The latest Tea Party attack got me thinking  about the irrational reactions many have had when it comes to the Tea Parties.  Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters in a outburst at a political rally over the weekend said the Tea Party can go straight to Hell.   Now Maxine is not the only one to let off steam at the Tea Parties, there seems to be a Tea Party Madness going around.  When Janeane Garofalo went off on CNN and called the Tea Party racist her fellow panelist seem to take in stride as if to say of course they are.  Even Reuters causally dropped a line in the middle of an article about Tea Party radicals.  As this wasn’t enough, when a deranged lunatic who got off on reading  Adolf Hitler shot a Democratic congresswoman he was immediately somehow connected to the Tea Party (of course no connection existed) and there is of course there is the now infamous Tea Party Terrorist comments.

A casual observer from another world would have to ask is the U.S. under siege by a Mad Tea Party or is there some sort of Tea Party Madness effecting large numbers of people.  By watching most of the media outlets one would have to assume it is the first.  In fact the observer would probably conclude the U.S. is in the midst of a fight with some centrally controlled group of radical racist terrorist group named the Tea Party.

In the latest polls it seems some of the ratcheted up rhetoric has gathered some traction, the Tea Party is down in the low 30’s in popularity.

So is the Tea Party some group of racist madmen or is there some sort of Tea Party derangement syndrome going around?  First thing to set straight is there is no such thing as The Tea Party, the Tea Party is actually a set of groups with only three principles in common: fiscal responsibility,  smaller government and following the constitution.  These tenets are as mainstream as mom and apple pie.   So if they are not radical what about the rest of the charges?  They have been called racist but these so called racist have supported candidates from every walk of life and without regard to race or sex!  As far as the terrorist comments, it seems the fact that many congressmen and Tea Party supporters wanted significant cuts instead handing over another congressional blank check to the President is the basis of this charge.  They are holding the country hostage the Obama administration declared, but Obama said he would veto any debt extension that did not last through the 2012 election season.  Apparently demanding serious debt reform in the face of a fiscal disaster is not a good reason to hold up a debt extension but vetoing it for personal political reasons is okay.  Admittedly the Tea Party supporters are stubborn but not anymore then Obama and the Democrats in congress.

What is readily apparent after looking at the facts is the U.S. is not under siege by mad Tea Partiers but there is an infection of Tea Party madness going around liberal circles.  A prime example was the declaration by Senator Kerry’s that the downgrade by Standard and Poors was the Tea Party downgrade when the Republican plans put forth with Tea Party support were the only plan that Standard and Poors agreed would of stopped the downgrade (Cut Cap and Balance).  The very plan the Democrats refuse to use even as a basis for negotiation.  In the end this downgrade will go down in history as the President Obama downgrade, as it should.

The Tea Party (which I am not a member but do sympathize) is not a party at all but a movement.  A movement based in ideas and driven by concern for the future of our country.  Not willing to stick their heads in the sand anymore these are citizens that see the debt as a disaster for them and their children.   Moms and Dads that see their children’s future being sold down the river by politicians of both parties.  These are freedom loving people that see a government out of control. Many of them are a new generation of  libertarians that have read Ayn Rand for the first time.  Others are conservatives that fear for their children and grand children.  All are part of an awakening that the political elite do not and perhaps can not understand.   An awakening that is reaching far beyond the picketers and political organizers that call themselves the Tea Party.