In Defense of Americans Participating in the Tea Parties
It's fun to watch liberals and Democrats give the Republican Party advice. It's as though no one notices that they're liberals and Democrats, and therefore have little interest in seeing our party succeed.
It's with this in mind that I've noticed a number of "analysts" giving advice to the Republican Party to distance itself from the Americans choosing to speak out against high taxes and intrusive government through the Tea Party movement.
My response to that advice: thanks, but no thanks. Americans who are concerned about skyrocketing taxes, unsustainable debt, and wasteful government spending have a natural home in the Republican Party and they are welcome.
Politics is about addition. Yet here's the advice one Berkeley professor offered our party in a San Francisco Chronicle story this weekend:
"I don't see where reaching out to the tea party people helps. That's the fringe of the far right," he said. "They need to reach out to the decline-to-state voters in the middle."
"The fringe of the far right?"
Really?
I've been active in the conservative movement for twenty years, including in think tanks, taxpayer groups, and of course the Republican Party. The modern tea party movement has activated hundreds of thousands of Americans who are not "the fringe of the far right" whatsoever.
Most are everyday Americans now active for the first time, concerned that Barack Obama and the Democrats are taking the country in the wrong direction, saddling future generations with higher taxes, spending and debt.
Liberals who neither understand nor support the objectives of this movement seek instead to delegitimize it by declaring it "extreme," and then dismiss it.
Successful political parties are broad based, bringing together people with different issues bringing them to the same political party. Many in our party are motivated by family issues, others are brought to our party by economic issues, and yet others are primarily concerned with national security concerns. Yet, they all arrive at the same Republican Party.
Californians motivated by concerns over rising taxes and excessive government spending are welcome in the Republican Party, and their presence strengthens it.
The Berkeley professor quoted above poses a false choice. It suggests that the interests of the "center" are by definition at odds with those active in opposing higher taxes and excessive spending. Yet, we have seen that the majority of Californians, including those in the "center" oppose higher taxes, and believe California's budget should be balanced mainly through spending cuts, not tax increases.
In other words, the sentiments of many in that "center" are in line with so many of those who have chosen to voice their concerns through the Tea Party movement.
Liberals have been lecturing Republicans for years about how our party cannot possibly appeal to centrists and conservatives at the same time. Yet, the assertion flies in the face of reality. The California Republican Party is the party of choice for Arnold Schwarzenegger as it is for Tom McClintock. Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner, Tom Campbell have different ideas, yet all call our party home.
At the end of the day, Californians who want to bring taxes down to Earth, save our children from trillions in inter-generational debt, and limit the intrusiveness of government to protect our liberties are natural allies, and have a home, in the Republican Party.
It's with this in mind that I've noticed a number of "analysts" giving advice to the Republican Party to distance itself from the Americans choosing to speak out against high taxes and intrusive government through the Tea Party movement.
My response to that advice: thanks, but no thanks. Americans who are concerned about skyrocketing taxes, unsustainable debt, and wasteful government spending have a natural home in the Republican Party and they are welcome.
Politics is about addition. Yet here's the advice one Berkeley professor offered our party in a San Francisco Chronicle story this weekend:
"I don't see where reaching out to the tea party people helps. That's the fringe of the far right," he said. "They need to reach out to the decline-to-state voters in the middle."
"The fringe of the far right?"
Really?
I've been active in the conservative movement for twenty years, including in think tanks, taxpayer groups, and of course the Republican Party. The modern tea party movement has activated hundreds of thousands of Americans who are not "the fringe of the far right" whatsoever.
Most are everyday Americans now active for the first time, concerned that Barack Obama and the Democrats are taking the country in the wrong direction, saddling future generations with higher taxes, spending and debt.
Liberals who neither understand nor support the objectives of this movement seek instead to delegitimize it by declaring it "extreme," and then dismiss it.
Successful political parties are broad based, bringing together people with different issues bringing them to the same political party. Many in our party are motivated by family issues, others are brought to our party by economic issues, and yet others are primarily concerned with national security concerns. Yet, they all arrive at the same Republican Party.
Californians motivated by concerns over rising taxes and excessive government spending are welcome in the Republican Party, and their presence strengthens it.
The Berkeley professor quoted above poses a false choice. It suggests that the interests of the "center" are by definition at odds with those active in opposing higher taxes and excessive spending. Yet, we have seen that the majority of Californians, including those in the "center" oppose higher taxes, and believe California's budget should be balanced mainly through spending cuts, not tax increases.
In other words, the sentiments of many in that "center" are in line with so many of those who have chosen to voice their concerns through the Tea Party movement.
Liberals have been lecturing Republicans for years about how our party cannot possibly appeal to centrists and conservatives at the same time. Yet, the assertion flies in the face of reality. The California Republican Party is the party of choice for Arnold Schwarzenegger as it is for Tom McClintock. Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner, Tom Campbell have different ideas, yet all call our party home.
At the end of the day, Californians who want to bring taxes down to Earth, save our children from trillions in inter-generational debt, and limit the intrusiveness of government to protect our liberties are natural allies, and have a home, in the Republican Party.
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