The first thing a Tea Party Patriot must do is understand what it is he or she is up against. While the conservative movement is maturing, it had not been accepted by any party until Goldwater in the mid 60s. Even then, the movement did not find a home until Ronald Reagan fully embraced it and brought it to the White House in 1980. Even after eight years of one of the most popular presidents in our history and astounding economic growth across all income levels (do not let a liberal get away with the “only rich got richer” lie), the conservative movement lost its foothold in the Republican Party as the membership began a slow drift to the center, concerned they were alienating the moderates and those on the left. The irony is that up to 70% of the U.S. population claims to be conservative. Among some of those that prefer to be called a moderate or even liberal, a close examination of their values reveals that they are, indeed, conservative at their core. So, whenever the Republicans adjusted their values toward the center, they were, in fact, moving away from the largest percentage of the population.

More on that later. Liberalism, which is more accurately defined as Progressivism (listen for the key word “progressive” in many a Democratic speech), has a much deeper history in our country. While Teddy Roosevelt was the first U.S. President to use the term openly, it was Woodrow Wilson who gave it teeth, as well a permanent home in the Democratic Party. Understand, during this time, the social engineers of the world were hard at work. In Europe we had universal socialists, national socialists, fascists, and other offshoots of those entertaining the utopian dream. While progressives are not fascists or Nazis (national socialists), the ideology all bubbles up from the same socialist well. They are totalitarians, one and all, meaning that they believe every aspect of human life can and should be under the control of a compassionate and wise central planner. Despite the lessons of the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and fascist Italy, to name a few, the progressives continue their pursuit of this utopia. After Wilson, a long line of progressives filled his shoes—from FDR to Johnson to Obama, with a few lightweights in between, some in the Republican Party, which struggles to this day to find its identity (and that’s why we’re here, my friends). I’ll return to these topics in future posts, but understand this: Obama did not spring up out of the ashes to bring about “change we can believe in.” This is a century long ideology. His defeat in 2012 and a sweeping defeat of Democrats in the next two elections will not end this fight. It’s our lack of vigilance that got us in this mess. We have a great advantage, however, one that we did not have until the 1960s. It’s the conservative movement. Our value system now had a name and we soon discovered that we are the majority.

President Obama, like other progressives before him, is so convinced that his ideology is the only way that he openly admits his beliefs. But he does more than that—he gives us the battle plan for his party’s defeat. He tells us, quite bluntly, what scares him. Let’s list them:

• Fox News
• The Tea Party Movement
• Talk Radio
• Internet social sites
• Internet news sources and blogs

As you read that list, you should feel fairly excited. For years we conservatives have bemoaned the left leaning mainstream media, primarily the major TV networks and big newspapers. But that’s all the progressives have (that and a huge microphone in the White House). They’ve built their propaganda machine on those platforms for decades, with outstanding results. But they’ve got a problem. Most of the population no longer gets their information from NBC, ABC, CBS, or the New York Times. They get it from—you guessed it—talk radio and the internet. Those that still get it from television are tuning into Fox News, which has maintained the number one ratings spot for several years now. The President has reason to be concerned over our being “distracted by too much information.” When your progressive movement is at the cusp of full implementation, the truth can be a very inconvenient distraction.

I’d like to add to that list. Books are also a great source of information. Though not timely, they offer a history lesson that we all need to understand in order to defeat an enemy that relies on our ignorance of history to tout one slanted piece of propaganda after another (like referring to conservatives as “fascists,” a label that makes no sense at all). Because we’re unlearned, we have no argument. Educate yourselves. Use the sources that Obama has generously outlined for you, but read the heavy stuff as well, from history to current events. I’ll keep the Amazon list going and put some of my reviews up as well.

I’ll leave you with this: do not jump on the “I hate Beck/Levin/Limbaugh/or any other conservative” bandwagon. We are all on the same side. Conservatives must remain focused on their purpose, which is the defeat and reversal of the progressive tide that has swept over this country since 1912. Yeah, it’s a tough, uphill road. And it will not be won in one or two elections. Most of us will probably not see a true free market in our lifetimes, just as anyone born in the last century didn’t see it. We will bring about real change. But all of our sacrifice of time, money, and energy to win this fight will be an investment in this nation’s future. The only reward we will reap will be the knowledge that we didn’t sit idly by and watch the corruption of our freedom unfold in front of us.

Stand by, Patriots, the party has only just begun.