In the wake of the US
But the future of this movement can’t be determined by its won-lost record. The Tea Party is not a political party and can’t be judged like one.
Rather it’s simply a collection of Americans fed up with big government, high taxes and massive deficits.
More importantly, Tea Partiers are willing to fight for the values they believe in, even it means taking on the Republican Party establishment.
And it’s a fight they are winning.
Love it or hate it, the Tea Party is getting the message out as to what’s wrong with America
It’s now a force that can’t be ignored by either Republicans or Democrats.
But will the Tea Party survive its own success?
That’s a question that’s more important than whether or not the Tea Party helped or hindered the Republicans on Election night.
And it’s a question that’s relevant because the movement faces some serious challenges in the near future.
First, it’s possible the Republican Party, flush with its November 2nd victory, will seek to co-opt the Tea Party.
This, of course, would rob the movement of its independence and its credibility.
Consider what happened here in Canada
Will the Tea Party like the NCC, allow itself to be co-opted?
A second danger facing the Tea Party movement is much more basic: it just might run out fuel.
And the fuel of the Tea Party movement is anger. Tea Partiers are angry with bad government and angry at what the Establishment is doing to their country.
But anger is a difficult emotion to sustain over a long haul, a fact which could dampen the movement’s intensity.
I hope, of course, the Tea Party is up to these challenges and remains a vibrant political force.
Now more than ever America Canada
4 comments:
"Love it or hate it, the Tea Party is getting the message out as to what’s wrong with America and what it will take to set the country back on the right track."
I couldn't disagree more, Gerry. The Tea Party is seething with neoconservatives who are not proposing any serious solutions to the problems ailing America.
Most Tea Party supporters oppose cuts to US military spending and closing overseas bases. Hardly a position the US founding father's -- who they regularly invoke -- would be fond of.
They are against earmarks. Which cost the taxpayers about $50 billion a year on a multi-trillion dollar budget. But they're opposed to cutting medicare and social security for seniors, which is the single biggest line-item which has future obligations running in the tens of trillions of dollars.
But they're against Obamacare.
They believe the state has a role to play in regulating morality, on issues from abortion, marriage and recreational drug use.
When it all boils down to it: the Tea Party offers NO solutions to balance the budget and wants MORE government control over individual social issues.
Which is why, libertarians -- which may have been a significant part of the Tea Party early on -- have pretty much abandoned the Tea Party en masse.
Gerry, the Tea Party HAS been co-opted. A long time ago.
Nice try Mike, but that's your perception of the tea party.
When it all boils down to it: the Tea Party offers NO solutions to balance the budget and wants MORE government control over individual social issues.
The Tea party doesn't HAVE to offer solutions, they are NOT a political party! What they offer is the ability for Americans to protest what they feel is happening to their country, socialism. Which I am sure as a Libertarian you fully support.
If Libertarians left in massive numbers as you state....where did they go? Democrats???
Mike Brock has some valid points, but if libertarians do leave the TP at this stage, then they are very silly and self-indulgent. Sometimes I think they want to fail.
Gerry said:
"Will the Tea Party like the NCC, allow itself to be co-opted?"
If similar Canadian, allegedly non-partisan movements' attempts at such are any indication, my educated guess is that the likelihood is sadly high.
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