The Poisonous Influence of the Tea Party in American Politics

I used to be counted among the camp of lefties who believed that there was fundamentally very little difference between Democrats and Republicans. Members of both parties pander to lobbyists, allow the rich and connected more influence than the average citizen and are desperately afraid of upsetting the status quo in Washington. While I still believe that’s true in many cases, the growth and influence of the Tea Party among Republicans has pulled its members farther to the right than ever before into a dangerous fantasy land that bears little resemblance to the democracy in which we claim to live.

An incredibly disturbing example of this appears in today’s news. Ever searching for ways to enhance his Tea Party creds, Florida Governor Rick Scott recently issued an unwritten ban on state employees from using the phrases “climate change” or “global warming.” As pernicious as this is, he followed up his warning with action when an employee of Florida’s environmental protection department used the terms in official notes from a forum he attended.

Okay, you might think, the guy probably got a warning or a nasty email, but no, it went far beyond that into the realm of 1984 totalitarian thought control. The employee was forced to take a leave of absence and told he could return to work only after a mental health evaluation from his doctor that verified his “fitness for duty.”

A mental health evaluation?

This, friends, is the kind of pre-enlightenment, fact-denying, authoritarian direction the Republican Party has taken of late. It almost seems as if there is a below-the-radar weekly contest among conservatives to see who can spew the most ignorant, hate filled comment. Rick Scott, you are without question this week’s winner. But let this be a serious warning to voters, in 2015 there is a stark difference between where Democrats and Republicans want to take this country. If you prefer a democracy to a theocracy, freedom of speech to thought control, reality to fantasy, you cannot in good conscience vote Republican.

2014: The ideological gap widens

As we enter a new year, one reflection I can make about 2014 is that the chasm in America between those basing their views on reality and those who choose to live in an ideological fantasyland is wider and deeper than it has been since the Civil War. The economy has been improving, the Affordable Care Act is working, with ten million more people having health care than before the act was signed into law, and marriage equality and legalized marijuana have become business as usual.

Despite all of this, and despite being wrong nearly every time they opened their mouths, Republicans were given the keys to Congress by the voters last November. Go to the comment section of any political article on the Internet and there you’ll find them, the angry, vitriolic, fact-challenged conservatives, hurling insults, straw men arguments and ad hominem attacks without actually addressing any of the issues brought up in the piece. Why? Because they have no facts to refute reality, and can only respond with ideological tropes and blunt anger.

Although FOX News is a major culprit in furthering the divide between conservatives and the fact-based population, the mainstream media bears a great deal of responsibility for our current situation. Afraid to challenge the status quo, afraid of losing viewers, afraid of offending their corporate overlords, the media today allows ignorance to reign free and lies to stand for truth.

Politically, I don’t have a very positive outlook for the coming year. Like alchemists trying to turn lead into gold, Republicans will continue trying to make reality into their own selfish, narrow-minded image and will fail miserably. Problem is, we the people are the ones who will suffer from their stupidity, and the gap between reality and failed ideology will continue growing until it eventually swallows us all.

Fact or Fiction? It’s Hard to Tell These Days.

America is in decline. Many people, both left and right, would agree with this. When you ask what the reasons are for the decline, however, responses will be all over the board, from gay marriage to the Federal Reserve to The New World Order. So how do we come to any kind of consensus on the problem when there are as many answers as there are blogs on the Internet?

Back in the old days, or maybe it was just a dream I had, we used to rely on facts to lead us to solutions. We sifted through the known data and then made decisions based on what the information was telling us. That approach is not how we deal with things in 2012. Today, ideology, superstition and corporatism have replaced debate and consensus. Simple facts are now disputed. Genuine solutions are attacked as ideological assaults. Common sense is questioned if it does not fall into line with the religious doctrine popular at the moment. A fog of obfuscation hangs over this country.

Perhaps there is no such thing as a totally objective fact, but in order for this country to avoid total paralysis and make policy decisions and move forward, we have to select, and agree on, some set of data in order to even say, “Here’s a problem that needs to be addressed.” Then comes the even more difficult task of coming up with a solution. So is there objective data out there that points to a serious problem that exists in this country; data that isn’t from a political think tank or corporate PR agency? In my opinion (and yes, I admit I am a biased observer) there is, and it reveals a crucial problem that needs to be addressed: Income disparity and the destruction of America’s middle class.

Of course, here’s the real problem. The data may conflict with your ideology. So the million-dollar question is this: Is there a problem with the facts or does your ideology need adjusting to accommodate the facts? At least ask yourself that question.

Here are the facts. Decide for yourself.