Last Thursday millions of Americans showed up to Tea Party rallies across the nation to demonstrate their grievances against and frustration with the federal government. The locally organized Tea Parties were a tremendous success. The Wall Street Journal reported many locations saw a dramatic increase in turnout. Tea Parties, which began little over one year ago, are now a national movement to be reckoned with as many political pundits analyze their potential impact in the upcoming midterm elections. Even former governor Tommy Thompson used the event to announce he was not going to be running for Senate.
As their popularity with mainstream Americans has grown however, unfortunately so to have the smears from the left. Tea Party protesters are often referred to by the left as ""Tea baggers."" While this disparaging term is meant to describe a sexual act and ultimately gets childish laughs from a few, it clearly demonstrates the lack of ideas and solutions the left has to offer. Tea Partiers are showing up to show their dissatisfaction with the way Washington is being run and with the size and power of federal government, and often times all that is heard from the other side are hateful vitriolic pejoratives which in no way contribute to a principled debate. Tea Partiers are regularly called by many on the left, including some in the media, terms which have no basis in fact nor can be substantiated with any proof as they focus on demographics and racial issues rather than the issues the Tea Party rallies bring up.
The most popular unsubstantiated attack from many on the left seems to be that Tea Partiers are just racist Obama haters. While it's true most Tea Party members disagree with many of President Obama's policies, he alone is not the target of their frustration and there is yet to be one audio recording, video recording, or photograph that proves a racist sentiment exists in the movement. While surely anyone who brings a racist sign or shouts a racist slur should be excoriated and rejected, political nut jobs exist on both sides of the aisle and do not represent the views of a movement as a whole.
Despite these criticisms, Tea Party members continue to protest what they see as a federal government which is getting to big too fast. Despite popular belief, according to a New York Times poll only half of Tea Party members see taxes as a big concern. Instead, they see Washington reverting back to the politics as usual atmosphere Democrats promised to erase. They see our national deficit which President Obama promised to cut in half continuing to grow at alarming rates. They see an unsustainable national debt which endangers our economy, our dollar, and our way of life. They see an economy which was supposed to be the number one item on the agenda, but has thus far been largely ignored. They see a health-care bill which was passed with the help of backroom deals despite an overwhelming majority of Americans against it. These are just some of the issues Tea Party members consider important. It is time for the left to stop the hateful rhetoric and start offering real solutions to the problems our country faces.
Tea Parties across the nation, contrary to what many on the left say, are offering a plethora of these solutions to problems our country faces. One example of this is the Contract from America which is being supported by many organizations including the Tea Party. This document, which resembles the 1994 Contract with America, puts forward 10 ideas that the federal government should act upon within the first year of taking office. It lays out everything from ideas on energy reform to balancing the budget. Similar solutions have been put forward across the country with similar themes of smaller government, reductions in spending, and an emphasis on personal responsibility rather than government entitlements.
While many on the left continue to use hateful, malicious, derogatory rhetoric to slander members of the Tea Party, the movement will continue to grow and have an influence in American politics. As one Wall Street Journal poll points out, more Americans have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party than they do of both the Democrat and Republican parties. Although the strategy of smearing and besmirching by many on the left isn't necessarily a new one, its effectiveness is beginning to wear out. It's time Democrats offer their solutions to the problems this country faces and have a substantive principled debate on the issues rather than using hateful rhetoric to marginalize opposition.
Matt Payne is a sophomore intending to major in Chinese and economics. Please send responses to opinion@cardinal.com
