Tea Party revisited

Funny, I thought by now everyone understood what the Tea Party stood for, and what policies it supports.  But recent events have convinced me that this is not the case.

I cross-post many of my articles at the Austin Post (such as this one, which I totally expect to be rated about (-3) within 24 hours of its approval...this is Austin, after all), and that site has featured, in the last couple of months, multiple articles about the Tea Party.  But as I have not written for the site lately, I thought it might be good to have an article at the Austin Post about the Tea Party by someone who actually knows what he is talking about.

For example, a recent article on the Post's site made the following assertion in its very first paragraph:

The NAACP made a good stab at defining the values of the Tea Party by calling them racists. It’s a simplistic judgment but fair, considering that the Tea Party’s main activities are 1.) opposing every issue supported by a black president, and 2.) hating immigrants of color.

Do you see the logical fallacies at work here?

Let's start with point 1.  "I oppose President Obama's policy stances, ergo, I am a racist."  No, I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way.  (But then, we've heard this argument since before the presidential election.  Somebody ought to write about that particular issue.  Oh, wait:  someone did.)   Yes, I definitely oppose President Obama's policies; they represent an unprecedented-in-peacetime grab of power by the federal government.  But that certainly does not mean I am racist, or that I would not support any black president.  (I hear some people are trying to convince Herman Cain to run in 2012; having heard him talk about policy before, I could get behind his ideas.)  I would have been just as opposed to these policies if they had been implemented by Hillary Clinton, for example.  (But that would have made me a misogynist, wouldn't it, though of course all the people who so virulently hate Sarah Palin are never called that, except by conservatives, who of course have no standing to speak on anything.)

No, these policies include a quadrupling of our budget deficit (with similar deficit numbers over the next ten years) via countless stimulus packages that do not appear to have stemmed the tide of unemployment.  Remember when the unemployment wouldn't go above 8% if the first stimulus package were passed?  Neither do I.  But with unemployment firmly entrenched above 9%, our government continues to spend as if there is no tomorrow.  Since the federal government apparently hasn't the will to cut any government spending (except, of course, for defense), the only other way, in the minds of many, to raise federal revenue is to raise taxes.  A lot.  More on that momentarily.

The policies I oppose also include a healthcare plan that tells my employer exactly what has to be included in our health insurance plan, regardless of whether we want all of it or not.  It keeps people who have been using health savings accounts for years from using them for certain items.  It also does a bunch of other things that burden individuals and employers, including small employers in many cases; see here for more information.

Our president's policies also include, though it hasn't been passed yet, a cap-and-trade (referred to by many, including me, as "cap-and-tax") plan that would drive utility rates up quite a bit.  Don't believe me?  Maybe this will convince you:



And since we're talking about costs to the consumer, let's add taxes into this discussion.  Now, we could debate the Laffer curve all day and try to determine where the midpoint is for balancing tax rates and revenue growth, but the fact is that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts (referred to by most as the "Bush tax cuts") spurred growth and job creation in what was becoming a economic slowdown.  Let's see...we're in something a little greater than just a "slowdown" now; what do you think allowing these tax cuts to expire (in effect, raising taxes) will have on job creation?  Hmmm...

(Yes, there's still time for Congress to attend to the issue of whether they want to raise everyone's taxes...a few people have spoken about where we currently stand, including one Sarah Palin.)

Oh, and before you get the impression that I'm just a selfish so-and-so who doesn't want to help anyone, let me say two things:  1) I worked, and continue to work, very hard to get myself out of the debt I've run up, following (for the most part) the fairly simple ideas put forth by Dave Ramsey; and 2) I've addressed in a previous post (which did not appear on the Austin Post) what I believe my responsibilities as a Christian are to others.

Then there's the incredible government intrusion into the car industry under the guise of "saving" GM and Chrysler.  Word to the wise:  they weren't too big to fail.  If it had come to it, parts, or all, of the companies would have been sold to more profitable automakers, many of whom probably could have done a better job of running them.

And, of course, there is the federal government's stubborn refusal to do one job specifically given it in the Constitution:  to protect our borders.  Per Article IV, Section 4:

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

But instead of protecting our borders against illegal immigration, the federal government has sued a state that tried to solve their own problem.

And this brings us to the other main assertion made about the Tea Party:  that we "hat[e] immigrants of color".  Personally, I don't hate anyone, and I don't think anyone has a problem with immigration--as long as it is legal.  The author of this Austin Post piece, in saying that the Tea Party hates immigrants in toto, has made us into a bunch of white supremacists.  Far from it.  But there is a proper way to enter this country, just as there is a proper way to follow every law in this country.  How would the author of these defamatory accusations like it if I and, say, 12 million of my best friends all decided not to pay our taxes for, oh, ten years or so, and then we all held rallies to demand that our tax liability be totally forgiven?  No?  Then why should others be allowed to break existing laws with impunity?

And since the person in question also wondered why "the Tea Party can’t formulate a convincing argument why immigration is harmful" (I will assume he meant to say illegal immigration), I'll answer.  First of all, I'll refer this person to the article I wrote three months ago in which I pointed out the following:

• Phoenix is the "number two kidnapping capital of the world" (Mexico City is #1).
• Suspected human traffickers shot a deputy in Arizona.  Just the shooting is bad enough, but human trafficking is reprehensible.
• Some other stuff.  Read the article.

What wasn't in that article was that I know someone whose family was affected by a kidnapping relating to a Mexican cartel.  Thankfully, the kidnappers in that case were totally inept, and so the person affected is fine now, albeit a bit shaken up, I would imagine.

I'm not gonna say any of the stuff that has been said for years such as "they're taking our jobs!!!!11!" because I'm all for people working.  But there is a correct way to do it.

In closing, I welcome discussion about these topics.  To borrow a phrase from the person who wrote the previous Austin Post article, get to know some tea partiers; they're great folks.

Or keep calling us names.  But just realize that it says a whole lot more about you than it does about us.

I hope Arizona follows through on this

Courtesy HotAir.com:

Since, as was noted in a comment to a previous post, the City of Los Angeles is boycotting the State of Arizona now, one Arizona official has taken it upon himself to offer his assistance with the boycott.  That official is Gary Pierce of the Arizona Corporation Commission, and his approach, while already having been mentioned by others (mostly blog commenters), is presented quite eloquently here:

Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,

I was dismayed to learn that the Los Angeles City Council voted to boycott Arizona and Arizona-based companies — a vote you strongly supported — to show opposition to SB 1070 (Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act).

You explained your support of the boycott as follows: “While we recognize that as neighbors, we share resources and ties with the State of Arizona that may be difficult to sever, our goal is not to hurt the local economy of Los Angeles, but to impact the economy of Arizona.  Our intent is to use our dollars — or the withholding of our dollars — to send a message.” (emphasis added)

I received your message; please receive mine.  As a state-wide elected member of the Arizona Corporation Commission overseeing Arizona’s electric and water utilities, I too am keenly aware of the “resources and ties” we share with the City of Los Angeles. In fact, approximately twenty-five percent of the electricity consumed in Los Angeles is generated by power plants in Arizona.

If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona’s utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands. If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona’s economy.

People of goodwill can disagree over the merits of SB 1070. A state-wide economic boycott of Arizona is not a message sent in goodwill.

Sincerely,
Commissioner Gary Pierce

(The original letter can be found here.)

If Los Angeles were to experience a blackout such as what Commissioner Pierce envisions, it would be just what its City Council deserves for its decision.  Kudos to Commissioner Pierce for this letter.

Govs. Brewer, Palin launch SecuretheBorder.org

Courtesy RealClearPolitics:

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin have started a new website, SecuretheBorder.org, which is designed to help people understand the reality of the situation in Arizona with regard to illegal immigration, as well as the truth about SB 1070, the much-maligned, recently-passed Arizona law regarding this topic.  The bill is posted in its entirety on the site, so you don't have to go by what other people say, including me.  This will especially come in handy for people like Attorney General Eric Holder, who admits to not having read the bill he is criticizing.

The site also includes the following video, which includes Attorney General Holder's admission mentioned above:



In the meantime, the federal government appears to be full of people falling all over themselves to denounce Arizona for having the gall to, you know, actually want to have secure borders.  The nerve!

Sarah Palin, as one might expect, has plenty to say about those in the federal government who are continuing what she calls the "American Apology Tour":

On Fox News this morning, State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley became the third Obama administration official in short succession to admit that he hadn’t actually bothered to read Arizona’s 10-page long “secure the border” bill before condemning it and criticizing Americans who support Arizona’s necessary efforts to do the job the Obama Administration should be doing. Crowley’s statement follows similar admissions from Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

At first blush this revelation seemed unbelievable, but maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. This now seems “the Washington way” of doing things. If the party in power tells us they have to pass bills in order to find out what’s actually in them, they can also criticize bills (and divide the country with ensuing rhetoric) without actually reading them.

Still I can’t help but feel outraged on behalf of Arizona’s citizens for the incompetence shown by these Administration officials. Arizonans have the courage to do what the Obama administration has failed to do in its first year and a half in office – namely secure our border and enforce our federal laws. And as a result, Arizonans have been subjected to a campaign of baseless accusations by the same people who freely admit they haven’t a clue about what they’re actually campaigning against.

The absolute low point of this campaign came last Friday, when a U.S. State Department delegation met with Chinese negotiators to discuss human rights. Apparently, our State Department felt it necessary to make their Chinese guests feel less bad about their own record of human rights abuses by repeatedly atoning for American “sins” – including, it seems, the Arizona immigration/pro-border security law. Asked if Arizona came up at all during the meeting, Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner answered:

“We brought it up early and often. It was mentioned in the first session, and as a troubling trend in our society and an indication that we have to deal with issues of discrimination or potential discrimination, and that these are issues very much being debated in our own society.”

Note that he said “We brought it up” – not the Chinese, but the U.S. State Department’s own delegation. Instead of grilling the Chinese about their appalling record on human rights, the State Department continued the unbelievable apology tour by raising “early and often” Arizona’s decision to secure our border.

Arizona’s law, which just mirrors the federal law, simply allows the police to ask those whom they have already stopped for some form of identification like a driver’s license. By what absurd stretch of the imagination is that the moral equivalent of China’s lack of freedoms, population controls (including forced abortions), censorship, and arbitrary detentions?

Surely our U.S. Ambassador to China, John Huntsman, must disagree with the Obama Administration’s continued apology tour? We have nothing to apologize for. If Administration officials want to apologize to anyone, apologize to the American people for the fact that after a year and a half in office, they still haven’t done anything to secure our borders, and they join our President in making false suggestions about Arizona’s effort.

- Sarah Palin

Edit: Yeah, I know I had the website name wrong in the title to this post. But, since I know that people are searching for securetheborders.org, I'll leave a mention of it here in the post.  There is not a website set up at that URL, so I'm not linking it.

School district nixes basketball trip to AZ; Palin opines

In an attempt even less likely than that of Austin to change anyone's mind about Arizona's newly passed immigration law, a school district in Illinois took the step of canceling a long-planned trip to a tournament in Arizona by a high-school girls' basketball team.

This quote sums up the absurdity of the decision:

“The school has sent children to China, they’ve sent children to South America, they’ve sent children to the Czech Republic, but somehow Arizona is more unsafe for them than those places,” [the father of one of the players] said.

Political commentator and one-time high-school basketball player Sarah Palin phoned in to America Live with Megyn Kelly on Fox News today to weigh in on this issue.  As one might expect, she feels that canceling this trip was a bad idea.  Furthermore, she felt that the team ought to go on its own.  (Why not; they've been fundraising for this trip for months.)  See for yourself:



"Keeping the girls off the basketball court for purely political reasons is not right."

An open letter to the Austin City Council

In regard to the city council's planned "boycott Arizona" resolution, approved unanimously today, I submit the following:

• Phoenix has been called the "number two kidnapping capital of the world", with a lot of kidnappings (many of which are said in the linked article to go unreported) related to the illegal drug trade.  Per the same article, "[s]ome officials have commented that all the Phoenix kidnappings are connected to illegal immigration".
• A Pinal County sheriff's deputy was shot in the abdomen when he came upon a group of suspected human traffickers, who opened fire on him.  A manhunt for those responsible resulted in the arrest of 17 suspected illegal immigrants. 
• Multiple areas in Arizona are littered with literally thousands of discarded backpacks left by undocumented immigrants entering the state.
• Arizona residents, by a wide margin, support SB 1070, the controversial immigration law opposed by the Austin City Council.

Oh, and one other thing:  the Statesman article states that Austin "planned to send five employees to Arizona for three events this month".  This does not appear to add up to much money being taken away from the state of Arizona.

So, with all that said, one question remains:

Do you think the people of Arizona care one whit about what the City of Austin thinks of them?