By Donald Schumacher

They’re calling us radicals, extremists, racists, terrorists, barbarians at the gate and even “S.O.B.s” who “must be taken out.”
The head of a labor union recently declared war on us, and a U.S. congresswoman wants us to go to hell.
Why? We are simply U.S. citizens of all races who are against wasteful government spending on projects that don’t work, like the $150 billion in waste recently discovered by the GOA in redundant programs that Washington is doing nothing about. We are taxpayers, not government freeloaders, who want our nation’s debt eliminated so that our children and grandchildren will have better lives free of the thousands of dollars of government debt they will have to pay for. Many of us have served in the military, and we want a strong defense to keep us free from those who want to destroy us and our way of life.
We’re against fraud, corruption and “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”-type politicians who waste our money on pet projects to repay donors and lobbyists for their election campaign contributions. We want honesty, ethics and morals that we ourselves try to live by. Why can’t politicians? We want a strong education system, not a dumbed down system that graduates those who can’t read or write. We want a strong economy where everyone who wants a job can get one and not be dependent on government for handouts being given to folks who don’t want to work, but are perfectly able. We are budget-minded people who live within our means.
We pay our mortgages and are more than willing to help others who have lost their jobs through no cause of their own. But we’re not too happy paying mortgages for those who were financially irresponsible, living beyond their means, and are demanding that government (us) bail them out. We want tight border controls to prevent illegal aliens coming here and taking American jobs away and demanding free stuff, which our government readily gives them.
Many of us believe in God, in prayer, and we are charitable in helping those who are truly in need. We don’t think much of small groups like NAMBLA, and the ACLU and others telling us pornography, teen sex, single birthing, and removing prayer from everything is a right guaranteed by our Constitution. We have the God-given right to pray anywhere and at any time we want. We believe in the mother-father family structure, and we don’t want the government telling us how to raise our children, or what we can or cannot eat.
We honor all those who have served in our wars, from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan, and want them to have all they are entitled to, including medical care, good pay, and all the other entitlements they deserve for keeping us free and from harm. If their survivors want religious markers on their graves, or the mention of God and prayer at their funeral services, then they should have it, free from idiots who want to take those honors away or disrupt the service, which the ACLU and the Supreme court gives them the right to do.
Now, who are we? Many of us are just simple, humble folks minding our own business who don’t want this country destroyed by going down the path we are on today. Thousands of us are Tea Party members, who are patriots of all classes, of all political parties, of all colors, of all theologies, who want what’s best for all of us. Nothing more, nothing less. Without the Tea Party we have little chance, and this country will most likely end up in bankruptcy and worse. I fear that those who criticize us may not be in favor of what I have said and instead would prefer failure. I sure hope not.
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Donald Schumacher lives in Salisbury.

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