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Republicans.  Democrats.  Those are the parties that continue to dominate American politics, including our own local politics.  But recently Tea Party and similar groups have captured the public's imagination -- if you love them they are grass roots citizen organizations made of people like you and me that, like the Peter Finch's character Howard Beale in the movie 'Network', are 'mad as hell and aren't going to take it any more.'   If you hate them they are right-wing extremist organizations that send ringers into local politics to upset so-called 'legitimate' candidates.

There are a few such organizations in Tompkins County, and to find out the truth behind the stereotypes, the Star interviewed Kelly Kheel, who started 912 TEA of Cortland/Tompkins County NY (912TEACTCNY).  Kheel lives in Lansing, and has attended Tea Party events around the country.  She is passionate about going back to the fundamentals of the U.S. Constitution, and is articulate and independent.  Bucking the negative stereotype she cites local Democrats she has come to respect and admire, as well as Republicans.  She came bearing gifts of the book 'The 500 Year Leap' and a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Lansing Star: Were you the founder of the local Tea Party group?

Kelly Kheel: It's actually a 9-12 group.  Did I form it?  I pushed a button on a computer.  It's a very transparent group.  Members join if they want.  There's not any one person that's a leader.  It's a joint effort of many people.

LS: You're talking about the group on the Meetup.com site?

KK: Correct.

LS: That site came to prominence with Howard Dean's campaign, didn't it?

KK: I don't think so.  Howard Dean is the opposite of what we believe in.  A talk show host suggested that was a good forum to use.  We had never done anything like this, and I had never done anything like this, personally, in my life.  And I didn't start it right away.

I went to Washington, D.C. on 9-12 of 2009, by myself and very afraid that nobody else would be there.  I was amazed at the other people that were just like me, and who felt that the government had gotten a little too big, and not fiscally responsible with our tax dollars.  And not really guardians of our liberty.  And not protecting the citizens.  They had invaded every part of our life.  And taking the Constitution as a living document.  It's not a living document.

I was so happy to see all those people there that day that I ended up going around the country meeting other people and learning from them.   I was amazed at what I saw, the good natured people and what they do for charity, and to change their communities, and to change their lives.

LS: You said that it's not a Tea Party, but a 9-12 group.  What's the difference?

KK: TEA is actually an acronym.  It stands for 'Taxed Enough Already'.  That also goes along with our seventh principal, which says that we work hard for our money and that we should be able to keep what we earn and we should be able to decide which charities we give to and not have the government decide which charity gets our money.

America is one of the most charitable countries in the world.  We have always led the world in charitable donations.  We don't have a problem being charitable.  But it's becoming harder and harder for people to be charitable when we don't have the money because we're being taxed to death.

There's really not that much of a difference except that the 9-12 groups believe in nine principals and twelve values.  We stick to those.  You do not have to agree with all nine principals, but you have to agree with at least seven of them.

(Tea Parties and 9-12 groups) both agree on fiscal responsibility, a constitutionally limited government, and the free market system as a solution.

LS: Is there any significance of the name to 9-12 being the day after 9/11?

KK: Yes.  That's how 9-12 formed.  If you recall 9-12 was a day when we as Americans brushed ourselves off after a horrific attack on our nation, and stood together as Americans.  Not blue or red, but as Americans.  Nobody cared about what party you were in.  We were united as a people. 

That's the other thing 9-12 groups stand for.  We just want to be united as a people again.  

You'll find a lot of diversity in 9-12 groups.  We have Democrats.  We have Republicans.  We have non-affiliated 'registered blanks'.  They each bring their own ideas to the table, but we all basically agree on the same thing: the government has gotten too big and it needs to be downsized, because this is unsustainable.

LS: Were the groups you visited before starting this one national groups, or did you visit local groups in different places?  The reason I'm asking is that I got the impression from your Meetup.com site that part of what you do is political awareness and outreach things, and part is like an old fashioned study group.  Is that close to the mark?

KK: Yes.  We want political awareness as to the bills and laws that are being passed, to understand them and to read them for yourself.  That is a national effort.  We don't want people to just listen to the pundits.  We want you to actually read the lasw yourself.  So we will post the laws for people to read and make (their own) decision.  Then we offer the numbers of the Republican, Democrat, Senators, Congressmen and say to tell them how you feel about their vote.  I'm not telling you how you should vote.  I don't want you to have my opinion.  I want you to form your own opinion.

LS: You're saying look at the source material, make up your own mind, and then act?

KK: Correct.  But read it.  Don't rely on a media source.  Read it for yourself.

Then our second objective is to study the founders' intent when it came to the Constitution and the principals of freedom.  To get back to knowing what it meant to be an American, what it truly means.  Ronald Reagan said we are only one generation from the extinction of freedom -- I'm paraphrasing.

I believe that we have lost that true feeling of freedom.  People are very quick to say 'we have health care.  Great!  I got it!'  But you are loosing a lot of freedom with that so-called free health care.  Nothing is free when you're handing over your rights to government.

I was in shock last night at the Tompkins County Budget Hearing, to watch people begging the government.  These are charitable foundations that were once sponsored by businesses, by people.  They want separation of church and state except when it comes to the government subsidizing a church charitable organization.  They don't want God in the schools in the courts, but it's OK to have the government in God's business in charity.

That was kind of odd to me.  I found the whole thing sad.

LS: We've just been talking about local politics and national politics.  Is the activist part of what your group does more to make a difference in local or national politics, or all politics?

KK: First of all, we don't go out as a group anywhere.  When I go to a public forum like the County budget meeting, I'm going as a taxpayer, Kelly Kheel.  I never introduce myself as a 9-12 coordinator.  I wear different hats.  If I like a candidate I may choose to volunteer for that candidate.  I never, ever, ever mention our group, because we do not (as a group) endorse candidates.  That is not our business.  So I'm not sure I understand the question about our being activists.

LS: What I was keying on was the 'Meet the Candidates' event your group sponsored in Danby the other day.  That was organized by this group, right?

KK: Yes, it was.  That was a very good forum.  That went very well.  We had people in the audience ask questions on a cue card.  We put them in a hat and pulled the questions.  We offered each candidate a separate table to display their material with their own people.  For the short time we had to plan it, we had a very wide range of people.  We had Democrats, independents, blanks, and Republicans in that room.  We used a moderator from out of the area who knew nobody in the room, and who is a 'registered blank'.  You can't get more non-biased than that.

We had information for 'Revalue New York' on our table, and copies of the Constitution and American Flags as free gifts.  And we did say who hosted it.

That was meant to get informed voters to hear the candidates.  This is like a job interview.  Interview them.  This is not a debate.  Ask them questions.

We had so much feedback from that event.  People felt comfortable.  They didn't feel pressured from either side, and they are asking us to do another one.

LS: Are you going to?

KK: We might.  It's hard because a lot of the press won't help us because we're not affiliated with either party.  So they won't help with press releases like they do with the parties.  And they want us to pay.  Of course we have no money because we're grass roots.  We drive around with signs on our cars, and people put our flyers up for us.

LS: About how many people showed up?

KK: We had 40 people.  For four days planning, that's pretty good.

LS: That's what I meant about activism --- going into the community to do something.  Have you done other things locally?

KK: We encourage our members to be active.  We're such a broad-based group.  We're 9-12 of Tompkins County.  Our group is from Trumansburg, Dryden, Lansing, Ithaca.  We even have a member from Candor Binghamton.  Our group covers such a wide area that we encourage our members to go as individuals -- not as members.  We don't believe in promoting our group.  People can come and join if they are seeking that venue, but that's not what it's really about.  We want to educate the public.  It's not to gain membership.


LS: I became aware of you because I saw you at a Town Board meeting and at the meeting our County Legislator Pat Pryor held in the town very early in the County budget process.  You were very outspoken and challenged legislators to explain why an expense was necessary, what it was for.  When a library representative asked the Town's help in finding health benefits for the librarian you said you were in your own business and had to pay for your own insurance.  You were a lot more outspoken than almost anyone who comes to these meetings.  Is this a result of being part of this movement?

KK: Yes.

I'm not comfortable speaking out in these meetings.  I feel it's my responsibility.  Because I've sat by so long and been silent and watched as the conversation is taken over.  My values and principals have led me to believe that I was wrong.  While I watch these failed policies get more and more money thrown at them -- I just said enough!

When I went to 9-12 I realized I wasn't alone.  Other people feel like this, too.  I know that in Tompkins County there are other people like me.  I feel it's my obligation to stop being so silent and to finally challenge this one-party town.  To say I'm a taxpayer and I have the right to challenge you.  You may not listen but I am going to challenge you.

That library was voted down two times by the public, and they put it in anyway.  Now they are complaining that (the librarian) is getting paid too much to qualify for Medicaid.

LS: New York Health Care Plus.

KK: New York Health Care Plus is Medicaid.  If you are a lower income person and you make a certain amount you can get New York Health Care Plus, which is run out of the Department of Social Services.  (The library representative) was complaining that (the librarian) was making too much to get a government subsidy.  I found irony in that.  Buy your own if you're making that much money.  She's probably making more than I make.

LS: Now for the Game Show part of the interview!  I'm going to ask you to grade the all our governments on a comparative scale, A to F.  Let's start with the Town of Lansing.

KK: C.

LS: Do you live in the Town or the Village of Lansing?

KK: The Town.

LS: So I won't ask you about the Village.  How about the Fire district?

KK: I'll give that a B.  The fire department protects its citizens, and it's pretty much an all-volunteer fire department, so how much better can you get than that?  So I'd give them a B+.

LS: Now that the Library has been voted in, what grade would you give it?

KK: F.

LS: School district.

KK: D.

LS: Tompkins County?

KK: It's yet to be seen.

LS: But based on past budgets and spending?

KK: I've gone over the county budget line by line.  I think they over-employ in a lot of areas.  I'm not sure if some of the things they fund are constitutional.

LS: So what do you think?

KK: I'm trying to weigh it out.  I would say a D.

LS: New York State?

KK: I think Patterson tried.  But I would say F.

LS: And federal?

KK: They don't have a budget.  You can't grade it.  There is no federal budget, so how can you grade it?  They're just spending money right now without a budget.  So that would be an F.

And then they pass stimulus plan after stimulus plan after bailout after bailout.  F, F, F!  Against the people's will.  Then they pass a massive health care bill against the people's will.

LS: I want to ask you about the study group part of what your group does, because that's not part of the stereotype of Tea groups.  What is that piece about?

KK: We have two book clubs.  One is 'The Five Thousand Year Leap', the 101 principals of freedom.  We study that as a group.  We also just started our 'Making of America' group.

'The Five Thousand Year Leap' is the book that Ronald Reagan wanted in all of our classrooms.  I think it is an excellent book.  Every American should read it.  Most 9-12 groups around the country have a book club that reads that.

I gave you a gift -- I hope you take the time to read it.  You don't have to, but it's an easy read.  Every American should read it.

We do try to educate our people.  The next thing we're doing, which is a huge project that the state groups took on, is: Dr. Shannon Brooks, the President of George Washington University is coming to New York State.  The 9-12 of Tompkins County was asked to be a host group, so we're hosting a free lecture in our area.  After that he'll be coming to New York State to do the Foundation Of Liberty (FOL) courses, which are an intense study of the founders and the basic foundation of liberty.

LS: How much of the impetus for 912TEACTCNY comes locally, and how much from the national or state groups?  Is it a grass roots group from the bottom up, or a more top down group?  Is there a top that offers resources to the bottom?  You've mentioned the state group's activities.

KK: There are no resources being offered to us.  The state group was started because we're all out there, but we know each other.  We all go to the same things.  I know CNY 9-12.  I know Albany 9-12, Albany Tea Party Patriots, I know CNY Patriots -- we all network.  So that got started when we said why don't we meet up every so often and share ideas?

LS: So it really is from the bottom up?

KK: Yes.  We're calling each other on the phone, and calling everybody else on the phone.  You know, why don't we have one central location to throw all these ideas on the board, and bring them back to our group to see which ones our groups like?  Then we decided to do that nationally, also.

The same person doesn't always go nationally.  They can't.  They can't afford it -- it's who can go, who has the time, and who can swing it financially.

We have to buy our own books. We do everything.  We don't have funding from anyone.  We get some donations...

LS: You do list some sponsors on your Meetup.com Web page.

KK: There's no place to put buttons where you can click to see a Web sire.  Meetup is really strict about that.  So I wouldn't necessarily call them sponsors.  One is 'Contract for America', which groups around the State came up with.  It is not the one that Republicans are pushing.  This is entirely different.  It's a contract from America telling the government that this is what we'd like them to do.  We've asked Congress, the Senate, and candidates to sign this.  It's saying 'this is what we want as a people.  Do you agree to do this if we support you as a candidate?'

It's not to be confused with what Newt Gingrich wrote a while ago.

LS: So these are sponsors of moral support, not financial support?

KK: Moral support.

LS: Is the group endorsing any particular candidates?

KK: We do not endorse.  Some groups do.  Our group took a vote.  We do not.

LS: Since that meet-up you went to in Washington, and being a leader of this local group?

KK: Mmmm... (hesitantly)

LS: You're listed as a leader (on the Web site) of this group...

KK: None of us like to say we're a leader.  It's like the movie 'Sparticus'... we all say we're a Tea Party leader.  I'm just the one who happened to push the button.

LS: So you started the group...

KK: I started the group.

LS: ... and then the group...

KK: Formed.  I think power corrupts and people are flawed.  If we remain humble in our mission the movement won't become flawed.

LS: What I was going to ask you is, aside from the obvious time commitment and organizational things that happen, has this changed your life or your outlook?

KK: Yes, it has.  I've changed my life to be in this movement, restoring honor.  Restoring our country starts with me.  That means my house must be fiscally in order.  I have to walk what I say.  It's a huge commitment, but it's got to start with me and go out from there.

LS: In our political environment today, how optimistic are you about your group in particular, and 9-12 and Tea Party groups, and individuals in general being able to make a real difference?

KK: I think that my optimism isn't really what's the concern.  I think the hope of America rests on the American people realizing that the power lies with them, not with the government.  So it doesn't matter whether I am optimistic or not.  it matters whether the American people realize that they have the power to change the course of America in one direction or the other.  We're at that crossroads.  It's up to the people.  We, the people.  Not we , the government.  I think we've forgotten that.

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