After eight years of runaway spending and massive giveaways to the ultra-wealthy, pseudo-conservatives pretend to develop consciences. The Fox News-inspired, Republican Party-encouraged "tea party" protesters seem disingenuous.

Tax protesters must agree that living in advanced, civilized society is a good, albeit costly, endeavor. Civilized society's funding comes from taxes. Arguing over rates or amounts of taxes is fine. Protesting against the principle of paying taxes is not fine.

We should not dignify "tea party" participants by dubbing them responsible citizens protesting against an oppressive government. They are simply sore losers who cannot accept the results of the last election and have nothing more positive to contribute than anti-Obama rhetoric.

Such myopic thinking belies that Obama's plan proposes a tax reduction for 95 percent of us. I doubt that all of those people on the street were top 5 percent earners. While deficits will undoubtedly grow for a few years, even pessimistic projections do not equal the growth of debt under the last Republican administration.

Just imagine what inaction will allow. Do we really want to follow Hoover's example?

Where were the "tea party" protesters when Enron ripped off life savings, or when our government invaded a country based on lies, or when Bush demolished Clinton's surplus and doubled the national debt? Now, suddenly, these people take notice. These protesters want us to believe they care about the deficit or the economy; however, they staged their protests about five years too late.

Please, all protesting patriots, stop wasting time and energy and get on board with the majority of Americans who are supporting efforts to fix our nation. The GOP should drop the elephant as its mascot and choose an animal more fitting to its current ideals. I suggest the weasel.

Jeff Cade

Southern Pines