Those who thought the Tea Party would do good things for rural areas in the United States — where most of the Tea Party Republicans’ constituents live — should look at the recent failure of the farm bill as evidence to the contrary.

The latest farm bill passed by the House separates the funding for food stamps from other farm programs.

The fact is, the political ideologies of extremist Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have corrupted what is typically a bipartisan bill, making it impossible for Democrats — including traditional moderate Rep. Collin Peterson — to vote for.

And while such an idea may make sense to House Republicans, the fact is, if the bill is so unappealing to the Democratic Senate and president that it will never pass, then there’s no point in passing it.

There’s no question that many in our country need food stamps to survive. There’s also no question that farmers need a safety net program to compete with farmers in other parts of the world, and to survive if hard times fall on them.

By corrupting what may be the most bipartisan issue Congress deals with, Tea Party members have shown they are far more interested in promoting their conservative ideology than getting anything done.

— Fergus Falls Journal, July 12