The Forgotten Millions

In the 2008 election, 231 million out of a population of 300 million were eligible to vote; but, only 57% or 132 million actually did. A total of 53 percent of those, who actually did vote, voted for Obama. That means that, on the basis of actual votes, only about 70 million people or 30 percent of this country's 231 million eligible voters actually put Obama into office.

For sure, Obama won the election. But, by the sheer numbers of that election, he did not win by some massive voting majority. There was no mandate in his election. A plus three percentage majority is hardly a mandate. Yet, when you listen to the members of Obama's team, like David Axelrod, the millions of Americans who disagree with Obama's policies should just shut up because they didn't win. In other words, and in the minds of the left, those who didn't vote for Obama have completely lost any and all representation in Washington, D.C. So, in essence, the losers should just accept all this spending and the new taxes this government is dishing out.

The original Tea Party, the one that was held in Boston in 1773, occurred as a result of the British imposed taxes that resulted from the Tea Act of that same year. In essence, it was a revolt against taxation without representation. Many on the left argue that those who are conducting today's Tea Parties have no understanding of history and what the original Tea Party was all about. To those who think that, I would say their sense of history is misplaced. This Obama/Reid/Pelosi government is fervently implementing taxation while totally forgetting the millions who didn't vote for them. Furthermore, they are attempting to use seldom-implemented and end-around Congressional procedures so that a two-thirds majority Senate approval, as mandated by the Constitution, isn't needed to approve all their tax and spending plans. That to me, this is nothing less than taxation without representation.

The Tea Parties are an expression of opposition as mandated by the First Amendment of our Constitution and our Freedom of Speech. They are a non-violent means of expressing an objection to all the taxes and spending that is being imposed on this country. It amazes me how reactionary the left is against these expressions of free speech. David Axelrod, himself, said that they were unhealthy (See Full Story). Yet these same people thought nothing of the abject war protests by Code Pink and Moveon.org at a time when we were trying to win a war in Iraq. Apparently, that wasn't unhealthily; even though those protests probably gave our enemy the impetus to press on.

Someone should tell the Democrats, especially David Axelrod, that the suppression of speech is what is really unhealthy. No political party should ever have a blank check for spending and their hands completely wrapped around our wallets. The Tea Party movement is gaining strength because Americans are concerned over the direction of our nation. The polls are reflecting that. Obama still has a personal popularity that is slightly above the mean, but when America is polled about his individual policies, the polling reflects something well south of 50%; more often than not, below 35%. This kind of disconnect is serving Obama well, right now, but it will ultimately hurt him in the future. This is what happened to Jimmy Carter while he was president; and, history should not be ignored. Just like Obama, Carter had a majority in both Houses of Congress and had an overly aggressive social agenda. That was his downfall and the reason that Reagan won and the Democratic majority in Congress receded. This stupid belief that millions of Americans should be silent for the next 4 years while Obama is President is just ridiculous.

I seem to remember that the left, feeling that Bush stole the election from Gore, was hardly silent from the day that George Bush took office.