In the past week, I have read two full-length letters attempting to educate us on the Tea Party movement. Unfortunately, I find myself feeling like I just ate two puffed-oat wafers - vacuously empty and unfulfilled from the experience.
We are told, almost identically, of the Tea Party’s support for “the principles defined in the Constitution of the United States; those of a limited federal government, fiscal responsibility in government, a free market and personal freedom.” One of the letters mentions “low taxes,” which marks the only minor difference in the two.
My observation would be this: dealing in abstractions and concepts, especially those with nearly universal appeal, does little to give readers insight into this “movement.” Where are the realities - the actual goals and concrete positions that the party backs? A few examples:
1. Does stricter constitutional adherence and fiscal responsibility imply a desire to reduce or eliminate government entitlement programs that comprise the majority of spending and size - specifically, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?
2. For the same reasons as above, does the Tea Party movement favor a reduction in military capability and expenditure in line with the constitutional intent - to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies (e.g., no nation-building)?
3. On the topic of personal freedoms, does this imply an alignment with the ACLU and the repeal of the Patriot Act? Does it include supporting gay marriage?
4. On fiscal responsibility, does the Tea Party favor a constitutional amendment to require “pay-go,” and elimination of fiscal deficits going forward?
These are only a few of the real, tangible issues that would enable the public to judge the Tea Party movement by position, rather than the near verbatim recall of “motherhood, baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet.”
W. Gavin Fredericks
Prestwick Drive, LaGrange
Tom McLaughlin