective of how things work in the Republican party and have forced me to scrutinize things a bit more closely. I am not willing to accept someone as an ally just because they say they are…

Here is a clue for you if you wish to see if a Tea party is a genuine grass roots affair.

If current or former politicians speak…it is not genuine.
If candidates for office speak…it is not genuine.
If volunteers or paid representatives of non profits like Freedom Works, Americans for Prosperity, etc speak…it is not genuine.

If a bunch of everyday people who don’t hold positions in any political party speak…then it is genuine.

(Name with held…Witness Protection and all that because the Buncombe Republican Party is, shall we say…vengeful)

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More like astroturf from GOP-central, Fox News.

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I’d like to see a different breakdown than Democrat/Republican or Progressive/Conservative. I’d like to see how people would react to the breakdown of pro-taxation/anti-taxation.

What’s stopping you?

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• there are 7 people on city council
• the mayor is elected every four years (one year after the president)
• half the seats (3) are up every two years, in odd years
• there is a primary in October with EVERYONE in it; the top six votegetters, regardless of party, advance to the general election
• the general election is the Tuesday following the first Monday (so never Nov. 1st). six people run, the top three win

I think the mayor should be elected using Instant Runoff Voting; and that the city council should create a special commission to look into this question, as well as others (filling vacancies).

Thank you, Michael Muller, for sharing this.

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