By Al Norman
Massachusetts’ senior senator, Elizabeth Warren, has wasted little time in showing that she is not afraid to take on tough issues.
One of those issues is how America is being governed. Given the historically low opinion polls of how the public perceives Congress, it’s not surprising that Warren is speaking out on what the Tea Party means for the future of our country.
In early October, Warren sent out a note to supporters through her campaign committee, known as “Elizabeth for MA,” calling the Tea Party “the anarchy gang,” and predicting that “like all the reckless and extremist factions that have come before it, its day will pass.”
Here are some excerpts from Warren’s email:
“If you watch the anarchist tirades coming from extremist Republicans in the House, you’d think they believe that the government that governs best is a government that doesn’t exist at all.
“But behind all the slogans of the Tea Party — and all the thinly veiled calls for anarchy in Washington — is a reality: The American people don’t want a future without government.
When was the last time the anarchy gang called for regulators to go easier on companies that put lead in children’s toys? Or for inspectors to stop checking whether the meat in our grocery stores is crawling with deadly bacteria? Or for the FDA to ignore whether morning sickness drugs will cause horrible deformities in our babies?
“And now that the House Republicans have shut down the government — holding the country hostage because of some imaginary government ‘health care boogeyman’ …. Why do they do this? Because the boogeyman government in the alternate universe of their fiery political speeches isn’t real. It doesn’t exist ….
“We are alive, we are healthier, we are stronger because of government. Alive, healthier, stronger because of what we did together. We are not a country of anarchists. We are not a country of pessimists and ideologues whose motto is, ‘I’ve got mine, the rest of you are on your own.’ We are not a country that tolerates dangerous drugs, unsafe meat, dirty air or toxic mortgages.
“We are not that nation. We have never been that nation. And we never will be that nation.
The political minority in the House that condemns government and begged for this shutdown has its day. But like all the reckless and extremist factions that have come before it, its day will pass — and the government will get back to the work we have chosen to do together.”
This is strong language — but Warren understands that there is a form of civil war going on in the nation today. It is estimated that the recent government shut down cost the economy $24 billion. We literally cannot afford a government that flirts with collapse every few months. Rule by minority becomes a form of tyranny.
The Tea Party chose Obamacare to make its stand — a strange target considering the millions of uninsured Americans who throw themselves on taxpayer-supported public health services when they get sick.
Obviously Sen. Warren understands that the workings of government are very fragile, especially when the many are paralyzed by the few. We are in the middle of an ideological civil war, and when government is incapacitated, and unable to make decisions, it is not hyperbole to call those who hold it up “the anarchy gang.”
Al Norman is the executive director of Mass Home Care. He can be reached at info@masshomecare.org, or at 413-772-6289.
