Dear Editor:

It would appear that Mr. Mike Smith on Lincoln Street has at last found himself a like-minded pen pal to bash the Tea Party movement and its members and those who support the movement.

It appears that Mr. Smith in all his infinite wisdom may have finally broken through their - what was it he called it? - “propaganda code.” How does he do it? Maybe it’s being surrounded by all those old oak trees on Lincoln Street, aka his great-great-grandparents.

My suggestion to the Tea Party members is that at your next rally, be careful who you give your decoder rings to, get you a password and don’t use “fiscal responsibility” anymore, because, according to Mr. Smith, it means you’re selfish with your money and don’t want the government confiscating your paychecks and redistributing it to welfare programs. It doesn’t matter that more than 60 percent of the government’s budget goes to social programs. The majority of that is people who can’t even spell “job.”

How about “free market?” No, that is your code word for “record profits” and those greedy corporations. Mr. Smith knows that all you tea-baggers are knee-deep in stocks, especially those health insurance companies, who show only a 2 percent profit margin.

Ditch “limited government.” You don’t care that 45,000 people died last year because they didn’t have health-care insurance. 45,000, really? Do you and your Huffington Post bloggers have a counter or maybe someone posted at all the hospitals who keeps tabs of these things? But, hey, 45,000 out of 30 million insured (what we’re told) - that is less than one one-thousandth of 1 percent. Not bad, if you ask me, since all one has to do in America is go to any hospital and be treated.

And, for goodness sake, do not use “personal freedom.” That might be interpreted as a little self-assurance that you don’t need the government making your day-to-day decisions about how to live your life. You should have know by now, in Mr. Smith’s words, that the government knows best. Hope and change, how soon you forget. Mr. Smith wants to move to Country Club Drive, but you stingy ol’ tea-baggers have all the money.

Mr. W. Gavin Fredericks, see if this can fill that empty, unfilled feeling. One thing the Tea Party knows is “as government expands, liberty contracts.” Ronald Reagan said that, and it still holds true today. And they know one other thing: the best thing for government to do right now in this hard economic downturn is to cut spending, taxes and get out of the way. Capitalism will take care of it. It worked for Reagan, and it will work now.

Mike Moses

Old Hutchinson Road, LaGrange