It had to happen. The Tea Partiers — a term which covers a whole
range of folks from conservatives to libertarians whose uniting
commonality is a biting aversion to big government and bigger
taxes — have finally made it into the big time. The mainstream
media has not only been paying attention but is now beginning to
unleash its sultry enticements; platforms from which individuals
claiming to represent the group can glean their 15 minutes of
fame and reap the so-called rewards.
It was hoped that when this commendable movement began, it
would remain a loose coalition of local groups that would, like
those Sons of Liberty they seek to emulate, come together only to
defeat a common enemy – à la the Swift Boaters — and afterwards
blend back into a newly enlightened electorate. The thought being
that the only voices they would require would be those of the
U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
But, as often happens when an idea gains any type of power,
especially of the electoral type, people will seek to gain
control of it and harness it for their own purposes. So you now
have what invariably follows any attempt at grassroots
organizing;
multiple factions all claiming to speak for the
movement.
But what kind of movement is it really, and what, if any,
are its long-term goals? Well, its Contract
from America includes the desire to be “free from restriction
over our peaceful political expression and free from excessive
control over our economic choices.” Good and noble aspirations to
be sure, but how, in our present two-party system, to attain
them? Do these lovers of liberty intend to form a viable
political party? Recent events may point to a “yes.”
And that’s where the problems start; especially when fanned
by the liberal media. In seeking to carve out for themselves a
new niche in American politics, too many self-identified TPers
seem to be parroting the media’s assertion that it is not only
liberals that the public is tired of, but all incumbents,
regardless of their political views. They harbor a particular
contempt for congressional Republicans with whom they brook no
desire for compromise. And they may have a point with the
left-leaning GOP members, but some of their rhetoric is
disturbing.
For instance, when my colleague Quin Hillyer penned a
great piece on the potential political comeback of Rick
Santorum, it was met with cries of “we don’t need any more
retread RINOs or big government hacks.” These men aren’t retreads
any more than was Ronald Reagan when he lost the Republican
nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976. They are simply good,
common-sense conservatives who have been effectively demonized by
a liberal media that, in most cases, are nothing more than mouth
organs of the Democratic Party. They are the George Allens, Dan
Quayles and Robert Borks. And, had it not been for the abysmal
state of our nation after four years of Jimmy Carter, Reagan
himself might have been relegated to the conservative ash heap of
history where the media so vigorously desired him to be. Men like
these need the support of American patriots, not their
disdain.
So, in their desire to clean house, the TPers would do well
to remember that the most of our founders, the very men they
claim to venerate, were not untried newcomers who were strangers
to the politics involved in self-governance. They were well aware
of the allurements that power and politics could hold. And
although many of the founders hated the baggage that often comes
with political parties, they nonetheless banded together along
partisan lines and managed to get the job done. Indeed, the
exquisite system of checks and balances that we call our
Constitution — the child of both Federalists and
Anti-Federalists — was crafted with the vagaries of the party
system in mind.
Incumbent-hating TPers should also remember that when its
feet are held to the fire, the GOP can deliver. Recall that not
one caucus member voted for the health care bill. The ongoing
role of the Tea Parties should be to keep Republican feet in the
fire, not in working to send neophytes — like Barack Obama — to
Washington. All lovers of our nation and our Constitution should
insist that Republicans stand up for the conservative
plank they advance; one that sounds very much like the
Contract from America:
Republicans will uphold and defend our party’s core
principles: Constrain the federal government to its legitimate
constitutional functions. Let it empower people, while limiting
its reach into their lives. Spend only what is necessary, and
tax only to raise revenue for essential government functions.
Unleash the power of enterprise, innovation, civic energy, and
the American spirit, and never pretend that government is a
substitute for family or community.
