Tea Partiers Sacrificing the Economy for Political Gains

Like every other person in the United States, I am tired of hearing about the debt talks non-stop on every major news channel. It has become such a frustrating process, and many including myself are wondering if a deal will ever be reached.

What makes these particular debt talks so newsworthy is Congress' failure to agree on a plan within a reasonable amount of time. Many are pointing fingers at the GOP and their refusal to sacrifice anything.

During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan was able to successfully raise the debt ceiling numerous times without much difficulty in gaining bipartisan support. Although a stalwart conservative, Reagan was able to compromise with the Democrats after difficult but civil negotiations.

As a USA today article put it, "Reagan made concessions, both to Democrats and to reality, because he realized that by giving a little he could gain a lot. That's generally how politics is supposed to work."

In other words, Reagan was aware that you can't do everything at once, and that you must not only work with the opposition, but respect them.

Like Reagan, President Barack Obama has clearly illustrated that he is willing to compromise, stating in a recent weekly address that he will "cut domestic spending in order to help solve this country's debt crisis."

Unfortunately, many conservative politicians, in particular Tea Partiers, fail to follow Reagan's example.

They refuse to budge and at least attempt to compromise with the president and the Democrats, and they have stated several times that they will not support ANY tax increases, even those on the wealthiest Americans who can afford a tax hike.

While Republican leaders have every right to disagree with the president on his policies, they need to negotiate with him, respect him, and have a genuine desire for him to succeed.

Refusing to compromise and negotiate with the president is not putting the country's best interests first. If Congress cannot reach a deal by Aug. 2, the federal government will go into default, which many people say will devastate the U.S. economy and cause "panic to grip the markets."

Tea Partiers need to start caring more about the economic stability and future of this country than advancing their party's platform because as Obama said in his weekly address on July 16, "we all share the same country and we are all in this together."