Do We Really Want the Balance of Power in Our Government in the Hands of These Tea Party People?

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post suggests that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are "late to the party with their "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," suggesting that the Tea Party "has been Comedy Central all along." Let's see if you agree:

Christine O'Donnell of Delaware (way too close to me for comfort), has had to defend herself with ads like "I am not a witch," reassuring us that "I'm you." Honey, you ain't me. She also claimed that the First Amendment did not call for separation of church and state. When the subject of teaching creationism came up in a debate, she parroted the old "Evolution is not a fact but a theory" line, showing her ignorance of the scientific meaning of the world "theory." And then there's this statement: "American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains. So they're already into this experiment." And as for the newest O'Donnell report about her one-night stand three years ago on Halloween (hmmm), I really don't give a fig about her sex life, but this report flies in the face of her avowed Christian beliefs that even masturbation is adultery.

And for those who would say this is down and dirty, I have only two words: Kenneth Starr. O'Donnell, by the way, is under investigation by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). (See CBS News here). As Jon Stewart properly asks in this video, "How will Democrats F**k this up?"

Sharron Angle of Nevada, running against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, made the outlandish comment when addressing a group of Hispanic students, "I don't know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me." Not knowing when to shut up, she added, "To make it clear just how hard it can be to tell who is Latino and who is Asian and who is white."

She's equated government safety-net programs to divorce and abortion, calling them "symptoms of the nation's 'wicked ways.'" While she supports Social Security for those already in the system, she promotes the younger generation investing for retirement, ignoring the fact that in the event of a stock market crash, these people will be destitute, which is the MAIN REASON social security was established.

She's accused Dearborn, Michigan, with its large Arab American population, and Frankford, Texas, of instituting Islamic sharia law. To her question, "how that happened in the United States," Robinson replies here, "Well, it didn't happen. There's nothing but good old-fashioned American law in Dearborn, which Angle seems to have singled out because of its large Arab American population. And Frankford no longer exists, having been annexed by Dallas in 1975."

Angle has also resurrected the "death panels" controversy, only calling them "benefit panels," with an ad headlined with "Your lifespan will depend on what you do on November 2, 2010." See ad here. Finally, by accusing her opponent Harry Reid of obtaining his wealth nefariously, (see this article) she is instituting class warfare, something that republicans and the Tea Party claim to abhor.

Carl Paladine running for governor of New York, who's threatened a reporter with "I'll take you out," and has insulted gays, Manhattan residents, illegal immigrants, as well as present and former governors of New York. He called Gov. David Paterson "pathetic" and a "wimp," and Gov. George Pataki a "degenerate idiot." He has proposed that unemployed people on welfare could be housed in underused state prisons. "Instead of handing out the welfare checks, we'll teach people how to earn their check. We'll teach them personal hygiene . . .the personal things they don't get when they come from dysfunctional homes." Now, whether or not Paterson is "pathetic," or Pataki is a "degenerate idiot," I've come to expect more from my leaders when they try to get my vote.

And as much as I'd like to see illegal immigration curtailed, Alaskan senate candidate Joe Miller's statement that "If East Germany could do it, we could do it," doesn't warm my heart. Neither does a recent report that his guards handcuffed and detained the editor of the online "Alaska Dispatch" when he tried to interview Joe Miller. (See CBS News here).

Finally, there's Rand Paul, who's dancing as fast as he can lately after he stated on national TV that he might not have voted for the Civil Rights Act. "Yes, I believe that the1964 Civil Rights Act properly provides that no business should be able to discriminate. I have said repeatedly that I abhor discrimination, that it was a stain upon our nation, and that the situation required the remedy of legislation to end the problem." Lexington Herald Leader. Unfortunately, it will never be forgotten that he said on national TV that the Civil Rights Act went "too far" in banning discrimination by private companies, stating that one part of the act "deals with private institutions, and had I been around, I would've tried to modify that."

If a conventional Republican beats my democrat candidate, so be it. But do we really want the balance of power in our government dependent upon people like these Tea Party fanatics? If you go to their websites, their platforms are laid out quite sanely, most of them running on tax reduction, anti-abortion, gun rights, etc., that most mainline republicans support. It's what's NOT on their websites we need to worry about.

Click here for Opposing Point of View by Linda Rogacki