Academic

VELVET UNDERGROUND DRUMMER MOE TUCKER ON why she is a Tea Partier: My family was damn poor when I?

By Glenn Reynolds

VELVET UNDERGROUND DRUMMER MOE TUCKER ON why she is a Tea Partier:

My family was damn poor when I was growing up on Long Island. There were no food stamps, no Medicaid, no welfare. If you were poor, you were poor. You didn’t have a TV, you didn’t have five pairs of shoes, you didn’t have Levi’s, you didn’t have a phone; you ate Spam, hot dogs and spaghetti. We all survived! I am not against food stamps, welfare or Medicaid, if only they would oversee these programs properly!

I am also against the government taking over the student loan program, car companies, bailouts and the White House taking control of the census (what the hell is that all about?); [about] any First Lady telling (I know, I know, “suggesting to”) us what to eat, the mayor of New York City declaring “no salt” (screw you, pal!), the mayor/city commissioners of Anytown, U.S.A. declaring you can’t fly a flag, can’t say the Pledge of Allegiance and can’t sing the National Anthem. I’m against a President dismissing any and all who dare to disagree. . . .

I am against the government now thinking about bailing out unions. The unions made the contracts which include insane pensions; the U.S. government didn’t. I’m against the government closing down offshore drilling in the Gulf with one hand and with the other giving (lending?) Brazil money to help them do way deeper offshore drilling — rather curious. I’m against a government that will not defend our borders; and on and on and on.

Read the whole thing. And “Screw you, pal!” is the perfect response to a lot of nanny-state bossiness.

UPDATE: Reader Don Zeiter writes:

I think you should have pointed out the most important point she made.

“No country can provide all things for all citizens. There comes a point where it just isn’t possible, and it’s proven to be a failure everywhere it’s been tried.”

Those two sentences encapsulate why the Tea Party took off and the difference in thinking between the people in D.C. and us rubes in the rest of the country. It’s the difference between those supporting Christine O’Donnell and those supporting Chris Coons. Heck, it’s a concept that escaped George W. Bush and every president back to Calvin Coolidge.

Indeed.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on October 20, 2010 (boomark / email).