by Tona Monroe

While Tennessee has two Republican Senators, neither is particularly known for being a principled conservative.  Senator Bob Corker quickly earned the nickname “Bailout Bob” after voting for the TARP bailout and the list of his unconstitutional votes is a mile long.  Yet, a recent article would have the public believe that Tennessee Tea Partiers are actually supporting Corker in 2012.

The article only quotes one Tea Party member that actually supports Bob Corker, and that is Mark Skoda a Memphis Tea Party leader and radio talk show host.  The article quotes two people that are strongly against Corker, one identified as a Tea Party activist and the other a Redstate blogger.  It also quotes talk show host Steve Gill saying he doesn’t understand why the Tea Party is against Bob.

If the article is trying to establish that Tea Partiers are changing from an unfavorable to favorable view of Bob Corker, then why does the author only quote one for Corker, two against and one saying he doesn’t understand why Tea Partiers do not like Corker?  Notice that the two speaking favorably of Bob Corker are the ones with the microphones.

Steve Gill is an establishment Republican that was appointed to a White House fellowhip by President George H. W. Bush and the author of a 2007 book discussing how Fred Thompson could have impacted the 2008 Presidential Race.  Fred Thompson is a former status quo globalist Senator from Tennessee and member of the CFR.

Mark Skoda is neocon that is politically posturing through the Tea Party to become an establishment Republican.  He is a Teacon, which is a neocon that presents his or herself as being fed up with reckless establishment politics, but actively works to maintain it as long as it’s Republican.  He displays a video on his homepage of neocon Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, whose voting record is anything but constitutional, congratulating him on his radio station.

On his blog he says:

“While I am a tea party activist, I am also a pragmatist.  I want a Republican in the white house and a Republican leader in the Senate.  I don’t have time to primary marginal Republicans in the House while trying to win the executive branch and the Senate.  You don’t open up additional fronts unless you protect your flank.  We need to hold the House, take the Senate and win the presidency!  And having weighed in on these matters for the past two and a half years, I believe that Romney is the top of the ticket for a Republican win.  Not so much that he is a perfect candidate, but more that he is a reasoned candidate with the money, organization, charisma and character to get the job.”

Did you catch that?  Skoda is saying that principles don’t matter.  Go with the one that has the best chance, because what matters most is that someone claiming to be a Republican wins.  Forget all the Tea Party principles of limited government that is fiscally responsible and adheres to the Constitution.  What is important to Skoda is that someone claiming to be a Republican, and in this case the man behind the forerunner to ObamaCare, wins the White House.  Don’t waste your time vetting candidates, based on principles. Vote for the man that appears to be the most organized.  Has he forgotten why people threw Republicans out in 2006 and 2008?

Gill mentions that conservative and tax groups give Corker ratings that are higher than most other conservatives, but there are several reasons why Tea Partiers and conservatives should not fall for that standard as a reason to re-elect Senator Corker.  If you compare Corker to others, and he seems better, keep in mind that the bar for the standard is quite low to begin with when you look at how much wasteful spending legislators support.  Furthermore, his Citizens Against Government Waste lifetime rating (based on 2009 numbers) is less than stellar at 75% Ask yourself, do you really want to settle for someone with an a history of voting for waste 25% of the time, because other poorly principled Republicans may do it 30 or 35% of the time?

The TARP bailout isn’t the only unconstitutional and/or wasteful spending that Corker has voted for.  He voted for cash for clunkers and says he’d support more money for itHe voted to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that were never constitutionally declared.  He voted to increase the debt limit in 2007.  He voted to spend billions on Amtrak.  He voted for federal education spending, even though it’s unconstitutional.  This list goes on and on, but you get the point that Corker has voted to spend huge amounts of money, with little regard for the Constitution or the taxpayers.

In fairness, Corker is trying to do something about spending with his CAP amendment, but his CAP Act doesn’t guarantee quality spending, just a limit that is much too high.

Tea Partiers need to replace Bob Corker for many reasons, but they also need to find talk show hosts and Tea Party leaders that aren’t apologist for Republicans that fail to be consistent in the principles of cutting waste and limiting government.  Otherwise, these Teaocons will lead them right back to the same failed policies that people rejected in 2006 and 2008.

Tona Monroe is the chapter coordinator for the East Tennessee Tenth Amendment Center. She is a motorist rights advocate working to stop draconian legislation like REAL ID, along with Orwellian surveillance devices, or scameras as she calls them. She believes that we need to strike at the root of the problems with all of this by repealing the drivers license statutes and exercising our God given natural inalienable right to travel freely upon the public right-of-ways. She maintains a blog on scameras and our right to travel atwww.naturaltreasure.net/scameras She also maintains a blog on state and local politics at www.bcpublicrecord.com.

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