Holy Diver

As many of you may or may not know....much of my family are self declared members of the "Tea Party". Since they claim to have been in the 'grass-rrots movement' since the beginning, I asked what the main points were. They gave me the following as an answer:

1. Against Spending
2. Against Taxes
3. FOR term limits
4. FOR limited government

Th emain problem I have with that philosophy is the contradiction. Its really easy to SAY That now, but once a Tea Party member gets elected, they faqll victim to their own philosophy. They become na insider. How can the party gain power when once they are elected they become a lame duck in thier parties eyes? How can they build a base in congress with term limits as a political base. How can they even get enough votes to bring this kind of thing to a vote when their members should be serving limited terms?

Also, they hated the current spending, I do too. But when confronted with the fact that over the last 8-10 years the Pentagon has lost over 5 TRILLION, they have no anger.

They want limited government, but want the government to regulate marriages, abortions, gays in our military, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all FOR term limits, I believe congressional representation should be like jury duty, unpaid, and selected at random. I just dont see how basing a pilar of the party on such a philosophy gains the vote of anyone undecided already?

FULL DISCLOSURE: They were unaware that the Koch brothers funded "Americans for Prosperity" , and when told that, my father said "The Koch brothers are DEAD! so.....


My question tpo the tea party is this:


How do you intend to affect change in congress, with a mega minority who has a foundation based on kicking out incumbants and initiating term limits?

IcyPatriot

Good post ... it's easy to run when proclaiming change. when you're in you need to expand the base ... get on powerful committees which means going along to get along. Going along to get along usually means getting some pork or approving pork. Limited government goes along with the above also.

Bottom line is we can have a few maverick's elected to keep the others a bit honest. But once elected all bets are off ... as we all well know.

cupofjoe1962

Changes seems to work as an election theme......
Deval Patrick & Obama were all about change.....

I have not done my homework on the out of state tea party candidates.
If they are running on limiting taxes, and spending then I support them
until they prove otherwise.

There was no bigger spender than George Bush.......
I loved the fact he cut taxes, but he spent like a dunken sailor.

I am as right wing as anyone on these boards, and if Bush and Clinton
were able to run again and went head to head.... I would vote for Clinton.

I am for limited goverment and lower taxes and I will support who ever
runs on that platform, until they prove otherwise.

chicowalker

HD, your post answered the 2 questions I usually have for tea partiers -- when did spending become an issue for you, and when you say "limited government," does that apply to laws and social issues or is it just lower taxes/lower spending.

I was confused by the Koch brothers comment -- does he (wrongly) think they're dead?


Cupofjoe: when you say limited govt, does that mean social issues, too?

patsfan13

1) Not against all spending, I would like spending restricted to the enumerated powers in the Constitution. This would drastically reduce spending.


2)Not against all taxes would like to see taxes reduced drastically however prefer a Flat tax.

3)I think Term limits would be good not as important as points 1 & 2 IMO.


4)The government should restrict itself to the powers enumerated in the constitution. That was and still is a good prescription.



I see a contradiction in you point here. You are maintaining that when elected you become an insider yet at the same time you are a lame duck with no influence?

People having an opportunity to 'build a base" are more likely to have a vested interest in increasing their power using other people's money and increasing the power of government. Generally IMO it would be better if we have citizen legislator who went to congress for a limited time and then left rather than career politicians whose entire existence is focused on acquiring and maintaining power.




2 things about military spending, Maintaining the military to defend the country is one of the few thing the Federal Government is supposed to do as per the Constitution. The 5T figure sounds like the entire Pentagon budget for the time in question? Where does this figure come from how does it relate to the entire amount spent on the military?



Abortion: I believe in the phrase that Everybody is entitled to Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, and government exists to protect those rights. If the government allow Babies in the wombs to be murdered at the whim of a parent their rights are being violated. Many try to dehumanize children in the womb as they tried to deny the humanity of slave in the past, it was wrong it that case and wrong in this case.

Gays in the military, when you go into the military you sacrifice many of your rights. The UCMJ has many provisions that don't exist for civilian defendants, where you don't have the same rights. This is done for the discipline require to fight a war where lapses in discipline causes the loss of life potentially on a massive scale.

Marriage has always applied to men and women not same sex couples. I think we should live and let live I don't see why government should push an agenda to recreate what marriage have been in all societies over time. I don't think people should be restricted in who they live with or have as a life partner, for example people should allow whomever they designate to be their heir, their partner should have hospital visitation rights equal to family members and so on.






Are you aware of the level of funding from G Soros and the money and favors he has gotten for his enterprises?


The polls indicate the Tea Party isn't a mega minority the election will START to show if we have a shot at turning the country around. The Tea PArty has scared both the dems and the pubbie establishment. The goal would be a 'takeover' of the republican party, this election is just a start and nothing more. Id the pubbies were to take both houses of congress there will be a lot of work for the Tea Parties to do holding the pubbies feet to the fire.

If you read the document the pubbies put out last week the preamble sounds good but these substance is Bush lite, not acceptable.

__________________
"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

cupofjoe1962

I assume when you say social issues, you are talking about social programs.

If not please let me know what you are talking about.

I am against increasing social programs, and I believe there are a ton
of people on SSDI, Welfare ect, who should be removed.
Recovering addicts on methadone, for one should not be able to collect
SSDI. I know a ton of people who have been on SSDI for years because
of additions.

How do I know.....
I have been clean since 1995 and I have never needed to collect a
nickle from the state or US goverment. I paid for my own medical
when I went away to get clean. I knew that I only had 1 shot with
my medical. If I was on mass health, I would be covered for a
second program if I did not get clean on the first try.

I see the one's who know how to work the system. They are not
shy about sharing their knowledge on how to beat the system.

American citizens who are handicaped or cannot work for legit medical
reasons, should receive benefits and I am not out to cut them off or
reduce their benefits.

We should not cover anyone who is not a american citizen.
People like Aunt Zeituni should not receive any type of benefit because
they are not American citizens. The fact that she received benefits for
years as an illegal who was on the list to be deported, showed how much
our policy needs to change.

Do you think American citizens should get stuck supporting people like
Aunt Zeituni for the remainder of their life, when they are ungreatful
and have never contributed a nickel to our country?????

chicowalker

13, you want ltd govt and to "live and let live" yet you want the govt to discriminate against samesex couples? Those are completely at odds.

Permitting samesex marriage doesn't affect anybody else's marriage, and it doesn't require any church/religion to alter its requirements for marriage.

This seems like your view on the mosque issue to me -- you're letting emotion or bias override the principles you say you're for.

Holy Diver

Spending is always an issue for me, buty not how Tea-partiers think. I hate that my tax dollar is spent on non-productive things like bombs, jets or tanks that may or may not be used to kill people who will simply want to kill us back....when we could've built a school or hospital or done something productive. I'm pi$$ed at wa(Please be quiet - edited)l spending, not just "Spending"

The tea partiers are very upset at "spending" but when told that the military LOST 5 TRILLION dollars...they don't care. Its fukced up, IMHO.

MOST tea partiers, are like my folks, old republicans who 'think' they are revolutionary and creating a movement. FOX news is called "The News" at their home, and they think Freedomworks is grassroots. He thought the Koch brothers were dead, and when I told him that the two guys who are tied for 9th on the worlds richest people list are alive, well and funding his' grassroots movement'...he dismissed it.

I actually had another tea-partier scream at me in thier kitchen, calling me a liberal a-hole from california.....he then asked me to name ONE republican from Cali....

I named 'The Governator'...he said said "he isnt a republican!" I then said "How about Ronald Reagan" speechless for a few moments, he then called us a bunch of 'Faaaaahgz'.... Then told me that he had never even been to California.

All of the values they stated as tea-party values, would have had George W Bush as a 1 termer, or impeached. There was no such movement back then. I know what the tea-party is really about, and most in the so called party dont see it, and when confronted with facts, dismiss them so they can stay angry.

it seems to be working, this should be an interesting November.

But until they can get some Liberals to side with them...I think they are hurting the conservative base more than the liberal one.

chicowalker

No -- sorry, vague term, I now realize.

Issues that don't involve govt spending and impact society, I suppose: gay marriage and gay adoption laws, marijuana and other drug legalization, death penalty, "3 strikes" laws, etc.

Holy Diver

I wish more people knew about this, but I think something happened the next week or something that took everyone's mind off of this news:

Rumsfeld Sept 10, 2001: The Pentagon cannot account for $2.3 TRILLION | America Needs 435 Real Americans to run for Congress

This: Iraq:Iraq: How did the Pentagon 'lose' $8.7 billion? - The Week

This: Solari | The Missing Money



thats just the money thats MISSING.