We all get e-mail from time to time (daily?) claiming to be a grassroots sort of letter to the Dems and the Administration. Dunno if it's real grassroots stuff or Astroturf. Sometimes they claim to be written by some noteable public figure. If there's even a name associated with it, usually no one's ever heard of the person.
Anymore, I seldom even read them that closely, if at all. Many of them have been fwd'd so many times that the messed up formatting makes them really tedious, painful even, to read.
Mostly me eye's glaze over and they go straight to trash. Some I will scan over, esp if there's a humorous image/pic included. I can't remember the last time I even bothered to Snopes one of 'em.
Once in a while I'll slow down and give a bit more attention to one of these posts. Agree with them or not, Astroturf or not, some are put together pretty well. Some even capture and communicate some popular sentiment very well.
Like I said, agree with this type post or not it, some merit attention simply as a view into part of the present day soul of America. The post below is one of those posts. It captures the spirit of the movement underlying the past year's TEA parties.
I must admit, even this one I haven't read super closely or parsed for error to argue or deconstruct. It's longer than most but doesn't go into internet rant territory.
Take it or leave it. Eat the chicken, leave the bones.
What caught my eye was the headings on the 12 key points. At least scan those for context and overall pespective. I bold faced those sub-headings for the casual reader.
The morning woodstove fire is up and running well, coffee's on, gray skys with a momentary break in the rain; enjoy some Saturday morning reading.
"I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life.
Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I
no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue
issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents
my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer
feel any political party or representative in Washington
represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to
me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and
Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to
represent.
There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that
you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution
as it was written. Please stand up now.
You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly
disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I?
Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:
One- illegal immigration.
I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.
Two- the STIMULUS bill.
I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told
you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed.
Freeze, repeal.
Three- Czars.
I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped
immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to
the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and
honor it.
Four- cap and trade.
The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into
politically-correct quicksand.
Five, universal healthcare.
I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children, and grandchildren. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down! Fix only what is broken --
we have the best health care system in the world -- and test any new program
in one or two states first.
Six- growing government control.
I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your REAL [Constitutional] obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven- ACORN.
I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them
investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed
to them every time on every real estate deal that closes -- how did they pull
that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending
impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the
census with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with any of our taxpayer
money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before
taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks
like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work
for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight- redistribution of wealth.
No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked
for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs -- and
that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a
job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do
you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine- charitable contributions.
Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it
ourselves.
Ten- corporate bailouts.
Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If
there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and
letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a
Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great
hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than
you have disappointed us.
Eleven- transparency and accountability.
How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the
buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please stop trying to
manipulate and appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you
obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making
deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal
investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve- unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from nonpoliticians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop
speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community
organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a
parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired.
I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of
government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a
little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our
personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be
responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the
same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far
off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader
to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without
knowing what it contained? I do not.
It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you
would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I
would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt
that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP
bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still
cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent
spending of our tax dollars.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am
far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current
pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop.
We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced
upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold
to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our
vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have
had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to
Washington . Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like
unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did
the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced
words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and
at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be
heard and we will be represented.. You think we're so busy with our lives
that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of
us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our
noses to the grindstone... and we are now looking at you.
You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that
it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are
great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will
be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We
will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on
voting day to usher you out of office.
We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the
representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't
ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in
violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you
will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who
will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our
constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care.
Political parties are meaningless to us Patriotic Americans are willing to do
right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to
us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is
not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted
you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As
Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If
you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and
consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired.
Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be
loyal to us, not to them.. Because we will get you fired and they will not
save you.
If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your
identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to
know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the
rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one
by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do
you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are
coming."
Those 12 points would be a good platform for the loyal opposition to run on in 2010 and 2012.
The party of "No?" Not enough "positive" vision in there for rebuilding the Republican brand? Maybe. Maybe that's not a bad thing. It's what adults need to say to foolish children.
"The party of No. Adult leadership for the future of America."
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