Why the TEA party is good for America

[Jetboogieman]

Ok.

Lets get one thing absolutely straight class.

What is the greatest Threat to America today?

Illegal immigration? Terrorism?

Nope.

The answer is, its national debt.

Now, I'm not a particularly huge fan of the TEA party, ad nauseum I've heard their cries for small constitutionally bound government and all that crap, and some of their leaders like Bachmann, well they're quite frankly embarrassing, she's a nut case and an idiot. And yes, when they went after PP, that was ideologically motivated.

So now that we've got that out the way, let's discuss why they're a good thing.

As i said at the beginning, the greatest threat to America is it's national debt, hands down no contest. Something needed to be done about it not even yesterday, but 10 years ago, and it's been allowed to go out of control through the fault of both sides and quite frankly the fault of you, the people as well. Considering that the national savings rate especially prior to the financial collapse was in the negative, you were, and your government was simply a reflection of each other.

The TEA party brings that issue to the forefront where no other political force seemed to, and for lighting that fire under congress to START getting things done about it, may just well be one of the most positive developments in modern American politics.

 

[TheDemSocialist]

Yea but i think the Tea Party needs a reality check. Although they are dying out very fast.

 

[CriticalThought]

The Tea Party is a joke. There was no Tea Party when the national debt increased nearly $5 trillion under Bush. Obama has increased it $3 trillion but will likely never come close to increasing it as much as Bush did.

The Tea Party is nothing but a bunch of partisan right wingers who call for decreases in national spending simply because their guy isn't in charge. The moment they take control, it will be business as usual and they will borrow astronomical sums of money.

 

[StillBallin75]

If nothing else, the tea party's calls for fiscal sanity are something to be taken seriously.

Aside from that, I don't particularly care for their other views.

 

[tessaesque]

The TEA party started before Obama's election....just sayin'.

 

[tessaesque]

The Tea Party is a joke. There was no Tea Party when the national debt increased nearly $5 trillion under Bush. Obama has increased it $3 trillion but will likely never come close to increasing it as much as Bush did.

The Tea Party is nothing but a bunch of partisan right wingers who call for decreases in national spending simply because their guy isn't in charge. The moment they take control, it will be business as usual and they will borrow astronomical sums of money.

If Obama doesn't reach 5 trillion (at least), it will be because somebody finally stepped up and took a hard line on the budget and deficit spending, or a combination of that fact and him serving one term (assuming he wins reelection). Otherwise, he will almost assuredly match, if not exceed, Bush's debt additions. If the democrats were screaming for cuts and responsibility in spending nobody would be railing on the TEA party for suggesting it. But since they are only begrudgingly following along, the TEA party is thrown under the bus as another hack group with illegitimate motives.

Having been to a TEA party rally or two, I can distinctly recall topics which included Bush's spending, as well as a tax code that has been a problem for years. They started railing on spending before Obama started spending.

 

[Helvidius]

The Tea Party is a joke. There was no Tea Party when the national debt increased nearly $5 trillion under Bush. Obama has increased it $3 trillion but will likely never come close to increasing it as much as Bush did.
The Tea Party is nothing but a bunch of partisan right wingers who call for decreases in national spending simply because their guy isn't in charge. The moment they take control, it will be business as usual and they will borrow astronomical sums of money.

If Obama gets a second term, he will be well on his way to surpassing Bush's $5 trillion mark. I saw some hypocrisy from the tea party, but national debt was a huge issue nobody was talking about so I am glad it helped bring debt to the forefront of the debate line. Also, I like Rand Paul . Though Bachmann I could have done without....

 

[CriticalThought]

If Obama doesn't reach 5 trillion (at least), it will be because somebody finally stepped up and took a hard line on the budget and deficit spending, or a combination of that fact and him serving one term (assuming he wins reelection). Otherwise, he will almost assuredly match, if not exceed, Bush's debt additions. If the democrats were screaming for cuts and responsibility in spending nobody would be railing on the TEA party for suggesting it. But since they are only begrudgingly following along, the TEA party is thrown under the bus as another hack group with illegitimate motives.

The Tea party is a hack group. The Democrats ran under the premise that as soon as the economy was in recovery there would be spending cuts. The Tea Party hasn't really done anything but polarize the right against Obama, which was its intended purpose.

Having been to a TEA party rally or two, I can distinctly recall topics which included Bush's spending, as well as a tax code that has been a problem for years. They started railing on spending before Obama started spending.

There was no Tea Party before Obama. The Tea Party only exists because of Obama. If McCain had won and spent just as much as Obama, there would still be no Tea Party.

 

[ADG]

Ok.

Lets get one thing absolutely straight class.

What is the greatest Threat to America today?

Illegal immigration? Terrorism?

Nope.

The answer is, its national debt.

Now, I'm not a particularly huge fan of the TEA party, ad nauseum I've heard their cries for small constitutionally bound government and all that crap, and some of their leaders like Bachmann, well they're quite frankly embarrassing, she's a nut case and an idiot. And yes, when they went after PP, that was ideologically motivated.

So now that we've got that out the way, let's discuss why they're a good thing.

As i said at the beginning, the greatest threat to America is it's national debt, hands down no contest. Something needed to be done about it not even yesterday, but 10 years ago, and it's been allowed to go out of control through the fault of both sides and quite frankly the fault of you, the people as well. Considering that the national savings rate especially prior to the financial collapse was in the negative, you were, and your government was simply a reflection of each other.

The TEA party brings that issue to the forefront where no other political force seemed to, and for lighting that fire under congress to START getting things done about it, may just well be one of the most positive developments in modern American politics.

I will always support the people's right to question their government, and I believe many folks involved in the TEA party are concerned about the bailouts we provided to corporations, and the astronomical spending we continue to shell out for our now 3 wars. Whether the party in power is Democrat or Republican, we always need to hold our elected officials feet to the fire to ensure they are acting in the people's best interest. So when Republicans regain the White House or full controll of congress I will expect the TEA party to continue their passionate crusade. Or will they become as silent as they were when 'W' was racking up the debt and expanding the size of government?

 

[StillBallin75]

The Tea party is a hack group. The Democrats ran under the premise that as soon as the economy was in recovery there would be spending cuts. The Tea Party hasn't really done anything but polarize the right against Obama, which was its intended purpose.



There was no Tea Party before Obama. The Tea Party only exists because of Obama. If McCain had won and spent just as much as Obama, there would still be no Tea Party.

The Tea Party, IIRC first began as a movement in response to Bush's TARP. They existed before Obama assumed office, and I don't believe for a second that there wouldn't have been a Tea Party if McCain had been elected. Perhaps it wouldn't be as influential and vocal as it is now, but it would definitely still be there.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Good! Good! Give into your anger!

 

[tessaesque]

The Tea party is a hack group. The Democrats ran under the premise that as soon as the economy was in recovery there would be spending cuts. The Tea Party hasn't really done anything but polarize the right against Obama, which was its intended purpose.



There was no Tea Party before Obama. The Tea Party only exists because of Obama. If McCain had won and spent just as much as Obama, there would still be no Tea Party.

I went to my first rally in October of 2008, which, as you'll recall, was before the election. So there's that.

As for the rest, I'm not endorsing the TEA party as a whole, or espousing all of their ideas, but spending is ridiculous, and there is no justification for continuing the kind of spending we're doing. People want to refer back to FDR or pre-WWII spending, but the programs were vastly different, and produced wildly different results. Our little treasury explosion and money rainshower was disorganized, poorly constructed, and had no hopes of producing an effective, quick recovery. We can't sit around and wait for another huge boom to come around. There will always be another excuse. "Let's wait and see what happens" doesn't work. Every projection, regardless of political lean, shows entitlements going bankrupt in my life time. My dad will probably never see social security as the program currently sits. The problems can't wait until the dems decide we're "recovered".

 

[ADG]

The TEA party started before Obama's election....just sayin'.

I believe the first TEA party rally was on April 15th, 2009 in D.C. What rally was organized before Obama was elected? When did the movement begin?

 

[tessaesque]

I believe the first TEA party rally was on April 15th, 2009 in D.C. What rally was organized before Obama was elected? When did the movement begin?

The tax day rally, and the one that garnered national attention, was held on April 15th, with rallies all over the country (I attended the one in Dallas). But the Dallas area group started up right around the time McCain made his stupid statement about temporarily leaving the campaign to go to Washington to discuss the TARP bailouts.

 

[Jetboogieman]

The tax day rally, and the one that garnered national attention, was held on April 15th, with rallies all over the country (I attended the one in Dallas). But the Dallas area group started up right around the time McCain made his stupid statement about temporarily leaving the campaign to go to Washington to discuss the TARP bailouts.

Oh god that was funny, sitting at the table saying **** all...

Wasn't his fault, some stupid campaign lackey must have convinced him it was a good idea.

 

[ADG]

The Tea Party, IIRC first began as a movement in response to Bush's TARP. They existed before Obama assumed office, and I don't believe for a second that there wouldn't have been a Tea Party if McCain had been elected. Perhaps it wouldn't be as influential and vocal as it is now, but it would definitely still be there.

I didn't realize there was an organized movement in response to TARP.

 

[ADG]

The tax day rally, and the one that garnered national attention, was held on April 15th, with rallies all over the country (I attended the one in Dallas). But the Dallas area group started up right around the time McCain made his stupid statement about temporarily leaving the campaign to go to Washington to discuss the TARP bailouts.

Cool. Didn't know that, thanks!

 

[tessaesque]

Cool. Didn't know that, thanks!

Learn something new every day, right?

 

[StillBallin75]

I didn't realize there was an organized movement in response to TARP.

Tea Party movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On January 24, 2009, Trevor Leach, chairman of the Young Americans for Liberty in New York State organized a "Tea Party" protest in response to "obesity taxes" proposed by New York Governor David Paterson, and out-of-control spending. Several of the protesters wore Native American headdresses similar to the band of 18th century colonists who dumped tea in Boston Harbor to express outrage about British taxes.[36]
Some of the protests were partially in response to several Federal laws: the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008,[37] the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,[38][39] and a series of healthcare reform bills.[40]

Makes no mention of TARP, maybe I was mistaken. However it's pretty clear that the movement got it's start before Obama was elected, and from the beginning it's hallmark was fiscal responsibility.

 

[tessaesque]

Oh god that was funny, sitting at the table saying **** all...

Wasn't his fault, some stupid campaign lackey must have convinced him it was a good idea.

I did a face palm when I read the article. I got what he was trying to convey, but it made him look like a drama queen.

 

[StillBallin75]

Learn something new every day, right?

I could never go to a tax day rally. I do my taxes on tax day.

 

[tessaesque]

That guy..Rick Santelli, maybe? Stood up at the Washington Mercantile Exchange and made a speech about spending and throwing {something} into Lake Michigan like the patriots threw tea into Boston Harbor.

Video with commentary here:

 

[tessaesque]

I could never go to a tax day rally. I do my taxes on tax day.

I do mine as soon as I get my paperwork. I have to get FAFSA in early if I want FA....and I might have been late this year...

 

[ADG]

Learn something new every day, right?

Absolutely!

 

[CriticalThought]

Makes no mention of TARP, maybe I was mistaken. However it's pretty clear that the movement got it's start before Obama was elected, and from the beginning it's hallmark was fiscal responsibility.

Actually its hallmark was no taxes. Hence the name "Taxed Enough Already". And while there have always been movements for fiscal responsibility, the Tea Party did not officially come into being until after Obama was elected.