Massachusetts – The Tea Party, Past Presidents, and Identifying with Independent, Fiscal Conservatives – From the National to the Hyper-Local – People’s Political Minds are Changing.

Image The Atlantic – article Why a Democratic Tea Party is the Best Hope for Fixing Corrupt Govenrnment

Watching the massive grass-roots, tea-party, people’s movement towards electing candidate, Scott Brown, to the U.S. Senate, on the ground one could feel the determination of those political neophytes who had never picked up a phone, or knocked on doors in the past to get anyone elected. It was refreshing to see so much more involvement by the people of the Commonwealth. That feeling, it appeared, had all but dissipated as Massachusetts appeared to be drifting further and further left with the election of Elizabeth Warren and then Ed Markey to the U.S. Senate.

That said, a recent op-ed on the Springfield Republican’s, site, does give one a bit of hope. The Letter entitled “Tea party Republicans embrace principles of nation's founders”speaks to the thoughts of a man who is just laying out what he sees in the Tea Party, rather than what is the general “talking points” provided by the left. (, which includes most editorial boards and journalists). The 74 comments included below the piece show a stark contrast between the Tea Party members, general individuals and those hard-line progressives thought to make up all of Massachusetts.

On an even more local level, one email chain from an individual whom one might characterize as Tea Party- Republican with the emphasis on the Tea, is urging residents to help reelect a City Counselor - a Democrat. The Democrat is a fiscal conservative, or what today would be called Tea Party, but in reality and 40 years ago, would have been called a Democrat – in other words, not the hard line left Democrat who is only concerned with Reproductive rights, taxing billionaires, and socialized everything. Rather the type of Democrat in the JFK mold, who is more concerned with how the people will grow by self-determination, how the people who have will support those that have not, and how the people will support a Federal government’s role is as stated in the Constitution – in other words – today John F. Kennedy, might be considered a Tea Party Member.

Therefore, Tea Party – as some have suggested is more politically philosophical in nature, than any group with aspirations of becoming a third party. Which, one also suggests that those that identify with the Tea Party might include individuals from any political party. A recent Rasmussen poll on political identify taken October 29, 2013, suggests just that – with 42% of the nation identifying with President Obama’s political ideology and 42% of the nation identifying with Tea Party ideology. There balance of these polled were on the fence, not sure if they preferred the President’s ideology (one which on surface, one must agree, is moderate) or that of the Tea Party.

If this is, indeed the case, this early in the 2014 and 2016 election cycle, and should there be continual problems with the Health Care System, branded as Obama Care, one can imagine those numbers should increase, and not for the President, or anyone associated with his “Brand”.

That is evident as the New York Times reports that the roll out for Obama Care has Democrats feeling anxious and they should.

As the figure bandied about as to how many individuals the White House knew were going to lose their health insurance as the plan took hold was upwards to 93,000,000, should that be the case, those Republicans and Democrats will be facing primary challengers and election challengers from – Independents or Tea Party Democrats and Tea Party Republicans.

Yes, Virginia, there are Tea Party Democrats, call the JFK Democrats, my father’s Democrats but never-the-less Democrats who will be unfairly damaged – they might as well campaign with either Obama or John McCain, as it would have the same effect, or they could run under a different banner, on less…suddenly distasteful to the general voting public.

That is what the major parties fear, sharing power with a third party, or having members that are not going to “tow the party line” (See Republican Leadership and their Tea Party Members).

Which brings one back to local Massachusetts, if there are Conservatives with Tea Party credentials or ideology in Massachusetts – surely that means that other states with a lesser makeup of Progressives, are more inclined to favor a third party or independent run. Should this political mindset shift across the nation and include even the bluest states, within four to ten years, one will see a new political party, or two rise from the ashes of the once powerful. This would make our present and future decade the most politically-historically interesting time in at least a century and a half.