A Message to the Tea Partiers

Whether you like it or not, the American people about a year and half ago elected Barack Obama as the President of the United States and Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.  Specifically, nearly 67 million Americans voted for President Obama and he won the electoral vote by 2-1.  So he is the legitimate President and he is implementing the promises that he made – including jobs programs and health care reform.  So cut out all this crap about tyranny and so forth.  We had an election – you lost.

Obama has not turned America into a socialist country.  Obama continued the Bush administration policy of providing financial assistance to banks and other big businesses whose collapse would have tanked the whole economy.  Most of those banks are now paying back those loans.  As a result of the health care bill, the federal government will have a marginally more active role in making sure that all Americans have insurance.  Obama’s policies are a Change (see paragraph above), but not a radical change in the role of the federal government.  Did you all hate your government when Bush was in charge too?

The Obama plan is not to take your hard earned money and give it to poor people who are a different color than you are.  It’s to help all Americans have more financial security and economic opportunity.  Most of this country, thank goodness, really doesn’t have time for the racial, ethnic, and other hatreds that characterize much of the your rhetoric.

This is America – You have a right to hold your beliefs and viewpoints, and feel free to let your elected officials know what  you think, take to the streets, try to elect people you like – but quit questioning the legitimacy, commitment to democracy, and patriotism of  your President and your fellow Americans.