WASHNGTON--Erick Erickson, editor of the right of center blog RedState.com, and newly hired political commentator for CNN, has written a book for the Tea Party movement.
Erickson was an early supporter of the Tea Party movement, speaking frequently at rallies in 2009. He said he wrote the book in response to activists asking him what they should read, what they should be thinking about, as well as what they should do after getting into Congress.
“We wanted to put together in a book some ideas for Tea Party activists,” said Erickson on Oct. 15 at a Heritage Institute sponsored book event.
“Red State Uprising: How to Take Back America” was co-written by Erickson and Lewis K. Uhler, founder and president of the National Tax Limitation Committee.
In his unapologetic style, Erickson opens his book by saying, “They’re all terrible. All of them. Democrats. Republicans. The so-called “leaders” of both parties do nothing but compromise away our freedoms. The good guys are few and far between and need reinforcements.”
Ericksons’s prose speaks to the Tea Party movement. While he does not claim to be an advisor to any particular group, his book is sure to raise his profile among activists.
It lays out a detailed assessment of what Erickson sees as the main problems with the government today, among them a ballooning government growing increasingly inefficient, a usurpation of the Constitution, and the problem of earmarks.
Earmarking is the practice of legislating a specific use for federal money. Critics say the practice leaves the door open to corruption and vote bribery.
Erickson, citing the stimulus and the health care bill, said larger government results from earmarks. He said the Republican party’s election promise, the Pledge to America, should include the abolishment of earmarks.
Asked what exactly Tea Party candidates should do after being sworn in in Washington, Erickson, who serves on the City Council of Macon, Georgia, population less than 100,000, said they should focus not on action, but on opposing action.
“They will have too small a numbers to get anything done, but they will have large enough numbers to make sure stuff doesn’t get done,” he said.
Erickson was an early supporter of the Tea Party movement, speaking frequently at rallies in 2009. He said he wrote the book in response to activists asking him what they should read, what they should be thinking about, as well as what they should do after getting into Congress.
“We wanted to put together in a book some ideas for Tea Party activists,” said Erickson on Oct. 15 at a Heritage Institute sponsored book event.
“Red State Uprising: How to Take Back America” was co-written by Erickson and Lewis K. Uhler, founder and president of the National Tax Limitation Committee.
In his unapologetic style, Erickson opens his book by saying, “They’re all terrible. All of them. Democrats. Republicans. The so-called “leaders” of both parties do nothing but compromise away our freedoms. The good guys are few and far between and need reinforcements.”
Ericksons’s prose speaks to the Tea Party movement. While he does not claim to be an advisor to any particular group, his book is sure to raise his profile among activists.
It lays out a detailed assessment of what Erickson sees as the main problems with the government today, among them a ballooning government growing increasingly inefficient, a usurpation of the Constitution, and the problem of earmarks.
Earmarking is the practice of legislating a specific use for federal money. Critics say the practice leaves the door open to corruption and vote bribery.
Erickson, citing the stimulus and the health care bill, said larger government results from earmarks. He said the Republican party’s election promise, the Pledge to America, should include the abolishment of earmarks.
Asked what exactly Tea Party candidates should do after being sworn in in Washington, Erickson, who serves on the City Council of Macon, Georgia, population less than 100,000, said they should focus not on action, but on opposing action.
“They will have too small a numbers to get anything done, but they will have large enough numbers to make sure stuff doesn’t get done,” he said.
