For years I’ve been speaking and writing about the need for conservatives to use the tactics of the left to fight for our ideas of lower taxes, less government and more freedom. I am aware that many conservatives don’t feel comfortable doing things like rallying, protesting or shouting slogans. But we need to get over ourselves and understand that mass demonstrations are an effective way to get a message out, identify supporters of our cause and earn media coverage. Plus, this is how the left has been able to shape public opinion on issues from the war in Iraq to labour disputes to social security benefits. Why have we ceded this battlespace to the left for so long??

The government bailouts of Wall Street, the auto companies and other corporations have galvanized public anger at a level I haven’t seen in some time. People who play by the rules are furious at the elites in government and business who screw over the taxpayers with corporate welfare, rent-seeking and distortions of the free market. Many Americans are fed up with the corruption, scandals, kickbacks and political deals that are going on. I’ve noticed that this anger is beginning to reach a fever pitch, and that more people have shown a willingness to take to the streets in protest, as my boss Dick Armey urged a few weeks ago.

The federal government is way out of control, and has intruded into our lives in an unprecedented way. This did not start with President Obama (it started with President Bush) but he is the current president and should be held accountable for his actions. The time has come for a second Boston Tea Party, a protest that ignited the people around a common cause and sent a message to the tyrants of those times.

This bailout nation thing, coupled with the largest federal spending bill in the history of our country is going to push people over the edge with anger and disappointment. And the proper outlet for this anger is a massive, nationwide, persistent, aggressive protest every week in dozens of cities around the country. Only with this kind of massive national movement can the American people rein in the politicians of both parties and build a constituency large enough in each congressional district and state to kick out the politicians of either party that voted for these bailouts and massive spending bills.

I, for one, will be doing my best to foment these protests around the country, targeting any politician that has pushed these terrible ideas publicly. I ask Americans across the country to join groups like FreedomWorks, Campaign for Liberty, National Taxpayers Union and the other groups who are encouraging taxpayers to organize the resistance against the federal government’s attempt to take away whatever economic freedom we have left. I fear that if we fail, this country will look a lot more like France, and less like the country that was founded 200 years ago. This is a battle between freedom and socialism, and we the people are the only ones standing between the federal government and our cherished liberties. If you want to make a difference, please organize your own community and march on main street every week if you have to, and send a message to your congressman and senators that we’ve had enough.

Finally, ask yourself this question, which was posed by another fellow blogger, “What would Thomas Jefferson do?”