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10 core beliefs of the baggers...

Here are the 10 core beliefs of “Modern-Day” tea party, as listed on its website:

1. Eliminate excessive taxes. Hmmm. The New York Times in May 2011 reported that federal taxes are at their lowest rate in 60 years. Looks like the tea party objective has been reached without members’ knowledge, which is not surprising.

2. Eliminate the national debt. Sorry, tea baggers, this cannot be done. The debt, as of the end of fiscal year 2012, was $16.1 trillion. What you want to eliminate is the deficit, which is defined as “the amount by which government’s total budget outlay exceeds its total receipts for a year (link below).” That stood at $1,087 billion in 2012 and has been going down and is anticipated to be $577 billion in 2015. Countries can eliminate their deficit, but no country can pay off its debt – that’s just wishful thinking, something the tea party does ad nauseam. It’s basic economics, and they don’t get it. Canada’s economy is considered one of the strongest in the world. That country is about one-tenth the size of America, and has a national debt of $1.2 trillion, so extrapolating the figures, in American terms it would be $12 trillion, so the United States is not that far out of whack.

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3. Eliminate deficit spending. See economics lesson No. 2.

4. Protect free markets. “Allowing free markets to prosper unfettered by government interference is what propelled this country to greatness,” the tea party says. Well, it ain’t 1950 anymore. It's not smart policy to just let anyone drill for oil or hydrofrack anywhere with no regard for the environment. And cutting government regulation of the stock market and banks led to the 2008 financial collapse. The world is more complex – the Beav (Jerry Mathers) grew up while you weren’t looking, tea baggers.

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5. Abide by the Constitution of the United States. “Protect states’ rights and individual liberties,” the website states. That’s the idea, have 50 little countries, each with its own methods of stymieing all nonwhite voters so that Republicans can win elections; and have abortion and gay rights policies that are all over the map, as well as a hodgepodge of gun laws. Why, tea baggers, do you think it’s called the United States?

6. Promote civic responsibility: “...to preserve the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of this country’s citizens.” Cock your gun and tell me how that one fits in again, please?

7. Reduce the overall size of government: There aren’t 2.5 million Americans anymore as there was when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. There are about 320 million Americans in 2013, and it is the largest economy in the world. Sorry, baggers, government must grow with the times. Don’t mistrust government; embrace it and make it work optimally.

8. Believe in the people. Hey, tea baggers, you got it right!

9. Avoid the pitfalls of politics. “American politics is burdened by big money from lobbyists….” Yes, it is, and one of the leading examples is the pair who founded your tea party, the Koch brothers.

10. Maintain local independence. See No. 5, because I am growing tired of instructing you, tea baggers.

11. This is not on the tea baggers website but should be: “Merry Christmas.”

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/16192509-gop-drinks-the-bitter-tea-just-like-jonestown-kool-aid


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