With thousands of Americans losing their jobs every day and with thousands more growing desperate in looking for viable source of living, People are beginning to lose their patience and are directly blaming the government for such chaos. The massive frustration of Americans towards the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress will surely be evident during the upcoming Midterm elections this November. The Tea Party Movement rose out of these frustrations and is now telling the government that the voices of the American population must be heard. In order to fully understand the movement, Editor of “The Bipartisan Bridge”, Bradford Kane, talks about the four major characteristics that the party is focusing this November.
Fiscal Responsibility
It is quite evident that the Tea Party came into existence because of the growing concerns of people towards the rapid federal spending, the ballooning national debt, the continuous rise of the budget deficit, the unreasonable taxes and the capital infusions of banks and automobile manufacturers. Despite of the stimulus package that gave financial assistance to banks and large institutions enabling them to recover and avoid any further damage, it is still unfair for people that much of the package was only benefiting these large businesses while millions of families still suffer today. As long as there is excessive spending done by the government which contributes to more deficits and debts, the Tea Party will continue to dwell on these issues and criticize the priorities of the government.
Role of the Government
As seen from these fiscal issues, the Tea Party strongly considers reducing the scope of the federal government. A smaller government is what the movement is proposing. Many of its supporters would like the Federal government to limit its focus on defense and other international issues. They want the states themselves to handle it instead. In this way, the Federal government can focus more on more important matters such as propelling the economy. Also, the party is strongly objecting two of the government’s fundamental social responsibility roles – providing social safety-net and regulating industries which have direct impacts on safety, health, environment, consumer protection, justice and the economy.
Anger
As seen in numerous Tea Party victories in various Republican primaries, many Tea Party votes were cast to protest the status quo. They strongly rejected Republicans who were not firmly opposed to the economic stimulus and health care and financial industry reforms. Whether experienced or not, Tea Party candidates have a common denominator where they did not hold offices which would have saddled them to the ugly economy of the past three years.
Demonization
As the Tea Party gained strength and influence, it also became an outlet for resentments and malevolence that plagued America in 2010. The movement was hijacked by those determined enough to use it to spread the word about anti-immigration, racism, anti-gay, and anti-Islamic sentiments. Although it diverts from the original scope of the Tea Party, the Tea Party itself acknowledges the demonization of demographic groups in society. Leaders of the group often focused on Pres. Obama, the Immigration law and issues with regards to Muslims.
