4/18/2010

What to do about the “Tea Party?”

Candidates and officials from both parties are puzzled about how to deal with this new phenomenon in America, the aroused active voter. If incumbents ignore the Tea Party they stand a chance of being defeated, if they praise them they are accused by their opponents of pandering or encouraging violence and hatred, and if they denounce them the Tea Party is challenged, rejuvenated, gets publicity, and attracts more members. I have been to several Tea Party rallies at the Oklahoma Capitol and will attest there are some kooky signs and elements which I have problems agreeing with, but let me be clear, 90 % of the people I observed were just like me, responsible voters who are concerned and disturbed by the direction our government and elected officials are taking. We are concerned about the creeping socialism and government intrusion into our lives by federal laws and agencies. We are concerned about the excessive cost of programs instituted by the government and paid for by our tax dollars that are inefficient and ineffective. We are concerned about the new agencies and positions in government that only add to the cost and inefficiency. We are concerned about the excessive cost of programs instituted by the government and paid for by our tax dollars that are meant to further the interest of one political party or politician. We are concerned about the excessive cost of programs instituted by the government and paid for by our tax dollars that go toward foreign boondoggles while domestic programs suffer to make ends meet. We are frustrated by a government that generally bungles every project they have been entrusted with to the point that it cost too much, does too little, and intrudes on our lives more.

 While the majority of the people I met at the Tea Party rallies were Republican there was a strong independent and libertarian undercurrent. People that are tired of elitist and arrogant politicians who are insulated by the power of their office and incumbency to the point they believe they can toss the suckers a few programs funded by other people’s money in the form of an earmark and keep getting elected and sent back to their cozy anointed position for another term of jetting and hobnobbing with the power brokers and politically elite. Even the suckers are starting to add up the numbers and know they are unsustainable.

I wish I had some answers. I am not in favor of eliminating all incumbents and starting over again. There are some members of congress who are attempting to make a difference in how the government operates to the point they have gone against their own party and constituents. These people are to be commended. It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to go against the grain of one’s party and attempt to do what is best for all the people.  But these are the kind of individuals we need more of in government. We must elect people to office who have a strong sense of responsibility and who have the experiences in real life to make decisions that reflect not only their constituents’ best interest but also the best interest of the country over the long haul. I think term limits would help to at least eliminate the career politician. Greater accountability through more stringent ethics rules would also be a deterrent to the misbehavior that we continue to see in bureaucrats and elected officials.

There are much better minds out there than mine who can come up with ways we can hold the elected officials and bureaucrats nose to the wire of responsibility, but the best deterrent is an informed and engaged electorate. The tea Party is a very good step in the right direction I am encouraged each time I attend a rally at the number of people I meet who have never been involved in politics before. I am encouraged that there are folks that are getting up off their posterior and getting involved. Who are not satisfied with the Status Quo, and know there must be a better way to run this great land we have inherited from our forefathers who gave up so much that we could live in the limited freedom remaining. God Bless the United States of America.