Frequently Asked Questions

As an educational and advocacy organization, the B/CS Tea Party doesn't have official "members" per se. But we invite you to consider any or all of the following:

• Come to our meetings! We meet on the first Thursday of each month at the College Station Conference Center from 6:30 - 8:00pm (we typically run over until 8:30 or so).
• Read and submit comments on our website.
• Join the B/CS Tea Party Facebook Group.
• Sign up for our email list. We try to limit our informational emails to one or two a month, and we won't give or sell your contact info to anyone.
• Sign up to have website updates sent to you automatically by email (this is only for website updates, the mailing list above is additional info and reminders).
• Subscribe to our site updates by RSS.

We hold our regular meetings:

• on the first Thursday of each month, 6:30-8:00 (though it typically runs long);
• at the College Station Conference Center.

We'll try to keep our Upcoming Events page updated on what we're planning for the next meeting.

If you have suggestions about what to discuss or do, or if you'd like to speak on a particular subject, please let us know on the Contact Us page.

The B/CS Tea Party started with the effort and support of many hundreds of individuals who are and have been part of this growing movement.

The B/CS Tea Party, as well as the Tea Party nationally, started as a protest against accelerating overstepping by the federal government of its constitutional authority.

Here in Bryan/College Station, Bryan resident Nancy Coppock saw the need for a local group, focused on this country's founding principles. In March of 2009 she started this website and began planning, with the help of many people also motivated to do the same, the original April 15 Tea Party event.

Browse the archives of this website to get a more full idea of our growth and individual events.

We are so grateful to each person who has, is, and will be part of getting this country back to its founding principles.

Our motto:

Teach. Empower. Act.

While the beginning of the Tea Party in general was a national tax protest ("Taxed Enough Already"), as time passed it became clear that government overspending was a symptom of a greater problem—a country abandoning its founding principles.

Why this country has been strong and prosperous in the past:

The principles and wisdom contained in the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the U.S. Constitution, and its citizens accepting their responsibility to learn and live by them, are the reasons for the success of this country.

As its citizens forget our founding principles and responsibilities, and dishonorable elected officials circumvent and deny them, our nation and its future are put in drastic danger.

Therefore, the B/CS Tea Party's priorities and purpose are:

• to provide a venue for citizens to learn constitutional solutions to current political issues,
• to cause citizens to become influential members of society, regarded as learned defenders of liberty and freedom, and
• to create a fully engaged citizenry, well-schooled in the United States Founding Documents, empowered to act in the governing of the nation and state by exercising our power and responsibility as its citizens.

No, not as the B/CS Tea Party.

From our soon-to-be official bylaws:

The Bryan-College Station Tea Party does not endorse any candidate for political office, nor do its board members or officers speak on its behalf when expressing support for individuals or issues. The Bryan-College Station Tea Party’s sole candidate is the Constitution of The United States of America and measures all candidates and government representatives against that standard.

As individuals, we often strongly endorse or oppose certain candidates, based on their adherence (or non-adherence) to the principles on which this country was founded and prospered for the majority of its existence.

We often invite candidates to speak at our meetings to question and evaluate them, based on the above.

Only the current President of the B/CS Tea Party officially speaks for it. B/CS Tea Party Committee Directors may speak on behalf of the work their committee is doing.

As our bylaws* state:

The Bryan-College Station Tea Party does not endorse any candidate for political office, nor do its board members or officers speak on its behalf when expressing support for individuals or issues.
B/CS Tea Party bylaws Article 2 Section 6

The President shall be the only person solely responsible for presenting the views of The Bryan-College Station Tea Party to the public and other organizations in relation to The Bryan-College Station Tea Party.
B/CS Tea Party bylaws Article 5 Section 2

Directors may enlist members of the general public in order to fulfill the duties and goals of their committee, but only the Director is permitted to act for the committee in the name of The Bryan-College Station Tea Party as permitted in these Bylaws. Under no circumstance may any member of the public who is not a Director or Officer of The Bryan-College Station Tea Party represent, be a member of, be employed by (except as contractually necessary) or otherwise imply directly or indirectly that they hold such representation that may denote any relationship with the Bryan-College Station Tea Party.
B/CS Tea Party bylaws Article 7 Section 2

*note: 501(C)(4) status upcoming

No.

When a third party makes any kind of significant showing in a national election, they split the vote with the party from whom they've split and the party they're both against wins. This is bad strategy too often based in passion and emotion over reason and a calculated approach based solely on right principles.

See this article urging all conservatives to join together for the 2010 election, which we did. This same need, to join together in principle with others will continue in the 2012 election and beyond.

Our country was founded as a representative republic under the rule of law. Individuals of differing backgrounds, preferences and personalities must join together to keep it that way.

No.

The B/CS Tea Party is an independent organization, neither affiliated with nor subordinate to any other individual or organization. We do not financially support any group, other than trying to do so for ourselves.

No.

At the Tax Day Tea Party event here in College Station April 15, 2010, one of the first announcements made was:

“If you are a racist you are not welcome here!”

The B/CS Tea Party teaches, discuss and encourages everyone involved with our group the Founding Principles of the United States of America. Including:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The United States Declaration of Independence

See some others' perspectives in these past articles:

• Putting the Lie to Malicious False Claims
• Meet Some New Conservative Leaders