Okay, I finally get the House Tea Party Caucus. From jump street, these members stated that they were there to address the spending and that they didn’t care about being long-term members of congress. The Progressive Caucus on the far left and the T.P. Caucus on the far right aren’t team players and love that fact—rebels, renegades, revolutionaries.
It took me awhile to realize that many members of the state legislators were balling so hard in private life that being a U.S. Congress member would be a pay cut or take them from their families too much. The state house and senate isn’t the minor leagues to congress. With that in mind, some ballers feel that it might be cool being a congressman for a quick minute so they run, win and roll into D.C. with a creep-type attitude. They think they know everything but the job is complex and complicated.
Speaking of jobs, I think hard hitters on both sides have realized that congress and/or a presidential bid is a quick ticket to a lucrative gigs on T.V., radio or the speaking circuit. My friends from the Hill joke that the average Congressional Black Caucus member makes more money as a MOC than they did before congress and than they will after congress. Oh, other southern members and their staffs know how to “parlay” a few years at the congress into big money as K Street lobbyists or governmental affairs consultants in industries they monitored as committee members. “Do I know the Farm Bill…hell, I wrote the darn thing.”
Senator John McCain is a guy about order. As a POW, he had an opportunity to bounce out of captivity but didn’t out of respect for his fellow prisoners. Recently, he gave the Tea Party Caucus his behind to kiss because protest and governing is two different things. Speaker Tom Foley use to say that a jackass could kick down a barn but it took a carpenter to build one. Tea Party have provided some useful protest but legislating requires compromise and negotiations.
We should hand-out cool points to young members of congress like Rep. Tom Graves and Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia who (while really conservative) didn’t let the tide push them into the Tea Party Caucus. Sen. Saxby Chambliss gets cool points for his work with the Gang of Six and yes, that will get him a Tea Party primary opponent. As conservatives go, some are “less worst” than others and this moderate still can’t understand why the Tea Party movement hates centrists like Rep. Sanford Bishop who is with conservatives a surprising percentage of the time. McCain did what Bishop should have.
It’s one thing to be a congressional creep but relishing the status just isn’t cool. (Okay, this post was simply an excuse to rock Radiohead on my blog beause I thought about the Tea Party Caucus when dude sang, “I don’t belong here.”)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/27/john-mccain-tea-party-_n_911189.html
Update: I just saw “the social network” and found a cover of “Creep” that use in the movie’s trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2knzLgNsJG8&feature=player_embedded#at=60
Project Logic Ga 
Slyram, you are too much!!!
Or another and less biased way of putting it – these Tea Party representatives are actually doing what they said that they would do and what go them elected in the first place.
Yes, I can see why anyone that was comfortable with the status quo way of doing business, a bit of theatre and a lot of backroom double-dealing, would be scared to death of these guys.
Jonolan: you are correct….the Tea Party is doing what they said they would do.
Thank you for recognizing that and putting “in writing.” SUch behavior is part of why I respect you though we have policy and ideological differences.
Here’s the thing – I don’t 100% agree with their positions. Maybe 90%, but 10% in national politics can be a deal-breaker – but I’m 200% in their favor because they’re the only ones I can find that are actually doing what they said they’d do to get get elected. They’re actually representing their constituency!
Remember the movie and then V show West Wing? I disagree with the Bartlett character’s positions virulently. I’d vote for him, if he were real, irregardless, because he was did what he said he would do and did it openly and frankly..
So there’s my bias and my trump card.