By V.A. Ciliberti, Hamilton
Not unexpectedly the Tea Party is once again being attacked by the political left because of its basic philosophy which can be defined as:
1. Adherence to Constitutional government as defined in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights as explained in the Federalist Papers which describes the original intent of the framers of the Constitution.
2. Fiscal responsibility – basically to live within our means. Our government in the recent past has consumed 18% of Gross National Product. The current administration has increased this to 25%.
3. Free markets – from the Constitution (Article I, Section 8) we read that the Federal Government is to regulate commerce among the several States. From the Federalist Papers we know that this means to facilitate and encourage commerce. This does not mean, for example, to prohibit the Boeing aircraft company from locating an aircraft manufacturing facility in South Carolina as is being done by the Administration through the National Labor Relations Board to satisfy Union objections to the new manufacturing plant.
That the Federal Government has been acting in an irresponsible manner which has grossly damaged the economy and made a mockery of fiscal (financial) responsibility is well documented in Thomas Sowell’s book “The Housing Boom and Bust.” From this book – “It took the force of government to blow up the housing bubble that has since thudded to earth. Lenders did not spontaneously begin to lend to people who would not have qualified for loans under traditional criteria that had evolved out of years of experience in the market. Such risky loans were made under growing pressure from government regulatory agencies and politicians, and even threats of prosecution from the Justice Department if the statistical profiles of borrowers whose loan applications were approved did not match government’s preconceptions.”
The part played by the Clinton administration, among others, is covered in a recent book by Morgenson and Rosner entitled “Reckless Endangerment.” This book describes “How Clinton’s calamitous Homeownership Strategy was born, nurtured, and finally came to blow up the American economy, is the story of greed and good intentions, corporate corruption and government support. It is also a story of pretty lies told by politicians, company executives, bankers, regulators, and borrowers.”
Freedom depends on economic conditions which do not distort the free market and inhibit the pursuit of individual and economic liberty. The housing bubble tragedy is one case in point where government actions were the underlying problem. A second and local example is well defined by the Federal government’s mis-managed wolf recovery program which has caused severe economic/financial problems in the Bitterroot Valley. The nature of these financial dislocations were aired at the ‘wolf meeting’ in Hamilton, MT on August 11, 2011. Less well known are the political maneuverings which were revealed by Ed Bangs’ (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) comment in a recent Missoulian article wherein he stated the original desired wolf population of 150 animals was based on “what the public would put up with” and that “wolves have caused more problems than were solved.” Not mentioned was the fact that normal Federal animal import quarantine requirements were waived to speed up the wolf recovery program. Many of the imported Canadian wolves were diseased. The outcome was predictable. Local control and interests were totally ignored. To better understand the Tea Party’s goals and objectives read the Declaration of lndependence. and the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution.
Tea Party efforts nationally and locally are aimed at educating the public about the need to restore Constitutional government to preserve our freedoms. Contrary to accusations the Tea Party is neither racist or terrorist. The Tea Party supports Representative Allen West, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Senator Rubio, and presidential nomination candidate Herman Cain. Hardly racist! All Tea Party events have been peaceful and law abiding and meeting sites were cleaned up after the event.
Contrast this to near riots in Wisconsin when the Wisconsin Legislature enacted budgetary limits. Those in opposition destroyed property and left their meeting areas littered with trash.