Greg Rabidoux | Guest Writer
Well, in case you missed it, there is a Tea Party Convention which is set to reach a boiling point this coming Thursday, Feb. 4, through Saturday, Feb. 6, in Music City USA, aka, Nashville. Much has been made about who will be attending (Sarah Palin, for one) and those who won’t be, including my opponent, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who just recently backed out of her scheduled appearance. Much has also been made about internal squabbles, divisions and charges of manipulation by well-paid Republican consultants with what many Tea Partiers feel is the “purity” of the whole event. Other issues with this convention have also been well chronicled, both in the press and in the blogosphere. This includes the $120,000 or so the former Governor of Alaska may or may not end up collecting for her appearance scheduled for Saturday evening, the roughly $600 a ticket being charged for an ostensibly “grassroots” event being held at the rather un-grassroots, decidedly upscale Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center (it has 9,000 square feet of indoor gardens and a cascading waterfall for goodness-sake) and the fact this event is being out on by a for-profit company. So, naturally, questions have been raised about whether this is a for-profit, pay-to-play spectacle exploiting folks who are supposedly against such nonsense or if the Tea Party is morphing into the GOP or vice-versa before our very eyes.

As for me, well, I seek not to pile on the Tea Party enthusiasts. I am a vigorous advocate of and defender for our collective Constitutional right to Freedom of Assembly. This is so, maybe even especially so, when I don’t necessarily embrace the whole agenda of what folks are assembling about, as is the case here.

Recently, I’ve had two folks who identify themselves as Tea Partiers share their views with me as I have been on the campaign trail. The first told me he thought our spending was out of control and has been for years now. Fair enough. The second told me she felt our state should join Texas in breaking way from the rest of the union. As much as I like Texas, can’t say I think that is a good idea.

No, my beef at this point is really with Mrs. Blackburn. I can’t help but see her decision to abandon the Tea Partiers at the last moment not one of caution or an overwhelming concern over ethics as they have tried to make it out, but one of expediency and crass opportunism. In other words, she knew this event was a for-profit gig from the get-go, organized by her good friend, Judson Phillips for months. When word got out and the heat was turned up, both in the mainstream media and by persistent bloggers, she and her political ally, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann out of Minnesota, both flew the coop and quit on folks they had only recently proclaimed as true Americans and patriots.

In my opinion, she’s quitting on the Tea Partiers just like she’s done to so many of us in the 7th District of Tennessee.
Where should the real focus be from those who represent us in Washington D.C. anyways? Well, not on standing in front of the cameras but in standing up for their constituents. Nashville will soon be the focus of the media when the Tea Party comes to town, but honestly, it’s time for a lot less talk and histrionics and more bringing people together to tackle real issues like creating quality jobs for Tennesseans, harnessing the power of clean energy and ensuring we no longer rank near dead last in education in the USA. At least, that’s where my focus will be these next 10 months or so.