Posted on 04/10/2014 2:44:14 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Republican Party and the Tea Party hold different views regarding the future of U.S. conservatism. A distinct way to understand this split is by looking at the leaders of each party. For example, Sen. John McCain has been a notable establishment Republican for years. Contrarily, the Tea Party looks up to people such as Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Palin leads this political movement along with Cruz – who had a hand in shutting down the government last fall.
There are two very different styles of leadership from Sens. McCain and Cruz, and Nebraska is beginning to lean toward the Cruz-like candidates.
Nebraska has become the frontline for the battle between the GOP and the Tea Party. For example, last year the Tea Party supported Sen. Deb Fischer, and she was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. She was also endorsed by Palin, who helped make robo-calls on her behalf. Moreover, many of the candidates for Nebraska’s senate and gubernatorial race have campaigned on ideals similar to that of the Tea Party. For example, Palin recently endorsed businessman Pete Ricketts for governor. Ben Sasse, U.S. Senate candidate and president of Midlands University, recently gained endorsement from the Freedom Works PAC – a Tea Party affiliate. According to Freedom Works, the PAC moved its support to Sasse from another candidate, Shane Osborn, because he has “allied himself with the GOP establishment.”
Why vote moderate instead of voting for extremism? Because the Tea Party doesn’t bring compromise to Nebraska nor Washington, and it’s unable to speak for the state as a whole. The Tea Party and its candidates don’t campaign on cooperation and doing the best for the American public. They advocate for cutting taxes and repealing the Affordable Care Act. Their message is simple in this fashion, but chances are, if someone says “I’m going to fix Washington with this simple plan” they probably don’t know what they’re doing.
Washington is a partisan city – it wasn’t set up to be an easy place in which to work. Simply reducing the amount of government isn’t the antidote for our country’s problems, however. We won’t magically see the approval rating of the federal government jump to 100 percent and naturally reduce property and income taxes for every person in the U.S. just by repealing the ACA. This is a small fix for a long-term problem. Repealing the bill and returning to the old system of health insurance will lead to more people not being able to obtain or keep health insurance and a steady increase in costs and services.
Washington and the governor’s mansion are two complex places, both of which require moderate thinkers: competent people who can understand all points of view and make educated decisions about policies that affect the 1.8 million people in Nebraska. If we elect Tea Partiers, we can forget about cooperation and moderation.
We used to have moderate leaders. Former Sens. and Govs. Bob Kerrey and Ben Nelson were both Democrats and moderates. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry also recently discussed the ACA. He feels we should work with the bill rather than repeal it – a very moderate statement. Additionally, he opposed shutting down the federal government over the ACA, which many of his GOP colleagues supported. With acts like this from Fortenberry, we can understand the value of cooperation. The ACA was passed and approved by Congress, President Obama and the Supreme Court. It’s not a perfect piece of legislation, but it has positive side effects we can’t ignore.
Nebraska is known for moderation, level-headedness and cooperation – not for being obstinate. Extremist ideologies don’t work well with other members of Congress and the state Legislature; it will only lead to a lack of progression. Almost a dozen candidates for Nebraska’s open senate seat in addition to the governor’s mansion, and the majority of them have campaigned on Tea Party ideals from tax cuts to repealing the ACA. There’s no positive message, no sign of change and no insistence to do the best for Nebraska voters. Successful politicians need long-term goals, and I have yet to see that in the GOP candidates.
Political science major earns White House internship
http://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/political-science-major-earns-white-house-internship/
OFA - Mark’s Phone Bank
https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpf4mm
ings a whole new meaning to being Batt-crazy.
I will vote for the tea party.
This guy thinks we should bankrupt the country and destroy our culture at a more “moderate” pace.
“The Republican Party and the Tea Party hold different views regarding the future of U.S. conservatism.”.
Indeed! The repubs are more like the demodummies than being “conservative”. The Tea Party (IMO) is on the right track to bring this country back to where it once was and both the demodummies and the RHINO’s are definitely afraid the Tea Party will succeed. I’ll vote Tea Party before even thinking of voting repub again.
Batt.
S**t crazy.
I read it a second time. This column is a great example of what is wrong. Just about every paragraph shows the shallow, self-absorbed thinking of our pundit class. It’s worth bookmarking.
Mr. niteowl77
He’s not a pundit, for real, he’s a JUNIOR in college that don’t know sh-t.
it will only lead to a lack of progression...AHHH! He gets it.
Well Mr. Poly Sci Major, How about you focus on the DIFFERENCE IN VALUES?
VALUES are NOT a shopping list of negotiable talking points.
VALUES are the beliefs on which YOU ARE UNWILLING TO COMPROMISE!
McCain, for instance will TALK about what he’s for, and then HE GIVES IT ALL AWAY JUST TO SHOW HE’S WILLING TO REACH ACROSS THE AISLE!!
That is NOT Values based LEADERSHIP!
No doubt this wet-behind-the-ears college kid is a Democrat. In giving advice to Republicans, Democrats always tell Republicans they have to join the “moderate” RINOs and Democrats in bringing the nation to the promised land of Socialism. He might make it to the NYT or MSNBC with his infantile style and lack of substance.
And he probably signed up for ObamaCAre, too.
I think he has a bright future in journalism or politics. He’s just the sort of half-educated dolt who writes for any number of online publications. He’s not really enough of a hipster to succeed at some of the national ones, so the local paper is probably where he ends up, unless he comes out of the closest or something. That could move him up the chain.
Bob Kerrey was a moderate???? Then I guess Leon Trotsky would have been a Reagan conservative.
Batt, thank you for your opinions. However, I am voting tea party. Do you know baseball? Since Hank Aaron knows politics, I thought you know baseball.
Another sub-intelligent fool parroting talking points. So not unusual at all.
Is Mr. Batt the real “Pajama Boy”? lol
I’ll vote Tea Party before even thinking of voting repub again.>>>>
Amen to that.
from the article:
Washington is a partisan city – it wasn’t set up to be an easy place in which to work. Simply reducing the amount of government isn’t the antidote for our country’s problems, however.
WRONG! Returning our government to its Article 1, Section 8 boundaries will solve most of the problems which plague the United States.
James R. McClure Jr.
Jeffersonian Anti-Federalist Democrat candidate for IN09
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