The Tea Party movement has spawned a number of popular memes from “Taxed Enough Already” to “honk if I’m paying your mortgage” most of them on message, clever, and displaying an appropriate attitude. But I want to take issue with one that I’ve seen a lot, and which seemingly is spreading of late. It’s the notion that we the people should dump all incumbents and start anew since they’ve obviously failed so badly. Here’s an example of how it’s put in one recent blog post:
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. We must vote ALL of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Now I don’t mean to pick on the post, the rest of which I found quite worthwhile, or the blogger who may not even have meant precisely what he said here, but it’s emblematic of what I’m talking about. Although those 545 collectively share the power of the federal government (ignoring the executive for the moment), and they’re collectively doing a very poor job, they don’t act as one, but rather display competing and opposed interests and agendas. Luckily, some of those agendas are shared with the Tea Party movement, and it would be a mistake for us to punish the people fighting our fight within government along with those fighting against us.
The problem with this rallying cry is that it assumes incumbency is the problem. This is a common manifestation of a populist message, but it’s a trap that sets preferences that sometimes depart from our real priorities. Simply put, incumbency is not the problem, liberalism is the problem. Incumbency may have some tendency to liberalize, but I think we’re capable of judging individuals by their actions. The goal, particularly in the case of the Tea Party movement, is to reverse the growth of government and get government out of our business, not to punish people on the basis of our having elected them in the past. It seems to me that we should consider it a blessing that some of the people who share our values are already serving as it increases our ability to effect policy now and it will tend to help us in upcoming elections.
My guess is that most of the people making this declaration have not really thought through it’s implications. I’m sorry to make that accusation, especially against so many people who I think are really on the right side of things and offer thoughtful input elsewhere, but I’m trying to let them off the hook on this one. For instance, would the Tea Partiers demonizing incumbents want that rule to apply to conservative champions like Jim DeMint? Certainly they would consider celebrity Representative Michelle Bachmann to be an exception. Although maybe the shame of holding office finally provides a simple and full explanation of Sarah Palin’s resignation.
Certainly, there’s a lot of anger at those controlling government today and I agree that they’re pursuing a dangerously backward agenda and I think that anger is generally a good thing. But I to want us to be mindful of this point because it gets us saying something that’s not exactly what we mean. And I think there’s a real danger there of distracting from the important message, which can result in misspent efforts and which risks confusing or alienating those we’d hope would join us.
January 8, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Take this message to heart. Let’s provide support to those who stand with us and increase our numbers in Congress. Let’s ADD numbers, not cut off our nose to spite our face. However, both present and new members we vote into office need to understand that WE HAVE CONSERVATIVE VALUES; that’s what we expect from them
and will settle for nothing less.
January 9, 2010 at 4:48 am
I agree and disagree. We DO need to keep those who have served us WELL AND PROPERLY but we need to send a big message to voters that we have lost control. Our control is our vote – we have not been using it properly. We, The Tea Party Movement, need to emphasize and educate voters as to who has done the right thing for us and who we need to get rid of, which is most of those in office now. If I see another ‘Term Limits’ sign I am probably going to get sick – They are never going to vote themselves out of office. We have the solution already – vote them out! It is PAST time for Americans to speak up!
You want GOOD CHANGE and ACCOUNTABILITY, so STOP voting for the same SENATOR and REPRESENTATIVE year after year.
Get new blood in, someone who is afraid of losing his job, someone who will REPRESENT YOU and do what YOU want !
That is how it is supposed to work, but we, the citizens, have screwed it up big time. You can’t keep the same politicians in office very long; they get to be bigger thieves and take away your rights so they [the Government] have more power over you. That is where we have put ourselves and where we are right now. This is one of the most vital checks and balances in the political system – WE MUST USE IT and OFTEN !
Mark Twain had the right idea, “Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often and for the same reasons.”
We have to correct this and until we straighten this out we have to quit being Republicans and Democrats, we are so divided. We must think of the betterment of the country and all of the freedoms we have already lost. Then there’s all the power over us we have given the Government the last 20 ? years. Get back to the Constitution, it is our protection but we have to demand it and enforce it.
Your vote controls it all!!!
January 9, 2010 at 4:52 am
You can be a citizen OR a subject.
IT IS YOUR CHOICE !