FreedomWorks

It has been interesting to watch MSNBC, far left commentators and bloggers, and even Nancy Pelosi write off the tea party movement as either insignificant, or fringe, or even a one trick pony. But what I and the other hundreds of local tea party organizers know is that this movement is real, it's going to grow and it will make a difference.

You would think that president Obama and his liberal allies would congratulate local organizers of the tea parties, since they are basically using the same techniques that he used as a community organizer in Chicago. Instead, local organizers are being insulted, disrespected and written off. That is a huge mistake on the part of the tea party deniers. The far left actually believes that this movement is fake, that it is funded by billionaire's and that it's purpose is to trick people into protesting. The ironic thing is that the movement has actually been encouraged by organizers that have applied the strategies and tactics of the left in order to get people involved. We are using the left's excellent organizing ideas to promote the cause of freedom, instead of socialism.

Although I've been organizing people for 6 years, and have observed and learned from leftist organizers, most of the tea party community organizers had never protested, nor had they ever tried to build a local movement. But now that so many of them were successful in bringing hundreds or even thousands of people out to protest, the organizers are confident, energized and battle-hardened. They are hearing from attendees that they want to keep the pressure on. This is why I believe the tea party movement will continue full speed ahead, leading up to a massive march on Washington D.C. in September.

But as the movement goes forward, it's imperative that community organizers keep teaching themselves how to better organize. What they pulled off in thousands of locations around the country this week was impressive, but I expect that their future efforts will be bigger and better. To that end, I wanted to list a few helpful books that all tea party organizers should read, digest and pass along to their fellow organizers. These are books that will help them think differently about political organization, and the inherent psychological and sociological components of grassroots movements.

The tea party movement will grow if the community organizers out there continue to learn best practices, and keep their fellow activists engaged in battles at the local, state and federal levels of government. I'm more than confident that they will do this, and build a force more powerful than anything the collectivists and socialists in this country have ever seen.

Books for community organizers

1. Saul Alinksky - Rules for Radicals and Reveille for Radicals
2. Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point
3. Douglas Hyde - Dedication and Leadership
4. Brendan Steinhauser - The Conservative Revolution: How to Win the Battle for College Campuses
5. Peter Ackerman - A Force More Powerful