America the Beautiful: Let's Keep It That Way

by John Bullaro, Ph.D

People on the Central Coast of California, unite to save America. There is a small but blatantly misguided group of right wing Americans (I hesitate to refer to them as Americans, but I will) hell bent on bringing down the country one elected official at a time. No, I'm not referring to terrorists. I refer to a small minority group of loud, vociferous, mostly white, male individuals, who claim US citizenship but are really revisionists trying to turn the nation back to nineteenth century, pre-civil war days, when white aristocracy ruled most of the country.

What's this all about?

For starters this is NOT a political diatribe. I neither support nor castigate either political party.  However, polls show most Americans lay the blame for the chaos in Washington and the government shut down — which cost the country over 25 billion dollars — on the shoulders of a small group of mostly southerners the call themselves the Tea Party. This group has co-opted the Republican party with threats of losing their next election, withholding campaign money, and out-right lies. From news accounts, Republicans who want to do their job of compromising in Congress fear this small group of freedom's bandits.

For the record, in my past I voted Republican. However, since I came to realize they promote negativism for any plan put forth by the opposition that may help the American people but make their enemies look good. . .

What they have done is move us from a democracy where majority rules to a party chairmanship where a small group rules. Many conservatives I know hope the GOP will sever their party's relationship to the Tea Party so they can suffer the slings and arrows of their own doing. 

The Tea Party survives by telling lies, using hyperbole, and convincing young, inexperienced lawyers to represent then in Congress and the Senate. From day one of their reign they have agreed to defeat any proposal the Obama administration supports, regardless of it merits. They will accomplish this by putting money behind new candidates who they approve of who will carry their extreme message of never compromising with anything the opposition puts forth. These extremists hope to extend our crippled government for at least two more years, when they hope that ploy will get one of their own elected to the White House. Under the Tea Party's brand, America, in my view, will become a third rate nation.

People, we can't let that happen. Every one of us who loves this country must distance themselves from a party message that extols extremism and vote American values, meaning compromise and doing the nation's business.  Shutting down the government and defaulting on our debts is not the American way. It is a irrational, immature, schoolyard ploy to get their way.

The Tea Party's real agenda is to sink the presidency of our first President of color. The promise to kill any legislation put forth by President Obama was passed without ever knowing what they were opposing. That act is seditious at its core.
If you are a Republican and communicate with your party, advise them to cast off the Tea Party and bring back majority rule to the country. The rest of us can only pray for America.