They are, as has become clear during the ongoing debt debate , calling the entire system into question. And they have turned the system of checks and balances into a tool of obstruction.

Experts agree that America can only reduce its vast mountain of debt by both cutting expenditures and raising taxes — at least a little. Tea Party politicians are eager to slash spending, but they are adamantly opposed to allowing the government to increase tax revenues. Their refusal to compromise has led economists to warn of ” Armageddon ” should the US become insolvent.

In response to such “fear mongering,” the Tea Party group Campaign for Liberty wrote on its blog that, even if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, “the sun will still rise in the East and set in the West, as it has for all time.” What, after all, do the experts know?

As a result, America has come to a standstill . The branches of government were designed to both exercise and yield power. More than anything, though, they are supposed to work together. But working together would appear to be contrary to the Tea Party movement’s creed. Members aren’t interested in making Washington better, they want to annihilate it. Their Holy Grail is a stripped down state.

spiegel.de