Mike Pence States TEA Party Should Also Focus On Morality

I’m going to have to disagree with Pence, and probably some of you readers, on this one

The Tea Party movement and its grassroots political activists are defined by loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, limited government and individual liberty — not social issues such as abortion. That’s what one analyst argued at a gathering of conservatives in Washington on Wednesday.

Journalist and author Jonah Goldberg said the movement should avoid cultural issues such as abortion if it is to have continued success.

A conservative congressman, however, disagreed.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the chairman of the House Republican Conference, said people are also drawn to the Tea Party movement because it embraces traditional American morality, including the sanctity of life and the traditional definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

“One last thought to leave you with,” Pence said in his concluding remarks: “This is something I’ve said around the country at many Tea Party gatherings and grassroots gatherings. And it needs to be said, and that is, that what’s animating this authentic American movement is that our present crisis is not just economic and fiscal. It’s moral in nature.

While Pence has done a wonderful job in taking on Obama and the Donkeys radical hard left agenda, I do believe he is missing the point about the TEA Party, and we see that many in elected positions, both on the Left and Right, believe that morality should be legislated. One of the points about American Conservatism, also known as Classical Liberalism, is that the government should stay out of the Moral Core as much as possible. Yet, we see them involved way too much.

Granted, the TEA Party movement is grassroots, and by the People, for the People. Personally, I believe as Jonah Goldberg does, and keep it focused on core Classic Liberalism ideas. Reduced and limited government, less intrusive government, and limited taxation, the last one being the main point of the TEA Party. Taxed Enough Already. The more government spends and becomes involved, the more money they will want from We The People. That is not to say there should be no taxation. That is not what most Conservatives believe, nor what the TEA Party stands for. Just keep the taxes low and the federal budget/spending under control and limited.

The TEA Party attracts not just those on the Right, but, those in the middle and left, as well. Why? Many liberals do believe in bigger government, a more “helping” government. Their “Moral” values ask for a more involved and intrusive government (which actually sorta makes them Classical Conservatives.) What is socially relevant to one TEA Partier may mean nothing to another, and end up driving supporters away. What matters to you may not matter to me. Or not as much to me, which would make me lose interest in talking about that social issue all the time. And could drive away who would otherwise support the TEA Party. Keep it simple, keep it relevant, keep it focused on it’s main points, namely, the primacy of the Constitution, limited government, smaller government, less intrusive government, and limited taxation.

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