Some of my neighbors are strongly conservative. We are friendly and socialize often, and because I and they like to talk politics, we are frequently talking about Washington and the current political scene. I tease them about the conservatives in the news, and they always point out to me all the things those crazy liberals are doing now. They're my neighbors so I do my best to be friendly and keep rancor out of it, i.e. I listen to them respectfully and accord their political views with the same seriousness I give my own. They tell me they have been to a couple of Tea Party events, and seem favorable inclined towards the Tea Party.
When I tell my neighbors that I worry that the corporatocracy is destroying our democracy and I think it is important to protect our law-makers from the inherently corrupting activity of soliciting bribes, I mean donations, they tell me the Tea Party is all about removing corruption is Washington. They tell me the Tea Party was formed specifically to fight corruption, and that is its main goal. I haven't actually heard this from any Tea Party officials in the media, but I am willing to be surprised. I suspect that because I am willing to listen and don't immediately try to shout them down, they think I might be recruited to the Tea Party.
And I have to confess: I actually have a great deal of sympathy for many of the things my Tea Partying neighbors tell me. Yes, I actually think the Tea Party has many valid political points to make.
First and foremost, like so many Tea Party adherents, I too think our government has big problems and the country is being badly led. And like the Tea Party faithful, I'm angry about the way our country is run. I think the poor leadership is because our law-makers write laws and policy as requested by corporate owners and the wealthiest Americans, regardless of how badly those laws function or the negative impact of such legislation on the country as a whole. Case in point: current campaign finance laws that give the wealthy greater influence over the political process than their one vote accords them. I have fantasies about putting “joker make-up” on pictures of the Koch brothers.
And just like those Tea Party, I want to “take back our government” I think our government has been hijacked, and we need a return to those grand principles of an earlier time, just like the Tea Party says. I would like to see an end to government by the corporation, of the corporation, and for the corporation, and a return to the democratic ideals as set forth by our founding fathers.
Like the Tea Partying conservatives, I too believe that neither of the mainstream political parties speak to or fights for my political ideals, and I claim allegiance to no current political party. I do not call myself “Independent”, as I see that as the new label former republicans took on when it became too embarrassing to admit they had twice voted for George Bush for president. On my voter registration, under party affiliation, I put down “none”. I tell people who ask that the democratic party is too far to the right for my tastes. I did vote for Obama in 2008, but I am currently leaning against voting for him if he runs in 2012. I grind my teeth when I hear newscasters and pundits describing Pres. Obama or his policies as liberal or leftist. Like my conservative friends who are quick to say that George Bush was not a “real” conservative, I think that Pres, Obama is not actually a “real” liberal.
Like the Tea Party people, I too would like to see another political party that would speak to my political ideals and be prepared to stand up and fight for them. I would like to see a progressive party fight for the greatest possible good for the greatest number of Americans without compromise. I think compromise is what turned healthcare reform into legislation that cements the position of insurance companies foursquare in the middle of personal and often painful decisions regarding health and illness. The need to make a profit should have no place in life-and death considerations about illness and health. Besides, it's not a compromise if only one side does it.
Like the Tea Party faithful, I too value my freedoms and think that government is taking away my freedoms. Though my concerns go somewhat beyond the requirement that I purchase health insurance. Our government is now allowed to read my email, and listen to my phone calls, arrest me and hold me indefinitely without legal counsel or even a hearing before a judge to determine if such a detention is valid – based only on the suspicion that I might be a terrorist, however that word is defined. Now if that's not taking away freedoms, I don't know what is. And just like the boisterous Tea Party crowds, I think we should return to strictly following the dictates of the constitution when it comes to our laws and freedoms.
Wait: it gets worse!!!
Like the Tea Party adherents, I think our government is being fiscally irresponsible. To me, nothing says “wasteful government spending” like turning budget surpluses into deficits in order to make tax cuts that primarily benefit the corporations and the wealthy while the country fights two wars. I too believe the government is too big, and we should get rid of government employees who say they want to see the president fail. I also think we have too much regulation, and that government should get out of the bedroom, allow consenting adults to marry each other regardless of their genders, and that government has no role in personal decisions about family planning and reproductive choices On these points, I don't think the Tea Party goes nearly far enough.
So, I have a lot of sympathy for the Tea Party. If the Tea Party is really about ending corruption in Washington, giving control of the government back to the voters, ending wasteful spending and needless regulations, and returning the country to the constitutional principles on which it was founded, I am all for it.