McCain vs. the Tea Party (NY TImes)

[CrazyBob]

July 27, 2011, 12:11 pm
McCain vs. the Tea Party
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

...

The fiery, independent version of the Republican senator...accused conservatives of abandoning reason by opposing the House Republican leader’s plan to resolve the debt crisis.

...

, “Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced budget amendment and reform entitlements and the Tea Party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth,” he said, quoting a Wall Street Journal editorial.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/john-mccain-vs-the-tea-party/

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The freeper discussion of this article supports my view of who/what the tea party is. These people HATED John McCain, and only revolted against their own party after he got the nomination. They've been at it ever since. It would be sorta like our party nominating...Zell Miller.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2754686/posts

[pokerfan]

1. Then he went on Hannity

and walked his comments back. Video if you can stomach it: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/sean-hannity-takes-sen-mccain-to-the-woodshed-over-anti-tea-party-remarks

[ProSense]

2. It's not going to work.

The comments are out there and the teabaggers are attacking McCain. No doubt his and other angry comments by Republicans directed at the teabaggers are designed to deflect all the blame for the situation to them.

Republicans, including McCain, are responsible for emboldening these asshole.

[karynnj]

3. Nicely pulled together

I would suggest that it would have been more like our party nominating Joe Leiberman in 2004 than Zell Miller. Leiberman, like McCain in his party, was a respected Senator who was in the center away from where most in his party were. Leiberman was not yet the pariah he became in 2006 and 2008.

What is different to me between the parties is that the extremists now form a large enough percent of the party that they are leading the party because the non-extremist, with reason, fear the extremists. Then look at who the extremists are and what they believe. You read that the Koch brothers are in the John Birch society and remember the time when simply accusing a candidate of being in the John Birch society, with reasonable proof, would cause the campaign to implode in many places. What was unacceptable has become not even noteworthy today.

Look at what they are supporting. At a time when the top 1% has 40% of the country's wealth, the Ryan plan eliminates the estate tax, allowing money to flow untaxed to the next generation, and all taxes based on investment of capital (ie capital gains and dividends). This is NOT the version of America that I grew up with. (In fact, the vision of America I grew up with actually looks more like what they really have in Norway!) rather than the near third world income distribution here. I really don't think the majority of people really want to go this way.