Taxed Enough Already? There Might Be Hope

There’s a resurgence underway. I attended a Taxed Enough Already (TEA) meeting in White Plains this past Saturday. It was attended, if you will, over-attended, by about 150 people of various ages, political affiliation and income. The theme was a common one of dissatisfaction with the political climate in Westchester, New York and the nation. What stood out more was the desire by those in attendance to expect and receive more honesty and responsiveness from our governmental officials. 

I've attended several TEA meetings in the past and even spoken at one or two as a candidate. Each time was impressive as the people participating were hungry for positive change with our representation. It's unfortunate that the same media, hungry for access and the “big scoop”, have abrogated their responsibility to society, woefully abandoning our need for them to scrutinize government and its leaders actions and inactions. They only seem interested when they find some sexual escapade that they can feature on the six o'clock news.

The TEA people did not appear to be kooks or wackos as they've repeatedly been portrayed by the lamestream media, hoping to discredit them. Their speakers were impressive and the main, featured speaker was TEA Party member, newly elected NYS Assemblyman Steve Katz. He spoke with passion for about twenty minutes to a half hour, highlighting some (?) of the dysfunction in Albany and what he and others are trying to do to counter it. In the end, this is the type of representative I want in Albany and Washington. 

One legislative candidate’s representative got up to speak and said that ‘his’ candidate, when elected, will vote with County Executive Rob Astorino, breaking the stranglehold we see in the County Legislature. A man sitting at the table opposite me said that wasn’t what he wanted in a candidate, regardless of party affiliation. He wants a candidate, ultimately an elected official, who would scrutinize the pending issue and positions from both sides and vote appropriately on its merit, not party line. We don’t need a continuation or worsening of the same partisan politics. We need elected officials with backbone and the ability to do the right thing, not the comfortable or expedient thing. I know the candidate whom we were told will vote with Astorino and will be calling the candidate directly to discuss this issue. I’ll see how it goes and hope this was just a miscommunication. I too, want more from our representatives than partisanship.

There were several candidates at the meeting. Most notably was Mark Rosen, who is planning again to run against Nita Lowey for Congress. You may recall that Rosen was in the race in the last campaign but withdrew when he was recalled for duty to Afghanistan. Recently returned, he has been picking up his pace to get back into the political fray. You may also recall the Republicans then endorsed Paul Wasserman, a newly converted Democrat to Republican until he dropped out for personal reasons. Finally, stalwart candidate Jim Russell begrudgingly received the Republican nod only to implode when his earlier writings were exposed by the same people who sued the County over the Housing Desegregation. 

The Republican and Democratic parties both seem locked in a pathetic partisan game of one-upmanship, disappointingly abandoning and alienating more and more voters. It’s why many don't even bother to vote any more. The Conservative Party is no longer endorsing conservative candidates and the Independence Party leader is literally working for the Democrats, subsequently handing out Independence Party endorsements to only the democratic candidates! It’s absurd and not showing signs of improving. Where’s all this hope and change we kept hearing about? Where are the promises made during the last election? Maybe it’s with more TEA endorsed candidates. Let’s hope!