2nd Free Lunch

So I went to another luncheon today through my internship, which was cool because it was free and had the most delicious chocolate chip cookies and deli sandwiches.

But more important than that was the discussion.  The luncheon was about the Tea Party and their effect (whether it was positive or negative) on the Republican party.  The topic was really interesting and there consisted of a panel of three individuals.  The first speaker, Matt Louis, was interesting and he spoke from the viewpoint that the tea party created many possible concerns for the Republican Party.  Some of his concerns included a lack of respect among the tea party for government organizations; the idea that some tea party goers are more concerned with fiscal conservation and less focused on social conservation; that they created an anti-intellectual movement; and conservative feminism, which is putting women on the front line, but having women play the "victim card" rather then a strong conservative card.

The next two speakers where very different from the first one, claiming that the tea party is the new movement, the new members of the organization and the Republican party much be accepting to these individuals and allow them to step up into the party.  The second speaker highlighted a large issue in the current midterm elections, stating that in the current elections, tea party candidates who lost in the primary supported the winning Republican candidate, yet in every election in which a tea party member won over a Republican, the Republican candidate was trying to defeat the tea party member.  He concluded his speech with the fact that tea party members are the new Republicans and current partly members cannot hope to get the tea party vote, while simultaneously not let them "disrupt the club."

The third panelist summed up the topic, claiming that the tea party movement was the third wave of the Republican party, adding a new dimension to it.  He added that the tea party is working to elect a new administration, not happy with the current one, yet he warned that if the tea party elects a stagnate Republican party, the tea party would rebel against then and go after them just as hard as they are going against the current administration.  

The panel was then opened for questions and the audience was able to have their (at times unhappy) opinions shared.  The panel did a good job of collectively answering all the questions asked.  At the end of the luncheon, the leadership institute gave away one free schooling pass and everyone received a discount on their lessons.

This was an interesting luncheon to go to because it not only focused on a current issue, but as a student, it was unique to see how people within the system felt about the issue and how they hoped to understand and react to it.

I know this blog was really heavy, but the panel was good and it covered an interesting topic.  As stated before, I suggest going to everything you can, whenever you have the opportunity to.  You may get more than a free lunch...