Maybe the Tea Party Won
With a minimum of sabotage, millions and millions of Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, share the tea party's hatred of Washington.Perhaps those tea party guys are smarter than they look. After all, these men and women in Congress came to Washington determined to cripple big government — or even destroy it. They, 30 or 40 bent Republicans, were mad as hell at where the country is going and how it is governed. Now, with a minimum of sabotage, millions and millions of Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, share their hatred of Washington.
It is discouraging for someone who writes about politics to see and hear the outrage and even hate that is voiced when anyone brings up the subject of the government shutdown, or Congress, or the White House or anybody or anything in the nation’s capital. Isn’t that what the tea party provocateurs want? They hate government, and they want you to hate it, too.Anti-government populism has always been a thread in the fabric of American life. Until the tea party nihilists, the latest manifestation had been President Reagan’s inaugural address, when he repeated his old line, “Government is not the solution; it’s the problem.”Despite his rhetoric, Reagan never governed as if he believed that crap. He was a compromiser when he had to be, he understood what “loyal opposition” meant and, like most politicians, he was not really against the government or big government. He just wanted big government that did what he wanted it to do. It’s different now, even as the tea partiers often claim him as hero or inspiration. The new boys really do hate government, the people who are in it, and the people who depend on it.As chaos reigned in Washington for the past two weeks, and the new boys, led by radio conservatives and folks like Sen. Ted Cruz, reveled in it, Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, “Mr. Washington Quote,” said this:“The denigration of public employees — typified by Rep. Darrell Issa’s vitriol directed at the IRS and Rep. Randy Neugebauer’s verbal assault on a park ranger for her work (without pay) at the World War II Memorial, which was shut down because of Neugebauer and his colleagues — represents a phenomenon that is not new but is really awful: the radicalization of so many lawmakers who don’t want limited but good government, but instead want to blow the whole thing up. They may know not what they do, but sadly, they have the weapons to do it.”Sarah Palin re-emerged from the money she has been making by telling extremist conservatives what they want to hear, as the tea party folk threw in the towel — or actually, threw in the bucket and the stool, hoping to hit anyone in sight.© 2013 UNIVERSAL UCLICK
Your support matters…Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.