Tea Party friends,

For a long time we have dealt with Judson Phillips being the titular head of the Tea Party. Well, today, I am officially calling for his resignation from this position. While I am sure that this posting and subsequent stories will receive a firestorm of responses including, I am sure, a typical Judson response to this posting, I stand behind my calls for him to quit. Here is why:

A recent article in the Daily Caller (among other places), Judson calls for the resignation of Herman Cain from the Presidential race. Now, this is simply foolish. For one thing, Cain is one of the few actual Tea Party candidates running, and his support among Tea Party members is FAR ahead of the other candidates. So, you would think that the head of the Tea Party would be supportive of a man who has keynoted many Tea Party events. Second, asking the candidate who is leading in the polls is foolish. Judson represents the Tea Party, so asking one of the few Conservatives running to step down goes against what most of us on this site believe.

So, what reason did Phillips give for Cain resigning? This quote says it all:

“Herman Cain has got to go,” Judson said in an email to Tea Party Nation members. “I do not believe Cain’s accusers. There are too many questions about them. The allegations are not why Cain should leave. The campaign’s response is why he should now withdraw. Ten days in, the Cain campaign is still stumbling around like newly castrated cattle. [Campaign manager] Mark Block should have been gone nine days ago,” Phillips continued. “Cain should have a competent team in place by now as well as someone really good at crisis management. So far, it is not there.”

Is this all what Judson considers a "disqualifying" factor for a candidate? If so, then all but Romney need to drop out. Cain has an inexperienced campaign team who has made some mistakes. But that is part of why people like myself LIKER Herman Cain...because he is from outside the Beltway; because is isn't a polished politician with people like Rove running his campaign. Now, Cain's team might hurt him in the end, but we don't need Judson to tell us about people who "bungle a message". If I recall correctly, Phillips didn't handle the allegations very well when Palin came to town. Does this mean that he should step down as he is not fit to "lead" the Tea Party? Finally, with all of the problems we have had with politicians in this country, what this country needs is someone from the private sector with actual business experience to fix our economy...and one that is Conservative is even better. So again, I am asking Judson to explain what he is thinking by these statements?

Now, the last part of what he said is even more laughable: “If Cain cannot run his own campaign, how is he going to run the country? A few days ago, I would have been willing to accept Cain as the nominee. Cain was not my first choice but I could have easily supported him. No longer.” This is a blatant lie. As he admits later in the article, Phillips is a shill for Newt Gingrich. Now, Judson would have us believe that Newt is the best candidate running in this election cycle, but I have some questions for Judson using his own flawed logic. His reason for wanting Cain to step down is because of his teams response to the "scandal". But, if memory serves me correctly, Newt had difficulty answering questions about his opposition to the Ryan plan (one supported by the Tea Party) and he still has issues with his global warming position (remember the ad with him sitting on the couch with Nancy Pelosi?) and his ties to Fannie/Freddie. Furthermore, Gingrich's campaign got off to a VERY rocky start...but I didn't hear Phillips calling for Newt for resign then. Why not? Why the double standard? Perhaps, this isn't a matter of principle for Judson, but politics.

It is troubling that the supposed head of the Tea Party is seeking to hurt Cain with these comments while supporting a candidate who, while very intelligent, has a problem with consistency of message. His past indiscretions with women will also be easy fodder for Obama and his team. So, Judson, since you are simply a partisan hack, I deem you unfit to continue in this position. The Cain train is full steam ahead, and you will miss the ride. So, knowing what we know, is Phillips going to resign his post as head of the Tea Party movement? I won't hold my breath.