Why I'd rather be thirsty than at a Tea Party

There is a dangerous idea running rampant in America right now. The Tea Party is increasing its influence and its reach. This new movement is contradictory within its own goals and would be a harmful future direction for our country to take.

 
The largest piece of evidence towards the fault of the Tea Party is the fact that they had Sarah Palin as the keynote speaker for their convention last month. Remember when she got caught reading hand-written notes off of her palm? Yeah, that was during her speech at the National Tea Party Convention. First Strike.
 
The Tea Party is staunchly anti-taxes; hence the name Tea Party- no taxation without representation like the Boston Tea Party. They want lower taxes all around. Last year, one of their largest protests was held on April 15, Tax Day.
 
Furthermore, the fact that by now most people have heard of the Tea Party is, in essence, against their platform. The Teabaggers are against Big Media- yet they are constantly splashed all over the news. The reason that they have gained the majority of their notoriety is due to the 24/7 news cycle. They are feeding off of the media for more supporters, more money, more publicity- when they are supposedly against the very concept of big media itself. It is one thing to be discussed by pundits; it is another thing to purposely make news for yourself by calling Obama "our half white racist president," as spokesman for the Tea Party Express, Mark Williams, did last September. The Tea Party Express, a caravan of buses that travels the country promoting the cause, is the epitome of astroturf- fake grassroots. It is not favored by all members of the party, but it certainly helps to get the party's message across. This stance against Big Media is not only hypocritical, it is an abuse of trust of its supporters.
 
To the same effect, the Teabaggers are for a freer market, lighter regulations, and no more government bailouts. They are also against Big Business. This itself, however, is also a contradiction. If the market were to become freer and regulations were lightened- the business corruption and erratic spending that put us in our current recession would only increase- thus increasing the size of Big Business and making more government bailouts necessary for more businesses. Taking away regulations and making it easier for corrupt CEOs and businesspersons to steal is not the proper way to fix the market. It is contradictory as a successful way to reverse the recession. Besides, the bailouts have helped to contribute to a reversal already- the Dow Jones has jumped back 70% from its lowest point during the depression.
 
Another important aspect of the Tea Party's platform is anti-intellectualism. Many Teabaggers feel that the government has been taken over by highly educated elitists who are unfit to rule for the common man. Personally, I think this is the most dangerous side effect of the rise of the Tea Party. By protesting against the ability of the educated to lead in politics, The Tea Party is all but discouraging education. I prefer to have the smartest people possible in charge of making laws for me, not the least educated. Additionally, the Tea Party is leading a campaign against the ideals of the intellectual class- turning against abortion and gun control, denying global warming, and promoting isolationist policies.
 
It is always those that are against the current ruling party who are most passionate in their beliefs. The Teabaggers are the new Anti-Bushers. They are unsatisfied with the current ruling party and so they are reverting to the exact opposite of all of the issues for which it stands in hopes of procuring change. Change that I, personally, hope never comes.