Enter 2008... People are pissed off about George Bush, the economy, the wars and everything else. Out of this frustration, a political climate is set for atypical politicians that don't come off as average lawmakers and voila, Barack Obama is elected president based off his popularity and themes of change and hope. He supported large hundreds of billions of dollar in initiatives such as the bailout and the stimulus package. Upon his election, his first major domestic agenda he decided to work on was health care. Not too long after, a little something called the Tea Party Movement emerged due to the growing unpopularity and outrage against these matters Obama had passed and attempting to pass in health care reform; something that may or may not happen this weekend. While I share a few of the organization's political and fiscal statements, here's why I'm very reluctant to engage myself with the organization and its cause...
1. No room for moderates
It's no secret that Tea Party organization members despise anything that isn't completely conservative. There goes my support from the organization based on my views on immigration, education and climate change. Despite my pro-life stance, fiscal conservative views and small-government-works-best-mentality, I'm not sure they'd reconcile with me on my ideas of universal access to education and comprehensible amnesty or my belief that the Earth is warming from human carbon emissions.
2. Audience connection
I was in Washington D.C. for the September 12th Tea Party protests at the Capitol. No; really, I was there in the crowd with some of the interns I was staying in DC with. What a sight. I liked all the "don't tread on me" flags; I can connect to that message about telling the government to back off. I'll tell you this though, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I was a dark-skinned young moderate Hispanic man in an audience full of white middle-aged conservative men with their wives and infant children. There was little to no diversity found in this audience. The Tea Party movement makes frequent statements on why their views are best for the people of the country, yet the organization is hardly a snapshot of the very American people they claim to represent. I'd need to see more diversity within the organization before I can feel they are an embodiment of what is truly best for the country.
3. "Birthers"
I'm not a fan of Barack Obama and this administration, but for some people to question Barack Obama's religion, place of birth or national allegiance is pretty low; even to me. First, that's his business and if his policies are horrible, they're simply bad ideological stances; nothing more. I sense a hint of xenophobia in the Tea Party Movement as I'm sure many of us do as well. To question these things show a sense of insecurity in trusting someone based on what social groups they belong to. I'm huge on Martin Luther King Jr's dream where he believed a man should be judged by his character; not his color. I don't have to disguise my dislike of the current administration behind claims of the president's background; I judge and criticize him by his character and his methodologies as President.
Again, I believe that small government works best. I believe government has become too big. I believe government should take far more responsibility in how it spends tax dollars. I believe that much of Obama's agenda are rooted in socialism. I also believe lobbying in government has led to forms of corporatism in our government system and economy. Do I believe the Tea Party Movement represents the American nation and its best interests? Ehh.. I'm not yet convinced.
Keeping it 100,
David Javier Solis
