After the first downgrade of America’s credit rating in the history of our country, Democrat leaders and media outlets have been quick to point fingers at the obvious cause of our nation’s financial woes. Those darn Tea-Partiers are at it again!
Vice President Joe Biden and others have likened the Tea Party to terrorists, John Kerry has called it a “Tea Party downgrade” and suggested that it’s irresponsible for the media to give equal time to such “absurd notions.”
Writing for NRO, Jonah Goldberg cites other examples of Tea Party derangement:
Tom Friedman — who knows a bit about Hezbollah — calls the tea partiers the “Hezbollah faction” of the GOP bent on taking the country on a “suicide mission.” All over the place, conservative Republicans are “hostage takers” and “terrorists,” “terrorists” and “traitors.” They want to “end life as we know it on this planet,” says Nancy Pelosi. They are betraying the Founders, too. Chris Matthews all but signs up for the “Make an Ass of Yourself” contest at the State Fair. Joe Nocera writes today that “the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests.”
So let me get this straight. Running on a platform of hope, change and “anything but Bush,” the Democrats had pulled off a political trifecta in 2008, securing overwhelming control of the Presidency, the House and Senate until last January when Republicans gained back just one third of the humble pie.
Riding high, in the midst of the mid term elections, the President and the Democrats were clearly in the driver’s seat when Mr. Obama stated: “We don’t mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back”.
Since 2008, Democrat leaders have:
Raised the national debt to $14,584,500,839,325.86
Literally locked Republicans out of committee rooms.
Increased the national debt from an average of $607 billion a year under Bush to $1.723 trillion a year under President Obama.
Increased deficit spending from an average of $410 billion per year under Bush to $1.413 trillion in deficit spending per year under President Obama.
Passed the monstrous Obamacare legislation opposed by a majority of Americans.
Failed to pass a budget although the President’s proposed budget (that would have added nearly $14 trillion to the national debt) was defeated 97-0 in the Senate.
All while pressing for more spending and higher taxes while ignoring repeated warnings about a potential credit downgrade. But of course, none of that matters. Pay no attention to those Senators behind the curtain. The blame for our current predicament obviously rests upon the shoulders of the Tea Party and their wacky notions about government, fiscal responsibility and the constitution.
It’s Saul Alinsky politics 101 and in the current era of sound bytes and news flashes, demonizing the Tea Party has gained some traction. According to Rasmussen Reports, 29 percent of people “believe Tea Party members have been terrorists during the budget debates” and 43 percent think that the Tea Party voice in the budget debate has made things worse for the country.
For what it’s worth, 95 Democrats and only 66 Republicans voted against the debt ceiling compromise bill in the house. The bill passed 269-161.
We can argue the merits or faults of various proposals floated during the debt ceiling debate but the fact remains that only one met the credit rating agencies requirements to avoid a downgrade and that was the Tea Party backed Cut Cap & Balance. Passed by the House and immediately tabled in the Senate.
The arrogance of Washington and the mainstream media is astounding. While the parties bicker like children in a sand box, America reels from the constant pull of opposing ideologies. We watch as this drama unfolds before our eyes and in the end, nothing is accomplished except that we’ve ensured the continued demise of our nation.
Ultimately, it’s not Washington that’s broken, it’s our country. Through the brilliance and foresight of our founding fathers, government does not function well when our citizens are so sharply divided and I see little hope of reconciliation any time soon.
If the Tea Party throws the occasional red white and blue monkey wrench into the ever-churning gears of the government machine from time to time, perhaps we should thank them. After all, the colonists were also considered terrorists by most within the establishment and that turned out pretty well for all of us.
