Tea Parties All over AMERICA, MORE TO COME

Although Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are often named in the same breath, they are actually different people. Limbaugh is a conservative flame-thrower, Beck his libertarian counterpart, and O’Reilly? Well, O’Reilly is a conservative, clearly, but he is far more reasonable than the other two.

Below the fold follow two videos of the man speaking about yesterday’s tea parties and politicians’ refusal to take responsibility for their mistakes. His approach to them is, I believe, correct and healthy. He basically argued that tea parties are part of a nation-wide debate about the role, responsibilities and powers of the federal government. Many Americans may actually favor a bigger government than libertarians and fiscal conservatives do. That’s OK. But let there be a major debate about it nonetheless. Good policies are created by passionate, rational debate, not by alienating those who disagree with ‘the majority.’

I would like to add just one thing to that: O’Reilly seems to forget that Obama won in part because he promised “95%” of Americans “a tax cut.” He learned the lesson Ronald Reagan taught ambitious politicians: whatever you do, promise voters you’ll cut taxes for them if you win. That is, frankly, not the sign of a Social Democratic or ‘big-government’ country.

The second video is, I believe, stellar. He goes after Barney Frank for failing to take responsibility for the financial crisis - which did happen “under his watch” - but he does not stop there. He also criticizes Republicans - President George W. Bush for instance - and says that this is, ironically, a bipartisan problem.

And he is right. It is.

Watch the videos: