STARVE THE FEDS

Do we have reason to fear our ruling class of politicians? Certainly, we do. The attempts to paint the Tea Party movement as racist haven risen in number again. The old news regarding the free pass given to the Philadelphia area Black Panther Party hasn’t been washed away in obscurity. Now it appears that the President is OK with assassinating his enemies with no trial, even if they are U.S. Citizens off the battlefield? Arizona is being sued not only by the federal government in court but also in the scathing and seething opposition it has received in the battle for public opinion. I don’t raise eyebrows for politics as usual anymore, but what about for politics taken to the next level?

Public opinion is pretty much everything. Whether you are a musician trying to make it in the entertainment industry, or a corporation trying to sell a product, or a politician trying to cover himself up, marketing the message is everything. Case in point – when the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Two Towers” was released in 2002, there were those that objected to the title of the movie due to the 9/11 aftermath sensitivity, despite the fact the book was written a generation earlier. If the media message succeeded in pressuring the filmmakers to change the movie title’s name, it wouldn’t have mattered what anyone else thought. You could have had all the 9/11 families release a statement showing that they weren’t offended by a movie title, and it would have meant nothing in the face of media.

Therefore, in today’s politics, truth takes a backseat to the public message and public opinion nine times out of ten. Marketing isn’t everything (see “Crystal Pepsi”), but public sway can be. It always boils down to the people. Nowadays, it’s whether people want to make the effort to dispute or question what they are being told in media and advertising.

Those who wish the Tea Party to be branded as a bunch of racists have repeatedly attempted to do so since the movement started to have a real impact. The tactics used are deceiving – Michael Moore style propaganda, opinions given by prominent liberal talking heads on national TV (however loosely tied to the fact that opinion may be), or just by flat out lying about how we were on the wrong end of a recreated “civil rights” movement on Capitol Hill during a Tea Party protest. It doesn’t seem to matter that Andrew Breitbart has offered $100,000 to anyone who can prove someone from that Tea Party protest engaged in any racist behavior, and that no one has come forward. The stigma can still dog us and cause us to use our time defending ourselves when we should be on offense exposing politicians for who they truly are.

Conservatives can use the same tactics to strike back at the liberals, or we can take the higher road and hope enough voters will hop on board along with us. As for me, I will use this time and space for defense from my point of view, and then it’s offense from now on. Wasting time deflecting lies will only cause us to lose momentum.

First of all, I can’t stand racists from any side of the spectrum. So when any accusation of racism is used, you better have facts to back it up. If I’m going to take the road of truth rather than slinging mud back at the liars, then the line of truth must be drawn.

First premise – Tea Parties are NOT racist as a group. Big government is the catalyst, not the President’s skin color. As for me, my heart dropped when the big TARP bailout was voted on – McCain, Obama, George W. Bush – they ALL favored it even when the American people were screaming for them to stop. Whites, blacks, Democrats, Republicans, doesn’t matter – the stupid law was passed by all races, creeds, and political party in September 2008. The Tea Party started after we realized that Obama was no different. Many of us paused hoping Obama’s promise of hope and change meant an end to the bailouts and the start of something that made sense, even if we disagreed with his politics. The “Stimulus Plan” that was passed without being read put a stop to that hope, and we reacted quickly. If the problem was caused by people in general, then the reaction is based on the problem caused by the said people in general. I don’t care what the hell color you are.

Second premise – Due to the Tea Party movement’s general lack of national structure, then it is expected that bad things can happen within its ranks. If there is no defined leader to condemn the wrongdoing, then that creates a vulnerabilty; a leadership black hole that allows racists to come out of the woodwork and leech onto the Tea Party to gain some sort of credibility. Possibly, maybe they were hoping the racist accusations made by the lying left were correct, and were trying to stand up for themselves, who knows? The Tea Party certainly varies in viewpoints – for example, those that refuse to allow God versus those who make God the focal point. There are also those who believe in infiltrating the current political parties versus others that want to create a political party of their own. There are also those who are more fringe than others (9/11 conspiracy junkies, militia types, overly judgmental religious zealots of any faith). There is no overall platform, no matter what national tea party organization that tries to seize public media and claim themselves as the voice of the Tea Party attempt to tell you. Therefore, as with any group of people, you’ll have your crazies. I know I denounce racists, as well as millions of others, publicly and privately, so there you have it. If the other side wants to ante up with more propaganda and misinformation, then hopefully that shows Americans who they truly are, and why they have to rely on anything that has nothing to do with honest debate, purposeful and serious quests for serious answers, and trying to unite under some concepts even if they don’t agree on the methodology.

I don’t want war, and fortunately, it’s unnecessary. However, there is no denying the political storm brewing, and I fear for the consequences. I helped welcome my new niece to the world earlier this morning; how would anyone explain our current situation to her? Would she have to learn the hard way at an age too young to fully grasp why things are the way they are? Would she allow herself to be manipulated by mainstream opinion, despite her parents’ attempts to have her think for herself? Political storms are a ticking time bomb. The consequences are deadly when life is completely disregarded. Ditto for the disregard for what is right in favor of what is easy.