2,000 Conversations

I am so incredibly proud of the Redlands Tea Party Patriots for collecting 1,000 signatures each for a part-time legislature and to repeal the new law mandating the positive instruction about alternative sexual lifestyles to children.

In retrospect, and after learning the hard way how difficult collecting signatures really is, I may never pledge again to collect 1,000 of anything. There were times within the last two months that I was worried that we may not make our publicly pledged goal of collecting 1,000 signatures for
each.

As the canvassing chairman of the Redlands Tea Party Patriots, my credibility could have taken a right cross.

Unlike liberals, conservatives must be persuaded to sign anything. It’s against our nature to drink Kool-Aide and sign petitions just because some liberal union goon told us to do so. Even after being persuaded, conservatives must discuss the merits of each petition and what good it would accomplish.

And that’s great – but each signature represents a conversation, and often a time-consuming one at that.

So all told, I mailed 2,091 signatures to Sacramento via priority mail on Monday morning.

We vaulted over the goal line for both causes on Saturday when me and 27 of my tea party friends canvassed Redlands as part of our final get-out-the-vote effort for conservative candidates and causes. We distributed our voting guides as well as distributing fliers supporting our favored candidates and causes. And we collected a lot of signatures from a lot of eager voters.

When I realized we reached our goals, and after a blistering hot day of knocking on doors, I slumped into a lawn chair in my backyard and puffed the biggest and most politically incorrect victory cigar in my humidor.

And dang it tasted great.

The part-time legislature limiting legislators to a 90-day term versus the indefinite term they can stay in session. Already the highest-paid legislators in the US, California assemblymen and women soak up $100,000 year on top of $30,000 in per diem. (And to do what? To make silly and liberal laws we don’t need or want?)

In 1991, I was a reporter covering the Florida Legislature for the Florida Times-Union in Tallahassee. Those legislators got everything done in two months. I have no idea why California can’t do the same in the same amount of time.

On that initiative, I must credit congressional District 8 candidate Gregg Imus, whose campaign staff contributed more than 400 signatures.

On the sexual lifestyle petition, also known as Stop Senate Bill 48, the petitions came in a couple dozen at a time from enthusiastic volunteers who talked with fellow Christians, neighbors and friends.  

It also helped that we teamed up with AM 590 KTIE, “The Answer,” which allowed the Redlands Tea Party Patriots to host a table at events featuring Ann Coulter, Hugh Hewitt and Dennis Prager. At those events, we raked in almost 500 signatures.

We will continue to collect signatures for both causes through their deadline dates in early July because those causes are worthwhile. They will both be on the 2014 ballot if they qualify.

The signature effort is critical in California because we have a socialist legislature that cares more about its liberal allies than doing what’s best for the Golden State taxpayers and children. I look forward to collecting signatures for causes like repealing the bullet train and a voter ID law, should those two reach the balloting stage.

I may very well collect 1,000 signatures for those causes -- I will probably not, however, make a pledge to do so first.