The Plight of the Protesters

The Tea Party and its many allies are leaving their mark on the political landscape. Approximately two million subdued the nation's Capitol on the weekend of September 11th and tens of thousands have attended events nationwide. Their list of grievances are long, ranging from excessive spending, pork barrel programs, high and counterproductive taxes, bureaucracy, abandonment of common sense when it comes to the environment, and more. Underneath all of these issues, there is the fundamental belief that it is time for the government to do what it is suppose to do. Nothing more or less.

I believe that this group, however, is more sophisticated than those activists of 1994 that led to the US House and Senate being ruled by Republicans for the first time in decades. Millions of Americans were mad at a liberal President (Bill Clinton) and an irresponsible Congress, and found the answer in electing a large number of Republicans. Many of those Republicans went back to work on a slower road to serfdom than their colleagues across the aisle. One in which there was more "thought" in the process, a frequency of detours, but definitely on course towards a command economy.

In 2009 it appears that voters have truly had "enough" and their anger transcends parties. After years of being abused by Democrats and neglected by Republicans, those who consider themselves friends of liberty have grown tired of the "lesser of two evils" and have concluded they are merely the "evil of two lessers." This leads to a serious problem in 2010 because of the temptation to do nothing, since there seems to be very few candidates who are serious about their Constitutional mandate or equally impotent to vote for pure principle candidates outside of the poor choices provided by the "Republicrats." The argument is simple: voting for someone other than the Republicans or Democrats is an investment into a new, viable, third option. Maybe, but our entire political system makes it very difficult for viable third parties. Furthermore, how much time do we have to spare in light of the current regime and members of Congress? The options for those who believe in limited government, free enterprise, a strong defense, and traditional values are fairly limited:

• Not participate and attempt to blame the left for the direction this country is going. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" quote by Edmund Burke rings true here. Criticism alone is not an option.


• Vote for the most conservative among the two main parties. Again, this tends to feel futile since the vast majorities of these "lesser of two evils" fail to fulfill their constitutional obligations. There has to be a better way.


• I think we should aggressively support the best (AKA constitutionally sound) candidates in primaries and if they fail to get the nomination than support candidates outside of our district monetarily and/or voluntarily if they are close enough geographically.

This approach would have a profound impact on the best candidates, would attract better candidates to run, would provide desperately needed discipline to the GOP, and would have more immediate gain then the approaches above. Unfortunately, in the short run, we may be a political minority, but we will be a minority that matters and one much more politically pure. Instead of trying to make a third party that hasn't work, constitutionally minded people could profoundly impact the GOP and make it relevant again to the majority of voters by simply forcing candidates to obey the constitution they swear to defend. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2010, but those who are concerned about our future do not have the luxury of doing anything that amounts to nothing.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

GOP needs to Realize that Protests are about them too

The Associated Press is reporting that "House Republican leader John Boehner says nationwide protests known as 'tea parties' are the result of push back against Democrats' spending." Yes, this is true, but equally guilty are Republican members of Congress who have supported a gradual approach to socialism. This is the same type of spending that has no support in the Constitution and gives the left its justification for going all the more further in its agenda. The rationale is simple...illegal spending is illegal spending, regardless of the amount. You might as well go for the gusto if you are going to pursue it at all.

The AP goes on to note that "Boehner says his Democratic colleagues are 'bankrupting' the country." This is true and there is no doubt about that reality. The GOP's problem with the situation, however, isn't the bankruptcy, but the fact that they are no longer over seeing it. Much of Republican complaints seem to be about who is in charge and not the damage being done.

The Minority leader also notes that "People are demonstrating and attending town hall meetings because...'we're in the midst of a political rebellion in America.'" I know the Congressman would love to put himself in the "us" side of the classic "us vs. them" conflict. Sorry Mr. Boehner, you are "them." You supported President Bush's bailout in September and am a convert of convenience when it comes to the proper role of government today.

It should not be a surprise that the Congressman gave these remarks at an event like the annual gathering of the the Values Voter Summit in Washington. These were, in his mind, "his type of people." These are among those who are the loudest about the dramatic decline in America's moral and economic standing.

Boehner indicated that he attended a tea party over Labor Day weekend near his West Chester, Ohio home that that drew 18,000 people. He says the crowd told members of Congress that "enough is enough." The thing I do not think that he and many of his GOP colleagues understand is that the comments are directed to both sides of the aisle in Congress. If the shoe fits, Mr. Boehner, by all means wear it.

Ironically, this article that discusses John Boehner's view of the Tea Party still sticks with the story of "tens of thousands of protesters fed up with government spending" that "marched to the Capitol." The media ignores the real numbers because they are afraid that acknowledging them will have an adverse effect on the political establishment they are devoted to. The media is guilty of under estimating the number of people in this movement. I am afraid the GOP under estimates how far this movement's anger reaches.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Tea Parties will not be Ignored

It wasn't hardly mentioned on Google News. In fact, you had to work your way down the page to find it, but the Tea Party enjoyed a bash to remember in our nation's capital this weekend. It is the kind of event that the mainstream media has tried desperately to avoid. The numbers on how many that showed up are fuzzy, at best:

• A reporter for the Examiner said around 30,000 showed up



• ABC news reported over 60,000



• NPR called it "tens of thousands"



• CNN is even more non-committal, merely describing the numbers in the thousands



• Ironically, the closest number came from a British newspaper, the Daily Mail, which put it at approximately 2 million (actually citing Capitol Hill police)
  

I guess the British didn't have a vested interest in the numbers like the US media. American news sources are so vested in this Administration (after all, the news made history in the way it handled Obama, it didn't merely witness it). Not only has the media dramatically underestimated the numbers of those who attended, but has also presented the story with rather harsh headlines:

• The Kansas City Star notes "Angry Tea Party protesters flood D.C."


• The CNN, in its classically cynical fashion says "Health care reform critics converge on Capitol." I don't know anyone, including those in the tea party movement, who don't want to see health care reform. However, if you oppose the President's approach, you oppose reform according to the news. There is nothing like objective media.


• Another Examiner writer argues about "The Hypocrisy of Tea Party Conservatives."


• One writer finds one of the protests' more crude protesters with "Tea Party protest: 'Bury Obama Care with Kennedy.'"

The media is committed to marginalizing and dismissing the tea party movement as a very temporary fad. Ironically, that seems to be only driving the tea party movement further. As the numbers continue to be measured in terms of fractions by the media , the Tea Party provides one of the largest protests on the Capitol in our nation's history. For the Tea Party, the best days are yet to come.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.