The First (and probably not the last) National Tea Party Convention is being held in Nashville, TN this weekend and despite the $500+/person price tag, the convention is sold out. I have mixed feelings about the Tea Party. On one hand, I’m excited there is a concerted effort to highlight and challenge our government obesity. On the other hand, I’m sad we have even gotten to this point and perhaps even sadder that the GOP helped us get here.
While the movement is technically not partisan, it is definitely fueled by Libertarians and disenchanted Republicans, which is why it floors me that Sarah Palin is being paid $100,000 to be their headline speaker. I assume the organizers jumped at the chance to get her to give the convention a sense of legitimacy but in my book Palin is a social conservative not a fiscal one and therefore the wrong spokesperson for the convention. Perhaps the silver lining is that more Republicans will return to fiscal conservative roots for fear of losing office by alienating their base.
Regardless, the focus should stay on government spending. The TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Parties will have to contend with the KEG (Keep Enlarging Govt) Parties which will likely result in everyone having a bad hangover.
