Tea Party Isn't The Fringe

[mystieus]

Run time: 01:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHIjQQ9dpQ   Posted on YouTube: March 22, 2010 By YouTube Member: lauraflanders Views on YouTube: 155   Posted on DU: March 23, 2010 By DU Member: mystieus Views on DU: 2729

 
Chip Berlet, longtime researcher and reporter on right-wing populism, explains that the tea party and the religious right are Republicans' base.

[Xipe Totec]

1. Angry resentful white people...

Angry about what?

Resentful about what?

That's the big question that's left unanswered.

[Mithreal]

2. There's more to their anger than differences in complexion

but yeah, prejudice didn't go away.

They are not monolithic.

[Juche]

32. Them carrying all the burdens and poor people/non-whites getting all the rewards

I live in a red state. That is what they are angry about. The white people here feel that they make great decisions, play by the rules, do everything right and are punished with high taxes and no government services while blacks, latinos and the poor make terrible decisions, break the rules and do everything wrong and are rewarded with low taxes and high government services.

Angry white voters whose opinions are full of bitterness and resentment. They are generally clueless to boot.

[scentopine]

3. Liberals need to be as effective - tea party is influential...

and on health care their concerns are real and justified and shared by many liberals. Tea party is also growing an anti-corporate sentiment.

Tea party is galvanizing people angry at Washington. Liberals on the other hand offer no such energy or alternative. We have been crushed to death by republicans and democrats so the extreme right wing is all that is left for competition to the two mainstream political monopolies.

In a historical context - this is the scenario at the root of all revolution (good and bad). It is a simple lack of representation.

Liberals have not had a chance to show how life could be better without perpetual war, without insurance mandates, without wiretapping and torture, without stupid tax credits, with banking regulation.

Instead both parties have let a fringe right wing ethos overtake American culture. This will not end well.

Sure there are hateful racists and sympathetic republicans, but that does not remove the FACT that these people are having FAR more influence over American policy than the liberals.

Insurance mandates are like pouring gasoline on the tea bagger fire. It is this arrogance that reinforces the growing awareness that the democrats are really not much different than right wing neo-cons of early 1980's and I see more and more baggers attacking both parties.

Meanwhile Obama scolds liberals as "those on the left", brags about how he gives us nothing and his COS calls us retards. And liberals swoon and gasp "gosh, isn't he just swell!"

[AlbertCat]

10. Tea party is galvanizing people angry at Washington.

Yeah... the same ones who built shelters and bought guns for Y2K.

[ShamelessHussy]

13. with most of the M$M against us, we need short, quips, to play in sound byte land e.g.

Grayson, Frank, etc... but even then we are so outnumbered they need to 'OWN'/DOMINATE the WWW.

with the right MSG, which can always be package into a good sound byte, we can CRUSH them, repeatedly, bet ;)

[scentopine]

22. Agree - I've wondered why dem leadership is letting the right wing

do all the heavy lifting when it comes to messaging. I argue it is deliberate - the dem leadership lets the right wing set the agenda, and dems just coast along in the slip stream. Its the ultimate in energy efficiency and simply proves that dem leadership really are unprincipled predators always looking for an opportunity to bring in more cash from their corporate sponsors.

Dem leadership doesn't own the message.

[Mithreal]

31. Dem leadership doesn't own the message. - They don't need to

when both parties are protecting the same interests.

If you are concerned about framing a message, hardly better place to start than Lakoff.

Rahm is Telling Obama to Ignore Lakoff

Anyone active in Progressive politics knows George Lakoff as one of the main men who finally helped the Democrats understand how average voters think. Lakoff told Democrats to stop giving boring laundry lists of programs, and instead learn how to frame issues in terms of our values.

A lot of us listened to Lakoff, especially Howard Dean.

But it seems that a certain some one who has the presidents ear is telling Democrats to turn away from the guy with the proven method of winning votes.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/31/0540/04994

I just did a quick search for that, I am sure you can find better sources.

It's deliberate.

[NavyDavy]

14. apparently not influential enough....the Health Care Reform passed.

sorry your wrong the only people they are attacking are Dems not both parties.....I have been to their meetings to see what the idiots are up to and every other statementends with those damn liberals, damn dems and we have to bring down Obama.......

[scentopine]

18. here in texas, libertarians, secesionists, christians, tea party all angry at washington...

you can call me wrong - however it is folly to think these people are not having policy influence and pushing dems farther to the right.

As for health care reform and the rest

Obama got 70,000,000 pop votes. A nut case like Palin 60,000,000. You better believe the tea baggers shaped health care reform far more than any liberals..

The message is resonating and people are looking for scape goats. Ask any democrat if they are a liberal - they'll say no.

I'm a liberal. I'm not ashamed of being a liberal. I didn't want the Iraq war, I didn't want banking deregulation nor insurance mandates and quid pro quo deals that killed single payer or public plan. My premiums are going to continue to escalate, my coverage will decline. Being middle class I pay more and more and get less and less policy representation. I don't want outsourcing, bipartisan circle jerks, H1Bs, energy deregulation, torture. I don't want any of that shit. I'm a fucking liberal - and right wing radio is constantly threatening to kill me and blame me for all the shit in this world when actually I have no influence nore political representation at all. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Zip. All this shit went down with either Clinton, Bush or Obama as president. All of it was pure shit.

These aren't ponies, these are fucking bread and butter, life and death issues that democrats should be fighting for.

I am ashamed of the democratic party for implementing a don't ask don't tell policy against liberals.

Hospitals, insurance companies and the for profit health industry is killing us slowly. There is little for me to celebrate in this peice of shit bill. I spent half my life planning a small business that family MS destroyed - I can't get insurance that is affordable if I leave the corporate hell hole. That isn't going to change with this bill. In fact its going to get much worse for me. I am still fucked.

My local taxes keep going up to pay for computers in schools and dems are turning their backs on out-sourcing to uneducated, unregulated work force in Asia. We really are slowly and surely destroying the nation.

The tea baggers are in their awakening phase. Watch and see, they are a threat and they will do what our democratic leadership can't. Populism is EXACTLY what is needed right now and democrats are just too fucking elite to be bothered by all that fuss. They are too busy tearing apart teach unions, kissing wall streets ass and carving up what little remains of the middle class.

[CLANG]

15. If you watch any of the New Left Media Teabagger rally videos

you will see that these people have no idea about what they like or don't like about health reform or anything else. these people are simply being used and propagandized by the corporate interests lies and deception, funneled through the likes of Glenn Beck and rush Limbaugh. They are not a legitimate political movement. They are astroturf generated mobs.

[scentopine]

19. disagree - the sentiment is deeper than dumbasses in the media -nt

[CLANG]

21. Too cryptic of a sentence - not sure what you mean

[scentopine]

24. The media is showing you the circus clowns, however,

the tea baggers are building momentum and they will get organized. Not every bagger is a rascist nut job. They have enormous influence and they are one of the main reasons Obama soends so much time with bi-partisanship. Obama does not spend time meeting with the "left" to determine legislative priorities. He focuses on the right wing. Tea baggers are making noises and they are getting heard loud and clear.

[CLANG]

26. We'll have to agree to disagree then

I think they are a small fringe group of racist nutbags. And they just had a 2x4 shoved up their asses yesterday by the real power in this country.

[scentopine]

27. Being a middle class liberal, I also got a 2x4 shoved up my ass yesterday...

family member with MS, nothing in this bill helps control those costs. In fact, I see the opposite, more and more ways to tack on fees and sur-charges. Let's see what happens over next few years. I try not to focus on a few nut jobs. I am seeing a broader trend. The republicans will leverage this just like they did with Christian, Inc.

Liberals were right about NAFTA, banking deregulation, Iraq war, energy deregulation, etc.

We are right about HCR. Its as bad as all that and more.

[CLANG]

28. I'm sorry about your situation

I'm a middle class liberal also, but this bill is going to save my sons life and save me from bankruptcy. To your point, yes I believe the insurance companies will become a much bigger problem for people in the future, but I feel that is the only way we will eventually get enough people pissed off enough to support single-payer. We just need to see how this will all play out, but this is about the only first step we were going to get right now.

[SemperEadem]

4. they are the fringe

and no amount of semantic game playing legitimizes them or their cause.

[Mithreal]

8. Paint with an awfully wide brush? You're right, words are for losers.

[SemperEadem]

35. the brush fits the canvas.

and it'd be different if the tea baggers had anything of value to say, but they don't and they never will.

The tea baggers remain the fringe. Guns, bibles and throwing the train in reverse on a one way ticket back to 1955 is what they're all about. And I don't care who doesn't like me saying that.

[TheEuclideanOne]

5. These people are just way to comfortable in their racism and ignorance

and they act as though they are knowingly being manipulated. They speak so frankly about embracing the next wave of anger and resentment. When can the Tea Party movement be officially categorized as a hate group?

[LeftWingPunk]

6. i think that

the tea party in my opinion is basically the right wing equivalent of the 60s counterculture.

[mikekohr]

9. Tea Partiers are the flip side of Hippies.

Hippies were doped-up, undisciplined practitioners of love, and inclusiveness. Tea Partiers are stone cold sober, monolithic organized,and angry.

One group is faintly amusing, the other dreadfully dangerous.

mike kohr

[AlbertCat]

11. Hippies were doped-up, undisciplined practitioners of love, and inclusiveness.

What makes you think Teabaggers aren't doped up on something?

Hippies were about anti-establishment.... and in your face about it.

Teabaggers are just pissed the world is moving on without them....again. (I don't think Dick Army was a hippy.) They think the "hippies" took over! Most unlike Hippies... they think the rules they want to impose only apply to others. They had 8 years of what they wanted, and after 1 year of something else, they are throwing a tantrum. They are angry because they haven't bothered to learn anything about the world and how it's changed and they feel "left out". Who's fault is that? Y'know.... that "make your own reality" thing. Of course you feel left out when your tax-free fantasy world starts to crumble in the face of reality. Who's fault is that? They're broke... because of GOP deregulation and 2 wars and tax cuts.... that most of them didn't qualify for. They're pissed because of that. Who's fault was that?

The ignorant being used by the powerful. Nope...not hippies. But cold sober???? High on dogma if not oxy.

[scentopine]

20. Really - what did "hippies" accomplish? Are you joking?

Massive protest against vietnam war. Massive protests for civil rights.

They way you describe hippies is exactly what is wrong with the democratic party today. In fact your statement could have just as easily come from a Reagan neo-con.

I will take a motivated "hippie" over any button-down centrist unprincipled piece of shit that is dragging us into endless war, killing unions, outsourcing, mandating insurance, stuffing treasury with wall street lobbyists, on and on.

Tea baggers are doing what liberals should be doing: organizing and fighting for influence.

[CLANG]

16. Stone cold sober only if you don't count the beer and Wild Turkey

[uppityperson]

36. I think you haven't thought enough.

[abelenkpe]

7. More than that

they are proud of their ignorance. They love to point to the failings of academics and feel they know better than those who are educated. Further they are to a certain degree proud of their racism. To them anyone claiming to not be racist is just being PC. Atleast, that's they way it seems.

They are a hate group.

[ShamelessHussy]

12. that's my greatest fear... i've worked in marketing for years and know the power of the MIC

propaganda, and repetition, on peoples EMOTIONS... but hopefully, the better angels of our nature will prevail, again, as in 2006 & 2008, and before :bounce:

[scentopine]

25. The message is working - here is why

Palin got 60,000,000 votes. Obama 70,000,000.

Palin is borderline insane and she still got 60,000,000 votes.

That's what happens when you have compeling media. Dems don't have it.

President Palin was damn closer than people want to believe.

All its going to take is one charismatic republican who isn't a psycho nut job and all those rightwingers Obama is courting - well, they'll leave him alone at the altar. And the dems will come beggin me for time and money again. This time I am saying no.

[Mithreal]

30. Doesn't hurt them much either they way we count the votes.

[TEXASYANKEE]

34. Charismatic Republican?

I got chills reading your statement -- for it sounded exactly like what happened after Bill Clinton's second term was up. Why vote for the intelligent, articulate VP when you could vote for the charismatic Governor of Texas. And look what THAT did for America! Voters have very short memories ... I certainly can see it happening again.

[Mithreal]

33. backlash against Bush more than better angels?

We can work people's emotions too, no?

[graywarrior]

17. Don't think for a minute the tea partiers are not funded by corporations

I'll bet you could trace their support right back to the Koch Brothers and the John Birchers.

[CLANG]

23. That's already been documented.

From Wikipedia:

The Koch brothers also operate the Koch Family Foundations, a major source of funding for conservative and libertarian political causes in the United States, including think tanks such as the Cato Institute. Their father helped found the John Birch Society, though neither brother is a member or supporter of the organization. David's political activism also included running as the vice presidential nominee of the United States Libertarian Party in 1980, when he and running mate Ed Clark finished fourth with 921,299 votes.

In April 2006, the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation announced it had contributed $1 million to help preserve the tallgrass prairies of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County, Kansas. The donation made to the Kansas Prairie Legacy Campaign is reportedly the single largest private donation in the State's history. Currently Liz Koch is the president of the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation and has been reported as saying that the Flint Hills of Kansas were a special place for both Fred and Mary Koch.

Koch Industries also founded Americans for Prosperity, formed as a successor to Citizens for a Sound Economy.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative political advocacy group which advocates for limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels. It was founded in 2004, by billionaire David H. Koch of Koch Industries,<1> who in 1984, had also established its predecessor, Citizens for a Sound Economy,<2> from which Americans for Prosperity split in 2003. (Citizens for a Sound Economy rebranded as FreedomWorks.)

FreedomWorks is a conservative non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., United States. FreedomWorks trains volunteer activists and wages campaigns to encourage them to mobilize, engage fellow citizens, and influence their political representatives. Several of FreedomWorks' campaigns have been described as "astroturfing," or projecting the false impression of grassroots organizing.

FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity both originated from a campaign called Citizens for a Sound Economy, which split in two in 2004. CSE was set up by businessman (Koch Industries), David Koch, who has also promoted liberty and research organizations (Cato Institute and Reason Foundation).<4> Citizens for a Sound Economy (grassroots machine) merged with Empower America (policy expertise) in 2004 and was renamed FreedomWorks, with Dick Armey, Jack Kemp and C. Boyden Gray serving as co-chairmen, Bill Bennett focusing on school choice as a Senior Fellow, and Matt Kibbe as President and CEO.<5> Empower America was founded in 1993 by William Bennett, former Secretary of HUD Jack Kemp, former Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, and former Representative Vin Weber.<6>

In 2009, FreedomWorks launched a campaign against health care reform proposals, accusing the Obama administration of attempting to "socialize medicine".<13> Referencing a piece entitled "On Private Conference Call, Tea Party Organizers Say No Reform At All is Goal" on Greg Sargent's liberal blog The Plum Line, <14> Rachel Maddow argued in her investigative report entitled "TRMS Investigates FreedomWorks" <15> that the right's strategy was to disrupt and shut down the August 2009 town hall congressional meetings on health care reform<15> by “scaring real Americans with increasingly paranoid and kooky lies about health care and then providing a script for how to express that fear.”<16> At many of the town halls Democratic "members of Congress have been shouted down, hanged in effigy and taunted by crowds" <17> in an apparent organized effort to rattle the congresspeople presiding over the meetings rather than to seek a compromise solution to health care reform.

[Mithreal]

29. Don't think for a minute the Democratic Party is not funded by corporations

And last I checked, Obama is following advice of a number of billionaires that don't have the best interests of average Americans.