Annihilating Democracy with the Tea Party

SPIEGEL ONLINE ^ | 07/29/2011 | Gregor Peter Schmitz

[skimbell]

America's Founding Fathers thought of everything. They wanted to establish several centers of power in Washington rather than just one. They wanted the occupant of the White House to be strong, but Congress was to have the power to check that strength. The friction between Capitol Hill and the White House -- a product of this system of checks and balances -- was to make the decisions of America's leaders cleverer, wiser and better...

[DesertRhino]

Essentially, the Germans gave up the nationalistic agressive part of Nazi philosophy,, and kept the rest. They are basically pacifist nazis. This article is a classic example. Obama, the charismatic socialist leader complete with his own personal symbol and iconic art, is being obstructed by people who don’t agree.

To a German this is horrifying. People are supposed to obey their leaders. Germany is the nation of the obedient follower, living withing rules. There is little room there for people who think they should have a voice.

[NTHockey]

According to the author, democracy cannot coexist with principles. Only compromise can. Which is why the Founders gave us a republic.

[pallis]

The Founders wanted divided power that the people could influence, through political bodies like the Tea Party, and federal bodies like states. Big government wants centralized power, as in czars and Obooboo, Stalin, Hitler, Mao and so on. But that’s not something a Marxist would understand. The Tea Party is the Founders, just as excessive spending is big government.

[DesertRhino]

This next election is going to put them in catatonic shock. Im going to laugh myself silly watching them.

[Caipirabob]

Annihilating Democracy with the Tea Party

This is war. Enough said.

[driftless2]

Obviously this guy gets his talking points from the DNC. “Experts agree” that we should cut spending and raise taxes. Exactly whose “experts” are we talking about Mr. Schmitz? Yes, raise taxes in the middle of a struggling economy. What a great idea. (smirk) I’ll bet this clown has a huge picture of Obama in his apartment. Seig Heil , Mein Fuhrer Obama.

[Terry Mross]

Republic is right. Plus, there’s never been any friction when democrats controll congress and the white house. It’s always a love fest.

[kabar]

Yeah, well. What is Germany's total population? Something like 10,000?

LOL. 81.5 miilion. You couldn't look that up?

Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP (PPP) in 2008. Since the age of industrialization, the country has been a driver, innovator, and beneficiary of an ever more globalized economy. Germany is the world's second largest exporter with $1.120 trillion exported in 2009 (Eurozone countries are included). Exports account for more than one-third of national output.

[kabar]

Germany is the nation of the obedient follower, living withing rules. There is little room there for people who think they should have a voice.

How do you come to that conclusion? Do you know how many political parties (opinions) are represented in the German Parliament?

[Texas Eagle]

LOL. 81.5 miilion. You couldn't look that up?

>Still and all. Germany's population is roughly a quarter of The U.S.'s so it doesn't take that much to change the rate dramatically.

Besides, Germany is a largely Socialist state and we don't want to become Germany.

[kabar]

How does this article or the author of the posted article on this thread represent the opinion of most Germans? It would be like me taking an article from Time or Newsweek and characterizing it as the opinion of most Americans. Since when does one German’s opinion rise to being representative of the country or Neo-nazism? Do Michael Moore and Paul Krugman represent most Americans?

[kabar]

Besides, Germany is a largely Socialist state and we don't want to become Germany.

It is also a free, democratic country. And Germany doesn't want to become the US. I don't understand the need to criticize the entire country because you disagree with one German's opinion.

I think he is totally off base and doesn't understand the Tea Party movement, which I am part of and proud of it. Our history is different than Germany's and our Constitution and Declaration of Independence place the importance of indvidual liberty and freedom above all else. If the government fails to protect those inalienable rights, then the citizens have the right, neigh obligation, to replace it by any means deemed necessary.

[JackOfVA]

How does this article or the author of the posted article on this thread represent the opinion of most Germans? It would be like me taking an article from Time or Newsweek and characterizing it as the opinion of most Americans. Since when does one German’s opinion rise to being representative of the country or Neo-nazism? Do Michael Moore and Paul Krugman represent most Americans?

Good point and I can't argue with it other than to say that Der Spiegel is more or less the house organ of the German left, as the NY Times is the house organ of the US left, so when you read it in either Der Spiegel or the NY Times, it's an indication of where the liberal left group think is heading.

And, like it or not, these publications remain influential in the power elite circles.

If the German public wants more democracy, then they should start by turfing out the current political elite, as the Tea Party has started to do here. Lots more to be done in this regard, but at least we've started.

Jack

[dirtymac]

Don’t you just love it when the liberals scream that the conservatives wont comprosmise on their fundamental issues. The Dems wont compromise on the tax hike but it is the Tea Parties fault for not giving in. To them working together means doing things their way or not at all.

[kcvl]

Schmitz was director of the Brussels office of Bertelsmann Foundation and in charge of all US activities of the foundation. He also gained job experience as an associate with Gruner und Jahr, Paris, and as a development aid worker in Latin America.

Schmitz holds a law degree from Munich University and is a graduate of Sciences-Po, Paris. He also earned graduate degrees in history from Cambridge University, Great Britain (M.Phil.), and Harvard University (MPA) where he was a McCloy-Scholar of the German National Merit Foundation. He spent a year as Visiting Fellow at Harvard's History Faculty where he conducted research for his disseration on legislation against Holocaust Denial.

[dirtymac]

Read Genesis in the Bible about Pharaohs dream of the 7 good years and the 7 bad years. Pharaoh taxed the hell out of what the Egyptians produced and then sold it back to the people. Pharaoh took their money, their livestock, their land; everything until they sold themselves into bondage. We should learn a lesson from the Egyptians because the same thing is going on right now.

[kabar]

And, like it or not, these publications remain influential in the power elite circles.

As do the NYT, WaPo, and most of the MSM in the US, which is decidedly left leaning.

If the German public wants more democracy, then they should start by turfing out the current political elite, as the Tea Party has started to do here.

There is more diversity of political opinion represented in the German parliament than there is in the US Congress. Our system is weighted in favor of the two party system. There are 6 political parties in the Bundestag. And even more parties represented in the state parliaments. I don't believe there is a lack of democracy in Germany, which is a federal republic.

List of political parties in Germany

[MNJohnnie]

Another clueless Erotrash author ignorant of the most basic facts.

The House did it's job, President 0 and the Dems decided to play politics. The ones this moron should be bitching at are the Zero Dems.

[kabar]

the Tea Party group Campaign for Liberty wrote on its blog that, even if the debt ceiling isn't raised, "the sun will still rise in the East and set in the West, as it has for all time." What, after all, do the experts know?

The author isn't aware that the Campaign for Liberty is no a Tea Party group. It is Ron Paul's group. Nor does he understand that the Tea Party is not a hierarchical organization. There is no central leadership nor is there any designated spokesman.

[brityank]

I wanted to leave a comment, but apparently Der Spiegel doesn't allow commentary on their hit pieces.

Send them a Form Email here: http://www1.spiegel.de/active/kontakt/fcgi/lesermail.fcgi?artikelid=777344

I did - for what good it will do!