What Gridlock?

There is nothing in this column that’s new.

But, because too many readers ignored the message or refused to believe it the first through one-thousandth times they heard it, here it is again:
The grass roots — Tea Parties, Patriots, 9-12 Projects and other, similar groups — are here to stay.

There are more than $17 trillion reasons why they won’t leave.

Although they’d have us think it is, what big government liberal Democrats and establishment Republicans (forgive the redundancies) won’t — can’t — admit is that all of the public push-back about deficits and the national debt, among other national problems, isn’t about the grass roots.

The central issues aren’t "tea party" rallies. These people are just visible symptoms of tremendous frustration and anger among the American populace.

The grass roots have broken the political code. They’re taking on both sides, because they better understand and care more about the nation’s problems than do the politicians — in both parties — who created them
In a political system that appears to be stacked against productive Americans, regular people are learning or relearning the founding principles of our constitutional republic: limited government, the rule of law, separation of powers, fiscal responsibility, individual liberties, free market capitalism and a requirement for self-reliance among all physically able and mentally capable citizens.

As responsible citizens, grass roots enthusiasts want to help the poor and needy but doubt that all of the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income taxes fall into either category. They don’t believe that 80 means-tested federal social programs are necessary.

To them, it’s unimaginable that any Congress and president would pass and sign a bill that two-thirds of Americans oppose, or pass and squander more than a trillion-dollar "stimulus" primarily on political cronies and politically-favored groups and jurisdictions.

Most accept that some intercession may have been necessary to save America’s financial system but doubt that it had to be done on such a massive scale — and are certain that using funds allocated exclusively for the banking industry to bail out the United Auto Workers Union at the expense of American taxpayers was neither desirable nor legal.

The grass roots understand that, in the current political environment, "redistribution of wealth" doesn’t mean taking money from the wealthy and giving it to the needy so much as it means taking everyone’s honestly earned money so politicians can redistribute it to their political supporters and donors.
And they don’t believe that amnesty for millions of poor illegal aliens has a chance to cure poverty in America. Amnesty will favor big business by further depressing wages at the lower end of the pay scale.

Who has missed that elected politicians have made themselves and government employees a preferred class of Americans, overcompensated and exempted from the consequences of their own legislation, regulations and policies?
The grass roots have come to understand that too much government can be more dangerous than too little government.

Democrats and Republicans are in on the scam. It’s us chumps who are paying for their arrogance, their contempt, their poor judgment and their lousy results.
The vocal grass roots are just saying aloud what many more Americans are thinking — and they’re bad for business as usual in Washington.
For that, the grass roots must be destroyed. And, on that, both Democrats and Republicans agree.

http://www.ldnews.com/opinion/ci_24940548/lebanon-daily-news?source=nav