The TEA Party as a Third Party?

In the immortal words of Kinky Friedman; “Why the hell not?”

Lately a lot of people are talking about the TEA Party, it’s potential to affect changes in the 2010 elections, and more specifically, in the 2012 elections. Also a HOT BOTTON TOPIC is the question of whether the TEA Party may or could possibly become a viable Third Party.

The very issue of a Third Party stirs the emotions of Americans, of all political tilts.

There are some good points made in the blockquote below by Thomas Friedman, but be warned, Friedman appears to be an Obama fan. Read the next paragraphs with an open mind and try to put his obvious Obama favoritism aside.

There is a revolution brewing in the country, and it is not just on the right wing but in the radical center. I know of at least two serious groups, one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast, developing “third parties�? to challenge our stagnating two-party duopoly that has been presiding over our nation’s steady incremental decline.
(SNIP)
Obama probably did the best he could do, and that’s the point. The best our current two parties can produce today — in the wake of the worst existential crisis in our economy and environment in a century — is suboptimal, even when one party had a huge majority. Suboptimal is O.K. for ordinary times, but these are not ordinary times. We need to stop waiting for Superman and start building a superconsensus to do the superhard stuff we must do now. Pretty good is not even close to good enough today.
(SNIP)
“We basically have two bankrupt parties bankrupting the country,�? said the Stanford University political scientist Larry Diamond. Indeed, our two-party system is ossified; it lacks integrity and creativity and any sense of courage or high-aspiration in confronting our problems.
(SNIP)
“If competition is good for our economy,�? asks Diamond, “why isn’t it good for our politics?�?

We need a third party on the stage of the next presidential debate to look Americans in the eye and say: “These two parties are lying to you. They can’t tell you the truth because they are each trapped in decades of special interests. I am not going to tell you what you want to hear. I am going to tell you what you need to hear if we want to be the world’s leaders, not the new Romans.�? SOURCE

I know the immediate response that some will have regarding a Third Party, we’ve heard it for a long time, “A third party only splits the vote…” And my response is, “Yeah…so?”

Assuming such a candidate truly exists, what does a Third Party accomplish if they can find and run a candidate of outstanding character, impeccable background, solid education, with experience and unquestionable moral and social standing?

That would be a winning candidate and the 2 major parties would be standing on the sidelines shaking their heads and wondering what just happened.

I have to wonder if the TEA Party, in it’s grass roots mode, could actually muster such a well rounded candidate. Grass roots is a wonderful place to start, but it will only take you so far in the big picture part of the equation.

This is from Libertarian Lew Rockwell, and speaking for myself, clearly defines exactly why I can’t, and won’t wear the title of Libertarian.

You might as well know right now, however, that the Tea Party, no matter how successful it is at the polls in November, will certainly betray the party of liberty. There are several reasons for this, but the fundamental one is intellectual. The Tea Party does not have a coherent view of liberty. Its activists tend to be good on specific economic issues like taxes, spending, stimulus, and healthcare. They worry about government intervention in these areas and can talk a good game.

But just as with old-time conservatives, there are many issues on which the Tea Party tends toward inconsistency. The military and the issue of war is a major one. Many have bought into the line that the greatest threat this country faces domestically is the influx of adherents of Islam; in international politics, they tend to favor belligerence toward any regime that is not a captive of US political control.

On immigration, the Tea Party ethos favors national IDs and draconian impositions on businesses rather than market solutions like cutting welfare. On social and cultural issues, they can be as confused as the Christian Right, believing that it is the job of government to right all wrongs and punish sin.

This doesn’t describe them all. A poll taken last spring divides the activists into two camps: Palin and Paul. Both groups are mad as heck at the mainstream Republican Party, but only the Paul camp has broadened that anger to the government generally. SOURCE

When Rockwell says “the Tea Party, no matter how successful it is at the polls in November, will certainly betray the party of liberty”, the party of liberty is the Libertarians.

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In Britain, a desperate Brown hangs on

LONDON - Two years ago, Gordon Brown entered 10 Downing Street for the first time as prime minister and promised, without a smile, to “try my utmost.”

The brainy, stone-faced Scot was the perfect tonic for a British public jaded after a decade of his flashy predecessor, Tony Blair. Within a week, Brown’s popularity ratings had soared to 77 percent.

Now a battered Brown finds himself desperately clinging to his job, facing a fed-up public, a rebellious party and, if things get much worse, the prospect of being one of the shortest-serving prime ministers in modern British history.

“It is a tragedy. He wanted the job so desperately, and very few people think he’s doing it well,” said Anthony King, professor of government at the University of Essex. “He lacks friends, he’s acquired enemies, and he has very few admirers, even in his own government.”

Full Story Here:
In Britain, a desperate Brown hangs on

Remind you of anyone?? “He lacks friends, he’s acquired enemies, and he has very few admirers, even in his own government.” certainly sounds a lot like the current disaster we have sitting in the Oval Office. The USA is in the worst financial situation that it’s been in for many years, and where is our President? Obama spends time sightseeing with family in Paris, next thing you know. they’ll pack up and head for Disneyland or Six Flags. We’re paying for it, they might as well enjoy it.

British voters pummeled Labor in elections held Thursday for local councils and Britain’s representatives to the European Parliament, giving the opposition Conservative Party victories in British cities and towns they had not controlled in a generation.

And that is exactly what we, as Conservatives, and the few GOP that remain Conservative Republicans must do in 2010. Make as many changes as we possibly can, never again accept a candidate that is NOT a true Conservative, never again accept the lesser of the evils. We have no choice other than to demand the best, the VERY best, that the GOP has to offer, because let’s face it, at this time, Conservatives, in and of themselves, are far too divided to put up an effective and viable candidate on their own at this time. Yet the fact remains, even though we DO have to rely on the GOP to a offer up candidates, we are NOT bound to support those candidates if they don’t meet our standards, wants, needs and principles.

A raging expense-abuse scandal involving members of Parliament has reached the top levels of Brown’s cabinet, and 11 senior members of his government resigned in three days last week.

For the Brits it’s an expense-abuse scandal, for us it’s trillions of dollars in bailout money to companies that are going bankrupt anyway, and the FACT that our President is touring the world apologizing for the actions of this nation and is sucking up to any Muslim leader that he is able to gain an audience with.

The American people are taking Barack Hussein Obama to issue, even members of the Democratic party are beginning to have their doubts. That speaks volumes regarding the ability of Obama. Many will be convinced that Obama is wrong for the job by this from the Obama administration:

WASHINGTON - The U.S. is considering adding North Korea back to a list of state sponsors of terrorism, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an interview broadcast today after President Barack Obama pledged “a very hard look” at tougher measures because of the North’s nuclear stance.

Full Story Here:
Clinton says North Korea reconsidered for terror list

Why don’t we just give N. Korea a time out and make them sit in the corner for 20 minutes? It’s not like we haven’t had almost 60 years to come up with a workable solution to N. Korea. That time frame covers a lot of different presidents, and NONE OF THEM have been able to accomplish anything, the actions of today stand in testament. Uh, wait, George W. Bush did do something, I almost forgot, *The AXIS of Evil*, yeah, that was effective!

But it’s not ALL bad news, Europe leans right as voters choose parliament. Once we’ve been totally over-run by ILLEGALS, drug cartels, gangs and Islam, maybe the new Conservatives of Europe will come over here and save our bacon. It could happen.

Ladies and Gentlemen, watch what happens in Great Britain, watch and learn, and beware. We can bring about CHANGE to this nation too, and that CHANGE would be the removal of the entire Obama administration in the most expeditious time frame possible.