For someone who is proud of their Colombian hertage, I don't drink a lot of coffee. Earlier this academic year, I decided to drink tea on a more regular basis. It was cool doing the whole 'zen' thing while getting a healthy dose caffeine. However, I realized tea drinking is more than I bargained for. I had to buy a tea infuser, figure out which tea is healthier, etc. Summary, it seemed more time consuming for me than to just go to Starbucks and get my carmel mocha.
Political capital is only good when you know how to use it. The tea party had a great message in the beginning. Hell, even I was somewhat happy that someone is willing to hold the government in check financially. Unfortunately, whether you believe it was the media or misguided direction, the tea party's tent began to expand with radical right policies. It was a balance between soliticiting political capital donations while spending it to attack the budget.
The current news are talking about the Ryan Plan creating a litmus test for Republican Candidates. Yes, the Ryan Plan did address the reformation of entitlement programming, but attached came the (unwanted) radical right rhetoric baggage that came with tea party support. As Friedman discusses in his book discussing the next decade, it is difficult to analyze individual actions or behaviors. In this sense, only time and public opinion polls will determine how people feel about the (soon to be) failed Ryan Plan.
I still believe we are looking at a (close to) mirror image election cycle of 1996 elections, there is foundations for Democrats to take back the House. (In 1996, there was no party change in each body due to economic success along with budgetary issues). If you talk to anyone who studied Political Science, we were all taught that GOING AFTER ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS IS A DEATH SENTENCE. If any reform is necessary, it has to be a phase-in so that it doesn't rattle the populations. Although I do not condone for a single party government takeover, maybe this will tame the radical right that hijacked the Tea Party. As history tends to repeat itself, this happened to the Religious Right when they gained more political capital they knew what to do with.
The tea is getting cold, it is now America's decision to put it in the microwave, switch to coffee, or wait for a new drink to come (something less bitter). The tea is bitter due to the radical right rhetoric, the coffee is bitter due to the possible rubber stamp democratic takeover, and the new drink... well, we'll find out over time.
Hope all is well,
The Situationalist
