Set It Off

This morning, The New York Times published one of the most intellectually honest pieces to appear on its front page in a long time.  The five page essay, written by David Barstow, chronicles the rise of what has now become almost universally known as the Tea Party.  He describes the movement as “a political reordering that would drastically shrink the federal government and sweep away not just Mr. Obama, but much of the Republican establishment, starting with Senator John McCain.”  While admitting that the movement is still young, and lacking in political unity, he explains that there does exist uniform agreement on many issues.  “Tea Party gatherings are full of people who say they would do away with the Federal Reserve, the federal income tax and countless agencies, not to mention bailouts and stimulus packages. Nor is it unusual to hear calls to eliminate Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”  Mr. Barstow’s essay accurately identifies the Tea Party as a collective recognition that the Federal Government should be limited to those few powers enumerated by the constitution, and that great myth that Social Security, Medicare, The Department of Education, and all their sibling social programs are nothing more than an extension of Congress’s duty to regulate commerce must be dispensed with.  Hats off.