Members of the Tea Party movement vehemently support traditional constitutional values, and based on these values preach the importance of the status quo. Yet, in my opinion, representatives of this growing party have displayed a frightening fundamental misunderstanding of what they so passionately defend. During a recent debate concerning the separation of church and state, republican senate candidate Christine O’Donnell proved that her level of ignorance towards the constitution was as reliable as her claimed level of expertise. Despite previously qualifying herself with an extensive background in constitutional analysis, she asked her democratic opponent, Chris Coons, where one could find the separation of church and state in the Constitution. Following Coon’s recitation and explanation of the 1st amendment, O’Donnell continued to confirm her unfamiliarity by requesting further clarification and then mockingly apologizing for having forgot her copy of the document.
Christine O’Donnell has grossly overestimated her ability to represent the very document upon which her entire campaign is based. More importantly, she is hardly qualified to make extremist allegations in which she calls our current government “increasingly socialistic.” The stress the Republican Party is experiencing from the current Democratic majority has caused them to similarly overestimate their ability to lead. The quantity of O’Donnell-supporting Tea Partiers and the votes they will cast this November has attracted the Republican Party in its quest for a majority. Regardless, their failure to find a competent candidate has left both O’Donnell and the Republicans looking uninformed.
Both Democrats and Republicans need proper competition for a two-party system to work correctly. When the leader of a party is as contradictory as O’Donnell, one should naturally question the consistency of the values held by that party. Progression is vital to maintain a successful governing body. The Constitution that Tea Partiers are misrepresenting was made amendable for a reason. The population of the United States is roughly one hundred times what it was when the document was drafted. Like our growing population, every aspect of our country is constantly changing. The writers of the Constitution were well aware that the document would need to accommodate the evolutions of a growing country. It has become clear to the public that the Tea Party Movement is regressive in nature, but the Republican Party’s blunders should not be seen as an automatic win for Democrats. Christine O’Donnell should serve as an example that uninformed voters will vote for uninformed candidates; a frightening prospect for the future of our country.
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