“One of the most contentious issues faced by the Founding Fathers was the size, reach, and power of the federal government. This is a generalization but the federalists, who supported a stronger central government, tended to come from the larger cities where business, manufacturing, trade, and transportation dominated.
The anti-federalists were more likely to come from the rural, agricultural, and less developed areas.
Two of the leading Federalists were John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. The leading anti-federalists included Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.” (History Channel)
Again, I state that what may surprise you about the Surprise Party is that we too are concerned about the over-reach of the Federal Government. For that very reason, we encourage our farmers, teachers, and general, down-to-earth common people to get involved in governing the nation, at EVERY level.
The very name of our party suggests that governing needs to be DIFFERENT: our SURPRISE stands for: Sense of direction, understanding, resp
The preamble starts with, “WE THE PEOPLE… but today we see, “We the government” to form a more perfect union. Well any time, that a President can sign an executive order to institute virtually any “party want” they deem necessary, the less input the legislative branch and, more importantly, the less the people have a say in governing. Part of the problem, as George Washington states are that there is now “a spirit of revenge” among the parties. Tooth for tooth, Tit for Tat, I win, you lose, My daddy can beat your daddy. Do you see something wrong here? It’s no longer “United we stand” it’s more “Divided we stand.”
Every great civilization of the past was not conquered from the outside, they fell from within. Divided among themselves to the point no one agreed. Today, we need to manage disagreement, not eliminate it.
The surprise party wants to hand governing back to the people. Most Americans today raise the same issues to their representative’s election cycle after election cycle whether it is local, state, or federal, and most of the time the “can just keeps getting kicked down the road,” hoping someone else will deal with it.
Now, one of our esteemed constituents brought this theme a little closer to home for us. Here’s an example:
Our survey estimates that 18% of Americans — including 27% of homeowners — currently reside in a community governed by an HOA. HOA membership is significantly more common among Americans living in the South (24%) and West (23%) than in the Midwest (10%) or Northeast (9%).Dec 4, 2023
Many American homeowners don’t like being told what to do, and most would prefer not to be governed by an HOA or homeowners’ association. More people who do live under an HOA would rather not than prefer it. A recent YouGov survey finds that despite the public’s qualms regarding HOAs, one in five Americans currently live in an HOA-governed community, and one in three have lived in one at some point.
HOA dissatisfaction is tied to concerns about overregulation: 72% of people living under an HOA they disapprove of, say the rules and regulations set by their HOA are too restrictive. A total of 38% of HOA residents think their HOA is too restrictive; roughly half (46%) say the rules are about right and just 8% say they are not restrictive enough.
What do Americans think HOAs should and should not regulate? A plurality of Americans support HOAs setting rules for noise levels (64%), trash and recycling bins (50%), and parking (46%). More oppose than support HOA rules for yard signs, fences, landscaping, pet ownership, exterior paint colors, home renovations, and holiday decorations.
When your neighbors become your overlords
How HOAs became an unnecessary necessary evil.
Just vote for what’s right——we are not those “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men”
