The Tea Party is alive and well

Mike Lee last night gave the Tea Party response to Obama's State of the Union, and it was quite refreshing. Democrats and Republicans are to blame for most of the ills that burden our country these days, not the rich, the big corporations, or the big banks. Some excerpts:

On inequality: Immobility among the poor, who are being trapped in poverty by big-government programs; insecurity in the middle class, where families are struggling just to get by and can’t seem to get ahead; and cronyist privilege at the top, where political and economic insiders twist the immense power of the federal government to profit at the expense of everyone else.

... six of the ten wealthiest counties in America are now suburbs of Washington, D.C.

... where does this new inequality come from? From government—every time it takes rights and opportunities away from the American people and gives them instead to politicians, bureaucrats, and special interests.

... trapping poor children in failing schools to benefit bureaucrats and union bosses ... penalizing low-income parents for getting married, or getting better jobs, ... guaranteeing insurance companies taxpayer bailouts if Obamacare cuts into their profits.

On principles: The founders made a point at Boston Harbor, but they made history in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. As Americans we must always be willing to fight the Boston-type battles—boldly calling out bad policy whenever we see it—but we must do so with an eye toward Philadelphia, maintaining a positive focus on the kind of nation we want to be and become.

I could be wrong, but this hardly sounds like a radical agenda.

UPDATE: Jennifer Rubin has a nice and objective review of the speech here.