Questions what Tea Party has to offer

I will be dead honest with you. As an independent, I have never been a fan of the Tea Party conservative movement. About the only thing I can agree with them is that I share the anger they direct at those in Washington, D.C.

At both parties.

But that is about it. I think it comes down to the “my way or the highway” stance the Tea Party has taken up. It might have started out for good reasons, it has evolved into something that is, frankly, a joke and I’m not laughing. It was early on a grassroots thing, but that was the past. The now is something else altogether.

It isn’t a party, for one thing, it is a movement. It has no conventions, no central platform. It is very angry at Washington, D.C., politics and the current president, but lacks real leadership and direction. Did you know it was hijacked? That may seem a little harsh, but it is very true as well.

It was hijacked by political opportunists seeking not to further that movement’s ideals but in an effort to gain power and control. With no real leadership, it was very easy to take the wheel. From talk show hosts like Glenn Beck to Sarah Palin, it went sour because of people like this.

Yes, some did gain office, and some for very good reasons did not. Our last election for U.S. Senator was proof of that. You remember his name, Joe Miller. That is one name I would like to forget, as would a great many Alaskans. That was the result of what boils down to a shotgun wedding of the Tea Party to the Republican Party. It is a political train wreck, in my opinion.

The Tea Party is still holding the weapon at others. The target is now the Oval Office. Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are Tea Party golden children — at least they claim to be.

They are really opportunists lusting for power at your expense. They bring a mix of religion and narrow vision in two unsettling packages. The Tea Party is being used only as a power base. Others like Mitt Romney seem only to make the right noises to appease the blushing bride.

And Ron Paul? Still doing his thing. I can’t seem to figure him out.

I haven’t addressed the big, grinning elephant sitting in the back of the room munching on peanuts. Sarah Palin isn’t in the running — yet — and I truly hope she never runs for president because she is the ultimate opportunist. If she ever takes up the option to run and — God forbid — win, she will be catastrophic for this nation. Please, Sarah, please stay on the bus.

If this is the true face of the opposition, if this is the very “best” they can offer, then the president will win his re-election with little effort. So far Republicans and the party’s new Tea Party bride have shown very little to change my mind. Honestly, Republicans should have taken the buckshot and gotten a divorce.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.