[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Admiral Lutjens

Nice touch! If you haven't watched the series on John Adams, I'd highly recommend you do so. Washington didn't believe in political parties, and Adams was a Federalist. I don't have a party designation, but I do kind of consider myself a new-age Federalist.

Watch it? I own a copy. At the same time I'm loving it I also find myself complaining about the things they left out, most of which was so as not to confuse the audience.

Adams a Federalist? Don't tell Hamilton that. By the standards of wanting the Constitution passed, Washington was a federalist (small 'f'), as was Madison. Hamilton supported Adams mainly to keep Jefferson, whom he hated, at bay. Adams accepted Federalist aid, but once in office he was quite independent. Once Adams did things Hamilton didn't like, Adams was suddenly no more Federalist than Washington or Jefferson.

It's not so much me blaming the 'other side' as I'm neither Democrat or Republican, it's moreso me blaming the status quo. I can relate and respect the Tea Party movement because they're standing up to and directly challenging the status quo, and that's a refreshing concept to see in this day and age.

Fair enough. I don't like Obama myself, but when I see people blaming him for anything and everything I just have to say something.

However, the Tea Party gets absolutely blasted at every turn by folks from both sides of the aisle. Labels such as 'crazy' or 'racist'....just silly and unfounded attacks. Why does the establishment attack them? Because they fear the Tea Party. The Tea Party champions truly placing the power back with the individual, and to the establishment, that's dangerous.

Ultra Liberals hate the Tea Party because at heart the party is still quite conservative. Hardcore Republicans hate the tea party because the party is stealing some of their thunder. That seems fairly obvious to me. Both sides hate the fact that there is a third party which has actually gained some momentum. That's the status quo that's really being disrupted, and most of us are resistant to change.

The bad news for the Tea Party is that they really aren't organized or centralized. This makes it easy for the party's fringe elements to engage in questionable activities, and it makes it easy for opponents to blame those activities on the party itself.

I'm genuinely fearful of the road this country is going down. 9/11 was the turning point in this nation's history, and it's all downhill from here.

Possibly, but the losing side of every election for the past two hundred years has said the same thing.