TEA Party 'downgraded' or is it just liberal wishful thinking?

Maybe Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) is correct; maybe the DebtCeiling Battle will downgrade the effectiveness of the TEA Party in the future. If so, that’s only because the mischaracterizations of liberal politicians and their lap-dog media will win the Public Relations Battle that has ensued following last week’s settlement of the debt ceiling crisis.

For me, nothing will change. I believe in the mission I share with the TEA Party and I’ll give up on that battle when the blood runs cold in my veins and my heart beats its last.

TEA Party people tend to be more conservative and, hence, are often more closely aligned with the Republican Party. This isn’t the case for all TEA Party members, but it works well here as I point out that the symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant, a creature renowned for its long, long memory. TEA Party members certainly seem to have that in common with the symbol of the Grand Old Party.

We remember the meaning of liberty and the lessons our Fore Fathers shared about the importance of limiting the power of government. We remember that it was both Republicans and Democrats who spent us into this current hole. We also remember that Democrats are more aptly considered the greater spendocrats of the bunch.

We remember how, contrary to Nancy ‘Ole Plastic Puss’ Pelosio’s railings about the need to focus on jobs, that the first two years of Obama’s presidency, when his party controlled both houses of Congress, jobs took a back seat to a nationalized health care program that treats the constitution like nothing more than a political inconvenience.

It’s funny, for the first two years of his term, Obama and his cronies (inside and outside of the media) have sought to put all the blame for our financial plight on the shoulders of George W. Bush. Now, I’m not to happy with some of the latter decisions Bush made. But, I couldn’t help but notice that most of the dramatic increase in government spending during his administration took place after the Democrats took control of Congress.

Now that our nation’s credit rating has been downgraded for what I believe is the first time in our history, suddenly the man in the White House is just an innocent victim of TEA Party vitriol. In fact, rather than shift the blame to Congress, or even to the opposing party, these miscreants are actually putting the blame on a small segment of the opposing party and their supporters.

The truth is, the problem wasn’t that freshman TEA Party representatives refused to support the increase in the national debt. The problem was that all the other people in Congress, all of those who voted for the bill, apparently refused to admit that a financial crisis was afoot that required a change in fiscal course; it required a change in the way Congress and the president conducted business.

The TEA Party members saw this. They also saw that the debt ceiling crisis was one of the few occasions when they would have the ability to influence how the country handles its books, at least until 2012. There was no way that they could have forced their fellow leaders to honestly consider our debt crisis unless the TEA Party faction took a stand at a critical moment.

It’s true that I don’t like the deal that was worked out. It’s also true that, unlike many of my fellow TEA Party members, I urged my TEA Party congressman to vote for the deal.  I know, that’s a bit like what the entrenched politicians do – compromising on principal for political reasons.

For me, I view the situation tactically and strategically. From a tactical perspective, standing their ground was the only choice. From a strategic perspective, I worried in advance about the illicit war Kerry, his political ilk and their lap-dog media would wage. I knew then, as I know now, that an Obama victory in 2012 represents virtually the end of America as we know it.

That’s quite a statement and not one I throw around lightly. It’s also a statement I deeply believe.

At the same time, I also realize that the Kerrys of this country have sought to destroy the TEA Party from its inception. There is nothing they would like more than to see it ‘downgraded.’ So, like I said, Kerry might be right, or it might just be another case of liberal wishful thinking.