Recently Ron Paul (R-TX) who may never get the credit for actually inspiring the Tea Party movement decided not join the Tea Party Caucus started by his own son, Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-KY). I have never been comfortable calling myself a part of the Tea Party movement because I perceive most members as more anti-Obama than pro-Liberty.
Where the rubber meets the road for the Tea Party is in balancing the federal budget. While getting rid of earmarks for 2 years is a good step, it only accounts for 1% of the budget. Even getting rid of federal bureaucracies like the Department of Education are only 1.3% drop in the bucket. While Republicans have started to talk about entitlement programs and fighting back against Obama-care, the real test in my mind is whether the new injection of “conservatism” into Congress is willing to address the size of the Defense which is the second largest portion of the federal budget accounting for 18.7%.
With 100,000+ American troops in Europe, over 60,000+ in Asia and more than 500 US bases across 100 countries, all the while fighting 2 wars in the Middle East, is simply too large. If the Tea Party is truly serious about balancing the budget then they must also put defense cuts on the table. If they refuse, they lose any credibility in being anything more than just another right-wing faction of the GOP. I “hope” the “change” that is coming to Washington is real this time.
