Tea Parties and Blind Hatred

All Presidents - Democratic and Republican - have opponents and certain demographics that will never agree or try to seek common ground with them. Some folks just have philosophical and fundamental disagreements that are legitimate and open for discussion. It's normal. It's healthy. It's democracy.

But since President Obama took office, opposition based on fact has seemingly become a lost art. Those today who proudly call themselves "Tea Partiers" march in the streets carrying their signs preaching hate, violence, rebellion, secession, and racism. And while they aren't gathering in the streets, they are sending death threats to public officials with whom they disagree or shouting down their Congressmen and women at town hall meetings - meetings used to have civil discussions about where our country is and where it should be going.

Just last year, I went to one of these Tea Party events at Wes Point Park in Willoughby. It wasn't in my plans for the day but I was driving by and I heard shouting and saw signs much like the ones I described earlier except with a smaller degree of hate since it was still early yet in the Obama administration.

What made me stop as I was driving by was the shouting I heard from the loud speakers. They were talking about the people they opposed - the President, House Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Reid, and Democratic voters as a whole. They didn't speak with respect or with the acknowledgement that we're all Americans who want to see this nation succeed. Instead they gave speeches - one after the other - talking about who 'real Americans' are, where 'real America' is, and how they want their America back without actually being able to name a right they've lost or which piece of America is suddenly missing.

This is opposition fueled by partisanship and blind hatred and the Republican Party has been spending all of it's valuable time either inciting that hatred or obstructing progress in this country - or both at the same time.

So to the 'Tea Partiers' who claim to have a monopoly on patriotism: All of us put country first. All of us love this country. All of us want to see it succeed. As a group, all of you are doing exactly the opposite of what you claim to be doing. You are, in fact, pressing the pause button on progress in this country by blindly opposing measures your own party used to support before Barack Obama became President.

We need to march together with an understanding that everyone may not agree on each particular issue but we should work together to make sure we can agree on some common sense solutions for problems that need to be solved.

As you all take orders from Sarah Palin's Facebook page or Glenn Beck's televised nonsensical classroom lessons, remember what America stands for. Hate, violence, and mob rule weren't what this nation was founded upon.

It is the 21st Century. Hate like this shouldn't exist anymore in the United States of America. But it will continue to thrive so long as the Republican Party and its followers are more focused on provoking fear than solving problems.

So, again, to my tea-partying, right-wing friends: Put down your guns and your tea party protest signs that are in dire need of a run through spell-check, and begin the work of lifting this country up instead of tearing your political opponents apart. The United States of America cannot afford anything else.

Ariz. Immigration Law Is Shameful

A decision made Friday by Arizona's Republican Governor, Jan Brewer, enacted into law a measure that basically makes racial profiling legal and just.

The bill requires that police officers determine the immigration status of anyone based on "reasonable suspicion." Then those police officers have to check the status of the person they believe may be here illegally and verify their citizenship with the federal government. Clearly they won't be stopping every middle aged white man walking down the street. Instead it will be solely based on race. And the proponents of this measure have not come out and said otherwise.

There are plenty of common sense ways to improve and solve our immigration problem here in the United States and using racial profiling just isn't one of them. After all, about 30% of Arizona's legal residents are hispanic. And with this bill, they can be pulled off the side of the street and have their citizenship put into question just because of that. It's wrong and there are other ways to do it.

I think we can all agree that this issue is a problem and doesn't bode well for the United States economy. But there are some common sense approaches that we can take.

First, we continue to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants at a lower cost and pay them under the table. This kind of activity - which is also the fault of American employers - is killing jobs for folks who are actually living here and playing by the rules.

Second, we need to get those who have avoided taxes and who are living here illegally, on the books and to the end of the line. They need to pay fines and pay back all the taxes they've avoided paying for as long as they've lived here. If they want to be American citizens, they're welcome to be, but they have to wait their turn, learn some English, and pay what they owe.

Once we crack down on all of those who are already here illegally, we then must secure our borders to make sure more illegals do not keep coming back. If they do come back, hopefully Washington will have had the common sense to pass measures by then which will make it easier to deal with them.

Those are some of the simple, common-sense approaches that need to be taken. Racial profiling should have no part of how we do business in this country. Arizona's Governor, Jan Brewer and their opportunistic, flip-flopping Senator, John McCain should know that as well. 2008 Presidential Candidate McCain would be apalled at this bill. But Senator McCain who is in his toughest primary fight in years is embracing it.

I guess there is one thing that is good about the passage of the shameful Arizona bill. It has put the necessity of Immigration Reform in the spotlight again. It is a problem that needs to be solved and those in Washington need to come together to solve it in a common sense way.

My Goal

This will not be a long entry. I am here to speak about what my intentions are with this blog.

If you turn on your television and watch the news, you might have noticed that the political tone in this country is toxic. This new tone of debate is one, not where folks sit down and work out the issues of the day, but where facts virtually play no role at all. Shouting has replaced civility and violence has replaced problem-solving.

My goal with this blog is to discuss current political issues while being mindful of reality. I don't want to use this space like the Rush Limbaugh's and Glenn Beck's of this world would use it for: to hate on anything and anyone with which they disagree. I want to instead use it as a place where my view will be expressed (yes, my views may be left-leaning), but also where the views of others can be expressed as well.

Welcome to the blog and no matter who you are, you are free to join in the discussion. Yes, even Tea Partiers are welcome. I just ask that you leave your firearms at the door.