I suppose this is a good attempt, for that side (The New Republic) of the so far, unbridgeable gap.The Tea Party has expertly articulated a widespread grievance: that the government is redistributing money from hardworking Americans to the idle and undeserving.
No, the grievance is that the govt is big enough and out of control of the governed enough to do this by executive fiat without reference to the voters for consent, and then uses the power of and blackmail of force to ENFORCE this.
Like the David Cameron government in Britain, or any number of other states across Europe, we'll soon be forced to reckon with the fact that our economic viability depends on some combination of shrinking the state and raising revenue.
No, that's a fact only if you believe that CAPITALISM doesn't cut it (you know - one of those 'scientific established facts' - the argument designed to preclude the basic uncomfortable discussion) and whatever does, is a ZERO SUM GAME - that any gain by one group MUST come at the expense of another.
Precluded is the idea that the tax base grows because business grows, because conditions controlled by the govt recognize this possibility and do everything to enhance this possibility.
That is not going to happen with this president.
Even if the House AND Senate reverse majorities.
Both parties are posturing to assume the mantle of fiscal conservatism, a trend that the success of the Tea Party will only exacerbate. And by December, Obama's deficit commission will release its findings, further propelling this debate to the fore.
With resources shrinking, the competition for them will inflame. Each party will find itself in a death struggle to protect the resources that flow to its base--and, since the game will be zero-sum, each will attempt to expropriate the resources that flow to the other side. This resource war will scramble our politics. Each party will be forced to dramatically change its calculus and remake its agenda. And if you thought our politics had grown nasty, you haven't even begun to consider the ugliness of the politics of scarcity.
It couldn't be more clear that the progressive mind precludes a better world, because they simply are unable to connect with and imagine people whose enlightened self interest causes their ingenuity, work ethic, creativity and desire for BETTER - which then raises the level of the ocean for all. And with every centimeter of raised level more new possibilities are raised.
It is the REMOVAL of that possibility, and imagining of that kind of better tomorrow by the government for the purposes of 'spreading around' only what is, and enforcing this process (which perforce destroys. dampens and limits all chances of BETTER) that the tea party supporters really object to - IT IS A DEMORALIZING DESTRUCTION OF THE HOPE FOR BETTER BY SELF ADVENTURE AND DISCOVERY .... NOT THE REMOVAL OF THE FRUITS OF HARD WORK,,, which is a SYMPTOM of the underlying disease.
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