Mark Small

3. Mr Bales apparently misunderstands, or simply is ignorant of, the GOP’s history. He should read my posts of 12/23 and 30/19 and 01/8, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 20/20 on civildiscoursenow. The GOP, historically, has been a progressive party. 10/26

4. The “tea party” movement, in 2009, organized and, in 2010, used the political primary - and transformed a noun into a verb - to challenge candidates in the GOP who, in “its” views, were not sufficiently right wing. They wrenched some control over the GOP. 11/26

That move was savvy. They could have formed a new or “third” party, but, under Indiana law, the two “major political parties” enjoy significant advantages. See I.C. §§ 3-8-6-2, 3-8-6-6, 3-8-6-8. 12/26

When viewed as hostile takeover of a corporation, devoid of ideological restrictions - Machiavelli wouldve loved it - control of the corporate entity was taken by the far right. The takeover did not change the raison d’etre of the GOP. 13/26

5. Mr Bales has chosen to ignore my recent blogs, some addressed to him specifically, about the progressive - dare I say “socialist”? - roots of the GOP. At one time the two “major” political parties had conservative and liberal wings. 14/26

6. My roots in what I view as true conservatism are far deeper than Mr Bales’s. I donated twenty-five percent (25%) of my income, at one time, to the GOP ticket for Pres/VP. I hassled classmates about the Republican Party. 15/26

To be clear, my donation was 25 cents - 1/4 of my weekly allowance of one dollar - and I was nine years old. I should be given some slack for being young and impulsive as I advocated Senator Goldwater’s candidacy. 16/26

More recently, I spoke at the first tea party rally in 2009 at the Indiana Statehouse. I didnt know the group that resulted from that rally would evolve into the “tea party.” That term had not yet gained traction, but another term had. 17/26