Tea Party and Carpetbaggers

I'm going to take a bit of a political bent with this post. Now for those of you who don't know me very well, I'm not one to really discuss politics in public. But for this I'm going to make an exception.

1. The Tea Party Movement
Regardless of the points that the Tea Party tries to make and the methods that they use to bring their points to life is irrelevant at this moment. What I want to focus on is how important this movement is to changing the political landscape of this country. I believe that the American political process has become monopolized by the two party system thereby stagnating said system. What I believe that we need are multiple parties represented in both the Senate and the House of Representative at the Federal level and among the State and Local houses of government. As it is, many people feel that their views and thoughts aren't being addressed by their representatives, who use their power and influence to push through their own agendas. Also, voters would rather not vote Republican or Democrat since they feel that either party isn't looking out for their best interests. So what to do?

I think people forget that as this country started to grow and develop the political process grew to represent different views. As with the examples of the Congessional Elections from 1828 to 1866 you had a minimum of three parties represented in Congress with the Congressional election of 1850 and 1858 having five parties (not including independents) gaining seats in Congress. Even the Congressional Elections during the Depression Era were marked by four or five different parties gaining seats. So why not now. Why should the American people in this country feel that their vote is being wasted and their voice is being ignored by their representatives. Is the Tea Party the model? To be honest I'm not sure. But hopefully they are the beginning of the shift from the two party system standard.

2. Carpetbaggers
This is something that has always bothered me. It seems that in the last 50 years or so that New York State has become the stepping stone to higher political office for people from other states rather than resident New Yorkers. This is currently being seen in the example of former Representative Harold E. Ford, Jr. of Tennessee. Though he has yet to decide to throw his hat in the ring for the Junior Senator seat of New York in the U.S. Congress (currently being held by Congresswoman Kirsten E. Gillibrand) the debate is raging about what makes a New Yorker. You kiddingly hear from those who have emigrated from other states into New York that it takes five years of living here before you officially become a New Yorker. I'm not sure what qualifications the state uses before declaring someone a New Yorker, but just setting up shop here with a mailing address should not be enough. Take Hillary Clinton as an example.

It seemed as if she moved to Chappaqua, New York and immediately announced her intentions to run for the same seat that Congresswoman currently holds. The same can be said about former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Give Harold Ford credit, he's been living in New York City for three years paying taxes before anyone even heard of his wanting to run for the Senate. What happened to the days of Al Smith and Thomas Dewey working here in the city, earning their names walking, working and sweating on our streets. The last person to do so in that manner was Rudolph Giuliani who a U.S. Attorney and Mayor of New York City. Like the Frank Sinatra song says "If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere". I guess it is easier for some to just add New York to their resume so they can move on up the ladder rather than trying to make it "anywhere"