The Tea Party vs MoveOn.org? Which Better Represents the Values of the Founding Fathers and Grassroots America?!

Howdy! Part of the problem with this debate is that people are getting too comfortable with extreme generalizations and black and white statements about the opposition. This is particularly the case with the right, in that if someone such as myself says they lean to the left, then I must be a communist world domineering stooge or bogyman. In point of fact I am for a MIXED ECONOMY. -You know, like what we have had for the entire history of this country. I would say our mixed economy heyday lasted from Truman through Carter. And that would include such Republicans as Eisenhower and Nixon. I think Clinton's welfare reform was probably a good thing, but I wish politics hadn't gotten so in the way that Obama's health care initiative became more byzantine than most European systems.

The way I see it, and it is the experience I have had in the people that I know, is that the left and the right are both patriotic in their own way. We have just sucked at communicating with each other. A good place to start is with the declaration of independence. It speaks evocatively about us all being created equal, and the right to liberty. Well, the subjective emotional driver for the right wing position is liberty (think free markets and rugged individualism), and the driver for the left is equality (think of the equal rights movement and concern for the loss of the middle class). They are both valid concerns that the founding fathers were aware of on the level of Natural Law. The problem is the two concerns are like Yin and Yang, they create a dynamic tension. Another way to put it is the left's focus on equality is rooted in the subjective belief that productivity can be better maximized by facilitating synergetic cooperation. And the right's focus on freedom is rooted in the subjective belief that productivity can be better maximized by allowing individually creative competition. This difficult tension between the two view points can be illustrated by the old adage that "it's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game, but you should still win.."

ALLEN WEST SPEAKS FOR ME.

You have a great and courageous spokesman!

The tea party is more focused on the people and the rights thereof.

Without a doubt! With God's help and the grassroots members of the Tea Party, this nation can be restored to Constitutionality!

The Founding Fathers were activists who thought outside the box, were not afraid of change, hated the restrictions put upon them by the monarchy, and used civil disobedience to make their point. To them, democracy and freedom were the primary pints, not capitalism and money making, which is what people think today. The conservatives were the loyalists who wanted to keep everything the way it was, and were loyal to the monarchy and the wealthy elite, who were at the time their "job makers.". Today, Move-On advocates becoming an educated,open minded thinker that looks at every aspect of a question and is not afraid of having old paradigms rocked--whereas the Tea Party is focused on money, security, not rocking the boat, keep the status quo, kow tow to the wealthy, deprive people of their rights--like the Tories of old.

The Founding Fathers rebelled against oppressive government that had crept into every aspect of their lives. Taxation was oppressive, search and seizure was without restriction as the standing British Army could enter the homes of the colonists without just cause and could confiscate whatever they liked! What began as a natural reaction to oppression, organized into a rebellion that the mother country could not quell. I just described the Tea Party. Without George Soros' money, MoveOn.org would still be an insigificant blog site. There was no grassroots movement that attracted funding from likeminded wealthy Americans. What I described as happening in the 1700's is happening again and is called the Tea Party Movement!

Everyone knows Move on is a far left propagandist group, where as the Tea party was born from grass roots American instead

MoveOn.org was unknown until George Soros $'s began to flow! The Tea Party sprung up organically and attracted the fertilizer of the Koch Brothers! Big difference as one is George Soros buying a mouthpiece and the other, the mouthpiece of the people getting funded by truly patriotic wealthy individuals!

"Move on" Is only George Soro's paid for Marxist Propaganda is all. He's view point includes total control over the masses, Unlike the Tea parties view of less Government and more personal freedoms instead!

tea party believe and love america verses move on is only for themselves

Amen! Organic movement (Tea Party) vs contrived movement paid for by Soros!

Tea Party wants America to survive and Soros wants a one world order not good for America !!!!

??? What in the world are you talking about. Soros promotes responsibility and charity on a global basis, whereas you believe in ....what? No charity? Hoard your wealth? Pretend you live on a separate planet and that which affects other nations does not affect you? Sounds like a bubble world to me

Conservatives on average give double what liberals do to charity and as a percentage of their income. Half of Soros' "charitable" giving is to groups like MoveOn which are NOT charities, but political organizations!

Soros wants to mold America into a willing servant of the United Nations for the preparation for one world governance. That will mean the relinquishing of Constitutional Rights. We must not let it happen!

American ideals are about decency, hard work and goodness. Those are things the liberals only dream of.

Wow, that's brutal. Shall we go over the "decency" and "goodness" of the right wingers, like, say...Newt Gingrich? Making a broad statement like that is corrupt, man.

The left caters to the ignorance of the lazy to take advantage of their unwillingness to put forth effort to change their own station in life. That is what class warfare is all about!

I note that all but one of the votes for MoveOn came from outside the U.S. Obviously the Tea Party embodies the values of our Founding Fathers. You weren't talking about the Founding Fathers of Marxism.

I think that even some who claim to be from the USA are not. How would we know anyway? Two people on the left with whom I converse quite often are from Canada and the Congo. Immediately upon seeing their name, I take that into account. If it is a subject regarding our national sovereignty and direction especially!

It is time to march onward

The left is marching and we cannot afford to watch as if this were just a parade! Absolutely!

The Tea Party are Americans for Americans, Soros.org is all about destroying America.

Soros has actively participated in activities that have weakened the currencies of several countries including Great Britain. He is right now concentrating on the dollar. If he can create enough chaos, he can help bring about a world economic collapse. I think his goal is ti unify all currencies of the world into one. The Bible has foretold such a system with one centralized authority reigning over all. Many will discount what I am saying, but it is clear that such a system IS desired by many of the powers that be. George Bush Dr spoke of the NWO as have all US Presidents since. This is what they are talking about. It is a sign that we are in the last days!

The Tea Party is for building America, Not the destruction of it

Nothing the current Administration is considering will solve Americas fiscal problems. They will only exacerbate them and that is why I firmly believe that Obama and his Administration are actively taking our nation in a direction of a global Socialist centralized authority. In order to accomplish that, our financial superiority must be minimized!

Cutting so much in defense budget is definitely a dangerous deal A threat to our security and the reps. should stand firm and stop it

I think that waste should be minimized in defense spending, and through that, I believe we could reduce defense spending, but this wholesale cutting of critical national defense systems is irresponsible!

There is some room for cuts , but not as drastic as they plan on cutting

I couldn't agree more. Global Socialism is the goal, and you cannot get Americans to agree to a lower standard of living. Thus, MoveOn.org supports what our Socialist President is doing by so increasing our debt so as to collapse our economy and make us more willing to accept deliverance from a more centralized global authority!

The tea party calls for no more than is asked of them. Balance our check books and live within our budgets

Yes! These are honest hard working people who believe in self reliance. The likes of MoveOn members are socialist who believe in collectivism.

MoveOn is a little too over the top for me. During the campaign, I wanted an Obama campaign button and MoveOn was offering them for free. I requested one and then the deluge began. Not two days would go by without receiving a request for money for this cause and that cause and it was a constant barrage of hateful spam against anyone they didn't like. Every e-mail was URGENT!! CAN YOU SEND $20?

Little did I know that requesting a button made me a MoveOn member, but it did.

The aims and goals of MoveOn do NOT reflect anything American. They would have the USA resemble all the other second rate nations of the world. The goal is a loss of American sovereignty to a single world governing body. The current Administration supports the same direction and that is why they are seeking to bring down the USA with unsustainable indebtedness!