You bet we're crazy ~ By Herman Cain

By Herman Cain Posted: August 17, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 Since April 15, 2009, I have been a keynote speaker at no less than a dozen events called tea parties, rallies or town hall meetings. I have even done live broadcasts of my radio show from several of these events, some of which you can view at The Best of Herman Cain. Regardless of what you call them, the sentiment expressed by people in attendance is not Astroturf or manufactured emotions as described by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The people are not wackos, paid plants, extremists or any of the other names used by the Democrats and some in the media to try and marginalize, demean, discourage and intimidate "We the People." But we are crazy. We are crazy about the freedom to choose. We choose our religion, our spouse, our profession, our lifestyle, our doctors and our end-of-life care. We are crazy about spending our hard-earned money the way we want to spend it, if there's any left after all the taxes we pay. If we want to set fire to $100 bills on any street in America, then it's our choice. Social Security taxes we pay all of our working life are rationed back to us in the form of benefits, which usually represent only a fraction of what we put in. Most of us are not too crazy about that, but we are required by law to continue to surrender those dollars. The Social Security system did not start out that way, but that's the way it is now. The law to temporarily use Social Security funds for purposes other than retirement benefits passed over 40 years ago. Bills introduced in Congress to restore the use of Social Security funds for benefits only have been voted down repeatedly. And now we are supposed to believe that a government health insurance option would remain an option, our choices in doctors and medical care would not be gradually taken away, and that end-of-life counseling would remain voluntary. We are not that crazy! [READ COMPLETE COLUMN]