I thought they were "unaffiliated".
lTTE in my local paper with my reply.
http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2010/11/01/opinion/doc4cccfe1757064977704260.txtYou can’t get out of a hole by digging
Published: Sunday, October 31, 2010 12:41 AM CDT
Paul Perry
Guest columnist
I expect a number of TEA Party movement-backed candidates to prevail in the coming elections.
I remember watching CNBC on Feb. 19, 2009, as floor trader and reporter Rick Santelli said that he was going to organize a TEA Party in Chicago and throw (financial) derivatives in Lake Michigan. The video is available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp-Jw-5Kx8k&feature=related.Santelli’s comment was made tongue in cheek and after he had made some very pointed comments about moral hazard. In this case, he was referring to the act of bailing out consumers who had voluntarily signed onto mortgages that they had no intention or in some cases no means to pay back. In some cases, it wasn’t banks committing fraud, it was consumers.
His logic was simple: Our government cannot spend its way out of a financial correction caused by overspending and over-borrowing. Nor should we subsidize those who took out mortgages they cannot pay. In other words, the economy would recover faster if we allowed the economy to reset itself rather than subsidize it by government spending and borrowing.
Santelli also stated previously, in September 2008, that financial firms should be allowed to take their lumps and that any government plan should not be rushed – but of course, it was, at your expense.
The day after Santelli’s 2009 rant, on Feb. 20, 2009, the White House via Robert Gibbs attacked Rick Santelli by name in a counter-rant. It was the first time I ever remember a White House spokesman calling a reporter out by name in an attempt at both rebuttal and intimidation.
It backfired, and the TEA Party movement was kick-started. Santelli became a hot interview. Even competitive networks gave him airtime. Clumsy attacks by the White House on Santelli helped to create their own opposition, the Tea Party and like-minded groups.
Our current President Barack Hussein Obama stated that unemployment would top out at 8 percent if we, meaning the 2009 Democrat-dominated Congress, passed his stimulus package. They did, and unemployment is now at 9.5 percent plus. A client of mine commented that you can’t get out of a hole by digging deeper. Wiser words were never spoken.
Most of us prefer to climb out of holes. That, however, requires a different outlook and a new Congress. When President Obama took office, we were already on our way to being a trillion dollars in debt. Obama and the Democratic leadership have compounded and multiplied our long- and short-term liabilities. Much of that spending, including mandated healthcare is unconstitutional, but will federal judges exhibit courage or herd mentality?
Even if you agree with the theory that increased government spending can help a nation out of recession, much of the Obama spending appears to have disappeared down a rathole. Audits have indicated more than usual government waste.
The TEA Party faithful are ready for a change. They are ready for a new Congress, as are most Americans, according to numerous polls. However, we will not be satisfied with the Bush-Rove Republican leadership that gave us the massive expansion of Medicare known as the prescription drug benefit, as just one example of their mis-governance.
President George W. Bush and both Republican and Democrat congressional leadership gave us the largest entitlement increase since LBJ was in office. New entitlement equals long-term national liability for a program that benefited large multinational drug companies more than seniors. It is also arguably unconstitutional.
Karl Rove was, of course, right in the middle of promoting that program. Sources say it was also his idea. Yet, Rove – adviser to both the Bush administration and Senator Hutchison and many other establishment Republicans – has been very critical of TEA Party-backed candidates and the TEA Party in general. At times he has seemed almost like a fifth columnist in the conservative movement.
On the surface, Rove has some decent points to make, but I question his motives. I also expect him and his minions to try to seduce any successful TEA Party candidates. It’s Halloween: Be aware, and – for the sake of your bank acccounts – be very afraid. I am already aware of Rove-allied congressmen being used to attempt to compromise various TEA Party groups.
Don’t get me wrong; I expect some TEA Party candidates, if successful, to be a little rough around the edges, but we might need some of that in Washington, D.C. Well over a century ago, President Andrew Jackson applied a little of that plainspoken logic to both big spenders and big bankers in his time. We might need to a dose of rough-hewn logic in Washington now.
Word to the TEA Parties: Stay independent and be very wary of those who weren’t with you in the beginning.
Paul D. Perry is a contributing columnist for the Daily Light. He is a local businessman and mediator and a former Ellis County justice of the peace.
Paul:
If the Tea Party candidates had a true independant train of thought,then I might agree with you.I can't seem to find anything about their stances beyond generic "Taking my country back" rhetoric.I can't seem to find a party platform with solutions on anything,be it the Wars ,Veterans,infrastructure,millions out of work,outsourcing,millions with no health care...nothing.They have consistently aligned themselves with the Republican Party,and might as well be called "Republican lite"...and most Republicans I know have distanced themselves from them.If you can direct me to a Tea Party site with some unbiased information,I would be grateful.If the Tea Party would endorse government transparency,health care for all citizens(which is what 70% of America wants),ending the wars(which is what 70% want),increasing manufacturing jobs-I just want to know their true beliefs.I also didn't realize the Tea Party was an independent political party.I thought it was simply a grassroots political organization.I'm glad to hear they are "independent".Now-show me how they are.
Peace.
Beth "
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