What are we to make of the Tea Party Movement locally and across America? I believe that determination can be arrived at in the following manner.
The United States Supreme Court declared George W. Bush president in 2000 and this is what came of it.
Seemingly endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with 35,000 plus casualties (deaths and injuries) in Iraq alone and no military draft to support such actions. Bush and a Republican controlled Congress rammed through 1.8 trillion dollars of tax cuts to the rich. Millions of middle class and poor Americans were losing work in tandem. Then came what will be a trillion dollar corporate welfare check to the pharmaceutical monopoly called Medicare Part D doughnut hole mean anything? We, the taxpayers even had to bail out those Wall Street crooks.
Haven’t heard a peep from the tea parties on these critical issues.
They instead went off on a tirade over the basic human right of all to have health care.
Only in today’s America could the haves of society be clamoring for more and blaming the have nots to boot.
A number of media outlets have reported that the gap between rich and poor is wider in this nation today than for any other developed country of the world. The wealthiest one percent owns more than the bottom 95 percent.
Make no mistake that a vast majority of those opposing health care reform measures, including the watered-down legislation (no public option) recently passed by Congress, thinks of themselves as Christians.
I’m therefore curious as to how they reconcile their attitudes with, let us say, Matthew 25 of the Scripture.
Jesus is telling His disciples they’ll be rewarded in the next life for feeding the hungry and taking care of the sick.
“Whatever you did for the least of those,” Jesus says, “you did for Me.”
I wouldn’t call myself a particularly religious person, but even I know the lessons taught by Jesus Christ are unequivocal and don’t carry price tags.
I also wonder how many of the politicians, supported by the teabaggers, are among those voting against the extension of unemployment compensation in this crummy economic climate.
It would be interesting to know as well the level of agreement with the rancid offerings of people such as Rush Limbaugh, a mean-spirited radio talker and Republican Party favorite.
Limbaugh recently said on air, for example, that children without enough to eat should be schooled by parents in how to “Dumpster dive.” It’s acceptable to him that others would have to forage for discarded food in trash bins.
This is the crowd always hollaring “socialism, communism and losing our freedoms.”
They’re uptight that others could share in America’s bounty.
It’s the same discredited invective that was trotted out at the onset of organized labor (unions) and Social Security in the 1930s, Civil Rights activists and laws of the 1950s and 60s and Medicare and Medicaid passage in the 60s.
America was such a much fairer place by all.
Our original tea party would have been aghast at these imposters.
They were rebelling in 1773 against the tyranny of England’s King George III. Taxation without elected representation, for instance. That’s how the king’s product wound up in Boston Harbor and the American Revolution followed.
The tea party of 2010, however, more resembles the generational ilk of King George.
In 1773, Americans knew the difference.
Do we today?
Jerry Turner
Quincy
Opinion 
