Oh no, is Marv a Republican?

The answer is forthcoming, but let me discuss the reasons why.  Let’s examine the parties and what they are about.

The Democrats favor higher taxes and bigger government.  Also commonly known as the “Big Government” party, they choose to leave more decisions in the hands of the government presumably because they know best.  They believe in “pro-choice,” choosing to honor the right of the mother to abortion while dismissing the rights of the living, unborn child and the father.

Democrats are perceived as more caring because they believe that all of us should be happy to help the less fortunate, even when many of them are simply milking the system for everything they can.

In 2012, when the Democrats motioned towards removing all references to God from their platform, I knew I was done with them.  I was indoctrinated as a young man into being a Democrat.  “We are a Democrat state and regardless of the candidate we vote Democrat.”  I heard, like many have, that the Republican’s only care for the rich.  As I got older and studied economics and human behavior, I learned and saw that people must do for themselves, instead of depending on the government to take care of them.  The tax and spend Democrats subscribe to beliefs I could not support – pro-choice, more regulations, more government, etc.  I find their policies suffocating, inequitable, and destructive to our constitutional rights and well-being. And as far as the Republicans representing just the rich, I found they didn’t any more than the Democrats.

The Republicans, on the other hand, run on the platform of “smaller government and lower taxes.”  Lower taxes are only possible through smaller government that intrudes less into our daily lives.

Republicans are the “pro-Life” party, recognizing constitutional rights belong to the mother and unborn, yet still living, child.

Both parties love their PORK!  If there’s any way to squeeze in a little funding for pet projects at home, they do it – above all, they want to make sure they are re-elected.  In a country that is increasingly wanting more entitlements, self-serving politicians are more than eager to buy their votes.

Despite the claims that the Republicans are all for the rich, both parties have about the same number of rich donors and members.

The pendulum shifts power endlessly from one party to the other as people lose faith in the current state of government affairs.  Until individuals seek the truth and get actively involved, it won’t matter who is in charge, because they’ll continue to be led like ignorant sheep.

As for myself, I tired of the Democrats long ago, believing more in the Republican platform (pro-life, small government, and low taxes).  I am still dismayed with many of the current members, particularly those that have been there far too long.  This includes members from both parties, including Harry Reid (D), Nancy Pelosi (D), John Boehner (R), John McCain (R), Lindsey Graham (R), Mitch McConnell (R), and others.  There must be term limits, at least for Senators, of no more than two terms (eight years).  All of these individuals, given their time in office, have too much power and influence.  They’ve learned how to manipulate the system to their own benefit, worrying more about staying in office than getting things done for the benefit of this country.

When our representatives vote endlessly along party lines, it tells me that they have not taken their oath to serve the country seriously.  Nearly every supper table is divided in good part on their political opinions, so why wouldn’t it be with our politicians as well?  When their loyalty is to their party, and not his or her constituents, our democracy loses.  If logic and good reason is applied to a problem, a solution that is “best for the country” should be obvious.  The voting for ethanol subsidies and killing the Keystone Pipeline are examples of political pandering that is inherently bad for our country.

Enter the Tea Party…if ever an organization or group was wrongly criticized and marginalized it has been the Tea Party.  It sprung from the disenchantment of the two long-standing and dysfunctional parties in power.  Individuals desiring a return to our constitutional roots begin to assemble in small groups around the country in the hopes of bringing long awaited and needed change.  Like our country’s founders, these people came from diverse backgrounds, seeking nothing more than returning to the greatest man made form of government this world has ever seen.

Even as the IRS targeted them, delaying yet greater organization, the Tea Party survived.  Those that first got elected, such as Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, have fractured the Republican Party for the better.  All the talk about the Tea Party causing harm to the Republican Party is pure bluster.  Sure, it may have cost them votes they needed to win some elections, but principles must come first.  The emergence of the Tea Party has served notice that true Americans still exist and demand better from their representatives.

I like the fact that Tea Partiers, while holding many different views still hold to the principles of the Constitution that is now trampled daily.  Among these are individual liberties such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, gun rights, and limited government.  The founders also felt that debt enslaved the debtor and the U.S. is drowning in debt.  While politicians offer new handouts, they ignore the more than $112 trillion in debt.  This is not a misprint.  If you take the current national debt of $18 trillion and add it to the more than $94 trillion owed to Medicare, and Social Security, we are well beyond bankrupt.  This is a debt that an entitlement addicted country like ours simply won’t address because its unpopular. 

While government is necessary for some things, like defense, it should remain limited in scope.  There is a delicate balance between reasonable regulations and those that are destructive.  The freedom to innovate and create fuels the “risking” of personal monies in hopes of a profit.  If you increase the risk via unreasonable regulations and oversight, financial investment will inevitably fall.  When the government is too big and too stifling, the rich will simply sit out of the domestic market and take their investments overseas.  The policies of the government, at every level, drive the economy forward or backward.

The ideals and platform programs of the Democratic Party is Socialism, via endless entitlement programs we cannot afford.  Dependency comes from getting something for nothing and Socialism requires dependency.

So, when you ask me if I’m a Republican, let me say, “No, I’m a Tea Partier that wants a country that our Founders envisioned and mapped out for us.”