To the editor:
Recent letter writers are at pains to point out the substantive policy issues on the Tea Party's agenda.
An honest discussion of such issues, of course, is what real politics should be about and there certainly are great debates that could be had about deficit spending, taxation, health care, etc. However, I wish to point out that the conservative rhetoric and Tea Party activism pose several problems that stand in the way of such debate:
Devotion to the Constitution "as our forefathers wrote it." This apparently means going back to the 18th century model of government, as seen in the movement to repeal the 17th amendment, titled "Senators Elected by Popular Vote."
The founding fathers did not intend such devotion, understanding that flexibility would be necessary over time and therefore building in an amendment process. That process has, among other things, abolished slavery and the poll tax and extended voting rights to women and freed slaves. Of course, the Tea Party or anyone else can attempt the task of amending the Constitution. Go for it.
Rage. Tea Partiers seem to be mad about everything. A woman named Andrea Carrasco at the recent Beck rally bemoaned "lost freedoms", including "God in our schools," eating sugar and salt, and choosing the kind of light bulb she wants (Washington Post report, Sept. 1). Wow. Where do you start with that kind of anger — considering that none of these "freedoms" have actually been "lost?
Sanctimony. Tea Partiers speak of "taking back our country," as if they have sole ownership or a superior claim. They do not, and the election of 2008 in fact was a claim by a clear majority on the governance of the next four years.
Religion. "Beckapalooza" and big-media televangelists are once again attempting to equate Christian belief with patriotism and conservative policy, while implicitly degrading other religions, including monotheistic ones. This is simply un-American.
Racism. Like it or not, this element still exists in the U.S., and seems more prominent in the Tea Party. The loud protests from the right over the Park51 ("Ground Zero") mosque in New York are one thing. In our own backyard, GOP candidate Bill Hudak had previously festooned his front yard with images of Barack Obama dressed up like Bin Laden, with adjectives like "terrorist" and "lazy." A lazy black man? Where does that come from, Bill?
These "populists" want to roll back health, safety and environmental protection laws, pull what few teeth the unions have remaining, and practice fiscal conservatism by denying unemployment benefits to people who desperately need them. We now know that large amounts of the Tea Party's funding are from extremely wealthy rightists like the oil baron Koch brothers, who have enormous financial interests in these matters.
Has any Tea Partier ever spoken against the tens of billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks that Congress gives to the fossil fuel industries?
Those of us in the center and on the left share the same grave concerns about the current and future state of our country. We all want what's best for our children and grandchildren.
What's needed, more than ever, is honest, clear-eyed debate, free of the old demons of fear and ignorance.
MIKE DYER
Indian Rock Lane, Essex
