By Matthew Hayward Now here is some political analytical truth. Two factions of the Republican Party, the ‘Christian conservatives’ and the Libertarians, have been working together in different capacities around the nation to restore integrity, first the GOP and second the Constitution. To one degree or another, the Tea Party is essentially made up of these two factions;. However, there are stark differences; we all agree that the party has moved so far to the left that it no longer represents people who believe in less government. So where do the Libertarian wing and the ‘Christian conservatives’ part ways? Libertarian-leaning Republicans have some things in common with the mainstream or moderate Republicans. Where moderates and ‘Christian conservatives often differ the most on social issues, the Libertarian wing falls closer to the ‘moderates.’   In fact, it could be argued that the   Libertarian wing is the real moderate wing of the Party,   and everyone agrees tha...

Did the Tea Party really shut down the government? With the last federal shutdown behind us and the possibility of another one looming in the months to come, there is a lot of misunderstanding and blame-shifting going on. I hope to clear up the smoke and mirrors both parties, and the media throw up. Please understand there is a big difference between political theory and political reality (most of the time). I’m going to save us all time and myself some embarrassment by leaving out, for the most part, political reality. I’m not going to get into political reality because it is rarely taught in college or high school, and most people who are involved with politics or follow it closely are truly clueless about how things work. Let’s not pretend we are an informed public; instead, let’s ensure we all are on the same page with how things are supposed to work. In theory, how our government was designed to function “of the people, by the people, and for the people” is much b...