Responses to The Tea Parties essay

The following comments were in response to my posting: The Tea Parties
Latest response:
I just got the time to read the whole article. I am always fascinated with the lefts obsession with Glenn Beck, Rush, FOX News and the Tea Party.
I am history major as you know and I am thoroughly convinced progressivism is a disease that needs to be cured or at least the Keynesian economics system needs to be put to bed. It simply does not work. Problem is the left/liberals/progressives/socialist/communist/democratic party looks at government as god. No accountability, no winners or losers just lower the standard/bar for excellence. I grew up in a family with a long list of Democrats, as my father said the Democratic Part left him not the other way around, the ideals of the Democratic party almost go against everything I know as good for America. I respect your opinion and know you have life experience that have molded your view in the ideals of the democratic party because it is generational- Democratic Party is not the same as it was 30-40 years ago. I do not follow the Republican party mantra\ dogma either. Both political parties have their warts and I will condemned stupid Republicans as fast as I would a Democrat. In my opinion and historically the left is far more dangerous than the right -union and mob style tactics of social activists are the racist and bigots. We can spar back and forth on that statement and neither will win that debate. The bottom line, the elite political classes of both parties are the true enemy of democracy. They both feed on power-- look no farther than Bob Etheridge, I personally known him and supported him-- wants to hold on power no matter what- wasting money on hand recount is just dumb-you cannot seriously defend his actions and statements. I believe in the symbolism of Cincinnatis- step down and move on. The agenda of Democrats is to patronage all of us into looking at the federal government as the solution to everyday problems which in turns takes away simple pleasures and freedom- the slippery slope as we say. Another point is demonizing capitalism, the rich and calling Republicans racist is getting old and I believe the American people are now seeing the true agenda of President Obama and left wing of the Democratic Party-- seeing now the Tea Party winning in the past election now they( Democrats ) want to compromise, slip to the middle/moderate their tones now- all a big game in politics of deceit, lies and spin. That is why we need liberals/ moderates and conservatives to keep each other in check and to read and listen to other media perspectives. I listen/watch to MSNBC, NPR , FOX and CNN and read news articles posted by NY Times/Washington Post and etc when I have time. I look at the different spins on the simplest of truths and sometimes just laugh--- I just do not believe all I read and hear as well-- truth is somewhere in the middle.

On the Ground Zero Mosque- I truly believe it is a victory mosque and the left is falling or is just blinded or is frighten into submission in the radical Islamic agenda. No problem with mosque built somewhere else and if the left-wing /so call media would report on the Greek Orthodox Church at ground zero with all it's permit problems and try to help it as well. One religion got a free ride over another- which is wrong.

I did not get to Social Justice, Healthcare and immigration.

Thanks, ( )
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Cornell, you are my bother in Christ and a friend. What I am about to write is in my view objective and not personal. I offer these thoughts with respect.The tea parties threaten both Republicans and Democrats. They may benefit the GOP this time but it would be foolish to take comfort in short term gains. Obama had the right campaign idea, Change, but he has failed to instigate change in the business of governance. His stimulus was pork distribution. The health care bill was business as usual political trade offs and exaggerations. Before Obama, the Bush administration cut taxes but then overspent. The tax cuts actually increased revenues as designed but the money was wasted and the deficit soared.The clear result of the past two administrations is that people have lost faith in government. The reason that the tea party candidates are winning is that they are not business as usual. They are not being elected because they are perceived as good leaders but because they are anti-establishment. For these reasons, both parties are afraid. The GOP is trying to cozy up hope for some advantage and the Dems are in full attack. Your essay is a perfect example of the attack. You use words like extremism, "hysteria of unfounded doubt, hate, and fear."I would argue that the doubt is hardly unfounded nor is it hysterical. And where is the evidence for "hate?" The issue is spending. It is not irrational to fear the debt and the spending and therefore to doubt leaders who tell us that it is not a problem. The level of debt and the rate of spending is a problem which will not go away. The economic recovery, such as it is, is telling us that. The politicians of both parties are beholden to special interest groups whose objective is to gain from the US Treasury either money or advantage so that they can get or keep more money. No problem with this as long as the effect is positive for the entire country. But that is part of the controversy.There are many opinions you express with which I disagree. One example: You denounce Glenn Beck for advising listeners to run from a church which preaches or practices social justice. What is social justice? It is, if anything, an ill-defined political concept on which politicians can hang whatever ideas they can convince others to accept. It is like "tolerance" which is high-sounding but empty in practice. Social justice is not a theological concept, much less a Christian concept. I do not accept that it was the principle message of MLK,Jr. Wasn't his message Biblical? We are all brothers and neighbors in the same way that Jesus used the words.Social justice carries with it the burden of such political ideas as "income equality." You provide a chart "Who saw the most income growth?" The problem with such data is that it is accurate for "statistical groupings" such as the pie chart illustrates. I have no reason to doubt its accuracy. However, they are very misleading. The US Treasury tracks income by individual as well as by group which results in a very different result. For example. The income of individuals who were in the bottom 20% in 1996 rose by 91% by 2005. The income of those in the top 20% in 1996 rose by only 10% by 2005 and those in the top 5 & 1% actually declined. The clear implication is that the US economy is still full of opportunity. Here is the hard saying I must tell you, Cornell. I thought that your objective in your writing was to lower the voices. Yet, you are exceptionally critical of Limbaugh and Beck, Palin and Gingrich, etc. But aren't you following suite? Read your essay again. The clear meaning is that conservatives are wrong and mean-spirited. Your occasional sop to the right is not very convincing. Your essay, I hate to say, is one long rant against the right. I would just ask you what your purpose is. What are you trying to accomplish? Who is your audience? Just as Glenn Beck will win no converts from the left, nor will you, dear friend, win any from the right.

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Hello Cornell:

This was a well thought out article you wrote. Thank you, it forced me to think of some things I had just let go by. I am printing a copy that I will be able to think on in sections later. You are a most thoughtful and caring individual----keep up the work!
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Good article, Cornell. The antics and scare techniques of the Tea Parties are dangerous, at best. It is a spiritual truth that we get what we think about, for thoughts are things (energy). The negative energy pouring from Tea Party advocates and many Republicans in general, in their haste to denounce President Obama and the Democrats is shameful, and deeply concerning to me.

Keep on writing!
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Oh my brother, thank you for putting into words what I feel and think,however I am unable to so eloquently put those thoughts and feeling into speech and writing. In whatever way I can, I am with you...fear isdangerous when organized against the highest good of godly morals andethics. Like the people of Israel who quickly built themselves anIdol/Image to worship. (of course the "Back to Egypt Group). They wereafraid/scared because they thought they had lost their leader; that isMoses. Alike you and I know what happened because of this one act thatdeveloped into Idolatry and destruction of corrupt political andreligious leaders. The "Tea Partiers" are developed by fear rootage thathas been known in history as Civil Disorder and Anarchy (Think this isthe right word) Like Hitler the Tea Partiers are building on prejudices,fear and lies/distorted truth. What then came out of a Hitler Mentality?Thank you for your best work based in Biblical Truth: "do justice, lovekindess and walk humbly with God" The prophet Micah teaches that if weconfess our disobedience to God/rejection of God and turn back to God wecan change our future!Well that's enough from someone who doesn't understand much,right on brother.
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Cornell,
Thank you for the thoughtful analysis and summary of today's well financed misrepresentation of the facts behind the struggle that the Congress is having to do progressive things for America in its most trying time.
Cornell, you are to be congratulated for putting this "thought paper together" and to share it with us.
My own rational is to read everything I can to attempt to see where we will end up.
Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, but it is better than all the rest".
Or "Nobody ever said Democracy is efficient".
Unfortunately, the Democratic Congressmen are all doing whatever is necessary to be reelected.
As Lauch Faircloth said, as Secretary of Commerce in the '70's, as he introduced a Federal official at a business conference in Raleigh, "Now, there is one who is really in the public trough".
My own opinion is that we will get what we deserve in the Mid Term Elections. That's Democracy, though it is being effected by large amounts of money, but like a pendulum. It goes back and forth, but comes back to the middle.
It is unfortunate, but in my opinion, the voices versus Obama are basically motivated by racism, though many do not want that label.
Additionally, I think that if we did not have programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, we would have Revolution.
So, I will vote for Bob Etheridge and Elaine Marshall and take what comes after.
What goes around comes around.
Again, thanks.
Your friend,