Change is coming in 2012!

The political system in Washington is not failing, as some would have us believe. It is alive, well and functioning better than ever before.

There is a growing chorus of voices screaming to Washington, "Stop spending money!" and "We are taxed enough already!" They are the voices of people who believe government is not the answer to our problems. Government is the problem. People are demanding action – not speeches and empty promises.

At the same time, there is a firmly dug-in group of leftist Democrats, like Nancy and Harry, who believe we can actually borrow and spend our way back to prosperity. If only we would allow them the time to prove it.

But something interesting happened on the way to bankruptcy.

The tea party.

For the first time since Barack, Nancy and Harry started calling the shots, they have been stopped dead in their tracks. They have had their wings clipped, and they are squawking like plucked chickens.

That's right. A group of honest, decent Americans did what our system calls for. They got off the couch, made their voices heard and singlehandedly changed the debate in Washington.

And what's their reward for getting involved?

Vilification, demonization and warped descriptions of their motives. It made me laugh to watch John Kerry and David Axelrod in unison refer to the S&P downgrade as the "tea-party downgrade." They went on to blame the damage on the tea party, saying it is a result of its "extreme" actions and demands.

Keep in mind, the Democrats could have easily avoided today's debt-ceiling chaos back in February 2010 when they controlled the House, Senate and the White House. The unholy trinity could have raised the debt ceiling $100 trillion and nothing could have stopped them back then. However, they chose not to do it – and for purely political reasons.

This time around, the president himself empowered Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles to form a commission addressing the growing debt problem in America. The commission concluded that our greatest potential problems were in long-term entitlements. In essence, Simpson and Bowles proved what the people already know: We can't keep spending money we don't have. The president's response was to flatly ignore those findings.

Once again, the recent debt-ceiling calamity could have been avoided completely had Mr. Obama and the Democrats acknowledged the commission findings. A dialogue could have been started on how to embrace the solutions presented in a bipartisan fashion.

But in the liberal world the system only works when it ensures power for the left. To hell with the country. What is best for their next election cycle is more important. That is what a functioning system is to them.

Now the system is subject to checks and balances. The Democrats and their friends in the media can't stand it. They are no longer able to cram legislation down our throats with payoffs and back-room deals. And they are furious. They are coming unglued at the seams now that they are accountable. Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant, isn't it Nancy?

We all owe the tea party a huge expression of gratitude. The tea party represents the biggest threat liberal Democrats have ever faced. It's bigger than a single person or issue. The tea party will change the election of 2012, and for the better. Because of this, the media will portray the movement as a negative, racist, hateful group of extremists.

So expect the attacks on the tea party to escalate. Be prepared to have the White House and its minions tell us how broken and dysfunctional our political system is as a direct result of the tea party. But don't believe it. This system is alive, well and once again functioning as our Founding Fathers had intended. The tea party has given it a shot of B-12.

Nancy, Harry and Barack have ignored the people for far too long. Now they are going to pay the political price. They have finally been forced to play by the rules. They can no longer tilt the board in their favor.

What is the good news in all the bad out there? The system is working. Democracy is slowly regaining ground, yet the media and the left now claim it's broken. To me, that is even more proof that we are on track. As I have said before, I don't believe anything the liberals say until they categorically deny something.

They deny the system is working. Assure yourself, it is fine. Change is coming in 2012, and it's not coming with at "D" at the end of its name.

That is change I can believe in.