‘Radical’ Tea Party Alive and Well

Over the last decade, many Americans were becoming more and more discontent with the growth of government and the growing national debt to fund it. Starting at the end of 2008, the increase in size, scope and spending of the government went into overdrive. The federal government bailed out large corporations and Wall Street banks because they were “too big to fail”. The federal government passed the nearly $1 Trillion Recovery Act, also known as the Stimulus Bill, which was supposed to immediately stimulate the economy with “shovel-ready” jobs. And behind closed doors, the White House and Congress started formulating a monstrous healthcare “reform” bill called the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which would give the government unprecedented control over individuals’ healthcare. On this 2800-page behemoth bill, the Speaker of the House at the time stated “we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it,” which shocked many because it should be the opposite.

Under this environment, hundreds of thousands of Americans spontaneously banded together in 2009 forming thousands of Tea Party groups across the United States. The basic core values of these groups were Free Markets, Limited Government and Fiscal Responsibility – values that were the foundation in the creation of the United States. In September 2009, the Tea Party held a massive march on Washington D.C. and in the mid-term elections of 2010, the Tea Party was instrumental in causing the largest turnover of U.S. Representatives in 75 years.

Of course, the ruling class in Washington D.C. was not going to sit idly and let these naive American individuals derail their plans to take more control, reward their friends and reward themselves. Democrat and Republican politicians, along with their friends in the media, went on a campaign to demonize the Tea Party in order to marginalize them. They spent months calling the Tea Party radical, violent, wacko and even racists. The Internal Revenue Service, the most intimidating organization in the US, targeted the Tea Party groups to divert their time, resources and limited financial assets which could have otherwise been spent to educate people and promote their core values.

The efforts by the ruling class were somewhat successful, but the Tea Party is alive and well today. There are still thousands of active Tea Party groups across the US, including in Blue Bell and throughout the Philadelphia area. Many Tea Party groups have turned more focus toward local and state issues where individual voices carry more weight than big lobbyists. Also, instead of just having large rallies, Tea Party groups have become savvy in social media, lobbying, research analysis and even writing legislation. The Tea Party is working smarter to bring back the values of free markets, limited government and fiscal responsibility in America – the foundation that brought the greatest prosperity and liberty to the broadest range of people in the history of the world.

Speaking of history, let’s look at results of the government policies that the Tea Party vehemently opposed in 2009:

• The corporations and banks that were bailed out are even bigger now and more closely tied to the government, meaning bigger tax payer bailouts will be likely in the future.
• The Recovery Act, also known as the Stimulus Bill, failed to reduce the unemployment rate as promised – the unemployment rate actually rose above 10% and still has not recovered. In 2010, Joe Biden held cross-country rallies celebrating the “Summer of Recovery” - we are now in the third summer hoping for a recovery with $1 Trillion less in our pockets.
• The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has become very unaffordable – health care costs have skyrocketed since it was passed and the impact to the national debt has spiraled up. Not to mention, the IRS will soon start forcing individuals to buy insurance policies that beltway bureaucrats define, whether one wants it or not. The predictions to the quality of care under this law are dire, and both Republican and Democrat politicians have called Obamacare a “train wreck”. 

• The above items along with other government expansion fueled record annual federal deficits of about $1.5 Trillion per year. The national debt is now $17 Trillion and growing – equivalent to $53,500 for every American man, woman and child.

Maybe the instincts of the ‘radical’ individuals that participate in the Tea Party were correct.