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On Tea Parties and Republicans

12K views 298 replies 20 participants last post by  bryanc 
#1 ·
Neil MacDonald is on a roll lately...

That sort of language, of course, just gets the Tea Partiers angrier. And when they are angry, they frighten the Republican elite, including, apparently, Frum's boss at AEI.

With their confusingly contradictory demands, their goon tactics, and their ability to organize and channel spluttering visceral fury, they are truly the loose cannon of American politics, endangering any conservative politician who doesn't either ride with them or hide from them.

During the health-care vote last week, Tea Partiers behaved like the snarling white mobs that lined the streets of Selma, Alabama, 46 years ago.

They surrounded representatives John Lewis and Emanuel Cleaver, both civil rights legends from that era, as they entered the House to vote.

One protester spat in Lewis's face. Another called Cleaver a "******." This, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol in 2010.

When Barney Frank, the openly gay congressman from Massachusetts, arrived on the Hill with his partner, he was mobbed, too. "******," someone yelled.

Inside the House, one protester made it into the public gallery where he began screaming curses and insults. Republican lawmakers applauded him, even as police struggled to haul him away.

There were several explanations put forward for the behaviour, but Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck, a Tea Party hero, provided the richest one: The Democratic lawmakers, he said, had deliberately provoked the crowd by walking around the grounds of the legislature in which they serve.
(CBC)
 
#4 ·
Really good article, CM. When the militant wing of the Tea Party start to put on brown shirts, then I shall really start to worry. We shall see. Hasta luego, mi amigo.
 
#7 ·
Sorry, MF, you'll need to walk me through that mashup. Bush, a right-wing, evangelical who furthered the U.S. empire, violated international law, started an unnecessary war, introduced massive new domestic spying efforts and the ever-so-lovely "Patriot Act", is in your mind the "father" of what you describe as a left-winger?

Not even Obama's centrist supporters are happy with his lack of movement to the left.

The health care reform bill is a disaster, I agree, though for reasons which I think are not the same as yours. It does nothing to keep the insurance companies reigned in, and the lack of a true public option is a disgrace.
 
#15 ·
Obama is the raison d'etre of the Tea Party. I think I'll stick with my original plan. Just put me on "ignore"and it will look pristine to you.

While there are always protesters on both sides of the aisle who cross the line into nastiness, most protesters--on both sides--are decent, law abiding citizens.
 
#17 ·
Good clip, gt. It is a return to Social Darwinism of Herbert Spencer, Thomas Malthus and Francis Galton. These people are starting to scare me even here in Canada.
 
#20 ·
:rolleyes: For some:

The Right is never wrong, The Right is always right; Repeat
The Right is never wrong, The Right is always right;
The Right is never wrong, The Right is always right;
The Right is never wrong, The Right is always right;

Now it's truth ;);) You Betcha!

The Teaparty is just misunderstood they're individuals just caught up in reaction to an intolerable force of the One and only One. It's all his fault :eek:

Teaparty is good Teaparty is decent Teaparty must prevail, The Right is never wrong, The Right is always right. Now it's truth ;);) You Betcha!

Say it long enough and often enough it shall be true. Keep on with this strategy is this the plan :confused:
 
#21 ·
Big DL, that's just nonsense. The so-called "tea party movement" is just a group of issue driven voters who will flush the Dems and their big ideas out of office. Nothing more.
 
#29 ·
Along with some moderate and conservative Republicans. They will spit upon, threaten and shout out obscenities to members of both regular parties. They have no issues to replace the ones they want stopped, but it is far easier to tear down than to build up.
 
#28 ·
Macfury specialises in thread derailments in the cause of anti-Obamaism. It's an autonomic thing with him. He can't help it.

He doesn't have too much to say about the Tea Party. In his world, these people are merely a useful tool to unseat the Democrats so the Right can get their Frat house back. Then perhaps the 'right' Right will get their hands on the levers of power and bring about his dream world.
While he might not be a pom-pom waving cheerleader for the Tea Party, he's quite content to see them at their wretched mischief.
 
#30 ·
To be fair, in some ways this whole thing is a direct result of the two main parties in the US crushing all attempts to have a legitimate third (or more) party.

The fact that the Teabaggers are hypocritical morons with contradictory positions and racist motivations doesn't enter into that point -- the US would benefit from more political parties. I don't think much of the Teabaggers, but at least some of them (definitely NOT the "leadership," though) are motivated by what they sincerely feel is community spirit, and that's not the worst thing to have going for you.
 
#32 ·
The fact that the Teabaggers are hypocritical morons with contradictory positions and racist motivations doesn't enter into that point -- the US would benefit from more political parties.
Well no. This would be like me saying all Democrat party members are morons because of the people ho believed Obama would make sure their gas tanks were filled and that they would no longer be required to pay their mortgages. Or that the Democrat party is hypocritical in claiming they offer meaningful health care reform by forcing Americans to buy health insurance. Or that Jeremiah Wright's racist ramblings represent the views of the Democrat party.

The Tea Party movement will merely ensure that the type of people who are Constitutionalist and believe in free market solutions will defeat those who believe in large governments and larger entitlement programs.

This may be really frightnening to people who want to sell their freedom for a little security. I really understand it. It's pretty frightening for children to get out on a bicycle for the first time too, but eventually self-reliance gets to be a habit we can all be proud of.
 
#31 ·
Chas_m, there is the same sense of 'both parties offering much the same' here in the UK, certainly since the rebirth of the Labour Party as 'New Labour' courtesy of Tony Blair and his cronies. He basically stole the Tory Party's identity and re-branded it with the red rose emblem.

There is a third party here, the Liberal Democrats, but they are not well represented in Parliament.

We are seeing the development of very nasty political groups, such as the English Defence League. It is racist, far right and has a mainly white working class membership. These groups are of course shunned by the mainstream parties, and have grown out of a feeling that said parties no longer represent their interests.
 
#36 ·
If you're the emotional type, you might collect anecdotes, get enraged and bump up your type size. It would be really easy to flip this around and collect skanky anecdotes of Democrats and other left-leaners--but it wouldn't illuminate the issues any more than the one anecdote that outraged you.
 
#34 ·
I love how the left can focus in on the acts of a few and paint the many with the same ****ty brush. They also have a gift for seeing the splinter in their neigbours eye while ignoring the plank in their own. Yes there are loons on the right but there are just as many on the left. Many of them in the Whitehouse.

Cheers
MacGuiver
 
#39 ·
Sonal: People get caught up in all sorts of things that may be regrettable. If we allow the focus to be placed entirely on the few protesters who get face time and not the issues themselves, we do ourselves a great disservice. After stories like that don't usually get much press.
 
#50 ·
And those opposed to the "ideals" of the Tea Party have targets on the map of the US representing their districts. Yes, "be afraid ............ be very afraid." This is starting to look like the novel "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis. We shall see.
 
#51 ·
It often happens with revolutions that the replacement gubbmint turns out to be more hellacious than the deposed gubbmint. May things cool down a tad so we can take stock of what's actually going on and what regular Americans feel about their nation and its place in the world.

But I don't think that'll happen. This is pure theatre threatening to take over and get in the drivers' seat. If that happens, watch out... you ain't seen nuttin' yet.
 
#54 ·
Sad, but all too true, Max. The Tea Party is being fueled by irrational anger against various elements of government and society, and it will be interesting to see what happens in 2012 if the Republican Party nominates someone other than Sarah Palin. I can see her leading a third party in the next presidential election. We shall see. Paix, mon ami.
 
#57 ·
I think it's dangerous for 'either side' to reign supreme, however, it's this pluralism that seems to me, to be the root of this us and them rift, and the cause of boiling over of the crap we're seeing today.

Many ordinary Americans, jumping onto a 'side', not really quite knowing exactly what their side truly stands for. Just a whole lotta catch phrases, and some lofty sounding nationalistic ideals, that really, don't have a lot to do with their sides' real agenda.

I see examples of those people, everyday, in person, and, on, forums. :)
 
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