Cole: Tampa repubs see 'baggers as “ignorant on the real issues,” “conspiracy theorists", "racists".
While none of the Republicans interviewed for this piece would use their names out of fear of retribution, they all used the same word to describe the Tea Party Movement’s effect on their local party – “cancerous.” They described the Teabaggers as “ignorant on the real issues,” “conspiracy theorists” and “racists,” the type of people they do not want representing their party.
“The problem with the Tea Partiers,” said one high ranking Hillsborough County Republican, “is that they do not know the first thing about politics. These are men and women who before the Tea Party Movement – and I stress movement because they are not a TRUE political party – were never involved in politics in any way besides perhaps voting. They then grew a strong belief that something needed to be done about government spending and that one issue brought them to the Tea Party. But that one issue is all they know.”
The Teabaggers, another Hillsborough County Republican insider explained, quickly realized the need to support other issues if they were going to be taken seriously as a political movement, but rather than supporting “real issues,” they latched on to crazed theories such as the Agenda 21 conspiracy (the Teabagger belief that the U.N. is trying to deprive people of property rights by forcing them to live in cities). The Pinellas County, Florida Tea Party Movement’s succeeded in getting fluoride removed from its drinking water on the belief that fluoride is “toxic” and that scientists cannot be trusted because they work for “Big Brother.”
Another anonymous Hillsborough County Republican leader said his big problem with the Tea Partiers isn’t so much their “Big Foot chasing” but their attitude toward minorities. “They are a modern day KKK,” he said. “How many minorities do you see at Tea Party rallies? Not many if any. “
Some of the Republicans interviewed believe that the Democratic Party’s plan for this coming election is to portray the entire Republican Party as Tea Party advocates, as already proven by the fact that they are trying to link vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan to the Tea Party. “This is just not true,” said one insider. “But the truth doesn’t really matter. If the Democrats and the media are successful in portraying Ryan as a Teabagger, this election is over.”
http://www.juancole.com/2012/08/tampa-area-republicans-terrified-of-tea-party-ryan-guzzo.html
I don't know that Ryan does not consider himself to be a teabagger. If so, he does a good job of hiding it.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Deal with it "conservatives." It's your baby and it didn't come from rape, "legitimate" or otherwise.