The Coming Struggle

From R. Emmett Tyrrell at The American Spectator:

The upsurge of awareness is led by the Tea Party movement. It is composed of fallen away conservatives and independents with a smattering of Democrats thrown in. They are a welcome arrival to the conservative movement. The American conservative movement has steadily moved from the outer fringes of American politics in the 1950s to the center. America is now and has been a center right country. Do you remember but two years back all the talk about conservatism being dead? At the time conservatives outnumbered Liberals two to one.

One of the ways the conservatives achieved majority status was by welcoming every new arrival to the conservative cause. They did this in the 1970s with the Neocons. They did this in the 1980s with the Reagan Democrats. More recently they did it with the Christian Right, and now they are doing it with the Tea Partiers.

The Tea Partiers' arrival is auspicious. There are structural changes in the federal budget that are going to have to be made and they are aware of it. Had the Liberal press not encouraged the worst in the Liberal politicians, the Tea Partiers might not have been aroused to their present pitch of civic mindedness. The Liberals might have been able to muddle along building up debt. But the Liberals came in with their wholly unfunded stimulus program, Obamacare, and regulatory reforms that have impeded growth. The result is going to be a serious rethinking of the federal programs, and if we do not act the Tea Partiers are pointing to Greece as our future.

Already the reforms are being discussed. The retirement age for Social Security will have to be raised and alternate funding studied. Personal Retirement Accounts (PRAs) will be considered. Vouchers have been suggested to fund Medicare for the truly poor, along with means testing, and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). These and more economies are going to be considered. In this election it seems we have come to a turning point. A majority of Americans realize that the debt can no longer be kicked down the road. It must be faced.

The Tea Party's candidates must take their place in the conservative movement and continue to call for reform. They have allies such as Paul Ryan and the conservatives' other "young guns" willing to work with them. This can be a historic election but it is just the beginning. The deficit must be ended. 

He is right - this election will be historic!! but the job is only beginning.  We must ALL realize that what comes next ain't going to be pretty but it MUST be done if we are to continue as a GREAT nation!  It is up to us to convince the others that think we can continue to muddle through that sacrifices MUST be made to correct the unsustainable path we are on currently!  And the job begins in earnest on Tuesday!!!-SP