(August 11 2010, Village of Oak Creek, Sedona AZ ) – Tuesday night at the Village of Oak Creek Association (VOCA) meeting hall, nearly 200 enthusiastic Tea Party supporters turned out to hear candidates Bradley Beauchamp, CD1, and Jim Deakin, Senate AZ. Numerous other candidates had a short time to present, including Karen Fann, Noel Campbell, Joe Demme, Phyllis Erick and Dave Blauert: Patrick Hicks was the presenter.

The crowd was energized and curious, many of them already supporters of the Tea Party; obvious by the red, white and blue Sedona Tea Party shirts they wore, emblazoned with the Gadsden snake on the back. While there was no possibility of violence or disorder, there was a strong undercurrent of a fed-up citizenry that clearly felt as if their country had drifted from its traditional moorings. Several of the under-25 years set, who did not know each other, coincidentally wore a common tee shirt; with Mao, Stalin and Hitler on the front, and or a statement that dictators love gun control.

The political Tee shirts of the crowd seemed to summarize the mood. This was an informed group that stated unwavering support of the Constitution with conversations and questions amongst the crowd involved; separation of powers, balanced budgets, 2^nd amendment rights and Federal over-reach. Probably the best summary of their attitude was contained in an oft-heard phrase “Get the government off our backs.”

Critics of the Tea Party claim that it is largely a white middle-class phenomenon, based on an almost Luddite reading of the Constitution. Tea Partiers are accused of being reactionary, unbending, and unwilling to adapt the federal government to modern times. Nothing at the meeting could challenge this. On these points the critics are certainly right. The Tea Party supporters seem to wear the badge of reactionary return to an original reading of the Constitution proudly.

It is also true that the Sedona Tea Party reflects the demographic make-up of the greater Sedona community; they were mostly white, middle-class and this being Sedona, on the other side of fifty years old.

Kevin Fowler, Tea Party member, presented information that, if current trends continue, within five years the entire Federal budget will be devoted to debt service alone. Fowler also gave information (from a recent self-conducted survey of Tea Party members) that Tea Partiers are disenchanted with the two parties and do not consider themselves Democrats or Republicans, only Americans. According to Fowler’s survey, the principle self-stated concerns are; limited government, lower taxes, the 2^nd Amendment and balanced budgets.

Jim Deakin, candidate for Senate, said, “I am a citizen candidate, I did not grow up intending to run for office. It was not my plan. I was raised on a farm.” Deakin is running “because of the perceived danger presented by unresponsive professional politicians.” Of particular concern to Deakin is a Federal government that ignores limits. Thus, he stated, “When I am asked what will I do to fix education, I say it is not my job to fix education. That is the job of your local school boards. It is my job to remove federal interference in local school board issues.”

Bradley Beauchamp, CD1 candidate, pointed out that in her first six weeks in office, his Democrat opponent voted for $1.2 trillion dollars of spending in six weeks and now claims to be working hard to get the “out of control” budget, one that she voted for, back in control. Beauchamp also claimed that 90% of Federal government actions are not authorized by the Constitution while 78% of citizens want an elected representative supportive of the Constitution. He cited the fact that 97% of his contributions have come from within the CD1 district, while most candidates for CD1 receive the majority of their financial support from outside the district.

Both Beauchamp and Deakin expressed support for the issue of the day, SB 1070. Their support stopped short of enthusiasm, seeming to be based on frustration with the lack of action from Washington DC, rather than seeing it as the best option for border control.

Ray Lahood called for Tea Party committee volunteers and announced upcoming Sedona Tea Party events planned for August 28 and September 12 at City Hall. More information can be found at SedonaTeaParty.com.

Article by Joni Dahlstrom, sedonaeye.com Staff writer.    JoniD@eSedona.net      c2010 Sedona Times Publishing & sedonaeye.com