Conservatives vs libertarians: The Divided Tea Party

I was reading the college thesis of Washington Times reporter, Jessica Chasmar, and she reminded me of the day I stood with thousands of people on the Capitol lawn on 9/12, 2009. That day I saw a movement that I believed could change the country forever. That was one of the proudest moments of my life. I had finally become a part of something great.

Today, late 2013, the progressives have full control of government. We see far left policies as norm of the day. We are witnessing one of the greatest government takeovers (Affordable Care Act) go into effect with, so far, disastrous results.

What happened to the Tea Party? It's being torn apart by those who use its name for money or power. It's being torn apart by those who believe it is a conservative movement. If you are not a social conservative, you are often ostracized.

The Tea Party was originally the accretion of people who came together because of TARP and other fiscal matters. For once, the social agenda had taken a backseat and the Tea Party managed to make significant change in the 2010 House.

Today, the Tea Party is unpopular and is often viewed as racist, or filled with bigots. There are instances of both, while I still believe there is a silent majority that are not either of those things. There are Tea Party websites that allow comments that can only feed negative views of the movement. It's time we stand up to those segments that put the Tea Party in a bad light.

Lost in Paradise

Amy Lee and the goth-metal band is for me no doubt the greatest ever to create music. I know most my age would not agree—that's beside the point. I was just listening to the song “Lost in Paradise" and thought this describes how I feel at times about my country.

Not since the so-called Civil War has this country been so deeply divided by political parties and ideologies. Americans fight vehemently in the name of their political parties. Even war is divided by party. Each party believes their war is the only one that's just. American people are too often sold a bill of goods in order to fight their supposed just war. If someone speaks out against war they are called an isolationist or pacifist. We repeatedly elect politicians that play those types of word games.

I awoke today to hear Mayor Bloomberg attacking his white opponent for posing with his black wife, saying he is racist for posing with her in a photograph. This couldn't have ever happened in paradise. There is no doubt we will hear one talking head after another justifying the mayor's comment.

A Boy and the Diner

It was a typical Friday night family outing at a small family owned diner. After placing their food order the parents were talking as 8 year old Timmy was watching the various activities you typically find in such a setting. Timmy's father, Tim, felt someone tugging at his shirt and looked to find his son looking at him quizzically. Timmy pointed to a boy his age cleaning off a table and asked, “Why is that girl doing that?”

Tim knew some details about the diner and replied, “That's the owner’s daughter and she helps out after school.” He then turned his attention back to his wife, thinking little about the question.

A moment later he felt the tugging once more and turned to see the same quizzical look on his son's face. Timmy asked, “Does that girl get paid? Is it like a real job?”

Tim knew that his son would never understand child labor laws and decided on the simple answer, “I guess you could call it a job and I think they would pay her something.” At that moment Timmy excused himself from the table. Dad assumed it was for a bathroom break.

Ten minutes later his son returned. A moment later the diner owner walked over to the table and asked, “Are you Timmy's parents?”

The couple nodded and the man about Tim's age with a touch of gray in his hair asked, “Could I speak with one or both of you for a moment?”

And they came for the children

You cannot find a Republican source that isn't trying to define why they lost the 2012 presidential election. All logic dictates that with an 8% unemployment, Obama should have lost, except he didn't. The loss was an electoral landslide, while the popular vote was close.

The only thing that matters at this point is the loss. Romney was a weak candidate, but he was portrayed as the only man that could beat Obama. What republicans don't understand is it doesn't matter if the candidate is good or bad. Most people vote with their feelings.

After Sandy hit and we saw Governor Christie parading Obama around telling us what a fantastic job he was doing, people sitting on the fence fell to Obama's side. They felt he cared. It's not even important if he did care, it's the fact that he projected that image.