In 1773, colonists living in the British Empire led an uprising and revolt against the British Government. They resisted the heavy taxation the British Government has charged in order to raise revenue. The colonists objected the taxation with protests and boycotts claiming that this act is against the British Constitution. After much pressure, the Parliament eliminated much of the taxes while leaving the tax on tea intact. Tea was a popular commodity at that time and many companies sought the domination of selling this product. The government, however, managed the market and created a government-created monopoly. Even after the new legislation reversing the tax was signed into law, the colonists saw the government as a threat to their liberty. They were concerned about the extent of the parliament’s authority and wished to limit their scope. They feared that too much government intervention might lead to financial ruin. The protestors campaigned to raise awareness and got the government to raise the white flag. After a standoff between the people and the government of the colony of Massachusetts, people boarded three ships of tea that the government withheld and threw all of the cartons overboard. After the crises escalated, it went on to become what is now known as the War of Independence. The American Revolution, how it is often called, led to the US Declaration of Independence which rejected the monarchy and initiated a new thing called democracy. They drafted the laws of democracy in the US Constitution that was to detail the government’s power and extent of their authority. The philosophy of democracy was that the government is to interact when it is necessary and for the good of the people. Under democracy, liberty was to reign, where one can earn and live liberally without government interference. Many flaws and imperfections created many amendments to the constitution that clarified the role of government and the rules of democracy. Under democracy every person was to be equal and have a voice in the legislative process; representatives from every state would vote for laws and legislations on behalf of their people.
 
The 20th century was one of turmoil. After a world war has erupted, involving many countries and superpowers, dissolving many empires, the world went into a terrible financial strain. Starting in 1929, a massive stock market crash triggered a worldwide economic downturn. The recession triggered many countries to follow suit and the world’s financial state deteriorated immensely leading the world into, what is now known as, the Great Depression. The massive depression devastated many countries as rich and poor alike lost all of their finances. The decline continued to wipe out many markets in the world while driving up unemployment. Prices dropped as deflation raged and personal income plunged. President Hoover felt that more government intervention would stop the bleed, but nothing helped to reverse the downturn. An economist with the name of John Keynes challenged the economic theory of that time and claimed that government spending would boost the economy. President Roosevelt, as well as many other western leaders, followed his advice to induce government spending hoping that it will stimulate the economy. A series of economic measures, called the New Deal, passed through Congress that was to stimulate the economy and avert downturns of such magnitude in the future. Many parts of these legislations were challenged as unconstitutional and much of it was overturned. Scholars and pundits debated the effect of these programs, many claiming it had a counter effect on the economy. After World War II the economy jumpstarted again and most of the programs stayed intact. The Keynesian theory introduced a new economic ideology where government spending would be promoted. This created social liberalism to be implemented throughout many capitalist countries. In the 1960’s, social liberalism was heavily promoted under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson which was to reduce unemployment and further stimulate the economy. They initiated the ‘Great Society’, termed as ‘the war on poverty’, which promoted intense government spending. Indeed, the economy prospered and Presidents Nixon and Ford continued expanding the role of government and spending with this notion.

The economy went all too well after all of these spending programs were initiated, in addition to much spending for the Vietnam War. The Keynesian theory proved to be right as the economy flourished. However, the excitement was short lived. With GDP breaking new grounds and historic low unemployment rates, it eventually slowed, driving inflation to record high numbers of 15%. Stopping many of the spending programs didn’t stop the horrendous inflation and pessimism caused the dollar to plunge. The continued oil crises caused the stagflation to become even worse and Keynesian economics became largely unpopular. Ronald Reagan was elected amid fear of government invasion and he reinstated neoliberalism dubbed as ‘Reaganomics’. That overturned much of the ‘Great Society’ and proposed free enterprise while reducing government regulation and taxes. An induced recession caused inflation to drop and tax cuts stimulated economic growth. An economic advisor to President Reagan, Milton Friedman, denounced Keynesian policies and instituted a monetary policy promoting less regulation and a libertarian government. However, much of the prior spending programs stayed intact as they became popular among the voters and fatal for a politician to overturn. After Reagan left the White House, spending went back to normal. Creating and increasing programs became a turf for politicians as it got them more votes. While none of his predecessors were radical spenders, their moderate spending policies continued placing a burden on the national deficit. People were fed up as the economy headed for another major downturn and wanted change. Two wars added to the country’s debt and frustration grew. People voted for change to punish the Republicans for earmark waste and pork-barrel spending.

Barack Obama claimed victory after defeating long-time Senator John McCain in a landslide. However, he interpreted the people’s discontent with the government as too little intervention. He immediately began increasing spending to record levels thereby creating more bureaucracy and government control. Passing landmark legislation tanked his polls as even many Democrats voted against his proposals. Discontent grew and frustration mounted, yet he ignored the signs. Heated town halls were ignored and polls were dismissed like 6 year olds coloring with crayons as Obama perceived the image of being out of touch and arrogant. After losing key races largely seen as a referendum on the radical agenda, the Democratic majority continued stuffing legislation down people’s throats. Passing bills before reading them only escalated voters dissatisfaction and groups started to form in opposition. Dismissing them as radicals and just a minority, the government sought to demonize those worried and concerned. Building anxiety made those groups become the voice for troubled Americans, which were the majority. Yet, their voices were unheard and the radical leftist agenda continued. The protesting group adapted the name of their faction ‘Tea Party’ being an acronym of ‘Taxed Enough Already’ and a reference to the Boston Tea Party. They supported candidates who vowed reducing wasteful spending, lowering the national debt and deficit, lowering taxes and cutting back on the size of the government.

The Tea Party has become largely controversial. Ignored by the mainstream media in the beginning and demonized later on, they professed an image of radicals and racists; they energized the conservative base, challenged the establishment thereby ousting incumbents and humiliating popular politicians. While many believed in the movement, their approval ratings decreased as many distanced themselves from the group. Political analysts and pundits expressed outrage as the group ousted candidates deemed viable and replaced them with far-reaching nominees.  Indeed, many blame some of yesterday’s losses, in races originally deemed as safe Republican, on the Tea Party, most notably the seat of Majority Leader Harry Reid. Some even suggest that they caused the Democrats to retain control in the Senate. 

However, it was the Tea Party that created the first American Revolution and it is the Tea Party that created the second. They were the ones that created the enthusiasm and this upheaval in the first place. Many individuals that never dreamed of entering politics did so now, all over the nation, creating tight races in many local districts that were uncontested for years. The political pundits all called off the GOP after their substantial losses in 2006 and 2008, claiming that it may take them decades to recover. Hardly anyone predicted such a margin of victory for the Republicans in 2008. While many pundits have previously predicted the magnitude of this uprising, some claiming it to be like 1994, others pointing to 1938, I believe it is the worst in American history. Never has a dead man revived so fast and so strong. Two years ago a generic poll had the Republicans down 25 percent and now, a short two years later, they are leading with 15%. After losing over 50 seats in the last two election cycles gaining close to 70 seats is remarkable –truly a revolution. The misconception that Tea Partiers are extremists is wrong. They are independents that were called Revolutionaries three centuries ago and often referred to as Reagan Democrats. As Marco Rubio stated in his victory speech last night, it isn’t the GOP they voted for. It was the record spending and outrageous government they voted against. The Republican Party must begin sticking to their principles and get the message or else they’ll lose. They shouldn’t be Tax and Spend Lite, they should be pro-business and do as Chris Christie said: Put up or shut up!

Dave Hirsch is an orthodox Jewish political analyst and columnist. His opinions were featured in numerous newspapers and publications. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Yeshiva World News.