Why America should thank the tea party

There are two topics that will appear with some frequency in this blog and they overlap here: The TEA party phenomenon and the demise of the Chicago Tribune.

On Wednesday the Tribune’s Voice of the people section carried four anti-TEA party letters and one pro-TEA party letter. The negative letters featured the usual misrepresentations and the positive one was a weak effort. What was typical was the left wing bias as evidenced by the 4:1 ratio and the prominent placement of the negative letters complete with bullet points. The positive letter was last. Now this small sample does not prove my point but this is not an isolated example.

When the first Chicago TEA party rally was held in 2009 I attended. The well behaved crowd filled the Federal Plaza. I had a hard time seeing the speakers who delivered solid, intelligent speeches. They mostly represented grass roots organizations that have been doing good work for years: Americans for Prosperity and the Illinois Policy Institute. Arguments were laid out and solutions offered. There was no confusion as to what it was all about. The signs were clever and heart felt. I ran into Tribune columnist John Kass in the crowd, taking it all in. We had a short but interesting chat. He was greeted by lots of fans and he patiently and graciously accommodated them all.

That evening I eagerly watched the local newscasts. My blood began to boil as I watched one report featuring film of a nearly empty plaza, clearly hours before the rally and an anchor who “reported” that “dozens” of protesters had attended. The next day the Tribune buried the story on page 12 with the only quote coming from  Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky who found it “despicable and shameful” that citizens would actually engage in peaceful protests. I’m not sure how she came to these conclusions as she did not attend any of the rallies. John Kass wrote a positive column about his experience and of course that appeared on page 2, providing ironic contrast and offering proof of the Tribune’s bias.

While I’ve pretty much given up on the Trib I did what I’ve done for years: I submitted a letter to the editor.  I’ve had many printed over the years (some edited to the point of distorting my view) but a far greater number that didn’t make the cut. Now they also place a few in the online version where comments can be made. While I am required to use my real name the comments can be submitted by crackpots hiding behind aliases (see for yourself by following the link below).

The frustration this creates is one of the main reasons I decided to create this blog. I welcome readers to participate. I plan on expanding at some point to a full website platform and a special section will be reserved for Tribune. In the April 16th edition left wing columnist Eric Zorn wrote about attending the 2010 TEA party rally and being unable to discern what the attendees wanted. You can read it for free online. I find it funny that Eric admits he can’t figure this thing out. The mainstream media has tried  to ignore this movement and when it became clear it was growing and not going away they attempted to belittle it with charges of racism. Please.

My letter appears below. You can use the link to see the comments it generated. I did like the title they gave it so I’ve used it to headline this post. I have much more to say about the TEA party movement. Look for it in upcoming posts.

Pat Duggan

My letter as it appeared in the online Tribune:

Tribune readers / letter writers are mystified by the TEA Party activists and so is columnist Eric Zorn who attended the tax day rally. President Obama thinks we should be “saying thank you.” Allow me to explain.

• We opposed nationalized medicine when it was “Hillarycare”. We are not racists.
• We understand math. The unfunded liabilities of the current entitlement programs exceed $100 TRILLION. Adding another will not shrink the deficit or lower costs.
• We understand that the housing bubble was fueled by liberal housing policies that forced banks to give loans to the unqualified, distorting demand. This helped no one and harmed many.
• We are opposed to runaway government spending whether it is passed by Democrats or Republicans.
• We were not thrilled with many of the policies of the Bush administration-but when our only options were Al Gore or John Kerry we made a difficult but obvious choice.
• We know that when government grows from 21% of GDP to 25% with projections to hit 30% in a few years that taxes will necessarily increase for everyone accordingly.
• We know that passing this massive debt to future generations is immoral. We also know that the consequences of our ongoing policies will likely result in severe inflation and other economic nightmares before we pass the baton.

Now we’re fighting for better candidates who will defend the constitution and promote fiscal sanity. We push back against both the far left and the far right for common sense solutions. We reject socialism whether the creeping variety that began with FDR and the launch of the now bankrupt Social Security program or the current galloping version that is attempting to impose government control over private sectors one by one.

Patrick Duggan

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-100429duggan_briefs,0,867232.story

Welcome to CenterDebate

This blog / forum is dedicated to, and created for, those of us who can’t believe what is happening to our country. The drastic measures that marked the end of the Bush presidency have gone into overdrive under the Obama administration. What started as an attempt to prevent the meltdown of the financial markets, banking system and the economy as a whole has spun out of control into a concerted effort to remake our system of government. These recent developments are a wake-up call.

The creeping socialism that took hold during the FDR era, during another “crisis” that was used to frighten the citizenry into giving up their freedom, has now sped up to a gallop. The march has been incremental yet relentless. The power grab on display under the guise of health care “reform” is an outrage. Toxic policies can wreak havoc immediately or fester over time. Old and new deals are on a collision course. Time has run out.

“Ponzi” schemes can be kept afloat for a long time if you can keep the money flowing in. The duration of Bernie Madoff’s scam is still being uncovered. It likely lasted for decades. Social Security is just another pyramid, this one run by the US government and we are all victims with no choice but to participate. Nevertheless, the day of reckoning is here. The US government will officially pay out more in Social Security benefits this year than it takes in from FICA taxes. Even the New York Times concurs with this. That it is now running in the red on an annual budget basis is just the tip of the iceberg.

The unfunded liabilities, the promises made to all the workers over the decades is in excess of $14 TRILLION. (Source: www.usdebtclock.org ) There is no “trust fund”. Every penny you’ve paid into this system over the decades was spent immediately on something else. All this debt is in addition to the annual budget deficits and accumulated debt that the politicians are talking about. The unfunded liabilities related to Medicare dwarf the other figures, coming in at $75 TRILLION as I type (same source). Add it all up and we’re talking $108 TRILLION+.

This is a bipartisan mess. Over the years we’ve had Republican and Democrat Presidents and both parties have had their turn with majorities in Congress. They’ve debated issues large and small while passing this ticking time bomb on to the next congress, the next generation. Now they’ve decided to circumvent the debate process, just shoving through massive legislation without even reading it.

Why CenterDebate? Roughly a third of the people who actually bother to register and then vote self-identify as Democrats, another third as Republicans and the final third remain “independent”. This middle third, the center, is the swing vote that decides the national elections. Now,  these are estimates, and they change over time and they’ve changed quite a bit in the recent election cycles. The pendulum swings back and forth as one administration after another shirks their responsibilities. Neither party seems to get the message.

Will a third party emerge? Time will tell. Nothing is impossible. Right now it is imperative that the two major parties get the message. We are not going to be duped into bipartisan bickering when there is such an urgent fiscal situation. Politicians from the left and right would prefer to keep us occupied fighting each other while they protect their incumbencies, collect six figure salaries, wield clout and cater to their special interests. We get the tax bill and the growing debt. It’s time to fight a different political battle-against the political class and the growing monster that our government has become. I don’t care what your particular politics are. The math is very simple. The whole mess is unsustainable. Governments have collapsed throughout history and if we don’t learn those lessons-and apply them-the US will join a club we don’t want to be in.

Input is welcome. The mission is to create a dialogue that can cut through the deception. Let’s have the debate that our politicians refuse to have.

One rule:
No BS. You are entitled to your opinion but not your own facts.
Every attempt will be made to “fact check” this forum and lies, deceptions and myths will be culled with extreme prejudice.

The ultimate goal is not endless debate-it is real solutions, and impact at election time, this November and beyond. Important decisions need to be made. Crucial steps need to be taken. Let’s start by weeding out the incumbents and then insisting on better candidates at the primary level.

The 2012 elections begin now.

Pat Duggan