The guys in office now have kept some of their promises, and broken others. What’s worse is months after taking the helm the long list of exactly which promises were to be broken was rolled out. Guantanamo – for those for whom it was a major issue, well they were left hanging. For those who wanted to see government intrusions rolled back, they were left hanging also. For those who wanted to see a significant difference between them and the previous administration, well for them that was to be the biggest disappointment, thus far.

The guys in office last time were different from those before them, but that didn’t translate to them leaving us a more prosperous nation than we had when they were handed the reins. They made promises they broke too. This included “no new nation building.” They promised to decrease spending and government expansion. Those promises didn’t work out too well.

Both got into office by riding waves of discontent with the party in power just before them. In the case of the current administration the nation was heavily disillusioned with all the let downs coming out of the Bush/ Cheney administration. That is no secret. In the case of the Bush administration, the nation was not as lopsidedly discontented, but still a large number were upset about the scandal that hit President Clinton’s administration, and so the edge went to George W. Bush’s bid for office.

This time around, no surprise, the headlines all tell us we are discontented with the people in office, and thus will be voting the other guys into office. They are working very hard to get themselves back into a solid position and they’re campaigning aggressively. The spotlight is on them and they are expected to take at least the House. At the end of January 2009 more than one respected journalist said Democrats had to avoid being their own worst enemies. Here we are - they did not avoid it.

We all wanted something dramatically different last time. Thus far we’ve had scant return on our investment. So we look here and there to see what our other choices are. As of right now American politics are dominated by two parties. Truth is in America, the one place we are limited is in our choices for government. So who’s our choice? The guys we voted out just a year and nine months ago!!!! Woo Hoo! … (crickets chirping)

There has been a fresh infusion of candidates from the Tea Party organization’s Republicans with funding from the Koch brothers. They have told us this it will be different. They have told us this will be something new, they rolled out a pledge to America outlining their promises. Among those promises are pledges to totally repeal the recent health care bill and to completely freeze all stimulus spending.

But, have they proven since late January 2009 they are what they claim? Let’s look at that.

One of the biggest points of contention among Americans is the stimulus and omnibus given out by the Democrats and TARP1 and subsequent TARP extension funds handed out by the Republicans. They are telling us these are things they are against, and will back it up by freezing all stimulus spending entirely. That is a pledge, a promise. Yet, have they shown they are willing to back that up?

Well, they did not vote for the stimulus, very true. But, they did vote for TARP, and when you look at the stimulus more closely you find they did support the stimulus and its achievements once passed. This isn’t the stuff of left wing conspiracy blogs. Even Republican elected officials have criticized their fellow Republicans for this.

For instance, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "I find it interesting that you have a lot of the Republicans running around and pushing back on the stimulus money and saying this doesn't create any new jobs… And then they go out and they do the photo ops and they are posing with the big check and they say, 'Isn't this great? Look what kind of money I provide here for the state.' . . . It doesn't match up." (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/22/nation/la-na-schwarzenegger22-2010feb22)

And he was right. “‘Washington needs to stop spending money that it doesn't have,’ Michigan Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra said in attacking the $410 billion omnibus-spending bill, which funds the government through September. But once it passed, he touted its benefits for his district, which stretches along Lake Michigan.

“‘Safe and navigable harbors are economic engines that drive the communities that surround them,’ Mr. Hoekstra declared, announcing $3 million for harbor improvements.” And there was more, “Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R., Fla.) also opposed the omnibus bill. After it passed, he announced that it included $570,000 for hybrid-fuel trolleys in Miami Lakes. ‘I am proud to have secured these federal funds to ensure that all residents of Miami Lakes can have easy access to parks, schools, shops and businesses,’ Mr. Diaz-Balart said.” (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123759908731101583.html)

House minority leader John Boehner said of the stimulus, “With Ohio’s unemployment rate the highest it’s been in 25 years, I’m pleased that federal officials stepped in to order Ohio to use all of its construction dollars for shovel-ready projects that will create much-needed jobs.” (http://boehner.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=132281) Senator Mitch McConnell said, “This is going to be a source of significant employment. At the peak, we could have up to 600 people working on this, and we believe the substantial majority of those workers will be Kentuckians.” (http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/54824712.html)

In fact, in a debate just the other night Sen. John McCain said,”he would tap unused stimulus funds to declare a payroll tax holiday and said the tax cuts made under President George W. Bush need to be extended before they expire at the end of the year.” (http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_f571782e-fd96-5e03-8986-b27eaafa7b01.html) If his party has frozen funds, which they already ‘pledged’ to do before his debate, how exactly can he accomplish this goal? He has pledged to eliminate all future stimulus spending, and simultaneously to use future stimulus spending to give a payroll tax holiday. We are not talking some freshman senator here, what goes on in the GOP he is always at the forefront of.

Scott Brown seemed to be the Tea Party favorite and then turned out to be an ordinary; run of the mill Republican once he got into office. He used the Tea Party grassroots then tossed them aside, and the Tea Party elite didn’t bat an eyelash. Tea Party darling Bob McDonnell who rode a tidal wave of Tea Party energy into the Governor spot in Virginia swore to return to conservative traditions once he got into office. Once in, he proposed a 4% tax on restaurants and bars instead of cutting spending. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/07/AR2010090707374.html?hpid=newswell) Why would a true Tea Party conservative even consider such a thing? What happened to the “no taxes no way” motto of the Tea Party? Where was the Tea Party elite on this?

The truth is, thus far, the next wave of the other side of the coin doesn’t seem to be that much different. Sure there are some odd personalities getting a ton of the spotlight here and there, but in the end, do we really expect them to be able to buck their big tent party? The only way to see a true difference is to register independent and vote that way, including third parties. The only way to truly change things is to truly change things. Or we will just end up getting what we paid for; the other side of the same coin. Being as we already bought that coin many times over, we’re getting a little ripped off at this point.

To read about my inspiration for this article go to www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com.