Along With Nearly the Whole Movement, Sharron Angle Also Receives Government Health Care

A friend of mine once compared the tea baggers to war protesters during the Bush administration.  But that is far from an accurate comparison.  If the war protesters were out protesting Bush and his wars by day while waging war and killing people at night, then the comparison might have substance.  Because that's exactly what's going on here.  People who benefit from government services are out protesting people benefiting from government services.

The most subtle element of the tea bagger faction in the GOP is their disdain toward social programs. They call it Big Government, the nanny state or their favorite is socialist/fascism.  This includes anything the government might provide as a service to the citizenry, but most specifically in terms of health care and Social Security. Most importantly, their disdain becomes extremely relevant when its a non-Republican administering the government and said social services.

Whatever your stance is on government's role in providing services, it's best not to be a recipient of such services when protesting against it.  Am I saying you can't protest government if you receive government benefits or work for the government?  No, not at all.  I'm saying if you are a beneficiary of vast government services effectively designed for you to be a beneficiary, your argument that government has no role in providing such services is hypocritical or, in the least,  not very well thought out. But protest if you wish.

Republican tea bagger candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada, Sharron Angle, is the latest example of what I'm talking about.  Angle has campaigned endlessly against Social Security and what she calls a government takeover of health care.  Her campaign is designed around her desire to repeal HCR, privatize Social Security and do away with Medicare and the VA, because she believes government has no role in providing those services.  There are a few problems with this, however.  Sharron Angle receives government health care!

Moreover, she has been an employee of tax payer funded government nearly all her life.  In fact, according to her bio there is only a two year period when she worked for a private school when she was not living off of tax dollars.  And her husband was a federal employee his whole life where he retired with a federal pension and a government-run health care system that they both benefit from.  In other words, Sharron Angle's entire existence, and that of her family, is owed to tax payers and the government providing services to its citizenry. It's owed entirely to programs she claims not to support.