New Years Eve, 2010
My Dear Fellow Patriots;
To say that we've had quite an eventful year would be an understatement, wouldn't it? Those of us in the tea party movement, and right here in the Staten Island Tea Party, have dipped our toes into the river of history and altered its course.
We never planned to do it - we scarcely knew what we getting into at all - but we heard the call of our country and responded. I feel good about that. America was tested, and if the results of the last election were any indication, we passed. But make no mistake (and I know you don't need me to remind you) we will face more tests in the future, and we will have to be well prepared for them.
Though we elected a terrific representative in Mike Grimm, and many others who espouse the tea party values of fiscal sanity, free markets and a Constitutionally-limited government, we need to remember that words are cheap, especially so during campaigns. Washington is a fearsome place; it oozes power, and power is a virus to which few are immune.
So here's a New Year's message to our new Congressman: We believe in you - don't be afraid to make the hard choices, because we've got you covered. The 13th Congressional District of New York sent Michael Grimm to Congress to be Michael Grimm, not, as you have said many times, just another vote in the go-along-to-get-along gang. All the "cover" you will ever need to justify your voting record is right here in the hearts and minds of your constituents - and if you fight for us, we will fight like hell for you.
I think you know that if you ever become more devoted to your leadership than you are to your consituents and your country, you will lose us. We didn't walk the district, ring bells, pass out literature and spend hours on the phone to elect a party - we did all that to elect a man; a man we will continue to believe in unless he gives us reason not to.
Make a difference, Michael, make a difference. We've got your back.
Frank Santarpia
Staten Island, NY
