Europe's Invitation to a Tea Partyby: Joshua Grant

BAD AMERICA!

It's no surprise, after the election of President Obama, excitement swept through Europe. Barack

Obama was a symbol of hope and fervent prayers for a new direction in American policy after eight

years of war and resentment toward George W. Bush's style and policies. All of the insidious anti-

Americanism and biases that had been validated under the Bush administration, quickly started to

dissipate with Obama's inauguration.

At the end of President Barack Obama's speech to a mostly young European audience in 2009,

it would have been impossible not to to detect an overwhelming sense of hopefulness and awe in the

crowd. Those French and German students had witnessed a historic fundamental shift in American

Foreign Policy before their very eyes, the admittance of American misbehavior. Despite objections and

criticism by conservative commentators, President Obama in many ways apologized for America

showing arrogance, being derisive, and failing to “ appreciate Europe's leading role in the world.”

This new, young, and intelligent president was realization for Europeans, that America was not

simply a country of aggressive ignorance as it is often depicted to be. The world was granting the

United States a second chance. Obama declared that “ America is changing “ he's right. America is

changing, but for the better? After Tuesday's midterm elections, Europeans may not be so sure.

WHERE IS MY JOB OBAMA!

Now at the end of 2010, two days after mid-term elections, it is understandable why Europeans

are now scratching their heads, perplexed asking how the same country who made such a historic leap

politically by electing Obama two years ago, could have been so determined to boot his party out of

office on election day.

When Europeans examine the first two years of Obama's leadership, they see a stimulus

package which offset another Great Depression, a banking bailout preventing a Wall Street meltdown,

and a health care plan providing nearly 30 million citizens access to medical treatment, and the end of

the divisive war in Iraq. How can a man who , in fact, brought “change” to American politics now be

on such a downward spiral?

At the time of Obama's election campaign, his story connected to many people, because he was

the embodiment of the American Dream. Americans looked to him, almost like a Messiah, who would

deliver them from the oppressions of an untrustworthy government. Obama made profound promises.

Proclaiming the end of a federal government who ignores the voices of its' people. He called for a

change that would ensure a more transparent and modern way of policy making, but in office he failed

to find this same inspiring narrative. There was now little to link him to the Americans whose jobs were

disappearing and whose houses were being foreclosed. For some, Obama seemed too distant, too

cerebral, and far too Zen.

One of the president's major focuses was on the system of health care, which he campaigned

heavily on and implemented successfully. However, health care was not on the top of the list of things

most Americans were worried about. For them, worrying about staying employed or finding a job

were paramount, leaving them with a sense of a gap between themselves and the Obama agenda.

Fortunately those who felt disconnected, there was a Tea Party to fill in the gap.

THE TEA PARTY OF DREAMS

The Tea Party believes the future lies in the past. Party members insist America is on the wrong

track. Candidates guarantee, if elected, federal accountability, decreased spending, and the protection of

individual liberties (the right to bear arms). The movement calls for the return to old values, self-

reliance, small government, and low taxes. One nation under God. According to Tea Party candidates,

the last two years under the Obama administration saw an increase in America's debt, moved

dangerously close to socialism, and lost the connection with the working middle class.

It is also interesting to point out there were 138 candidates from the Tea Party running for

congress., and despite their strong refutation of being affiliated with either the Republican or

Democratic parties, all 138 candidates ran on the Republican ticket. Europeans and American liberals

war with the idea of a how a party that claims to be a populist grass roots movement are not

Democrats. Voting Republican would be against the “common man's” economic interest. Republicans

still favor the Bush tax cuts for the rich, which are set to expire soon. They also are against a deficit

commission that the president requested, and hope to overturn a deficit neutral health care bill.

Europeans cannot reconcile how the Tea Party members complain of out-of- control spending

and government being too much in their lives, when the so called spending was done for their own long

term benefit. The idea of a country refusing to pay higher taxes in order to form a system of solidarity

to protect its poorer citizens seems utterly ridiculous.

One might ask, what's the matter with these people? The truth is nothing is the matter. Tea Party

members see themselves as being deeply American, therefore one must look no further than the

American Dream to understand their voting behavior.

What Europeans fail to realize is Americans, unlike themselves, do not vote on economic

interest. We vote our values and dreams. Therefore, efforts to appeal to alleged material interests are

unlikely to bring working class voters back to the democratic side. America remains deeply

aspirational country that has long been committed to greatness rather than charity. The reality is that

many Americans, regardless of current economic situation, believe they will one day become rich. For

many Tea Party members America is a completely free country where anything is possible, if one

works hard and abides by biblical principles. This concept leads to a strong belief in self-sufficiency,

hence the lack of compassion for the less fortunate. Unlike most European countries who align with the

notion of the collective, America is a country very much about the power of the individual. Americans

support candidates and policy proposals based on whether they resonate with their core and there

consciously (or unconsciously) held values and outlook on life.

Watching the phenomenal rise of the Sarah Palins and Christine O'Donnells , foreigners begin

to ask questions and make assumptions in order to confirm their desire to paint America as a country

lacking sophistication, xenophobic, and unintelligent. Crazy Americans who are overly patriotic and

extremely religious ,who consistently choose God over science and ignorance over information. The

emergence of the Tea Party, and the Republican victory on Tuesday may have perhaps solidified those

claims, giving the Europeans satisfaction of being right all along.