The Tea Party Movement is Destroying Democracy

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Over the last decade the United States has seen an unprecedented rise in minority rule. The Tea Party Movement has hijacked not only the Grand Old Party (GOP), dragging it further and further from the center, but also the national government as a whole. With 48 Representatives in the house and 5 Senators, the Tea Party Caucus has maneuvered to assault the legislative and governing power of the governing Democratic Party. Since their rise to national power in the 2010 elections, the Tea Party has led the charge for the 47 and counting attempts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, blocked countless Presidential nominees and ultimately held the responsibility for the Government shutdown of October 2013 . Our government has declined to its least productive level ever, with the 113th Congress passing fewer than 30 bills in the last year (Desilver). However, even with this horribly low efficiency of Congress and a dismal 28% approval rating for the Republican Party, the Tea Party Legislators and movement faces little to no repercussions for their roles. The advent of the political juggernaut known as the Tea Party is the result of decades of broken promises and fear-mongering by the political right, a lapse in campaign financing restrictions, and the growing power of the angry vote.
Politicians are famous and infamous for compromising. This dichotomy exists as a result of their dual roles: a representative fighting for their constituents and a legislator perpetuating government functionality. Although legislators must compromise in order to do their jobs, they never advertise their peacemaking ability in a campaign. Instead, rather than focus on the positives of their tenure, such as helping the government and bur...

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... complacency in its voters if it ever hopes to return to a proper democratic state.

Works Cited

Desilver, Drew. "Current Congress Is Not the Least Productive in Recent History, but Close." Pew Research Center RSS. Pew Research Center, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Gore, Al. "False Spontaneity of the Tea Party." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Lux, Mike. "The Hidden Effects of Citizens United and Super PACs." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Sept. 2012. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Siddiqui, Sabrina. "Colorado Recall Results: Democratic State Senators Defeated In Major Victory For NRA." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Wing, Nick. "George W. Bush On Legacy: 'There's No Need To Defend Myself'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

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