victory for the tea party activists!!

[geo]

first of all, I am a woman not a fellow as you so called me. I honestly don't watch that much of Fox news. And yes, I believe that Obama did mess up the economy big-time! Ex-President Bush did start it and I won't blame it all on Obama, but, Obama has made it much worse. I am not backing the wrong horse,'fellow'. Maybe you don't understand what the tea party is all about. Maybe you should read up on it more. you are wrong about one thing... part of Obamacare has already taken place. My children can stay on the plan until they are 26. That is the only issue I agree on. My son, who is almost 21, could have gotten insurance from his employer even though he only works part time. So, that was a big waste of time trying to pass that part of the bill right away! I absolutely am dead set against Obama care as it stands today! As I mentioned in my last post, I do not want the government to have access to my private healthcare file!

Comment withdrawn. I apologize for using 'fellow.' Honest mistake.

[Suzanne]

I am a parent of two children. One of them is already in college but he goes to community college because of the cost of the universities. Our other child, is a senior in high school. The major she wants to take will be about eight more years of study. To save money, since the government has not been very thrifty where we are concerned, she will also start her first two years at community college and then transfer.

You say this over and over again. I'm in the same boat. I have a daughter in college, and a HS senior.

Your children have not been offered merit money, or any type of scholarships to help with the cost of tuition?

start here:
http://www.collegescholarships.org/

or here:
http://www.ehow.com/about_6568232_grant ... arent.html


A parent can't wait for a check from the government to come in the mail. A parent needs to work hard to find money available to students. And there is money for students. Many colleges give grant money, and most give merit money. Your senior's HS counselor can give advice about scholarships available through the school and your local community. Admission departments of colleges and universities are a great resource for information about how to obtain money for your student, including grant money. You will not recieve anything if you do not do YOUR homework and apply for these scholarships and grants.

My son is a senior in HS. I understand the amount of time and effort it takes to find money for a student. And it does require WORK! I suggest spending more time and effort in researching resources and spending less time moaning and groaning.

[Suzanne]

when you start treating me as a woman that I am, which I feel is part of your problem, then I will continue this conversation.

Man, woman, little green martian, all get the same treatment. People respond to your words, not your gender.

[Interbane]

The reason I am a Republican is because at this point the Democrats have screwed up enough and it's time that the Republicans, especially the tea party to try and straighten us all out.

You really need to wake up. The Republicans got us into this mess. We are feeling the effects of the Republican screw ups right now. The only thing you can say about what Obama is doing is how it might be in a few years, and that would be nothing but speculation at this point. These changes take a long time to culminate.

[seespotrun2008]

I am glad you are happy Phillies. I truly hope that the people you voted for do a good job in office. We will see... But maybe this will be good. Maybe having a Republican house will inspire people to work together. It seems that they can either learn to work together and get a lot done, or they will spend the next two years fighting and getting nothing done. Hopefully it is the former.

I do not agree with you that the tea party would support you in wanting to help people with tuition. And a major part of Obama's campaign was to get health care reform passed. He only has four years to do this and health care is something that has been only a dream in this country since the 30's. I am not entirely happy with the bill either; I wanted a public option. But, this bill gets something on the table. And you know that having universal health care would create jobs, right? I am not sure what the fear is about the government having access to our private medical records. I have not thought about it but I doubt that with or without the bill we could prevent the government from having access to this information. HIPPA protects general people from having access to your private information. I am not sure what the current regulation is for the government. They may need a subpoena for this information, but even if they do manage to get this information what is the fear?

[etudiant]

I fear that you Interbane, and the other thinking participants on BT, are, as we say in Canada, flogging a dead horse when it comes to convincing our tea drinking phillie.

But, maybe the midterms were not all that bad, in the great scheme of things. Perhaps the best place for fools is in the limelight. It is easy to be critical when one does not have to produce, but having to step up to the plate and make some tough choices is another matter. Maybe the TPs will expose themselves for what they are. I think Bush exposed himself towards the end, it took some time, but perhaps now eyes are a little sharper.

Or, maybe the TPs will force through enough damaging legislation that a true rebellion takes place, and real political reform will be at hand. A new political party? Stranger things have happened. Sometimes things have to go to the edge. The crisis of the great depression started new political movements in many countries. It gave Canada its third major political party, and with it new socially progressive legislation.

One thing that we can say about the future is that change is sure to happen.

[Robert Tulip]

The thing that worries me about the tea party, speaking as an Australian, is that they want both smaller government and a bigger military. The two objectives are contradictory when the military is already such a big chunk of the US state apparatus. Smaller government is fine by me, but I don't get how transferring state resources from social sectors into the military is in any way good for America's national security, let alone for the rest of the world.

On global warming the tea party are dreamers if they can't see that climate is changing rapidly due to man.

What I like about the Tea Party is the spirit of Connecticut Yankee straight talk and independence, but what I don't like is the flawed strategic analysis that gives too big a place for the military in American national life. As Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers.

[DWill]

Smaller government is easy to talk about and evokes the myth American of American individualism. But let's face it, with the military, Social Security, and Medicare/Medicaid off everyone's table, cutting the size of government via spending cuts looks quixotic. As one pundit said, get all the Tea Party activists in a room, and they'd have trouble cutting 50 billion, let alone the trillion or so that would make a difference.

[JulianTheApostate]

The horrible job market is the main reason the Republicans did so well on Tuesday. The party in power suffers when the economy sucks, both in terms of how people vote and who shows up to vote. Other factors, though relevant, are secondary.

The economy was in bad shape when Obama took office. Since then, the unemployment rate has gotten worse, though the stock market has done well. Obama's policies prevented the US from falling into another Great Depression:

• TARP (which Bush started and Obama continued) prevented the collapse of the financial sector, which would have devastated the economy
• The increased spending in the stimulus package generated millions of jobs.
• The bailout of the auto industry kept alive an important sector of the US economy and job market

In addition, Democrats increased regulation of the financial industry, addressing the root cause of the economic collapse.

Now, the Democrats could have done more, by pursuing a more aggressive and more liberal agenda. For example, 40% of the stimulus package consisted of tax cuts, which don't have much positive impact, as opposed to increase spending, which generates jobs. Increase aid to state governments could have prevented budget cuts at the state and local level, preserving jobs. Democrats could have provided much more assistance to homeowners who faces foreclosure.

The Tea Party activities oppose all of those policies, without realizing the disastrous consequences of the right-wing agenda. As far as I can tell, the main economic proposal coming from the Tea Party would make the economy worse: decreasing spending in the midst of a recession. They also want more tax cuts, which doesn't create many jobs in the short term but does damage the long-term economic health of the country.

[Chris OConnor]

Phillies,

According to conservatives the government is not responsible for paying for anyone's higher education. This is the responsibility of parents. I think you might be far more liberal than you realize if you're upset that money isn't readily available for your child's college tuition. Republicans and conservatives believe in personal accountability and minimal government involvement in financing and subsidizing health-care, education, the arts and even scientific research.

Far-right conservatives (Tea Bag Party) believe in allowing the markets to operate freely with minimal governmental control. Well, they are all for freedom unless their religious views are a factor, at which point conservatives will trample on individual rights with zero hesitation. (abortion, prayer in school, contraception, the teaching of evolution in school)

If you want financial assistance with putting your children through school I strongly suggest you either earn the money yourself or immediately drop out of the Tea Party and change your political affiliation to Democrat. The Democrats are your greatest allies with regards to financial aid for students.

And why is this?

As a general rule the conservatives are the "haves" and the liberals are the "have nots." The Republicans don't need the financial assistance and therefore financial assistance for students isn't important to them. Furthermore, any financial assistance that the government offers to needy students and families is going to come out of the pockets of the people earning the most. Most Americans pay little to no income tax at all. Grants for students are paid for by the wealthy through taxation.