A thought about the Tea Party

The Tea Party movement seems to have started in 2009. By it's nature it is a conservative based group or if you will, groups. Some consider it extremist, up until a few moments ago I did to. I suppose I should start at the beginning to bring my thoughts into context.

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.

Extremist Right Wingers

Today I was blocked by FreedomWorks Facebook page. Guess the idea of trying to have a conversation with the extremist right wing is against their policy. To set the record straight, I was not abusive towards anyone. All I tried to do was correct the falsehoods and outright lies and propaganda being published by FreedomWorks.

I used widely available facts to support my argument against the rantings of the extreme right. I had camped out on the DC's page and ran into the same mentality. I disassociated myself from the DC voluntarily when it was clear, that nothing I could say or prove with irrefutable facts was going to make a difference to the vast majority there.

This all started out as a sort of investigation into the extremist right wing mindset. I was curious as to what made them tick, what their motivations are. In short, I found these people racist, uneducated, myopic ideologues. Not surprisingly they see anyone who does not blindly subscribe to their ideology as a leftist, libtard, progressive, socialist, communist, Marxist or in the case of a recognized Republican, a RINO.

The majority believe our President is a Muslim, a communist, a socialist. They say he should be impeached.

I took three basic approaches to see if I could find a break though. 1) I would try to educate folks to the facts. 2) I would ask them to provide alternative solutions to the issues we face as a nation (when there was an answer it was always the same, impeach) 3) I would ask them to elaborate or provide some proof to support their argument.

Education: One example would be with regards to EPA and Cap and Trade. The extremist right wing believes that EPA is unconstitutionally trying to enforce Cap and Trade through the 'back door'. Here is the truth they absolutely refused to accept, which I think is the reason why I was banned. In 2007 the SCOTUS ruled that EPA has the authority to regulate green house gases (GHG) and instructed the Bush appointed EPA administrator to promulgate rules for enforcement. After nearly 4 years of public hearings and industry input, the rules were published and went into force last January. The argument the extreme rightists make is that we will be taxed and make energy more expensive and will bankrupt small business. This is totally false. In a nutshell the rules are as follows: Permits will be issued by the states for new large polluting plants, such as, power plants..etc. Permits will also be issued if an existing polluter makes major modification to their plants. There is no mandatory retrofitting. Specifically excluded from the permits are small business. Now, I am no tree hugger, but these rules seem reasonable to me. The Republicans have a bill pending to strip EPA of the authority, specifically related to GHG. We all know the Senate and President will NOT approve it, so do they. The thing is, nothing what the extremists are saying is true in any shape or form.

Alternative solutions: I will use the insanity in Wisconsin as this example. As we all know, WI had a budget surplus of $123M at the end of January. Walker called a special session and instituted 4 laws giving tax breaks to business and wealthy. In doing so he ended up with a $140M deficit. To pay for the tax cuts he asked the public employees to pay more of their health care and pensions. I did not think this was fair, if we believe in shared sacrifice. I suggested the better way to go was to give tax breaks equaling the surplus, then work on across the board cuts, not targeting specific groups. Of course, when I mentioned that..all hell broke loose. Get rid of the unions was the mantra. So I asked the question, if you were Governor, what would you do to deal with the deficit? The answer....get rid of the unions. That's it. Over and over again, it's all about unions. I asked the question, if WI got rid of all the unions, what would that solve? How would that balance the budget? The answer? Get rid of the unions. It's like listening to a broken record. When I suggested that by taking between $4 and 9K of take home pay away from 200,000 people, it will certainly impact their purchasing power, sales tax revenue will drop and so will income from income taxes as those dollars are pre-tax dollars. Fiscal insanity. of course, the rant about unions continued. It's enough to piss off the Pope.

Proof: When someone would make an outrageous claim, such as...say that Americare is socialist medicine, government run healthcare, I would ask them to substantiate their claim. Silence. Virtually every time I would ask a person to elaborate on their statement, silence. If a person wanted impeachment, I would ask, what crime has he committed? Silence. Backroom deals? What backroom deals are you talking about? Silence.

To be fair though, not all people who go there are this way. There are a few who will have a discussion with you and both learn from each other.

I did offer an olive branch of sorts in the form of a suggestion. I postulated this theory.

The first warning is the fact there are no credible Republican candidates for President. The reasoning is simple. Any Republican will have to an extremist or the Tea Parties will reject them. That person will have to run against both the Tea Parties and a sitting President. This guarantees a landslide of biblical proportions for Mr. Obama. My suggestion to the extremists is this, tone down the rhetoric. The response? Of course..impeach Obama.

And then there is Americare (Obamacare). Their logic escapes me. If you mention the fact if they drive they have to carry auto insurance by law or pay the price for it. Silence. They don't like the mandate that uninsured people who could buy their own and won't. I would ask, so your saying that if an uninsured 30 something, with a decent job shows up at a hospital with a broken arm from playing softball, can get treatment and walk away with the hospital, government, state, insurance companies and employees future pay raises footing the bill? This is a matter of personal responsibility and the rest of us should not have to pay for their irresponsibility. We are paying for it now, all we are doing with the mandate is shifting the financial burden to the individual who receives treatment, where it should be. So why should a deadbeat not pay for their own health care? I don't get it.

Okay, enough for my rant for the day.

Merry meet ya'll.

Why do we take cheap shots at our Presidents?

I was sitting here, watching posts by certain friends of Facebook and there were a couple of comics taking cheap shots at President Obama. For some reason, I started thinking, why do we do this?

It seems that the President, regardless of who they may be seems to be a lightning rod for those who for some reason get a degree of self satisfaction in doing so. It does not explain why?

If we were a dictatorship and a President ruled by decree in all matters of state, then yes I could see the rationale behind it. We don't have a dictatorship. Laws are created and passed by the Legislative branch and if the President agrees, he signs them into law. Yet, as in the case of Americare, it's called by some, Obamacare as if he alone is responsible for the law, which he is not.

Why do we not take out our frustrations and anger with those truly responsible, the individual Congressmen and Senators? They alone create the laws, tax us and try to deprive us of our perceived rights.

Some say President Obama wants to take away our guns. Now anyone with half a brain cannot possibly believe that, but does not stop some from saying so. The President has NO power to do such a thing. The Supreme Court has ruled on this subject so it's a moot point. In fact the President has gone on the record with his personal beliefs and they do not conflict with the constitution, but even if they did, he still has the right as we all do to voice a personal opinion.

I wonder what things would be like if we held those actually responsible accountable for their actions and votes.

Your congressman is supposed to represent a certain number of people, the President must consider 300 million. May I suggest we all start at the bottom and go after those who are truly responsible.

Who is responsible for the Massacre in Tucson?

Well, it appears we know who is NOT responsible in any way.

"This is a very difficult time for us. We ask the media to respect our privacy. There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were, so we could make you feel better. We don't understand why this happened. It may not make any difference, but we wish that we could change the heinous events of Saturday. We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so very sorry for their loss. Thank you. The Loughner family."

Amazingly, these people appear to be in denial over their son's activities prior to his assassination activities.

He lived at home for deity's sake!! How could they NOT KNOW something was very wrong with him? The college knew. The Army knew. His friends knew. His family didn't?

I guess no one is responsible after all.

Second Amendment Solution?

I wish to offer my personal condolences to those who were shot or killed today and their families and friends at the Tucson Massacre.

I felt, while it is fresh in our minds and hearts, I would say a few words.

Throughout the previous political campaign, there were references, veiled and direct to what was coined, the 'Second Amendment Solution'. There were political ads which showed the use of firearms, suggesting that if you own a gun you were somehow superior to another candidate, more in tune with how the voters feel. I ask you, right now, how do you feel the a Congressman, a Federal Judge, a 9 year old child and at least 7 others, killing at least 5 were gunned down by an obviously crazed individual. This is what a Second Amendment Solution looks and feels like. It's not funny, or a cute tag line someone can use.

Five people are dead in Tucson because someone exercised their own Second Amendment Solution. How do you feel? I am sick and disgusted that this sort of thing happened in our country. Anyone, politicians and supporters included who supported the notion of a Second Amendment Solution, even in joking may very well have blood on their hands. The psycho's out there, who have 'issues' with our government and politicians may very well be given the idea from all the press that came out over these statements. Crazies can be influenced by these statements. Because they are crazy, they show no remorse or conscience because as a crazy, they believe in the righteousness of their cause. When you have a politician speaking in those terms it may validate the cause or give impetus to the act.

Rational people, who may have a similar complaint may indeed agree, but actually stop short of doing anything such as this because, well in the end they know it's wrong. Of course it won't stop them from talking trash. Now I wonder, how do they feel about saying such things? Are they human enough to admit that maybe saying such things is a bit too extreme?

I think, at the very least, those who subscribed to this nonsense admit, well this is not a solution at all. Certainly not an American solution.

Don't forget, there are more crazies where this guy came from.

I hope as a nation, we can learn from this. Words can hurt or cause others to hurt. This is not a video game American, this is real people, blood and yes, tears.

The Second Amendment Solution is no answer to ANYTHING when it comes to a massacre of innocents and people doing their jobs and going about their lives.

Addendum 01/09/11

The last paragraph from the statement from Kelly's campaign says it all. No remorse, no remote possibility of responsibility;

During his campaign effort to unseat Giffords in November, Republican challenger Jesse Kelly held fundraisers where he urged supporters to help remove Giffords from office by joining him to shoot a fully loaded M-16 rifle. Kelly is a former Marine who served in Iraq and was pictured on his website in military gear holding his automatic weapon and promoting the event.

"I don't see the connection," between the fundraisers featuring weapons and Saturday's shooting, said John Ellinwood, Kelly's spokesman. "I don't know this person, we cannot find any records that he was associated with the campaign in any way. I just don't see the connection."

They don't get it. Just because you 'don't see the connection', does not mean your vitriolic rhetoric did not empower someone to take matters into their own hands. Why not admit that maybe, in hindsight the judgement to use weapons in a campaign to help 'oust' a candidate might not have been the smartest thing to do? The weaponizing of a campaign fundraiser, especially with Second Amendment Solutions being thrown about might, just might send the wrong message to the less educated and clearly insane.

Job killing Health Care Law?

I really love this one. Republicans are using a label to 'sell' their justification for repealing the health care law, passed by BOTH Houses of Congress and signed by the President of the United States of America. Job Killing is actually in the title of this bill. I am curious, what jobs are being killed? If you take a look at your local newspaper, you will see in INCREASE in job opportunities for the health care field. Why is that I wonder. Is it because the new law requires insurors (not the government) to provide wellness benefits at no extra charge. This means there will be a great need for these types of practicioners. Another benefit for compelling people to pay their own way, by purchasing their own insurance instead of taking advantage of emergency rooms is that they will now be able to see a doctor before a more serious problem pops up. Does that mean we will need more doctors or NP's? You bet. 40+million more insured will also require insurance companies to hire more people as well. A simple by product will also be we will be a healthier nation, increasing productivity in the workplace.

Now, the question I have is, what jobs are being killed? There is absolutely no evidence to suggest jobs being lost. In fact, the teeth of the new law doesn't take effect for another couple of years. The CBO, which BOTH parties have agreed to use as an arbiter in such issues states that over the next 20 years will save over a trillion dollars. So, the deficit is reduced as a side benefit. Where do these savings come from? Well, as it stands now, anyone who goes to the Emergency Room MUST be treated whether they have insurance or not. Why, because the Federal government mandates that if the hospital accepts Federal money, they cannot turn you away. Now, if virtually everyone is insured, the Federal government, insurance companies and states don't have to foot the bill. Who pays now? WE DO, in higher insurance costs, hospital costs and taxes.

Personally, I would like to see Medicare for all, such as with the Medicare Advantage plans. These plans are run as a public/private sector operation. The system is already in place. Everyone pays a premium, based mostly on where they live, but there is a base rate everyone is charged and you have the option to add or deduct benefits. Certainly this is less confusing. The best part is that it comes through payroll deduction and the costs are balanced over the entire nation rather than by state. This what is called the 'public option'.

Putting on my Right-Leaning Independent hat

Those of you who follow my blog probably think of me as a flaming liberal, which could not necessarily further from the truth. You see, I am an issues person, not an ideologue. This means I can can pick and choose, whatever he subject or issue might be my own personal opinion. I tend to stay on subject with any particular issue of the moment and rant on that.

I would like to believe that all of us are at least capable of thinking for ourselves, taking sides on an issue based in part upon our own socio-economic status, our life experiences as human beings. My perspective is based just on that. I would like to think that many people do the same. There are however Lemmings amongst us. Lemmings as you recall are those who blindly follow without thinking or considering the consequences. They just follow, no matter what. You cannot rationalize with a Lemming, you cannot have a reasonable conversation with a Lemming. I have met many such people in my life.

My first experience was with the military. There are just some people who don't get it. They are so used to being told what to think and do, that when they leave, they are embedded with certain 'beliefs', usually very right leaning. Devout religious folks also fall into this category, though they can be much worse because the basis for their beliefs comes from billions of permutations or interpretations of the printed basis for that religion. Whether you are Christian, Muslim or Jew, there are different interpretations for EVERYTHING. Ideologically pure politicians also fall into this category as well as those followers who want to just 'get along'. There are many groups of people who all fall into the Lemming category, though smaller and regionalised. Examples would be right to lifer's, Tenthers, Racists, etc. Each has their own agenda and beliefs and cannot be reasoned with, even with concrete evidence to the contrary. That is a Lemming.

Part of my problem is that if I take a stand on a certain subject, I am branded something other than what I truly am. I think we all have run into this. We don't listen enough. We tend to judge one another based upon a narrow view, which is unfair. I can disagree with a person on a particular subject, but because I am judged a certain way, the other issues we might agree upon get lost because we can never get past that one issue. I was able to get through to one person the other day. I was labeled an Libtard, which is an offensive term by this person, so I asked him, what makes he say that. Out of respect for the office, I showed respect for our President and to him that made me a Libtard. Once we got off that particular subject, he found we had common ground on other areas and could actually have a conversation without labels. Had I not approached him, this would have never happened. Now, he may still think of me as a Libtard personally, but he has stopped calling me that. For that I am grateful.

So what prompted this rant tonight?

I was watching with some interest yesterday the peaceful transition of power in the House. I paid attention to everything. Now, I don't know what the next two years are going to bring. I am hopeful. One of the cable news shows ( I won't say which since it will be used to label me) interviewed two of the new incoming Congressmen, one Democrat, the other a Tea Bag Republican. The Democrat bothered me because he did not seem, at least to me to be 'qualified'. Call it demeanor, use of the english language or his lack of grasp of the issues. He dressed up well, but that was about it. I would not have voted for the guy. The Republican bothered me in another way. When asked about what HE expected to accomplish the next two years, his answer raised all kinds of red flags. He said that the 'party leadership' has a plan for the future and he was going to support whatever they felt was right and proper. Lemming? Now I don't think I am politically naive. I know that to get what you want for your constituents you have to 'play ball'. That is the way things are. On the other hand, if you stand your ground and force the powers that be to come to you and earn your vote, we may have a better system. I have no doubt our system is crippled, not necessarily broken.

May I suggest to all the Lemmings out there, turn on, not tune out.