I don't think it is any surprise that I would not be a Tea Party supporter. However, I do enjoy the "activism" on the behalf of this more conservative population.
If you are not aware of what the "Tea Party" is promoting - let me share a few factoids with you:
Mission Statement: The impetuses for the Tea Party movement are excessive government spending and taxation. Our mission is to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets.
Core Values: • Fiscal Responsibility • Constitutionally Limited Government • Free Markets
Sounds good. Sounds very patriotic. That's fine with me.
However, the vast majority of tea party supporters are applying this specifically toward the Obama administration. I, on the other hand, believe that our President is being fiscally responsible, is remaining within the confines of the constitution, and is encouraging a free market. However - President Obama takes it one step further - he is making sure we take care of our fellow man. Because, clearly - the "Big Business" and the private sector is not doing a very good job of it.
I am also completely distraught over the hate speech coming directly from the Tea Party. No, not all of their members are engaging in their sort of activity. But a very specific population within their group has attached themselves to the movement and are representing the "ideals" of the Tea Party.
In response, the "Coffee Party" was created. (Heck - did someone say COFFEE??) Their philosophy is: The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.
Here is what I think - Let us use this government that was created by the people for the people to do good in this great nation of ours. I would never associate myself with a group that is angry and looks more like a "negative ad campaign for the Obama administration." That may work on the greedy and the super poor - but not me.
I wanted to be fair and understanding when I wrote about this - so I did I little searching.. if you have a moment, educate yourself and view the following.
In the end - I just want to see change. Change in how we are seen in the world - change in how we do business - change in how we respect and take care of one another.
Aggression and the "Mine Mine Mine, don't touch" attitude does not work for me. Maybe it works for you, and that's great. Isn't that the beauty of this great nation? For now, let us agree to disagree and pray for the best!!
What are your thoughts on the Tea Party and Coffee Movement? If you don't care - why?
8 comments:
What I want to know is, where were these tea party folk when Bush was spending all that money on this stupid war? Hmmm? That doesn't seem like fiscal responsibility to me. And war certainly doesn't do anything for any of us except cause pain and tragedy. No good.
I think those Tea Baggers are a bunch of hate mongers. It's all negativity. They don't look at both sides. Basically they hate Obama, so anything he wants to get done they feel goes against everything they stand for, which is ridiculous. They need to educate themselves on all sides of an issue before opening their mouth.
What a bunch of hypocrites.
[Sorry, politics make me get all uppity.]
Well I just can't see their recipe for any kind of change. Is government perfect? No! Was any president perfect ? No. But the key is to have the capacity to change and that's Obamas whole message. The tea party harps on government spending, healthcare but we were already in great peril before. I may have enen said bad things about dubya but wasn't it called for? They say take back their country ! From who? Is it not everyones country? Gotta admit that I haven't heard that type of talk since the 60s.
Sharone wright
Funny that Cassandra thinks the Tea Party Patriots aren't educated on the issue. I have a Masters level education on economics and I can promise you, those like me agree with the tea party movement. It is a very basic idea, you can't spend more than you take in. We have been spending more than we are taking in so we have two options to get it under control. We can either stop spending and start paying back... OR... we can raise taxes. I'm pretty sure you liberals think, "oh, well let's just raise taxes!" but you haven't stopped to think what effect that would have on the economy. People and businesses are already afraid to spend money right now. If taxes increase, it will get worse, way worse. In any basic economics class, you first learn how our GDP is calculated and consumer spending is a huge component. If we lose anymore consumer spending, we are doomed. Taxes cannot go up so government spending must come down. Cassandra, are you educated on the subject now?
This is why I tend to keep my head in the sand when it comes to politics...I think both sides have valid points and not-so-valid points, and no one group is ever going to be completely happy with the result of whatever changes are made, and they will complain that they didn't get their way, blah blah blah. But what I really HATTTTTTE is the ugly, I'm-better-than-you, holier-than-thou tone that always comes out *cough BGIBBS cough*.
First of all..
I'm Libertarian and believe it's a bad thing to rely on Govt. too heavily to fix or provide things...It becomes a bureaucratic nightmare!..And I hate red tape!! Bogs EVERYONE down no matter what beliefs you hold..
Also..Bush strayed from the ideals of conservatism, so don't apply his admin. policies as the beliefs of all conservatives..that's why he became so unpopular..
and same is true for Obama..I don't believe his policies are mainstream Dem..(I'd take Hillary ANY DAY over Obama)
Saying the majority of Tea Party supporters are hate mongers...Now, that's a far-reaching statement, seeing how Obama garnered a vast majority of the vote...
I think the majority are sorely disappointed that Obama is not governing from the "center" like they thought he would.(me included I would have gladly accepted him if that were the case, but it's not!) actually..during legislative sessions..he doesn't lead or govern at all!!..He allows Pelosi and the congress to hi-jack everything,
OBAMA's ideology, and his Go for Broke attitude and DEAF ear, along w/ Congress' failure to listen to the public out-cry is what caused the frustration of the Tea party..
brought in upon themselves...
Just sayin!!!..
As a member of the TEA party, I can say without a doubt that smaller government and less spending is absolutely a TEA party issue. How to do it? My thinking is to elect non-partisan candidates and vote them out if they don't perform the way their constituants want them to perform.
@ Cassandra- we're not tea baggers, we're tea partiers- and you're the freakin' hate monger to use that term. Nobody liked it when the Republicans spent too much and abused power any more than we like it now. And we are definitely educated on all sides of the issue, unlike you who takes your talking points from MSNBC and Rachel Maddow.
Government isn't here to support us- it's here to defend us from terrorism and other outside threats like illegal immigration. Government is also supposed to be fiscally responsible with our tax money- something that seems to be foreign to Obama and the rest of the Democrats in Congress but also to a majority of Republicans.
Cassandra- when you call people names you don't understand, you not only denegrate yourself but also denegrate your point of view. Tea Party Patriots are mobilizing for REAL change in this country- not just to reinforce the welfare state we're in now. If you'd like to have this debate one on one, contact Nicole and she can give you my info so we can talk about it more and you might actually learn something.
I can't believe you met him! I am so uberly jealous. Having said that, I am sure your post was amazing, as always, but I can't even get myself to read about any of that tea party shit it gets me so upset. I did read the first few paragraphs though, and I definitely appreciate your stance. I feel like people begin with the most honorable of intentions but they let emotions cloud things and turn everything into an us vs. them, and that's the part I can't stand.
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