Tea Party Madness

It all started when CNBC's Rick Santelli called for a "Chicago Tea Party" Thursday. It was this shout out (and you have to watch it) that caused this ripple of revolution that touched a nerve. People are frustrated to no end about this stimulus bill that passed too quickly, and not even properly read by anyone who voted on it. Along comes this mortgage bailout and the frustration mounts.

Santelli called for the "Chicago Tea Party" but it's gone national now. Michelle Malkin has a bunch of stuff on it.

Bottom line? Responsible homeowners who worked hard to put a good sized down payment on a 30-year fixed mortgage should not have to bail out those who bought more house than they could afford.

What is especially rich with irony is ACORN's nationwide effort to not allow banks to evict homeowners who have failed to pay their mortgages. It's called being a "Home Defender." They become "squatters" at a home and sit there until the money from Obama comes though. It's rich with irony because it was ACORN that blackmailed banks into giving those same questionable loans. ACORN was all about the 1977 federal law, the Community Reinvestment Act, which forced banks to make bad loans to the poor. In order for banks to get approval for mergers and acquisitions they need to prove they have not discriminated against minority communities in their lending. The CRA gave “community groups” the opportunity to lodge complaints against the banks. And you better believe ACORN was all about that. ACORN developed a lucrative side business as an “advisor” to banks seeking regulatory approvals. In other words, banks had no choice but to give risky loans and ACORN was there as the watchdog to make sure it happened. Banks then took hundreds of individual mortgages packaged together and sold them to investors as “mortgage-backed securities." And we all know how that turned out.

Now, many on the left say "where were you protesting with the bank bailout?" And they would have a legitimate point. What idiots we were. We bought into the scare tactics. The Republican leadership bought into the scare tactics and voted for this insane bailout. How could we have EVER been fooled into thinking that a govt bailout was every going to solve anything?! Bush was wrong about the bank bailout and Obama is wrong about the stimulus bill (as it was passed anyway) and this mortgage bailout.

Tarp I and Tarp II. What a joke. Tim Geithner doesn't seem to have a grasp on what is going on. It's like we are watching a nightmare we can't wake up from, and it's made worse by the fact that we contributed to it big time.

Here is the "Tea Party" protests site. There seems to be one being planned for CPAC in Washington D.C. this week. I'll be there, so I'll bring it to you.

I'm all for it, but you have to admit that Republicans aren't very good at "protests." We just don't have that "Che Guevara" mojo going. I remember during the 2000 presidential vote recount when a bunch of Republicans invaded the voting counting offices. I had to laugh at all the khaki and white button down shirts. Let's face it, we don't exactly scream "revolution!"

But it's time for something. It's time to just stop sitting here watching our an economic meltdown and do nothing.

If the thought of nationalizing our banks doesn't send a chill up your spine, then you aren't paying attention.

Maybe we can't match the papier mache Bush and Cheney dolls or the stepping on the flag, or the lying "dead" in protest. Maybe we will look like the responsible nerds that we are, but at least our voice will be heard.

And that's kind of important. Especially now.