Political Parties

Neither political party in the United States is popular, and for good reason. The Republicans failed to keep themselves under control when it came to spending, the size of government, and corruption. In 2008, they got scared and suppored a group of centrist Republicans (Romney, Giuliani, Huckabee) and one moderate conservative McCain. Conservatives were frustrated and did not come with the energy as they did in 2004. Moderates swung strongly for the charismatic Obama and his promise of change. Most believed the country was going in the wrong direction, so why not vote for change?

Well now moderates realize they don't like the change. Conservatives are infuriated at the radical Obama agenda and have come with energy less than a year after getting crushed. Instead of supporting the alternative Republican Party, they formed a grassroots movement, known as the Tea Party in relation to the tossing of British Tea off ships in Boston Harbor way back when. At that time, Americans despised the fact they could only buy British Tea, choice was taken away. They were angry at taxation without representation. Finally, they were angry that the British Government was so distant and out of touch, they could not represent their interests.

Today's Tea Party is not quite the same but some similarities are there. It is anti-centralized government. It is about economic freedom in terms of choice when it comes to Healthcare and other sectors controlled by the government. GM and Chrysler are beginning to resemble the East India Trading Company. Government involvement in commerce is in direct contradiction to the beliefs of our Founding Fathers. It is one of the reasons they rebelled. They were angry at taxes, something that is going to rise under Obama and perhaps even more so in the future to pay off the debt. Obama has not used military force or police power but instead uses the softer left-leaning media, journalists, and hollywood to shame conservatives into thinking they are racist, sexist, stupid, radical, knuckle-dragging idiots who hate the poor. Not to mention they are all white, rich, and Evangelicals. At last, Washington D.C. is clearly out of touch. The Congress demographically does not resemble the U.S. as a whole. The people living in that area certainly do not (90% voted for Obama). The media elite do not. In fact, Washington D.C. is basically a fish bowl. How can a fish bowl on the east coast govern a country of 310 million people?

The people are angry. In this atmosphere they might actually protest, contribute time and money to the cause, and God forbid VOTE against the incumbents.

Tea Partiers still don't like the Republican Party and for good reason. I have found numerous examples of the national party getting involved in local elections, trying to find the candidate they think is "most electable" and "friendly to the agenda of the party". That is not what Tea Partiers want. They want independent-minded candidates, conservative, and yes a little extreme in their ideas. Extreme because the status quo has shifted so far in the other extreme (socialism) that only a extreme response will return us to any kind of equilibrium or better yet, an actual free market. Party-backed candidates are just well-known, well-financed, and experienced politicians. Most have no relation to the ideas and sentiment of the Tea Party movement and only want to take advantage of the momentum to gain office.

A good goal for Tea Partiers is to go head-to-head with party-backed candidates in all primaries and blow them out of the water. It won't be long before the Tea Party Movement has a major voice in the party, and the establishment politicians are forced out. The new guard must be brought in and the old guard retired. It is hard to win back independents and lost conservatives when you have the same leaders from 2004-2006. People like Michael Steele, John Boehner, and Mitch McConnell need to be replaced.

If the Republicans nominate a moderate candidate, it should not be discouraging or press people to find a third candidate. Better a spineless centrist Republican for one term then a socialist democrat. Vote for him in November but make sure you find a real conservative to challenge him in the next primary. In my opinion, incumbents should be challenged in primaries as much as possible. Primaries should be very competitive and active. This strong lean toward incumbents needs to stop. The American political system needs to change its approach, from centralized partisan establishment to decentralized popular systems. When Congress performs poorly, we should not become apathetic and refuse to vote as some form of protest. That is like quitting your job instantly because you didn't get a raise. Now your not making any money. You don't show up for work, you won't get paid. You want a higher salary, look for a new job.

There are many Republicans I wish were not in office right now and wish they would be challenged by better candidates. The political party is a mechanism used to better represent our interests in the federal government. We should not take the perspective of the political party and hope the Republicans "absorb" the Tea Party Movement so they can succeed. I don't care so much that the Republican Party is successful, I care more that the right policies are implemented.