The Chattanooga Tea Party, a grassroots group of citizens in the Chattanooga area, recently forwarded a Letter and Petition to Senator Lamar Alexander, Senator Bob Corker, and Rep. Zach Wamp. The petition included more than 1,500 signatures from the estimated 3,000 attendees at the April 15 Tax Day Tea Party Protest at Ross Landing.

Mark West, the founder of the local Chattanooga Tea Party, said, “The Chattanooga Tea Party is a grassroots movement that is autonomous of any particular group or party. Our mission is to bring sound, transparent fiscal policies and accountability to our government through our current elected officials. If they are non-responsive, we will work to replace them with new representatives who will do this and will manage the nation's finances in such a way as to achieve balanced budgets and ultimately reduce and eliminate our national debt.”

The letter, delivered to each elected Official, reminded them that the Tax Day Tea Party Protest “was to protest the willful, deliberate, and recklessly irresponsible fiscal behavior that is occurring in Washington, D.C.”

Here is the letter in its entirety:

The Chattanooga Tea Party does not have any planned protest or rally for the July 4th weekend. However, regularly updated information can be found at: www.chattanoogateaparty.com.

Dear Senator/Congressman,

No doubt you watched with interest the Tax Day Tea Parties that were held on April 15 in over 850 cities with in excess of 1,000,000 law abiding and freedom loving Americans attending. Hopefully you are aware of the fact that in Chattanooga, we too participated in this historic Protest at Ross's Landing. By most counts more than 2,000 Chattanoogans attended our Rally. The objective of this Protest, both locally and nationally, was to protest the willful, deliberate and recklessly irresponsible fiscal behavior that is occurring in Washington DC. To be clear though, this Protest was not directed solely at the Democrats but it was also focused at Republicans and Independents, for no political party is exempt from the reckless spending that has been occurring in our nation's capitol for too many years now.

Many in the media, as well as elected officials and even President Obama, have poked fun at these Tea Parties and have even been critical of our efforts. I would hope that you do not share that same perspective or attitude. The Chattanooga Tea Party was and is a grassroots movement that is autonomous of any particular group or party. Our mission is:

To bring sound, transparent fiscal policies and accountability to our government through our current elected officials. If they are non-responsive, we will work to replace them with new representatives who pledge to and will manage the nation's finances in such a way as to achieve balanced budgets and ultimately reduce and eliminate our national debt.

We understand that no Government or nation can remain strong, much less even continue to exist, if it chooses to pursue dishonest fiscal policies that defy every sound economic principle. Yet, with trillion-dollar deficits, the nearly $12 trillion of national debt, and the $50 trillion in unfunded Medicare and Social Security liabilities, the United States of America has been likened to the Titanic rushing towards a fiscal iceberg. And unfortunately, the politicos in Washington are acting as if all is well, as if there is an unlimited supply of ink to print more money, and as if our nation is too big to fail. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The real truth is that over 1,000,000 Americans know better, and in unison we all stood up and sounded the alarm last month. And in Chattanooga, of the more than 2,000 attendees at Ross's Landing, over 1,500 of them signed a petition which I have attached. The "petition" that was signed is actually our nation's founding document - the Constitution. The message that each of them has asked that I communicate is that we urge you, along with each of your colleagues in Washington, to return to the foundational principles that are conveyed in the Constitution. "We the People" implore you to measure every piece of legislation that crosses your desk against the restrictive and limited authority which is outlined in the Constitution. For we are confident that our Founding Fathers never envisioned the kind of bureaucracy and governmental encroachment on our liberties that are now expanding on a nearly daily basis in Washington. With each new program, agency, and bailout, our nation's fiscal obligations are being enlarged to a point that a collapse is nearly unavoidable.

So, in closing, let me reiterate that many thousands of Chattanooga area citizens are more vigilant now than ever before. We trust that you will view us as partners with you as you seek to pursue and champion sound fiscal policies. However, with no ill will intended, we also trust that you will understand that where votes are cast that are contrary to sound fiscal policies, we will seek to hold those casting such votes accountable - both immediately with our feedback and in the long term with our vote.

Promoting Liberty & Restoring Values...

Mark D. West
Founder, Chattanooga Tea Party