An Objective View of the Tea Party Movement

I'll preface this by saying that I've never attended a Tea Party demonstration. I do like the initial principles that were espoused by the Tea Party: limiting government, promoting free enterprise, and protecting individual freedom. I am skeptical about where this movement may be headed, given the philosophical predilictions of those who have jumped on board with the Tea Partiers in recent months.

Anyway, I'm going to take a look at the Tea Party, where it can do a lot of good, and what it needs to do to avoid being "hijacked" by people who don't understand the true principles of the movement.

Let's be real, here...the Tea Party Movement is too large to be considered a bunch of "fringe right-wing wingnuts". This movement is something that has appeal to conservatives, libertarians, and third-way/centrist Democrats who saw the prosperity that came with the 1990's and the continuation of non-expansionist government policy.

There are those who think that it is a racist movement, since it is anti-Obama. I'm a bit tired of this rhetoric. As long as Obama is black, there will always be someone who claims any attempt to push back against his agenda is rooted in some kind of blatantly racist motive. Since Obama will always be black, there will always be someone who pulls the race card to discredit the push-back.

While I'm sure there are those who may hold such sentiments within the movement (as there are in all political parties), it is an obviously small minority. There are too many people who favor the Tea Party principles that it isn't some kind of tiny fringe group who happen to make a lot of noise. Get over it, race-baiters, the Tea Party principles of good, limited government are more in line with Ron Paul than with Pat Robertson, despite what others may want you to think.

While many may knock Sarah Palin, she said some things that many people across the majority of the political spectrum (except for dedicated "progressives"). In fact, I was watching MSNBC after Palin's speech, and they had the always-thinking Lionel talking about what Palin said. I do not remember who was hosting the post-speech commentary, but I know it was someone who was a part of the left (I think it was Ed Schultz, but I could be wrong). However, Lionel told the host that in Palin's speech "she said things that, if it wasn't Sarah Palin saying them, you would agree with."

Palin's general stance on the fact that government should roll back it's size and scope is one that many, many people can agree with. Given Palin's populist appeal, she can be a lightning rod for the Tea Party Movement to push forward with more support.

The movement (and using Palin as a lightning rod) is not without faults, though.

First of all, the Tea Party Movement (in principle) should really have nothing to do with religion. However, using Palin as a lightning rod will naturally attract a lot of social conservatives. The same social conservatives who supported the Republicans who allowed government spending and budget deficits to expand on their watch for 6 years under George W. Bush. If we want to move in a different direction, we have to change fiscal thinking and reduce government's size and scope. This will require moving away from the social issues, as they are not part of the Tea Party's principles.

There are those who want to push very "Christian" ideals in the Tea Party (I guess sensing an opportunity to "start over and get it right" in their opinion). Some of the ideas I've heard tossed around have involved pushing Christianity in schools (or "keeping God in school"). I've found this to be odd, because all through my 13 years of primary education, I only found "God" to be a part of school twice...once, in Kindergarten, at a Lutheran school...and the other in 8th grade, at a Catholic school. The rest of the time, I was in public school, and I don't remember there being a God to remove...so how can we put him back if he wasn't there in the first place?

OK, obviously I was going for a little humor there, but the point is made. We can teach kids the basic morals of civilized society (which yes, I do believe are derived from religious beliefs of many different kinds...which goes to show you that religions aren't as different as some may think). Most of the people who are pushing these things are new to the Tea Party, and see it as some kind of new conservative party, instead of a push for fundamental change in governmental philosophy back to the foundation set by our founding fathers.

Secondly, the Tea Partiers must recognize that the Republicans are jumping on board because the concepts of limited government and personal freedom (sound familiar libertarians?) are part of the core of conservatism (see the Reagan quote in the subtitle of this blog)...which the Republicans moved away from over the past decade or so. They know to win back the populous, they need to adopt these aspects of the Tea Party. However, those who hold true to the Tea Party's principles need to make the politicians move to them, and not the inverse.

See, if they move towards the Republican Party in it's current state, you're moving towards such politicians as Tom Tancredo (whose stance on immigration is more than just anti-illegal immigrant), the hardline SoCons (who want to ban gay marriage and all abortions, as well as bring about more theocratic philosophy), and RINOs.

So I warn the Tea Party...stick to the principles that the majority of people believe in (which is a mostly libertarian-based philosophy with some conservative elements). Keep government's size and scope in check, allow for free enterprise for all, a strong national defense that is for defensive purposes (emphasis on "defensive"), and reforms of ineffective government policies (like current immigration laws).

Otherwise, you will allow the more extreme elements that have joined your movement to allow you to continue to be marginalized by politicians and the media elite.

As for Palin for President in 2012? I doubt it. She is better in her role as a spokesperson and rally artist for a governmental philosophy, but I do not necessarily see her as a leader of a nation, as she carries a lot of negative baggage. Then again, if she can prove to me that she is a better candidate in 2012 than she was in 2008, I might change my mind. However, right now, I can't say that I could go with her as a potential presidential candidate.

On that note (2012), I would like to see Ron Paul run for President again, but that's just me :)

**Addendum To This Post - 8:16 PM**

Leslie Carbone, one of my favorite intellectuals anywhere, addresses some of my same concerns in her latest post, "The Problem With Palin", and brings up a few new issues as well.

Zogby: The GOP Could Win Back the Senate in 2010

This is certainly interesting, given that many of us (including myself) thought that the President would deliver a solid bounce in popularity for the Democratic Party with his State of the Union address and subsequent media appearances (meeting with House GOP members, the townhall speeches, etc...).

However, this would require a lot of pieces falling in the right place, as well as the right candidates running. The "right" candidates (in terms of chances of winning in November) include undecided former Governors Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin (who is surprisingly leading Russ Feingold in recent polling) and George Pataki in New York (who leads Kristen Gillibrand).

While I doubt this situation pans out for an out-and-out GOP Senate takeover, it certainly does put the Dems on notice...and calls Obama's ability to deliver popular support through his speeches into question.

How Quickly the Landscape and Mood Changes

Paradigm shifts can be felt in many ways, and sometimes there is no better thermometer than the blogosphere. A quick glance around shows these things...

- Virginia Virtucon reports that MSNBC had it's highest ratings ever. I know that I probably watched more consecutive minutes of that channel than ever before (though I do tune in regularly to take the pulse of the opposition). I watched a bit of that channel last night to simply see the left's reactions, and it appears that many conservatives did the same. From what I saw, Howard Dean was gracious in his admission of party screw-ups all around in Mass. Rachel Maddow was fiery and clearly angry. So angry that even Chris Matthews was taken aback by some of her commentary.

- Many left bloggers think that this is because they did not pass health care "reform". If people are against what you are proposing (which they seem to dismissively admit to), why would they support you if you had already passed said reform? If anything, passing health care reform is like pushing the self-destruct button on all of Congress.

- Bearing Drift is hearing rumors that Rep. Rick Boucher (VA-9) is reconsidering running for reelection (something many Dems are doing, especially after last night's win for the GOP). Given that he is a bit of an oddity in terms of political affiliation vs. district demographics, he would be the only Dem that would really stand a chance in the "Fighting 9th" this year. If Boucher goes, the Dem control of that seat goes with it. Given the vulnerability of Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello in the 2nd and 5th Districts, respectively, and the possibility of a hard fight in the 11th (Gerry Connolly's district), the Dems cannot afford to have to pump a lot of money into a 4th fight in this state, as it will really spread party resources thin.

Dem Backstabbing, Back Room Dealing, and Backing Off Promises

HA! This is kinda funny. The Dems were backstabbing each other all over the place when it came to the 2008 election and the run-up to it. For instance, the Obama campaign kept Joe Biden out of the loop intentionally.

"The relationship between Barack Obama and Joe Biden grew so strained during the 2008 campaign, according to a new book, that the two rarely spoke and aides not only kept Biden off internal conference calls but refused to even tell him they existed."

Hillary supporters in Congress undermined her by channelling support through the endorsements of other Senators and Congressmen/Congresswomen.

"Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and a group of other senators who would back Hillary Clinton’s candidacy encouraged Obama to run for the White House as early as 2006. The concern over Clinton was that she would be a weak Democratic standard-bearer while Obama could energize the party. In late summer 2007, Schumer – using an Obama ally, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), as a back channel – pushed the candidate to “take a two-by-four to Hillary,” as the authors put it."

Gets better...apparently Bill Clinton still hasn't managed to keep it in his pants...

"Members of what the authors call Clinton’s “war room within a war room” became convinced in 2006 that Bill Clinton was having a serious extramarital affair, prompting Hillary Clinton to instruct her aides to be prepared to combat the story."

...and Hillary thought Bill would be a distraction to Obama.

"Following the 2008 campaign, Hillary Clinton was shocked to have been offered the Secretary of State job and decided to reject the offer. She prepared a statement explaining why she would turn the new president down and remain in the Senate. But in an after-midnight call between Clinton and Obama, he persuaded her – only after Clinton expressed concerns about the problems posed by her husband, the former president."

Not to mention, Harry "The Weasel" Reid's revealing choice of words.

"Reid said Obama could fare well nationally as an African-American candidate because he was “light-skinned” and didn’t speak with a “Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one.” Saturday, the majority leader said he had used “poor choice of words” and called Obama to apologize; the White House issued a statement indicating that the president had forgiven Reid."

There are others incidents regarding the Democrats, and some with the Republicans (which really were due to the McCain camp not handling Sarah Palin well, and Palin being caught completely off-guard with the whole process due to their mishandling).

More Moronic Messages from Marsden

Crystal Clear Conservative puts up the latest evidence of Dave Marsden using empty platitudes and basic fearmongering of Republicans (ooooh, scary boogeymen Republicans, oooooh!) to try to appeal to voters in the 37th District special election.

Three problems with Marsden's "case" for election

- Bob McDonnell's campaign proved that people want to hear about solutions, not simply about how evil the other party is (OMG! Repugz are Social Conservativz, they hate teh gayz n women! = Creigh Deed's message in a nutshell).
- If Marsden loses, there is no change in the make up of the State Senate, as this is already held by a Republican (AG-elect Ken Cuccinelli). So the Senate still remains in Dem control by the same margin.
- There is NO mention of why Marsden is a better candidate (other than party name, which means NOTHING in the current political climate) or why Steve Hunt is not a good candidate.

Ouch, Mr. Speaker!

I Appreciate Directness and Honesty, But...

...this is (pardon my French) f*cking ridiculous.

Apparently, Del.-elect Patrick Hope supports sending people to jail for not having health insurance, because he believes not having health insurance is like tax evasion. He also likes answering his constituents in the most condescending and jack-@$$ed tone possible.

He hasn't even been sworn in, and Patrick Hope has already earned a spot on the "worst Delegates in the House" list.

Transparancy My @$$!

The White House is only allowing C-SPAN 1 hour of coverage of the health care debate that is currently being done behind closed doors in committee. So much for that "most transparent government ever" line we heard in 2006 from Pelosi and company, and echoed in 2008 by Barry from D.C.

Not Only Are Dem Incumbents Retiring, Some Are in Real Trouble

The Washington Times reports that beyond the seats of the retiring Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan, 6 other Senate seats currently held by Dems are going to have major problems holding onto their seats. They are...

- Senate Majority Leader Harry "The Weasel" Reid of Nevada, who is now trailing badly in recent polls.
- Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who sold out her vote on the health care bill, and cannot break 41 percent in any poll with any of her 4 potential GOP challengers.
- Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Democrat now trails Congressman Pat Toomey in the latest Rasmussen polls, and is not highly favored by Pennsylvanians.
- Kristen Gillibrand of New York, who is only ahead of George Pataki by o.2% in the latest RCP poll aggregation.
- Michael Bennet of Colorado is trailing former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton by almost 10 points.
- There is a open race in Ohio where former Congressman Rob Portman leads Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher by 7 points in the latest polls there.

8 potential Senate pick-ups for the GOP here...they have an opportunity to really close the gap. Let's just hope that Steele and Company don't fumble the ball here.

Another One Bites The Dust

Mason Conservative reports that Sen. Byron Dorgan of South Dakota will not seek reelection this year. I had blogged last week that there have been a lot of potential Dem recruits for various Congressional seats that have declined to run. More work for the Donks as it appears many are treating the party as the Titanic heading towards the iceberg.

01/06/2010 UPDATE

Now it appears that Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter are also retiring and not running for re-election. Both men were in trouble in the polls already. This just furthers a rising tide of red.

Dem Recruits Dropping Like Flies?

Apparently so, as five different Democratic Party recruits to challenge in various Congressional districts have dropped out.

Are they riding out a GOP tide and hoping for a better climate in 2012? Some of these declarations not to run don't really have much in the way of a reason behind them, so I imagine they are folding for now and waiting for an opportunity that they think will open up to them down the road.

The biggest question is: will that better opportunity rear it's head in 2012? Not if things continue on it's current pace...

Health Care Legislation Killing the Dem Majority, One-by-One

Sen. Ben "Sell Out" Nelson of Nebraska is feeling the heat from his constituents.

He currently has a 55 percent disapproval rating (with the health care legislation at 64% disapproval) in his own state. Also, in a potential 2012 matchup against current Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, he would lose 61-30. Ouch. Nelson is going to air a commerical during tonight's Holiday Bowl game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Kansas Jayhawks. Good luck convincing voters you didn't sell out in 30 seconds, Senator.

With Jim Webb and Mark Warner also seeing their approval ratings plummet within the past year, it seems that that this health care "reform" debacle is not reaping any kind of dividends for the Democrats.

Maybe it's time they actually listen to the public.

So, uh...You Believed it Worked Before You Believed it Failed?

NHS Chief Janet Napolitano pulls a "John Kerry" and states today that the Airline Security System "failed"...just one day after saying that it "worked" in regards to the terror attempt in Detroit.

So I guess that means that she was for the security system as it is before she was against it.

UPDATE: Another Black Republican has video and commentary.

Baucus Drunk on Senate Floor?

Apparently, the Senator who once tried to appoint his mistress to high places may have been drunk on the Senate floor while debating health care, and ended up shouting down Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Baucus shouting down Republicans is nothing new, but the slurring going on here is very noticeable.



I must admit, he's pretty coherent despite his slurring. This leads me to believe that either he was not drunk, or he must be a serial or dependent alcoholic (i.e., needs alcohol to function) to be that clear while speaking for that long.

Embattled ex-Congressman Mark Foley made the statement "This is the senator that hired his staffer and then took her on trips...and divorced his wife....and they had me run out of town." (h/t Politico Click)

While Foley did deserve to be run out of town, so does Baucus at this point, plain and simple.

White House, Congressional Dems Playing Hardball on Their Own

Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan states that the White House and Democratic Party leaders in Congress have been pressuring him not to speak out against the "compromise" language regarding abortion in the health care bill. Stupak is one of a group of Blue Dog Democrats and is also pro-life. He was one of the leaders of the Blue Dog stand against the health care bill in the House of Representatives.

Personally, by taking a stand like this against his own party, I believe that his political career (at least, within his current party) is probably done for anyway. If you're gonna go out, then, why not go out swinging and stand by your principles?

This is why Congress should READ the Bills!

Apparently, part of Harry "The Weasel" Reid's last minute amendment to the Health Care Deform, I mean, Reform Bill was the following that was discovered by Redstate...

"Upon examination of Senator Harry Reid’s amendment to the health care legislation, Senators discovered section 3403. That section changes the rules of the United States Senate.

To change the rules of the United States Senate, there must be sixty-seven votes.

Section 3403 of Senator Harry Reid’s amendment requires that “it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection.” The good news is that this only applies to one section of the Obamacare legislation. The bad news is that it applies to regulations imposed on doctors and patients by the Independent Medicare Advisory Boards a/k/a the Death Panels."

I'll bet that there are a few Dems who would not have even voted for cloture unless this had been removed first. This is a classic example of why Congress should read the bills they are passing.

(h/t United Conservatives)

Left-Leaners Against the Health Care Bill

Just a few people and organizations against this debacle of a Health Care Bill...

- Howard Dean
- National Organization of Women
- Markos Moulitsas
- Jane Hamsher and Gregg Levine of FireDogLake

These would be prominent tastemakers of the left, as well as some of the most effective firestarters for the Democratic Party's grassroots. This whole bill should be scrapped, as it would have to go back to the House even if it passes, because it is almost a completely different bill without the public option.

This thing is just going to bounce back and forth, which will simply alienate the Dem base and push the Independents away. I obviously don't have a problem with this, but I don't think that the White House should celebrate the fact that they basically bought off some of the moderates in a not-so-discreet fashion. It's bad public image, and the voters remember things like this.

Best of Luck, Joe...

Former Mayor of Harrisonburg Joe Fitzgerald is seeking the Democratic Party nomination to run for H-Burg city council. Joe previously served on the city council from 2000-2004 and has been an editor/contributer over at hburg news for over 2 years.

Joe and I have butted heads often over at hburg news, mainly over immigration issues and other things (we do sit on different sections of the ideological spectrum). However, despite my differences with Joe on many issues (and there are plenty of them), I do believe that Joe truly feels he is doing the right things for the city of Harrisonburg. They may not always be what I consider to be the right things, but he doesn't pander to certain groups nor does he seem entrenched in good ol' boy politics. That deserves a tip of the hat in and of itself.

Is this an endorsement? No, not at all, because I have my differences with him. However, it is a "best wishes" and "good luck" to a member of the loyal opposition.

Err, Uhh, Umm...You! You! You've Gotta Run!

Apparently, the Democrats were pressured into finding someone by pro-Obama activists to take on Jeff McWaters in the 8th District special election. The choice is Bill Fleming, a business owner.

Fleming stated "This is last minute on a shoe string, but there are volunteers here who feel there should be a choice".

Ya think? The election is Jan. 12th. This will hurt the chances for Dave Marsden in the 37th District against Steve Hunt to replace AG-elect Ken Cuccinelli, as that race seems to be a toss-up at this point. Instead of putting their eggs in a potential gain in the State Senate, they're going to have to divert resources, funding, and manpower into a no-win situation.

(h/t Bearing Drift)

Cooch Wrong on Assessment of Deeds

Apparently, AG-elect Ken Cuccinelli thinks that Creigh Deeds would have won if he had moved farther to the left in his stances during the campaign. Either Cooch is trying to throw the Dems off by giving them intentionally bad advice, or he really doesn't know Virginia as well as he thinks he does.

See, the past two governors of this state have campaigned and won on being centrist as Democrats can get. Very "third way", blue dog images. Virginia is, much to the chagrin of "progressives", not nearly as "blue" as they would like to think it is. It's a reddish-purple.

Deeds, IMO, ran to the left of his pre-election image. If he was trying to run as a centrist, he would've used his more conservative views in his campaigning. Instead, he focused on wedge issues like McDonnell's social issues (which were never an issue with him as a legislator, anyway) and touted run-of-the-mill Democratic Party stances such as more progressive taxation and the like (even though he didn't come right out and say it). He did try to carry on the "Warner-Kaine Tradition", as they like to call it, and focusing on that would have HELPED him with independents, which would have given him a much better edge.

However, with the tide turning against the Democratic Party both on a statewide and national level, I don't think any Democratic Party candidate would have had a chance. Even the mighty fundraiser himself, Terry McAuliffe, wouldn't have had much of a chance...McDonnell fundraising resources that he would've been able to tap into on a national level to match McAuliffe. The national GOP was ready to push hard for McDonnell if he needed it.

(h/t Blue Virginia)

Max Baucus Has Some Questions to Answer

Sen. Max Baucus (MT) apparently nominated his staffer-turned-mistress-turned-girlfriend to become the next United States Attorney in Montana. Supposedly, she was awarded this solely on merit. Somehow, my BS detector is going off at that statement.

Apparently, Melodee Hanes photos are hard to come by, as well. Slightly odd for someone who supposedly has had visibility in the public spotlight.