HAYS, Kan. - Rand Paul's sweeping victory in Kentucky adds fuel to the already potent Tea Party fire. Paul has a lot of positive qualities: small government advocate, powerful orator, and son of Rep. Ron Paul (R - TX).
Sure, there have been a couple of strange moments since his primary win. We learned that candidate Paul would not have voted for Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also condemned President Obama for criticizing British Petroleum's reaction to the massive oil spill, saying that the president's comments were "un-American."
These statements, however bizarre, do not deflect from the Rand Paul's core message, or that of the Tea Party. And that's the bigger problem.
Let's face facts: 2010 is the year of the Tea Party, a grass-root group of activists who have been Taxed Enough Already and don't like a foreign-born Socialist living in the White House.
There's one problem to the Tea Party rhetoric. It's just plain wrong.
If Tea Party activists are concerned about the U.S. national debt, then maybe a short history lesson would be in order. Today's nearly $13 billion federal debt isn't a result of the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 or the recently passed health care reform act. Two wars, massive tax cuts, and a depressed economy make up two-thirds of the burden. In simple terms, we maxxed out our credit cards before 2008 but still making the minimum monthly payment. Where were these folks when Bush was in office?
Here's a more important point that most folks ignore: taxes pay for services. Local units of government - cities, counties, townships - all collect taxes for public safety, fire protection, and infrastructure. Public schools collect funds for education. States collect taxes to pay for bigger projects, including court systems, highways, education, prisons, health care. And then the federal government collects its share, primarily for entitlement programs, infrastructure, and national defense.
So the question is this: if Americans really are mad as hell, what are they willing to sacrifice? Would folks in your community embrace consolidating the functions of your municipality, public school, or other unit of government with a neighboring one? Would you forgo taking Social Security until the age of 75? Or would you consider pulling troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan?
It's easy to be against something, particularly taxes. But what are Rand Paul and his supporters for?
Strong post, Henry. It's worth remembering the old saying that any jackass can kick down a barn.