The Tea Party's defiance during the debt debate is a sign of GOP sanity

The Republican Party Goes Tiger

The term "RINO," Republican-In-Name-Only, has never made sense to me. I fully understand what conservatives who use it are trying to say: that a Republican who votes for higher taxes, less freedom, and bigger government isn't living up to what the GOP is supposed to stand for. The problem is, big government is precisely what the GOP has stood for most of the time. Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were unique exceptions. President Nixon and both Bushes more accurately reflected the general Republican rule. Most of the time, Republicans promise to be slightly better than the Democrats when it comes to big government and then fail to live up to that promise.

One of my favorite routines by comedian Chris Rock is his skit about the trained tiger that attacked one half of the magical duo Siegfried and Roy a number of years ago. Rock hilariously mocked those who claimed that the tiger "went crazy." No, Rock explained, "That tiger didn't go crazy. That tiger went tiger."

Liberals and more than a few Republicans now say the Tea Party represents a GOP gone crazy. But actually, the current debt-conscious and fiscally stubborn portion of the GOP more closely represents what both its supporters and critics have always perceived Republicans to be: the party of small government. Siegfried and Roy fans can agree that trained tigers don't usually attack, but they would also agree that such behavior isn't exactly uncharacteristic of a tiger. Many conservatives can agree that most of the time the Republican Party doesn't usually try to limit government, but they would also agree that, characteristically, it has always been considered the party of limited government.

In the showdown over the debt ceiling, the Tea Party Republicans who now demand deep cuts and significant budget reform don't represent a flight from sanity for the GOP — but a return to form. Some fear this return might be permanent, or as New York Times columnist David Brooks writes: "The Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative."

What "faction" defined by "psychological protest" has "infected" the Republican Party? That's easy. They're called "conservatives."

More: http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/the-tea-partys-defiance-during-the-debt-debate-is-a-sign-of-gop-sanity/Content?oid=3549585

The Tea Party's defiance during the debt debate is a sign of GOP sanity

The Tea Party's defiance during the debt debate is a sign of GOP sanity

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