G’Day!
Members of The Tea Party ARE true American “Patriots” and definitely NOT “Terrorists” or “Racists” or “Crazies” or “Fanatics” as accused by liberal politicians! I am not a Tea Party member but am appalled by the inaccurate, unfounded, and demonstratively biased political attacks on them by the Obama Administration, Congressional Democrats, and segments of the Liberal Media. The ONLY reason for these attacks is that the Congressional members of the Tea Party movement are willing to stand up for our nation’s long-term constitutional principals of individual freedoms, free markets, sound fiscal and monetary policy, economic growth, and limited government. Congressional Tea Party members have NOT been willing to make the short-term compromises of these principles typically characteristic of our political representatives. GOOD FOR THEM! We need more elected members of Congress who are willing to take a stand for what is right for our country not for what is convenient for reelection or supportive of bigger and bigger federal bureaucracy and spending. Political compromise is not necessarily progress and, given our current fiscal and debt crises, is not in the long-term interests of the American people. OUR GOVERNMENT GROWTH IS OUT OF CONTROL, UNSUSTAINABLE, AND MUST BE STOPPED AND REVERSED! The Tea Party is trying to accomplish this.
So what is “The Tea Party” and why are Obama and the Democrats so terrified of them that they are aggressively engaging in political demagoguery in an attempt to discredit their positions and influence? First of all “The Tea Party” is not a political party (yet). The Tea Party is a “movement” by ordinary Americans of all parties who are fed up with the encroachment by federal government into our personal lives, our business commerce, and the inexorable increase in the magnitude of our government spending and debt. The Tea Party is trying to correct this, which is the primary reason the Obama Administration and Democrats with their tax and spend big government socialist policies are attacking them.
Perhaps the most accurate and concise summary of what The Tea Party stands for is on TheTeaParty.net website, which describes supporters as follows:
| “The Tea Party movement is a grassroots movement of millions of like-minded Americans from all backgrounds and political parties. Tea Party members share similar core principles supporting the United States Constitution as the Founders intended, such as: |
| • Limited federal government• Individual freedoms• Personal responsibility• Free markets
• Returning political power to the states and the people |
| As a movement, The Tea Party is not a political party nor is looking to form a third political party any time soon. The Tea Party movement, is instead, about reforming all political parties and government so that the core principles of our Founding Fathers become, once again, the foundation upon which America stands.” |
So what’s not to like? Who among true hard-working Americans willing to challenge forced dependency on government could object to these core principles? It is no wonder that Obama and the Democrats object to and attack them because The Tea Party’s core principles are diametrically opposed to those of Liberal Democrats. The Liberals are leading us down a path of less support for our Constitution, bigger federal government, greater government control over our lives, more regulation of what’s left of our free markets, more central power for the federal government and less freedoms for the states and the people. Contrary to the “Blame Game” against The Tea Party, the real “obstructionists” in government are Obama and the Congressional Democrats, who refuse to address the fundamental causes of our fiscal and debt crises, such as government growth and entitlement spending.
Let’s review a few of the activities Obama and Democrats have initiated in just the last two and one-half years. Since Obama was elected, Federal Government ANNUAL spending has increased “relatively” from 20% to 25% of GDP and “absolutely” from $2.9 trillion to $3.8 trillion, the ANNUAL deficit increased from $500 billion to 1.7 trillion, and our total National Debt has increased by 40% from $10 trillion to over $14 trillion (and an additional $2 trillion increase has just been authorized)! The Democrats in Congress have not passed a Federal Budget for over 800 days and have so far this year rejected all attempts by the Republicans to pass one for next year! The budget proposed by President Obama earlier this year continued his excessive government spending and added another $10 trillion in deficits and debt over ten years, (fortunately, both parties in Congress overwhelmingly rejected the President’s budget). Over the objections of a majority of the American people, they passed Obamacare and the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulations legislation, both of which add additional costs, additional regulations, and additional central control to our federal government. During a Congressional Recess without Senate approval, Obama appointed union activists to the National Labor Relations Board who have attacked Boeing’s implementation of a new non-union factory in Charleston, SC, (see “Attack on American Business by Obama “packed” NLRB!” and “Obama “packed” NLRB Continues Attack on Boeing & Free Markets!”) and the EPA under Lisa Jackson has stopped a Department of the Interior’s previously approved Shell Oil request to development a large oil reserve off the Alaskan coast, (see “Obama Administration Attacks American Business Again!”). They have allotted $27 billion for “Green Jobs”, which have not worked out well and have virtually shutdown oil and natural gas development (at a loss of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of good jobs). In summary, the obstructionist policies of Obama and the Democrats have produced a Congressional stalemate, hurt our economy, are stifling job growth, are hostile to business operations, and have increased our deficit and debt crises. What part of reckless and unsustainable spending, destructive regulations, and excessive government control of free markets and personal liberties don’t Liberal Democrats understand? It is no surprise that they feel threatened by The Tea Party.
Regarding taking responsibility and showing leadership, Obama has been demonstratively invisible. During his recent “Black Bus Tour” (in a bus made in Canada), Obama has blamed Bush, The Tea Party, Republicans, Congress in general, the earthquake in Japan, the Arab Spring, and the European Debt Crisis for our current economic problems. Never once did he admit or even suggest that his policies of irresponsible spending, uncontrolled borrowing, and increased federal regulation were part of the problem (see “Government Imposed Uncertainties Hurt Economic Growth!”). Other than the President’s outrageous budget proposal noted above and his endless generic campaign speeches, Obama has offered NO SPECIFIC PLAN to solve our economic problems and create jobs. Like Democrats in Congress he has been content to “kick-the-can-down-the-road”. Astounding behavior for the so-called leader of the free world! Again, it is no surprise that the President is afraid of the patriots in The Tea Party, who actually have a plan to get America back on track and are willing to take responsibility for it.
So, can we resolve our problems? In a previous article I outlined, six (6) specific suggestions, which I believe would improve our situation (see “Yes, We CAN Grow the Economy and Create Jobs!”). If our President and Congress are serious about solving our problems and restoring our economy, all of these suggestions could be accomplished quickly and all are consistent with the goals of The Tea Party. Overall, the message is to reverse the socialist movement toward a “nanny state”, get government off our backs, and return our country to the American people. Because most of my suggestions require reversal of Obama’s policies, it is unlikely that they can be pursued before the next election in 2012. Therefore, the 2012 election will be critical to our future as a great nation. Think about it and act accordingly!!
The Old Guy PhD
