I protested the health care bill with the folks from the Albuquerque Tea Party today. 200 or so folks, including families and people of all races and creeds, protested the Obama Administration’s takeover of America’s health care system today.
Unfortunately, some “yahoos” in DC gave the national media fodder to label the whole Tea Party movement as a bunch of racists and homophobes. While one of the strengths of the movement is its decentralized nature, some in the movement clearly need to get “on-message” and not resort to racist name-calling. If Tea Partiers nationwide can’t be more disciplined, then I think it might be time for some effective Tea Party groups to break away and become their own, locally-controlled pro-taxpayer groups. Just a thought, but a few bad apples cannot spoil the whole bunch.
Any good thing can be tarnished by sabotage. Make sure that the “bad apples” are really part of the movement and not just stooges sent in to discredit, like what happened to the Libertarian Party in the last election.
Paul,
I wouldn’t believe what you believe in the liberal media. You should know that first and foremost. Gateway Pundit is saying that the report you cite is a canard as usual.
Where were these anti-big government protesters during the Republican years? Let’s see…massive subsidies and tax breaks to big oil, at a time when they were making record profits. Expansion of Medicare through Part D, which was a drug program only; the cost could be well up to 500b over 10 years and was a windfall for the drug industry. Off budget funding for the Iraq War, not to mention the corruption of private contractors due to Bush/Chaney efforts to privatize the war. I could go on and on.
The Tea-Party movement has been kidnapped by the Republican Party. Palin as their keynote speaker, if it quacks like a duck…then? This is about an African-American being elected president for some of these people.
We have tens of millions of Americans without health care, and tens of millions more a lost job away from losing theirs. We need to have a true national debate on health care, without the partisan bickering. As for RGF, can you tell me where I can find your solution to our national health care crisis?
With regard to national health care solutions, I defer to the folks at the Cato Institute: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10646
RGF has come up with several New Mexico-specific ideas that we presented here: http://www.riograndefoundation.org/downloads/rgf_free_market_health_care_reform_ideas.pdf
I disagree with you about the oil and gas industries. Compared to renewables, oil and gas are relatively unsubsidized: http://www.treehugger.com/US-energy-specific-subsidies-fiscal-year-2007.jpg (remember, this is an overall number, renewables are about 1% of the overall energy supply)
Let me first say that I agree with your outline of ideas for New Mexico specific health care reform. The national health care outline from the Cato Institute is for the most part a very practical solution. I do not think the “market” will provide a cost effective solution for those with preexisting conditions who do not have employer provided coverage. Overall, these ideas are well worth pushing for.
Your suggestion that oil and gas are relatively unsubsidized is rather disingenuous. I don’t find $2.1 trillion to a mature, well established industry, and as I stated, generating record profits, to be an appropriate use of tax dollars. Nor am I thrilled about subsidizing any industry with public funds. That is the purview of the private sector. So perhaps we can agree that the”market” should identify up and coming industries and fund them accordingly, not the government.
Absolutely, the free market — meaning you and I — and nothing else should determine what energy sources are used.
Dear Right On,
What report am I citing? I agree with you about the media, but let’s include the right-wing media, just to be fair. I am so disappointed that we see ourselves as liberal or conservative, this is why nothing will change. We are Americans! I have eyes that see and ears that hear. I’ve been following the Tea Party and was initially excited, but it appears that there is no balance within the Tea Party. It has indeed, in many ways, been hijacked by the Republican Party.
Agreed with Bill on this, in that bad apples (read: idiots) on either side ruin legitimate attempts to engage in debate on this issue, the same as the guys who shot at Eric Cantor’s office windows. As for blaming both sides of the media, i’m right there with you, but on a small side note, at least our country has the freedoms to support biased media…for now?
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/03/24/steve-forbes-venezuela-hugo-chavez-media-robert-mcchesney-free-press/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ik4f1dRbP8
Anyone can move into a group of people and sabatoge it.
I believe their called “wolves in sheep’s clothing”.
The East Mt Tea Party held a Tea Party meeting recently in which we invited candidates to come and speak. Although we invited both Democrats and Republicans, not one candidate who is a Democrat came. The Tea Party Movement has not been hijacked by the Republican Party, only supported. It is not the fault of the Tea Party, but the fault of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has adopted Progressive leaders and the party as a whole has not distanced themselvs from their radical, lefist agenda. This is the great divide. The middle ground seems no longer apparent.
However, the values and the standards of the Tea Party are those of middle America; love of country, a desire to return to our godly heritage, an ethic of hard work with self reliance and responsibility, and support for limited government. If Republians agree with those standards, we welcome them, as we welcome Democrats who agree. The question is, why are there not more Democrats who support these values that were once as American as apple pie?
Godly heritage? Which God? So are you telling me that it’s not enough for me to be a fiscal conservative, I also have to follow the precepts of your God to be a member of the Tea Party? Of all the various religions which ones are acceptable to the Tea Party? Also, if you have no religious preference are you automatically disqualified from membership? The more I hear from members of the Tea Party, the less I like it.