Is the Tea Party Holding our Congress Hostage?

Or are the newly-elected, tea party movement-backed representatives, in both the House and the Senate, a good example of a group of people who understand and exemplify the spirit of true Bi-Partisanship?

Have they made it a point to bring the negotiation process between the Left and the Right to a crawl, and in turn properly focus the discussion, if even for a short time, on true fiscally responsible approaches that their constituents have begun to demand? They did so during the Debt-Ceiling debate, they did so again in the House while debating the Continuing Resolution that is now stalled on Senator Reid’s desk in the Senate, and they will likely do so again during the upcoming debate on Obama’s Jobs Bill (sic) as well as during the negotiations of the “Deficit Reduction Super Committee”. By standing true to their convictions, they are sending a clear message to their fellow representatives that they realize the citizens of this country have awoken to the fiscally irresponsible, inefficient, corrupt, and oftentimes illegal way of doing things that seems to have become the norm in Washington, and are committed to helping them change that course. If facing re-election in 2012, it is indeed a message to heed. If you doubt that, just ask any of the incumbents who’ve been tossed out and replaced with more fiscally responsible candidates, not only during the 2010 mid-term elections, but even in special elections in traditionally “safe” Democrat districts like the ones that were formerly held by Senator Kennedy and Representative Weiner.

However, let’s keep in mind that it is also true that once they have made their initial convictions clear for all to see, they then move on and negotiate what little they can, with the realization that with the Senate and the White House controlled by Democrats, they will have to accept what little the Republicans are able to garner from the Senate by the way of compromise. That is clearly the approach of people who are willing to do things in a bi-partisan manner – state your opposing positions forcefully so people know where you each really stand, and then move to negotiate from there, thoughtfully considering each other’s viewpoints, needs and ideas in an honest effort to work toward a mutually beneficial solution. To Democrats, bi-partisanship simply consists of taking the step of providing the Republicans with the opportunity to agree to do things entirely their way. If their answer to that is no, then they claim that the Republicans are being partisan and “playing politics.” Obama himself is a classic example - He recently rolled out another half-trillion dollar tax-and-spend stimulus under the guise of a jobs plan and claimed that it was a bi-partisan plan and that there was no reason not to pass it, simply because he said so. This comes across as extremely arrogant and insults the very intelligence of those people he’s supposed to be representing and leading. How can it possibly be bi-partisan if it’s your plan with absolutely no input from the opposing side? Are you kidding me? Are you really that stupid that you don’t think that We the People don’t see through that crap?! Don’t you think we remember the last time you crammed a huge piece of legislation down our collective throats through archane parlimentary trickery before we had a chance to see what was in it?!! If that isn’t insulting, I don’t know what is!

But do not forget… As those within the movement will not forget… And despite the best efforts of big-government supporters both in the government itself and within the major media outlets, the movement continues to grow. They have, and will continue to make it a point to send the message of limited government, lower taxes and greater freedom and liberties for our citizens each and every time the opportunity is presented.

At the same time, they wait patiently for the 2012 elections, the next opportunity for We the People to send another group of constitutionally minded, fiscally conservative representatives to help them in their efforts to get our country back on track. Then it will be the incumbent Republicans who will really be in the hot-seat, for they will no longer be able to justify continuing with business as usual. With the White House and both houses of Congress under the control of the Republicans, they will no longer have the excuse of having to negotiate with the Left to make meaningful changes in how government is run in Washington. It is my prediction that those Republicans who then continue to ignore the will of We The People, and attempt to continue on in their ways of graft and corruption, will promptly be replaced the next opportunity their constituents get the chance to do so. Americans are tired of being treated like second rate citizens, subject to those in the government and are ready to stand up for the constitutional concept of a government that is subject to the people.

Speaking of the 2012 election… It’s important to note that if you’ve read or heard anything regarding the results of the Republican Presidential Debate that took place in Florida this past Thursday, you’ve likely found both sides (left and right alike) are reporting that the debate was won by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and that the rest of the group pretty much ganged up on 2nd place finisher and current primary front-runner, Texas Governor Rick Perry. Oddly enough, based on their own on-line polls, neither Romney nor Perry were the winner, but rather it was actually Congressman Ron Paul who came out the big winner. The Fox News Poll shows Paul with 66.42% and Romney in 2nd with 10.50% while the MSNBC Poll shows Paul with 70.1% and Romney in 2nd with 9.2%.* Despite the news agencies on both the Left and Right reporting how close it was between the two big-government candidates they endorse and support, it seems pretty obvious that We The People are putting their support behind the one candidate who truly gets it – the one candidate who in 20 years of service in the US House of Representatives has never voted for legislation unless the proposed measure was expressly authorized by the Constitution. His record of strict adherence to the policies of limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies are an exemplary example of how our representatives should approach the serious work we empower them to do and it resonates with a populace that is more than ready for just such a shift in Washington. His ability to raise campaign funds is also indicative of the support behind Paul – on 4 separate occasions he’s raised over $1 Million in a 24 hour period via internet “money bombs”, the last one conducted the weekend of August 21-22 garnering $1.8 Million alone.

But back to the tea party movement…

I think it’s also important to note that the mainstream media continues to pound the drum with the message that the ideas, viewpoints, and proposed policies of the tea party movement are “radical” and are the reason why the Republican Party has become the “Party of No”. The reality however, is that in the short 9-month history since the Republicans took control of one half of one third of the federal government, the representatives backed by the tea party movement have time and again shown a willingness to compromise and have helped numerous bills pass the House to include Budget Proposals, Energy Legislation, Jobs Bills, etc. only to have them sent to the Senate and completely stall on Senator Reid’s desk, never to even be brought up for discussion or consideration on the floor of the Senate. Even Obama’s recent Jobs Bill (sic), for which he’s been screaming “Pass This Bill” for the last 3 weeks on a multi-state Campaign trip at the expense of the American taxpayers, is stalled on Reid’s desk. When coupled with the Continuing Resolution passed Friday morning by the House which is also stalled on Senator Reid’s desk, it becomes apparently clear that it is the Democrat Party that is the “Party of No”. Saying no to greater individual freedoms and responsibility, no to economic policies that would create more jobs, no to removing over-reaching regulations that cause harm to our citizens and our businesses, no to time-proven solutions to education rather than our current failed one-size-fits-all approach, no to sensible approaches to getting the government out of our medical care and reducing costs, no, no, no! All they want to do is try more of the same things that have been proven over and over to be both extremely costly and totally ineffective. Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results is the very definition of insanity – yet they continue to do so time and time again.

Please do not misinterpret my disdain for the incumbent Democrats as automatic admiration for the Republicans in the same position (with very few exceptions). Both parties have been complicit in allowing themselves to let our country get to the point where it is today. A huge shift in how our elected representatives have interpreted the role of Government, primarily through a gross over-generalization of the General Welfare clause, has slowly taken place since our governments inception, but especially so in the last 95 – 100 years since the adoption of the Income Tax.

In the very early days of the tea party movement I warned against letting the Republicans highjack the movement and having them twist it into another Left vs. Right battlefield because it’s not – it’s a battlefield of the concepts of Big vs. Small. I’ve since come to realize that given the entrenched 2-party system that has evolved in this country, the only way for We the People to promote the message of small limited government, lower taxes, and greater freedom and liberty for our citizens is to do so through one of the two existing major parties. Since the Republican Party at least historically stood for some of the same ideals, it only makes sense that we begin to retake control of the party and its existing infrastructure in an effort to transform its message into one that We the People can support. It is my intention, as well as that of many other like-minded people, to bring the Republican Party back to focus on this simple, patriotic, constitutionally based platform.

As far as I’m concerned, the rest of the platform concerns issues that are of minor importance by comparison. I’m fairly center or neutral on most social issues and I feel that the majority of those types of issues are best addressed at the state and local level and aren’t really the business of the Federal Government to begin with. Once we are able to reign in our out-of-control federal government, we can begin to push these issues back down to the state level where they belong and eliminate them from muddying the issues at the federal level. I don’t know about you, but I want elected federal representatives who will take serious the business of running our country in a constitutional manner - period. I’m looking for leaders who are focused on limited government, low taxes and more freedoms and liberties for our citizens, not people who are trying to push their social agenda, be it liberal or conservative, on me.

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m looking for people who are willing to stand up for their convictions and fight for the people they were elected to represent, real leaders who are willing to “take the process hostage” now and then, if that’s what it takes to shift the focus from “how do we slow the automatic growth of government?” to “how do we stop the growth of government and immediately begin the process of reducing its size and scope?”.

*- Poll tallies as of 3:00 pm on 9/24/11