Out of all the topics I've covered, I think I've mentioned the Tea Party the most. To recap, the whole platform that the party is based on revolves around less government spending and lower taxes. Relatively minute taxes. I've also mentioned that, while I don't consider myself a Tea Partier, I agree with most of the fundamental principles that the party is based on, especially in current times. I believe that lower taxes are better in the present state of the economy. I believe that government spending should lower drastically or be cut (minus critical operations) completely until the severe recession is over.
The Tea Party (it shall be referred to by it's proper name, no homophobic slurs here, Countdown) is undoubtedly is a right-leaning party. It is predominantly conservative. That said, it has its share of liberals who also oppose the large spending undertaken and proposed by the Obama Administration. Since the party rose to power, it has been embraced by Fox News, chastised and blasted by PMSNBC, and given neutral media attention by CNN. Go figure. Keith Olbermann, one of my least favorite people (no use denying it), said "How many (African-Americans) have you seen at a Tea Party event?", which was a racist accusation against the party. It is insane to believe that the Tea Party is completely white, even with a large number of African Americans being liberal. There is also the typical "conservatives are stupid" mantra consistently played by the left-wing (again, no use denying it, it's like the right-wing calling the left communists). It's an extremely broad and unfair generalization that all conservatives are stupid. I can find those that aren't, and I can find liberals that are. Same with calling a liberal a communist. This is a dangerous and narrow-minded way of thinking, and it is a problem in society.
To the point, the Tea Party is becoming more and more of a factor in today's politics. 28% of Americans consider themselves a supporter of the Tea Party, 26% oppose it, and 38% "don't mind it". It's a prominent third-party. If the Tea Party leadership decides to put forth it's own candidates in November's midterms, they'll certainly draw away a lot of votes. But from who? Yeah, sure, there are the independents and the moderates that will vote for a Tea Partier over a Democrat, but not as many as those that will vote for the Tea Party over a Republican. Tea Party leadership needs to carefully consider who they're hurting here. Putting their own candidates out there will effectively cripple Republicans in those elections, and ensure the very thing they're set out to prevent - record spending, increased taxes, and more government intervention in the economy- far from the non-interventionist, free market ideals of the Tea Party.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The Tea Party is a complex phenomenon. They were organized by some of the very wealthy, and yet Tea Party people often claim there is a wealthy cabal running the world from organizations like the Builderburg Group. One criticism of the Tea Party movement is that the members work against their own self interest, and for the interests of these very wealthy people. These facts will surprise the majority of the public, but these would be useful to investigate. The far right, so called conservatives are as much pawns in the game as most of the public are. We are fed the facts to make us reach the conclusions others want us to have.
ReplyDeleteMark John Hunter - Alpena