A Tea Party takeover?
Las Vegas Sun, 9/6/10 - The Tea Party movement celebrated the recent Alaska primary in which Joe Miller, one of its adherents, toppled Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski in her re-election bid. Miller joins a group of candidates, including Sharron Angle in Nevada and Rand Paul in Kentucky, who are carrying the Tea Party banner into the general election.
For months, Tea Party activists have run opposed to President Barack Obama and the Democratic-led Congress, waving the Constitution and talking about “taking back” the government. Never mind that the government is run by the people the voters elected to represent them — as outlined in the Constitution — the Tea Party is fueled by angry rhetoric, declarations of patriotism and references to the Founding Fathers.
For example, Dick Armey, a former Republican leader in Congress who heads a Tea Party group, this year offered the idea that the movement was founded in the beliefs of the Founding Fathers. He complained that there are Democrats and “people here who do not cherish America the way we do,” and he claimed they had not read the Constitution and “did not read the Federalist Papers,” the Founding Fathers’ arguments for the Constitution.
“Who the heck do these people think they are to try to sit in this town with their audacity and second-guess the greatest genius, most courageous genius, in the history of the world?” Armey said. “Who the hell do they think they are?”
As Dana Milbank noted in The Washington Post, Armey was asked how the Federalist Papers could be an inspiration for the Tea Party, which argues for states’ rights, given that their principal author, Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong federal government.
Armey attacked the question, saying, “I just doubt that was the case in fact about Hamilton.”
But it was the case in fact, and Army’s comments show a problem with the Tea Party movement. The Founding Fathers demonstrated genius, and in the creation of this country they brought a diversity of rich ideas and opinions. That kind of thought, though, is missing in this modern movement that loves to invoke the Founding Fathers. Instead, the country has been fed empty rhetoric meant to play on voters’ anger.
It may sound good to hear the Tea Party talk about limited government, but what does that mean? If it were up to Angle, there would be no Education Department, Energy Department or Environmental Protection Agency.
In Angle’s view, government aid would be peeled back and Social Security would be phased out. She has argued against an extension of unemployment benefits to out-of-work Americans because such payments have “spoiled” citizens.
She has also said it’s not a senator’s job to help create jobs and said she wouldn’t have done what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did when he worked to help MGM Resorts International finish CityCenter, saving more than 20,000 jobs.
People may be angry enough to throw the incumbents out of office this fall, but as the general election draws near, they should realize that voting against someone means casting a ballot for someone else. It is important to consider not just what the Tea Party candidates say they are against but also what they’re for because their beliefs and ideology will have a significant effect on this country should they be elected.
Read the whole article
A Tea Party takeover?
Las Vegas Sun, 9/6/10 - The Tea Party movement celebrated the recent Alaska primary in which Joe Miller, one of its adherents, toppled Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski in her re-election bid. Miller joins a group of candidates, including Sharron Angle in Nevada and Rand Paul in Kentucky, who are carrying the Tea Party banner into the general election.
For months, Tea Party activists have run opposed to President Barack Obama and the Democratic-led Congress, waving the Constitution and talking about “taking back” the government. Never mind that the government is run by the people the voters elected to represent them — as outlined in the Constitution — the Tea Party is fueled by angry rhetoric, declarations of patriotism and references to the Founding Fathers.
For example, Dick Armey, a former Republican leader in Congress who heads a Tea Party group, this year offered the idea that the movement was founded in the beliefs of the Founding Fathers. He complained that there are Democrats and “people here who do not cherish America the way we do,” and he claimed they had not read the Constitution and “did not read the Federalist Papers,” the Founding Fathers’ arguments for the Constitution.
“Who the heck do these people think they are to try to sit in this town with their audacity and second-guess the greatest genius, most courageous genius, in the history of the world?” Armey said. “Who the hell do they think they are?”
As Dana Milbank noted in The Washington Post, Armey was asked how the Federalist Papers could be an inspiration for the Tea Party, which argues for states’ rights, given that their principal author, Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong federal government.
Armey attacked the question, saying, “I just doubt that was the case in fact about Hamilton.”
But it was the case in fact, and Army’s comments show a problem with the Tea Party movement. The Founding Fathers demonstrated genius, and in the creation of this country they brought a diversity of rich ideas and opinions. That kind of thought, though, is missing in this modern movement that loves to invoke the Founding Fathers. Instead, the country has been fed empty rhetoric meant to play on voters’ anger.
It may sound good to hear the Tea Party talk about limited government, but what does that mean? If it were up to Angle, there would be no Education Department, Energy Department or Environmental Protection Agency.
In Angle’s view, government aid would be peeled back and Social Security would be phased out. She has argued against an extension of unemployment benefits to out-of-work Americans because such payments have “spoiled” citizens.
She has also said it’s not a senator’s job to help create jobs and said she wouldn’t have done what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did when he worked to help MGM Resorts International finish CityCenter, saving more than 20,000 jobs.
People may be angry enough to throw the incumbents out of office this fall, but as the general election draws near, they should realize that voting against someone means casting a ballot for someone else. It is important to consider not just what the Tea Party candidates say they are against but also what they’re for because their beliefs and ideology will have a significant effect on this country should they be elected.
Read the whole article
