In 2009 we had just elected the first African American President, we had Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. When Mr. Obama took office, the economy was in the toilet. We were losing 900,000 jobs a MONTH. We were paying for 2 unfunded wars. TARP had been approved to bailout Wall Street. The housing market had collapsed, GM and Chrysler were going under. The trillions in deficit spending added to the deficit Mr. Bush inherited. In part the new spending was exacerbated by tax cuts for the wealthy and big business approved by a Republican led administration. When Mr. Bush took office, he had a $273B budget SURPLUS. In the next 8 years, unfunded mandates, tax breaks, 2 off budget wars and additional pet project spending all producing a total of 8 million jobs compared to the 22 million created during the 8 years of Clinton and an additional $4T in debt. Oddly enough, had Bush not instituted the tax breaks and left things alone, the projected surpluses would have paid for that $4T debt. He would have been revenue neutral. So when Mr. Obama took office, he was already saddled with a budget deficit and monstrous debt and a floundering economy.
Enter the Tea Baggers as they were originally called, by themselves. Once it was revealed that the term was pornographic in nature, the Tea Party was 'formed'.
I can appreciate the frustration of some segments of our society. We are stuck with a two party system, and old boy network totally entrenched and beholden to the powers of wealth and influence. Neither party is immune to this accusation. One party spends money like there is no tomorrow, cuts taxes, less regulation telling us that it's good for America. The other party spends money on social programs, maintains taxes, more regulation and tells us it's good for America. Both parties have their agendas and we are not actually part of the equation unless we stand up to them. The problem with standing up to them is that we as people only have the power of the voting booth. Everyone else has cash.
The Tea Party started as a grass roots effort to make a certain segment of our society heard. Many Americans agreed that change must come as this is not just a conservative or liberal issue. If one is ignored, all are, hence the Tea Party. People who did not want to be ignored anymore. As with any rabble (I use this term kindly), leadership is necessary. It is not surprising that career politicians and special interest groups saw an opening. I won't go so far as to say that race was the only motivation, but it definitely is a part of the movement. I suppose the Republican establishment found themselves in Lord Cornwallis shoes when he found himself trapped by the Continental Army in Yorktown, backed up by the French fleet, when he surrendered, the British Army played, 'The World Turned Upside Down". The extreme right took advantage of the failure of the mainstream party to win the White House and found an ally in the new Tea Party. The extremist right found a new base and provided them with extremist candidates to run and speak for them. It was amazing how all of a sudden a disparate group had leadership, campaign financing and candidates, all in the name of the Tea Party. The Tea Party no longer was a grass roots group, it was now a launching pad for the extremist right.
So now we have Tea Party associated Republicans in the House and Senate. I would say this is a miracle. In only a year or so, go from nothing but a bunch of folks with placards, to the most influential and destructive force in the US Congress. How could this have happened without some very powerful and influential force behind it? At first, the Tea Party went after Democrats to weaken a black President, now as of today, there are statements from at least two different national sources, stating with pride how they took down the Democrats and now if they don't get their way, the Republicans are next. An acquaintance of mine just yesterday, who happens to be a Tea Party supporter was ranting about how weak Boehner is as well as the Republican party, that are next. Was it coincidence? There have been rumblings in the House this weak, the threats made to mainstream Republicans by Tea Party folks.
Recent events is some states has indicated an extremist plan is play. Tax breaks for business and wealthy all on the backs of working people and their families, Tea Party families included. Cuts to education being some of the biggest cuts. Changing rules and laws which have been in place for years, denying peoples rights. On the Federal level, a law requiring the IRS to ask if anyone in your house has ever had an abortion? Or denying food stamps to a family who may have a member on strike, but if you get fired for doing drugs on the job, it's okay. Is this what the Tea Party was originally all about? Does the original idea about the Tea party include tax breaks and subsidies for businesses making large profits? Did the original idea include 60 kids to a classroom? Does the Tea Party really want all public employees in Florida subjected to mandatory drug tests every 3 months? What happened to smaller government? Shared sacrifice, more jobs?
I am afraid the Tea Party movement is being used for a biggest bait and switch scheme ever perpetrated. For example, we would all like smaller government and reduced spending, laudable goals for sure. Here is a reality check. Even if the government were to cut ALL discretionary spending, basically shutting down ALL government services, we would still have a $1T deficit to deal with. Now, the people who hijacked the Tea Party know this. So what do they do? They come up with an idea to slash $100B from this years budget, again a good idea, if it were practical. So what do they do? Target specific programs the extremist right has been trying to get rid of for decades, but were unable to do so until now. The plan all along has never been to actually reduce the deficit or debt, this is their battle cry to keep the faithful in line, but the reality is much more insidious.
Talking points aren't coming from a vacuum. The TP (Hijacked) is now being 'run' by paid for politcos who have their own agenda under the TP label. Sadly the original intent of the TP has been lost. The message is now being proffered by the TP (Hijacked). The original hopes for change have been convoluted by the power brokers who before the Tea Party had no hope for effecting the change they wanted. The real power behind the TP (Hijacked) is clearly big business and the religious right. Take a look at some of the riders placed upon bills in Congress, or laws being passed in the states. Defunding EPA, to send us back to the days of no regulation, polluted rivers and skies, toxic dump sites. The issue of Global Warming has been the hot potato, but the TP (Hijacked) claims that EPA is trying to 'backdoor' the Cap and Trade bill. This is totally false. What the TP (Hijacked) knows all too well, but refuses to admit is that EPA has been under SCOTUS order to come up with rules regarding the regulation of GHG, the court ruling that EPA has the constitutional authority to regulate GHG. But try to explain this to a TP (Hijacked) member is a total waste of time. It is unbelievable to me that even when faced with facts, the standard practice for a TP (Hijacked) believer is total silence. SILENCE is ALWAYS their response. I suspect the reason why is that they really do not expect anyone to actually challenge them. I was actually blocked from posting to FreedomWorks Facebook page because I would provide evidence that the TP (Hijacked) was putting out false information. After dozens of attempts on my part break through, silence was always the response. Unless they have talking points, they say nothing. The latest tactic is for them to tell you to 'forget the past'. Everything is Mr. Obama's fault because he is President now, what Mr. Bush did was in the past and isn't relevant. Scary thought indeed.
What has actually hurt the country is the fact the TP (Hijacked) has prevented any semblance of a jobs bill from coming forward. They want to clear their plate for all of their pet peeves before they start governing. The Republicans are being held hostage by the TP (Hijacked) and there isn't anything they can do about it, except give in.
The latest polls show a 32% approval rating for the Tea Party thanks to the TP (Hijacked). It's too late to close the barn door after the horse got out. It was a great idea. It will die in 2012.
