The Tea Party Rebellion is Coming

The Tea Party Movement is perhaps the face of the November 2010 U.S. Midterm elections. You can’t deny that almost everyone from different corners of the nation has been talking about the movement. The party gained recognition in early 2008 when various activists held a rally that protested against members of Congress who voted for a bill that will raise taxes. And with the desire to implement genuine change for the nation, the Tea Party sent candidates for Republican primaries resulting in many significant victories. With the string of upsets achieved by Tea Party-backed candidates, the party was clearly sending a message to America - The Tea Party Rebellion is coming.

Tea Party-backed Christine O’Donnell’s upset victory over highly-favored Republican Mike Castle during the Delaware Republican primary was one that shocked the political world and gave a hint of the Tea Party strength. It has no charter, no published agenda or manifesto and no governing council yet it was able to compete with Republican elites and set its sights unto changing how the U.S. Congress works. From the anger and frustration of people came this party which is already staging a political uprising. In a victory speech, O’Donnell mentioned “We the people will have our voice heard in Washington once again”. She further added “It's more a cause than a campaign, and the cause is restoring America”.

With the aim of creating a radically smaller government, unfettered financial markets, lower taxes and reducing government regulation, the movement now has a chance to send as many as seven new Senators to Capitol Hill carrying along with them the Tea Party dream. Democrats have proudly cited poll results indicating less appeal from the broader public to new political newcomer’s views. But even before the Delaware primaries, Democrats were already disturbed by the particularly higher voter turnout for Republican voters as compared to previous elections where Democrats practically outnumbered Republicans.

Not many people noticed it, but the victory of O’Donnell and several other Tea Party candidates was able to expose one of the most open secrets to U.S. politics. The Republicans and Democrats, two of the nation’s most powerful political parties capable of changing the national agenda are very much caught up and seemed to care too much about regaining and achieving power. During off-year primary elections, only a few electorates show up making established and highly-favored candidates more vulnerable to small popular movements.

If you are able to attend a particular rally that is spearheaded by Tea Party candidates such as Nevada’s Sharron Angle or Alaka’s Joe Miller, you may probably be surprised by the degree of frustration and anger that channeling towards oversized government bailouts, the Obama stimulus and the expansion of government-supported health care. During O’Donnell’s victory, Republican operatives grieved about their fellow candidate most especially that it endangered the GOP’s chances of retaking the U.S. Senate. Not long after, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, John Cornyn, changed his course by supporting all Republican Nominees including Tea Party-backed candidates. He then promptly offered O’Donnell $42,000 for her campaign. O’Donnell was certainly right when she mentioned the following phrase “We the people are making their voices heard”.

Fixing America’s Transportation Infrastructure

The transportation and infrastructure sector is one of the most important sectors of society as it connects places and makes trade and commerce more effective. An airport for example significantly reduces the time it takes for goods to be transported to other places. It also opens up tourism which also translates to money. A high-speed freight rail is also equally important as it delivers large quantities of goods and stimulates effective trading among business entities. In the U.S., the infrastructure sector is struggling with the lack of funding and support from the government.

For the past couple of years, America has not conducted any significant research which will stimulate developments in the nation’s infrastructure. America’s transportation infrastructure is rotting and the government keeps on ignoring it. Amazingly, President Obama recently announced a plan to allocate $50 billion to a stimulus fund which will focus on U.S. infrastructure development. The act comes where the nation’s unemployment levels are at a record high. Currently, the nation’s unemployment rate stood at 9.6% with a possibility to increase further if the government doesn’t do anything to stop it.

The economic recession has made people more paranoid about jobs. With thousands of people in danger of being axed from their jobs every week, it is no doubt that jobs are the talk of the town. And since Obama strongly believes that job creation is every important in stimulating economic growth, he gladly saw the relevance of the construction industry as a means to generate more jobs. The additional funds will most likely rebuild and improve the transportation infrastructure of the U.S. to be able to catch up with other foreign competitors.

Investments in high-speed rail and next-generation air traffic control will benefit the economy in the long run. These are considered smart investments which will help promote productivity and sustainability. The act will benefit not only the people who will be getting their jobs back but also the whole nation who will be taking advantage of the much improved infrastructure. At a time where jobs are scarce, it is certainly helpful to invest in things that will address the very problem of unemployment instead of wasting useless money for defense.

Despite of the good intentions of Pres. Obama, various politicians have strongly opposed the act stating that it is not enough or that it will only add up to the already huge budget deficit that the nation is currently facing. Add also the fact that the November midterm elections are fast approaching and Obama is likely trying to win back the support of the voting sector in order to preserve the Democratic influence in Congress. Regardless of the real intention, the result of this act will only be likable if there is enough political will and if the administration is really concerned about the economy.