After a year and a half of allowing their employees to use their channel to promote the National Tea Party, Fox News has decided that they should pull back a little. But that doesn't mean that they will stop promoting or at times defending the NTP. Every day at least one of their pundits will say that the GOP and some NTP members are angry and that they have a right to be. That the government in Washington doesn't represent them and they have no choice but to disrupt civil discourse in town hall meetings and threaten politicians. But there is one thing these pundits don't explain. Since when does the losing side of a democratic election dictate to the winning side what legislation should or shouldn't be passed?
During the summer of 2008, the GOP declared that they spoke for Americans and that the American people would reaffirm this by handing them a victory in the November 2008 elections. But before the election took place there were signs of trouble for the GOP. Political advisors were telling GOP candidates to distance themselves from the GOP brand. Many GOP candidates, on the advice of political advertisers, would not even put what political party they were affiliated with on their campaign material and ads. With this advice the GOP marched toward their November electoral victory.
Then a funny thing happened to that electoral victory they predicted. It didn't happen. Sixty-six million eight hundred thousand Americans voted for Barack Obama and sent Democratic super majorities to both houses of congress. The GOP was voted out. Their economic, social, and foreign policies repudiated. The GOP had lost and to this day still has not accepted the results. This denial was followed with irrational anger. This anger was turned into political obstructionism on all issues. Why? Because they want the president they opposed to ignore the people who voted for him. The GOP is upset because he and the duly elected Democratic congress are passing legislation they campaigned on and won.
Now is that not how democracy is supposed to work? The parties present their ideas. They allow the people to review those ideas. Then they let the people decide. Not with noisy disruptive rallies and threats, but with votes. Elections are won by getting more votes than your opponent. Not by yelling louder than them. The most impactful form of showing support or opposition is done in the silence of a voting booth because shouts are not counted, votes are.
This coming summer the GOP will once again make the same claims as they did in 2008. But will they tout how they stood with big insurance companies and the big banks? Will they voice their support for campaign contributions from foreign corporations? Who knows? But we do know that once again in November the American people will speak. At that point we will truly know how the American people really feel. And one thing is guaranteed. If the GOP doesn't win then the election would not have mattered.
