The Tea is Poisoned
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Be Careful What You Drink
The Tea is poisoned
Oh boy….
Yeah….
I try not to write these but it is just sooooo tempting. Hey, I’m a positive person. I have a great life, a great job, a great family, etc. However, there is this squeaky voice in the back of my head that says “what in the world is going on with these people?!”
Since gaining some power in congress, we have seen many ‘TEA’ party candidates talk about ending job killing regulations. Sounds like a reasonable idea to me…but then I have to ask the question: What does the ‘TEA’ party consider “job killing regulations?”
According to Speaker of the House John Boehner, these “job-killing regulations” are “strangling” business. Hey, I agree that there is regulation out there that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Obama has echoed this. So what are the newly elected TEA party congress members doing to end the ‘job killing’ regulations?
A favorite target of TEA party Republicans is the EPA. This may seem strange to you seeing that the EPA was actually created by Republicans. A recent vote for H.R. 872 was supported by all 235 Republicans in the House. What does it do? The bill eliminates the EPA’s ability to force farmers to comply with the Clean Water Act when using pesticides near public water sources. To be honest, maybe I don’t know enough about the bill but doesn’t it seem logical to regulate pesticide use near public water sources?
Let’s move on to Aviation. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) attached an amendment to a Republican drafted “Aviation Bill” which would eliminate many of the requirements that force airlines to allow pilots adequate rest. Hey, if airlines can run their pilots on longer shifts, they can squeeze more flights and more dollars. Who doesn’t want a pilot flying them who is 5 cups of coffee deep and running 36 hours with no rest? “Sully” Sullenberger (The hero who safely landed a packed plane into the Hudson River in NY) had this to say about the affects of the new amendment: “at some point in the future, we don’t know when, it’s likely people will die unnecessarily.”
How about some local TEA party flavor. A Montana GOP State Rep named Alan Hale said that new DUI laws are “harming business.” In fact, he added that they are “destroying them.” Before we judge Republican Rep Alan Hale, let’s give him a fair chance to make his point. After all, he is a state rep who is also runs a small business…
Yeah…that “small business” is actually a BAR...but I’m sure he has our best interests at heart.
Let’s turn our attention to the great state of Maine. State Rep. David Burns (another fine TEA party Republican) wants to change some of that good ole ‘job killing regulations.’ He is proposing a new law that would allow employers to pay people under 20 years of age, an hourly wage of 5.25 per hour, despite the fact that minimum wage is 7.50 per hour. Sound strange? So to clarify, he wants to give employers the right to pay people under 20 years of age less money for their first 6 months of employment. He also wants to eliminate the maximum number of hours a minor in school can work.
Let me be clear, the Republican attack on minimum wage is not a local issue. Senator Mike Lee (Republican – Utah) claims that child labor laws “violate the constitution.” A fine Missouri Republican Jane Cunningham is seeking to eliminate the minimum work age of 14 and also eliminate the restrictions on the number of hours a minor can work. What is one regulation that has not changed under GOP control? For nine years (1997-2006), the federal minimum wage stayed the same. It should be noted that in 2010, CEO pay was up 27%. The average CEO pay with bonuses was just a tad over $11 million dollars per year.
Let’s put this picture together. You have heard big companies like Exxon and GE have skirted paying taxes. GE earned billions of dollars, paid no federal taxes, their CEO Jeff Immelt saw his pay double, yet he is asking thousands of workers to take cuts to their benefits. What is a TEA party candidate to do? GOP TEA party favorite Paul Ryan says we need to eliminate tax regulation on these big companies and cut their taxes. Sorry Paul, you are too late…they already do not pay taxes.
So I say to all of those good intentioned TEA Party voters, be careful what you drink. You might discover the TEA is not so good for you.
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LRC - You know I lean conservative but I have to admit these clowns are pushing the envelope and it will I would suppose come out in the 'wash' (Next election is right around the corner). As for the Corporations, I would not lay that on the TEA Party by itself, GE hasn't paid taxes in last three years because they have repub and dem lobbyists, and friends throughout the political spectrum to include the President himself. Though haven't heard yet I wouldn't be surprised if George Soros didn't pay any taxes either, Go after em all LRC then we'll be on the same page.
If the tea is poisoned than so is the Kool-ade. We really are in trouble, aren't we?
My claim is that the TEA has a High T.H.C.content and they are all TEA HEADS. I believe Independents will see the stupidity of the TEA Party and 2012 may be a sweep for Democrats. If not we can kiss goodbye to both JOBS and any Progress we made in the last 100 years. I also have a recent HUB on this misguided bunch of crusaders. They do not care that Huge Corporations do not pay taxes and even gets rebates. They will not discuss the billions lost in revenue. But they want to cut spending on things like EPA, NPR, Head Start, and valuable programs for ordinary Americans.
+@HSchneider - polling is already showing that a lot of independents are turning away from the TEA party. Too radical.
@Hmrjmr1 - My man, you are right on. I'm picking on the GOP a bit but both sides are guilty. Absolutely! How much money did GE give to Obama and in turn, how much stimulus money has gone to GE projects? Hmmmmmm....
Pop is right, we're all drinking the TEA and Kool-ade while our lawmakers run around serving special interest and corp America.
@Terry.Hirneisen - that is my frustration as well. When you add up all the defense spending, it comes to about a trillion. But hey, let's not touch that and let's go after the 5 million NPR gets...makes no sense.
LRC, this was an interesting hub. You know I lean slightly to the right, but I also wander around on the left some to learn things. I had not heard about the lunatic ideas proposed by these Republicans you mentioned in your hub. Not doubting you at all, we have nut jobs on both sides of the aisle. I would love to be able to sit down and chat with one of these idiots and have them explain to me how they came up with this idea. Their motivation has to be personal in nature because none of these ideas would do anything to make our country better. All of those we find proposing legislation that would benefit them personally or their friends should be fired and run out of town immediately. How many of these idiotic ideas were bought and paid for with large campaign contributions?
I'm sorry, but I am pretty much fed up with all of them regardless of which side of the aisle they sit on. If I hear the name of even one politician who has the best interest of we citizens first and foremost in mind, I will sure let you know. If you can think of one, please let me know.
Dear LRC,
In a way, I agree that the Teapublicans will self-destruct on their own, but how much destruction will they leave in their wake? It will take 10 years to repair the damage they are determined to wreak on the economy and people affected by their insanity.
Keep exposing them for the charlatans they are!
@ Old Poolman - This is why I always welcome your comments my friend. I am picking on the GOP a bit but as you point out, what politician (Dem or Republican) really has our best interests at heart and is not voting based on getting campaign contributions?
@ Jillian - it's a great question. How many things will be done or "undone" that will take years to fix or reinstate?
In a way, i hope these greedy right wing rejects will continue doing exactly what they are doing, then surely the people will open their eyes. Thank you for a look at the facts.
Cheers
The problem is that the corps that are spiking the tea, are also able to 'stir the pot' by bankrolling folks like the Koch Borthers and supporting folks like Beck and Limbaugh.
What happened in Wisconsin (read, or re-read 'Wisconsin Wakes Up'), and is happening elsewhere, is a sign that perhaps that people are seeing past the tea.
Great Hub! For some reason the Tea partiers and Republicans have succeeded in getting regular folk to vote against their own interests. The programs they are destroying and the regulations they are removing are there for all of us in a time of need. Teabaggers breathe the same air and drink the same water we all do and their kids will work at the lower minimum wage. Any ideas why they vote this way?
Lee (chefsref)
chefsref:
I'm not going to answer for LRC, but I'll answer for myself.
Basically, the Teabaggers have been convinced to vote against their economic interests (see my hub 'Who's Pouring That Tea').
The thing is, some folks are seeing what they did. . .
Excellent hub, LRC. We can only hope the poor non-thinkers who have been led to vote against their own interest will wake up before it's too late.
voted up/awesome
So I'll take a stab at chefsref's question. TPC, would love to get your thoughts on this as well. Throughout history, people have voted against their own interest but it really seems to have become more prevalent since Bush was elected (the first time). I'm not sure how to fully explain but I think a lot of it has to do with a growing religious divide in this country. People will vote for a candidate mostly because they speak the same religious 'language' and not necessarily based on any of that politicians initiatives or ideas.
LRC:
Maybe, or they can 'relate' to someone who simplifes complex things.
One need only look at the binary nature of conservative thought(?)
Just one question: Who is Obama's newest best friend? It isn't Jeff Inmelt is it?
imjustmusing - I love the comment. Clearly I'm picking on the GOP a bit but both sides of congress are OWNED by those who fund their campaigns. They certainly do not answer to their constituents.
I wonder how much stimulus money has gone to GE? GE has also given Obama 450k or something like that in campaign money.
LRC, with this latest comment you just earned my full and total respect. Anyone who believes their chosen side is all things pure and good are living in a dream world. Neither side has our interest at heart, and could care less about the long term implications of their decisions.
TeaPartyCrasher has a mantra regarding "corps" and how they pay no taxes. It appears in the case of GE, he is absolutely correct. They paid heavily for favors, and it appears this worked well in their case. I hope he realizes they paid this bribe money to the Obama group and most likely with the knowledge and blessing of many of the right side of the aisle who may have also received some "tips" for their favors.
To only blame one side and ignoring the big picture of corruption on both sides is foolish. Blind loyalty is a great thing, but one needs to be aware of all that is going on, and it isn't pretty my friend.
Old:
Then one need to take a look at the "Tea Party" and their handlers.
LRC:
True, but which side would be more resistant to say--Public Funding of elections.
LRC great hub. It's good to hear a few conservatives see how ridiculous the tea party can be. To anyone who don't believe it, the issues around child labor are true. Some lunnies think it's okay to raise the amount of hours high school kids can work and cut their earnings. Rachael Maddow done a very informative piece about this.
Old Poolman - thank you so much. I also see you as one of the people who 'gets it.'
TPC - I certainly agree with you regarding public funding. I think the fair elections now act had 152 Dem co-sponsors and only 2 Republicans. However, not much support from Dems in the Senate.
A case can be made for yet another political party, this time a true populist part with the interests of average people as the driving intent. Obama and the Dems have many of our votes because they are the lesser of two evils.I would like to see someone I could get enthused about, running for office. Teabaggers mistrust of government leads to a reliance on private industry which is even worse than Uncle Sam.
chefs:
Read, or re-read, "A Third Way", one of my Hubs!
I usually do not comment or get involved in the debates about the state of this country and its leaders, Republican and Democratic, but I make an exception here. I am a Conservative Liberal, Yup! My values, grace, and compassion is the dividing line between the two extremes. I have listened to the protests of The Tea Party and I have observed the demographic make up of the crowds who attend, I have reason to be concerned regarding the underlying motivation behind their move. I am also a realist, my expectations not over the top and not usually an alarmist, but this group of people make me nervous.I have to wonder if any of these people have relatives who are in the same position of millions of Americans without the funds to pay for health care, who have lost all their earned income, who need food stamps for a few months to get back on their feet, whose job was outsourced, who did not make all the right career moves etc., who are not stocked up in lucrative investments????? Hmmm??? I have to wonder if they want to become the new government.
Annaw, thanks to your comment I just figured out who I am. I too am a Conservative Liberal. I hope there are more of us around who are seeing the big picture.
annaw, great comment. I've always said the same. I'm fiscally conservative but have always supported personal liberties above all else. I also believe that social programs are an important part of any government but need to be controlled and checked. I think I too would fall into the Conservative Liberal group!
“Sully” Sullenberger (The hero who safely landed a packed plane into the Hudson River in NY) had this to say about the affects of the new amendment: “at some point in the future, we don’t know when, it’s likely people will die unnecessarily.”
Did you see the latest Bill mahr show? This pilot was speaking about how pensions, salaries and hours were adversely affected by this deregulation fever. It is getting to the points that pilots are being paid on par with fast food workers. It has reached the point where pilots could very well not be in condition to fly planes. What are the rightwingers trying to do? Are they mad? This is terribly irresponsible and the Tea Party is actually offering America a cup of hemlock. We all need to be very concerned about making sure that their agenda is beaten back at every turn.
Thanks for this timely piece... LRC
LRCBlogger
What is the tea party agenda??? Do you have any ideas??? Are they really drinking tea?? The tea baggers are not in the majority yet.Are they???
LRCBlogger
What is the tea party agenda??? Do you have any ideas??? Are they really drinking tea?? The tea baggers are not in the majority yet.
Jon:
The better question is "Do the tea party have any NEW ideas?"
See my hub "New Faces, Old Ideas" for more on that.
And it's not so much what their drinking but "Who's Pouring That Tea"?
Jon, I think the TEA party's biggest agenda item is deregulation (regardless of whether the regulation makes sense or not). They are pushing for no rules.
Second big agenda item I see is lower taxes for anyone/everyone, regardless of the consequences to the debt.
Third agenda item is to elect as many Conservative Republicans as possible. That is what I'm seeing.
LRC, I get the feeling you and I both walk about the same line when it comes to politics.
I have honestly not followed the Tea Party, and see them as being all over the map with no clear agenda.
What are they proposing deregulating. I am retired from a phone company and can tell you all deregulation did there was destroy one of the best communication networks in the world. Cost for service went up and quality went down.
If we could get everyone to pay their fair share we could most likely lower taxes for everyone. But not when we have Corporations and Unions paying nothing. Our entire tax system is an out of control monster that few, if any, really understand. We could also cut out the waste and lower taxes for everyone.
There are some good Conservative Republicans, just as there are some good Liberal Democrats. Getting the proper mix of these good ones would be healthy for this country. I am really sick of the label thing and stereotyping based on the party line they follow. So many lies and false truths that some latch onto and believe with all their hearts. If the plan was to split this country, the plan is working and it is not good for America.
I think you told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, in this hub. Do it again.
This is far and away one of the best hubs I've read in a long time. But it just scratches the surface of the ridiculous extremes to which the Tea Party is willing to go. Thanks for a great Hub and keep up the good work. We need to see more fact based articles like this.
thank you Jeff!
LRCBlogger
Those newly elected officials (teaparty ) to congress want to stop increasing $trillion deficits year after year by the administration and the congress.
Jon:
It's more a matter of HOW they want to do it, they still want to make sure that their corporate contributors can have their tax breaks, etc while making the working and lower classes bear the weight.
But since you rely on corporate voices. . .
TeaPartyCrasher - do a little research on GE not paying taxes and you may be surprised. It wasn't the Tea Party who made this happen.
The tea maybe poisoned. It's also getting weaker. The latest polls show public interest in the tea party has dropped off. Sarah Palin was booed really loud when she showed up in Wisconsin. Across the country turn out at tea party rallies have decreased drastically. The working class is making their voices heard loud and clear. The fad may be over.
Mimi:
People are seeing why the "Tea Party" was so scant on ideas.
They were the same ideas that got us into this mess, and that voters rejected in 2006 and 2008.
I can only hope that the working-class insurgency that began in Wisconsin and seems to be spreading to Ohio continues to spread.
TeaPartyCrasher
'' corporate contributors can have their tax breaks, etc while making the working and lower classes bear the weight''.
Are your comments for GE,WALLSTREET BANKERS,EXXON,GENERAL MOTORS,GEORGE SOROS, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, HOLLYWOOD, FREEDIE MAY, FANNIE MAY AND THE CIO-AFL UNIONS. In the last election they gave Obama $$$$ Millions and donated other funds, 95% to Democrat candidates. OBAMA RECENTLY APPOINTED THE PRESIDENTS OF GOOGLE AND GE TO A JOB COMMISSION. Let’s not forget Mr. Trumka,AFL-CIO unions. THE OBAMA STIMULUS MONEY saved thousands of teachers, police, fireman and other public sector union jobs including billion s to their pension funds. All the tax breaks they got they earned them by having their friends in WASHINGTON manipulate the law.
Wake up man, come out in the real world. Bush is gone and the Democrats have had a majority control of the government since 2007 to 2010.I seem to recall that Reid is still in charge of the Senate, Obama was moved up from Senator to the highest office, President Obama. Pelosi is still there too, distorting the facts, simply out of this world at times. Having 72 hours to see the bill before bringing a bill to the floor, that can't be right.
Ryan and the Republicans want to repeal Obamacare so that the $500 billion cuts to Medicare in the bill will not happen. Obama says that the Ryan bill will change Medicare and cost seniors more money. A false and incorrect statement, shameful. The Ryan bill does not change Medicare for seniors presently in the program. The BUDGET locks in anyone that is 55 and over. In the following10 years ,the 54 year old will see a gradual change in how Medicare payments will be made. NO changes in Medicare for 10 years and NO $500 billion cuts in the program. Obama is not telling it that way, is he?
Jon:
Did you hear that from Beck, or Limbaugh?
And remember, a union is a group of people, a corp is an artifical entity, with rights now, but not the responsbilities (see my hub 'Reading 'em What Rights').
TeaPartyCrasher - Have you ever owned a Corporation? Many small business's are Incorporated, not for tax breaks as you believe, but to protect their personal assets from their business assets. I own a small business that is incorporated, and believe me, I pay at least my fair share of taxes. Heck, I even match my employees SS deductions dollar for dollar every payday, in addition to providing them with health care benefits and company paid life insurance. You love to say Corps don't pay taxes but I'll bet I paid way more than you did last year. And in the process I provided a damn fine wage for my 9 employees, who also had to pay taxes. No, being incorporated is not a free ride as you surmise. How many people did you support last year?
TeaPartyCrasher
''Did you hear that from Beck, or Limbaugh?''
NO, NOT FROM EITHER.HAVE YOU EVER LISTENED TO EITHER ONE in seeking what is happening in our country?
Try Cavuto, Sat. morning business discussions on Fox, C-Span and try reading the local business sections.
A lot of what is on the net is pure propaganda and half truths.
For example, our dear President either don't know what is happening in Congress and Washington or he is just color coding the truth. What he says in public and what he is doing is many times just the opposite.
as reported above .The Republicans can't be blamed for the problems since President Obama and the Democrats have had full control of the government since 2006.
Jon:
Try listening to The Rick Smith Show, Equal Time Radio or Shared Sacrifice.
(In the interest of disclosure, I am an occasional caller to The Rick Smith Show, and have folks involved with Equal Time Radio and Shared Sacrifice as FB friends)
Stuff that isn't manipulated by corps and their CEOs so folks like you will enable their goal of creating 'USA Inc.'
Or do want your desecendents to live like sefs to 'Lord Koch'?
TeaPartyCrasher
is lord koch like george soros and company??
who is 'usa inc'?
HSchneider Level 6 Commenter 13 months ago
You are right LRC. The Tea party tea is poisoned and totally running amok. I say let them continue and discredit themselves with the American people. The Senate or President Obama will stop these irresponsible efforts. 2012 is coming and the people will decide. This time the Tea Party will not have the field to themselves. The Independents will see what they are doing and the pendulum will swing back to the Democrats. Great Hub LRC.