Tea Party for two?
Published September 1, 2013
Editorial by News and Observer, August 30, 2013.
Maybe they’re just tired. Or maybe there were never very many of them anyway. Or maybe their campaign to destroy the Affordable Care Act, which already has helped Americans, isn’t gaining the steam they sought.
Whatever the reasons, a meeting this week at a Raleigh hotel of the tea party true believers produced considerably fewer believers than leaders had wished for. There perhaps weren’t more cameras than tea partyers (a couple of dozen), but it was pretty close.
The truth about the tea party always has been that the volume produced didn’t reflect a choir but maybe more of a quintet. A very loud quintet, enough to scare nervous Republicans. And, yes, the tea party had some success getting a fractional minority in Congress that stood in the way of consensus for House Speaker John Boehner.
But the fight is old; the president they oppose has been re-elected. And Obamacare, the bane of tea partyers, is kicking into gear and already helping some people, including children with pre-existing medical conditions who now can get insurance. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the legality of the reform, tea partyers are up against it.
Therefore, they’re showing signs of desperation, which is what brought them to Raleigh. They were trying to get members of the state’s congressional delegation to sign a letter promising to vote against any legislation that funds Obamacare, even if it means shutting down the U.S. government and programs such as Medicare.
Sen. Richard Burr, who isn’t signing, called that “the dumbest idea I ever heard.” And he’s a conservative Republican.
It appears the tea party is not so formidable anymore, as Republican leaders realize that the electorate is growing more diverse and perhaps more open-minded. Perhaps they understand that a group that wants to roll back the clock on government may be a hindrance to Republicans ever seeing the Oval Office again.
September 1, 2013 at 8:40 am
Rufus Keel says:
LOL, Oh, Do not think for a second that we're gone...
September 1, 2013 at 2:39 pm
dj anderson says:
I'm unclear what this editorial is about. It can't be declaring victory as it seems to be doing.
First off, the Tea Party has been highly effective in changing the direction of government thinking. They are single issue, thus "extreme" and they have to be to get what they think is best for the country. I believe they mainly want what is financially best for our country. They have a right to an opinion and its expression.
Secondly, the tea party is not a political party so much as a single issue movement demanding less spending, less borrowing that increases the national debt, and smaller government to reach those ends.
I see the fear creating the groups purposes, and the wisdom of facing fiscal reality. I also see the difficulty in cutting back Federal spending and borrowing.
Simpson-Bowles Debt committee wisely created (then ignored) by President Obama & most of congress, called our borrow/spend policies creating over 16 trillion in national debt, and rising, the biggest predictable and avoidable catastrophe in American history. Without leadership, the public thus has not to much extent heeded the warning either, for everyone wants fiscal sanity but no one wants to give up anything.
So, while the Tea Party has won individual victories by having gotten media attention, influenced candidates, and won many political fights -- the Tea Party has still failed the greater effort to reverse the debt -- for the USA is still spending far more than revenues can pay for, borrowing more than any growth can compensate for, and committed to unafordable entitlements all of which are taking us into that most predictable and avoidable catastrophe that only war or financial collapse will conclude.
The author of this editorial focuses on individual, at hand actions and avoids projections that might tarnish the moment. Shortsighted, wishful hope & faith, vs longsighted, logical that places limits...
