Although I’m still not certain if I would have voted to raise the debt ceiling, I am one of those who believe the Tea Party movement deserves a shout-out for forcing the politicians – Democrats and Republicans, alike – to acknowledge that the nation is headed down the fiscal drain.

You should realize that when Republicans such as Michele Bachmann and Rand Paul voted against the measure, it was because the spending cuts were both small and vague, whereas when such liberal stalwarts as Henry Waxman, Charley Rangel, Barney Frank, Maxine Waters and sex offender David Wu, voted “No,” it was because they can’t abide any legislation that doesn’t increase revenue, fees or whatever other euphemism the Left is using for “taxes” this week.

It is high time for people to acknowledge that whereas certain generalities apply to nearly all politicians, ranging from greedy, egotistical and boring to boring, egotistical and greedy, there remains a world of difference between Democrats and Republicans. And whether someone is a perfect conservative or a – gasp! RINO – when noses are counted after the 2012 elections, if the GOP wins the Oval Office and assumes the majority in the Senate, we will finally see the adults taking control of America’s spendthrift ways. At least we will if the racist, terrorist, hostage-taking members of the Tea Party movement continue to remind our representatives that the Constitution trumps special interests and that there are millions of votes out here that don’t have to be bought and paid for, but merely earned.

Speaking of voters, anyone who opposes the issuance of national I.D. cards to Americans as a means of establishing a citizen’s right to vote is nothing more or less than a demagogue. We have to identify ourselves every time we cash a check, rent a video or board an airplane, but these swinish left-wingers would have you believe that illegal aliens have the same rights and privileges you do. Of course they say the same thing about Muslim jihadists. That’s because their political agenda is not only antithetical to American principles, but antithetical to logic and commonsense.

In addition to a national I.D. number, if I had my druthers, I would raise the voting age to 26. If you’re still covered by your parents’ insurance policies, you’re not an adult. The only exceptions to the rule would be young people serving in the military. I would also require those people who aren’t old enough to collect Social Security to prove they pay income taxes. If there is a screwier notion than allowing those who pay no income taxes to vote for those in a position to force those of us who do pay them to pay even more for the benefit of those who don’t pay any, I don’t want to hear about it. I’m sure it would make my head explode.

Finally, I would insist that anyone who wishes to cast a ballot prove he can read English by passing a basic civics exam. If you don’t know who George Washington was and you have no idea what the Bill of Rights is, you have no God-given right to cancel out the vote of someone who does.

I mean, for crying out loud, you have to pass a written test and prove you can parallel park to get a driver’s license. In order to vote for our political leaders, shouldn’t you have to prove anything beyond the fact that you’re still alive and breathing – or, in the case of Chicago elections, that you were ever alive and breathing?