Tea Party (UPDATE)

Just a note about these Tea Party protests taking place today.  Apparently, Paul Ryan feels a bit left out of today’s taxpayer protests and wants in at the Tea Parties.  Feeling a bit irrelevant and left out perhaps?  He deserves it.  These are the type of “conservatives” that real conservatives should steer clear of right now.

UPDATE:  It’s not just about Democrats (via):

In Madison, Wisconsin, GOP Rep. Paul Ryan – hyped as a conservative “rockstar” – was well-received. But I heard from staunch fiscal conservative constituents who refused to be silent about Ryan’s complicity. He gave one of the most hysterical speeches in the rush to pass TARP last fall; voted for the auto bailout; and voted with the Barney Frank/Nancy Pelosi AIG bonus-bashing stampede. Milwaukee blogger Nick Schweitzer wrote: “He ought to be apologizing for his previous votes, not pretending he was being responsible the entire time, but I don’t see one bit of regret for what he did previously. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him get away with it.”

Other Tea Party participants pointed out that Newt Gingrich, who jumped aboard the bandwagon, flip-flopped on TARP in the space of a week last September and made common cause with Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi in ads calling for immediate action on “climate change.”

That Paul Ryan felt the need to show his face at the Tea Parties is a disgrace.  Why is it such a disgrace?  See my previous reasons here, here, here and here. 

The fact that he’s still welcome as a “rising star” of conservatism only alludes to the dearth of real conservative leaders in the Republican party right now.  There is a significant rot in the GOP establishment right now and for that to be torn down, conservatives need to retake the party from the Beltway crowd.  The Tea Parties appear to have been a good start, but what’s important is what happens today, tomorrow, next month and in the next year or so, to build a true grassroots movement and for it to be sustainable.  We don’t need the Ryans and the Gingriches of the world to show up for a photo-op, and then stab the movement in the back when nobody’s looking.