To the Editor:
The media and some political pundits describe Tea Party people as “extremists” and “out of the mainstream”. While each Tea Partier has his or her own views, most want smaller, fiscally responsible government, the rule of law not men, and greater economic freedom. Does that sound extreme to you? As a Tea Partier, I wonder which of my views, which I think are shared by most Tea Partiers, are so different from yours?
Both Republicans and Democrats have failed to keep their promises to the American people. Both have over promised and overspent. Both extended government services without ensuring adequate funding and too often into areas of questionable constitutionality. Neither party has the courage to eliminate programs that don’t work, are counter-productive, or are not worth the cost, and both have put our country onto a collision path with bankruptcy and a dramatic loss in our standard of living.
The sad thing is that we, the people, allowed our politicians to do this to us, to our Country, and to subsequent generations when we accepted their promises of “free stuff“ (or more than we pay for). Tea Partiers say…
A few months back I discovered that Paul Hodes had received a one time $10,000.00 donation from American Crystal Sugar (A major US Sugar conglomerate), at about the same time as the 288 billion dollar 2007/2008 Farm bill was being pushed through congress, and vetoes overrode. US Sugar is a protected industry with a good amount of political influence. American Crystal Sugar wanted to get into the ethanol industry but could not justify the up front costs. Hodes and the farm billed solved that problem with your money. 
Yahoo! News has a morning headline titled "How Democrats Lost ‘Don’t Ask’ Repeal." 
I was watching the online web cast of Hillsdale College’s commemoration of the Kirby Center (on Constitution Day) in Washington DC, and Dr. Charles Kessler of Claremont McKenna College. Dr. Kessler is a constitutional scholar and early on in his speech he makes the following observation about the current clash between the government and the people, and the rise of the Tea Party
The economic relationship between government, the private sector, and the people, has been the object of much debate as democrats try to convince people that spending trillions we don’t have has some kind of payoff at the other end. The fact that we can’t see that "end" and none of their predictions have come true fuels the fires of the opposition while encouraging proponents to claim we just need to wait a bit longer–or spend a few trillion more.