Why the Hate?

This last week saw a whole new round of Tea Parties that remained as civil as ever. Civil, being a relative term to Prolibama (progressive, liberal, Obama types) supporters of course. While perusing message boards i see the hatred rages on. The rhetoric remains pretty much the same. The tea baggers are racist. The tea baggers are morons. The tea baggers are violent. The movement is not really grass roots but the product of an efficient right-wing propaganda machine. Blah, blah, blah. Bill Clinton is warning about the dangers of inflammatory speech. Obama is trying the “pretend they don’t matter” approach. Some left wingers are trying to infiltrate the movement with fake signs to make them look bad.

And yet, the Tea Party movement soldiers on. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to question the anger at the Tea Parties from the left. The Tea Parties are primarily about fiscal responsibility and constitutionally limited government. I know much of the vitriol from the left is a knee-jerk support for Obama and a response to the challenge the Tea Parties raise to his foolishness. But you have to question what the Prolibama movement is all about.

The opposite of fiscal responsibility is fiscal irresponsibility. In Congress we have a bunch of elected representatives who seem to be hell-bent on spending us into the ground. The fiction that recent health care legislation is going to save us money ranks right up there with such classics as “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Just because someone wrote it or said it doesn’t make it the truth. The GOP was bad enough when they were in power but the democrats spend like Paris Hilton on steroids. The question is why? The fundamental answer lies in their view of government. The progressive view is that government does have the answers and is a force for good. The problem is that there is little historical evidence to back that up. Governments may do some good things but they always come with a lot of bad things attached.

Constitutionally limited government sounds like a good thing to me, but not to a progressive. Where I view the Constitution as protection against government grabs for power, (that invariably come at a cost of lessened personal liberty) progressives view the Constitution as a ball and chain around the old agenda. Their view seems to be use it when you can, change what it says when needed and ignore it when all else fails — amazing how the left can find magical protections in the Constitution when it suits them, but can’t make heads or tails out of that darned Second Amendment.

My fear is that, unfortunately, much of the Prolibama movement revolves around the ignorance of the people. Worse, possibly, is that the Prolibama movement appeals strictly to selfishness. Get me my check. Pay my way. Take care of me.
We seem to have whole collection of voters that vote, not for the good of the country, but strictly out of personal interest.

“When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”

That quotes has been attributed to a variety of folks, including Ben Franklin. It doesn’t really matter who said it. It’s a pretty profound saying. sadly, we seem to be there now.