If House conservatives entered a beauty contest, surely not a single one would make it past the first round – not because of their looks, but because of their dialogue.
Every pageant queen knows that when thrown a softball question, you take it and answer affirmatively, not just because it’s what the audience wants to hear, but more importantly, it’s usually what is right.
For example: Do you believe in world peace? Do you believe the sick, infirm and elderly should be cared for? Do you believe in equality and basic human rights? All of these questions have easy “yes” answers, but not for conservative Republicans.
Why? Because it goes against what’s in their best interest. No other example better exemplifies this than the planning of the Tea Party movement. A recent report revealed that the movement is a successful result of long-term strategy engineered by powerful corporate interests.
For over 10 years the Tea Party has been acting as a Trojan horse, meant to promote a common agenda focused around market fundamentalism that is anti-science and anti-government. The report in particular mentions two groups, Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks. Both were once a single organization, founded by none other than the Koch brothers and heavily financed by the tobacco industry.
Originally formed to oppose any regulation or taxation on fossil fuels and tobacco products, the Tea Party has grown into a lightning rod for the U.S. economy and middle class that only protects corporate interests. House Republicans are already committed to risking the full faith and credit of the U.S in order to save the wealthiest from tax increases. And they certainly have no qualms, knowing full well what the sequester means in terms of human needs, hurting our most vulnerable.
Members of the Tea Party may truly believe that they are doing what’s best for America by reducing government spending, taxes and the deficit. But in reality, they are only championing deregulation and promoting corporate profit at the expense of the public good.
The tea being served by this party is as deceitful as Jim Jones’ concoction. The American public needs to beware, and demand that their representatives do what’s right for America as a whole and not just a select few. The sad part is that thousands of constituents actually believe their elected officials have their best interests at heart, only later to realize they’re being led off a cliff.
