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I’ll be appearing at approximately 2:10 Eastern this afternoon on National Public Radio’s “To the Point” with guest host Sara Terry. We’ll be talking about the Tea Party movement and related issues. Dave Weigel will be among the other guests.
A list of local affiliates carrying the show and a podcast link is here.
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Matte Kibbe of Freedom Works was on C-span and talked about the tea party, but this is a problem as he just gives one view. He gives a free market and Austrian view. My problem is that falls in line with the old ideology. It ends up to be a bunch of nuts. These are the same people who believe in free trade and we have seen our jobs leave the country. And then they turn around and blame you for not having a job. Or at least, they have no answer in creating a job.
On TV, Sarah Palin, talked of free market principles. And I have no idea what that means for the middle class (not positive). It was her party that ignored the middle class. And we sit here with no jobs.
I am afraid that the tea party will go in a thousand directions. It is funny, in the past we had the “Hands across America” and I forget the other one. And these things and ideologies of the past always fail. All you need is a Donald Trump as president to get things moving. Both parties are dysfunctional.
The leaders of the tea party have their ideological approach no matter what the reasons are by the populous. It won’t represent the middle class.
Tim, if you click through the NPR link, one of the guests hails from some outfit called American Patriot Taxpayers, who I’m guessing will speak for the movement itself. One TEA spooner (thanks, I’ll be here all week) matched with four outsiders of varying sympathy to the movement does seem a little one-sided, though I’m not sure more of them would tip the scales in their direction, probably quite the reverse. At any rate that’s a question more for the show’s producers than for James or anyone who accepts their invitation.
James, congrats on the wider exposure; I don’t get that program in my area but I’ll be sure to check it out when they post the podcast.
The thing we can count on to keep the Tea Party engaged is the certainty of the Congress and Obama Administration to do more to damage the country.
Yes, because nearly doubling the national debt in 8 short years did zero damage to the country.
And I recall you and these tea party folks screaming bloody murder as it happened.
Oh, wait…. Scratch that last part.
Davebo, you moron, I am a tea party participant, and like many other tea party participants, we did not like what happened during the second half of Bushdom, but it paled in comparison to what we see happening now, so we have decided to stand up and be counted. What the Republicans did the last eight years was DEMOCRAT LITE. There were very few conservatives in position to make a difference. And if Republicans don’t get the message, there may be a CONSERVATIVE Party spawned.
What the Republicans did the last eight years was DEMOCRAT LITE.
I understand this sentiment, as everyone with strong political convictions is bound to resent the compromises that politicians have to make in simple recognition of electoral math. But the Bush administration, combined with the 4 years of congressional control and a Supreme Court with a conservative majority, is simply the best deal you are ever going to get.
Bush was far more reliably right-wing than Ronald Reagan ever was; in fact, you have to go back to the Harding-Coolidge juggernaut to find a presidency and a political climate in which the stars were as well-aligned for believers in limited government as they were from 2003-2006. You are certainly justified in feeling disappointed at the results of that time. But instead of lashing out at the failures of those who claimed to speak for you, you might consider, given that you are unlikely to have as favorable a political climate ever again, whether the things you want out of politics are simply not attainable.
Man, I’m glad you didn’t have to defend the Tea Parties either…
I mean, yeah, some of the anti-Tea Party stuff is a bit over the top. (I’m guilty of this too.) But c’mon, he’s pushing the same “the mainstream media is conspiring against us” crap that a lot of Tea Partiers take as gospel. He even explicitly put forth the “it’s a plant to make us look bad!” idea.
It’s a mistake to take these people seriously, even if you find common cause with some of their ideas. They just don’t have the goods.
…given that you are unlikely to have as favorable a political climate ever again, whether the things you want out of politics are simply not attainable.
That’s an interesting point…I’ve noticed that many around here pine away for some mythical conservative government that will magically pursue some kind of libertarian/free market/socially conservative nirvana…and yet, who really believes that such a government would ever be instituted and sustained in this country…
Unless you can provide links to your posts of outrage, which we both know you can’t.
Davebo, my posts, and Steve Plunks’, and Steve Verdons’ are in the archives if you want to look them up. Or you can just hurl invective as though you think that proves something.
Well, right now they are trying to spin 9,000 people in Nevada into “huge crowds”. I think they are already partway down the implosion road…
anjin-san, Nine-thousand in the middle of nowhere Nevada is kind of a big deal, though perhaps you want to go with CNN’s “dozens.” Like CNN says (after Richard Pryor), “Who you gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?”
That’s an interesting point…I’ve noticed that many around here pine away for some mythical conservative government that will magically pursue some kind of libertarian/free market/socially conservative nirvana…and yet, who really believes that such a government would ever be instituted and sustained in this country…
an interested party, no, some of us are fighting the good fight to stave of statism and defend classical liberalism as long as possible. Sadly, it looks like a lost cause.
an interested party, no, some of us are fighting the good fight to stave of statism and defend classical liberalism as long as possible. Sadly, it looks like a lost cause.
But what is the credibility of the republican party that has fallen for failed ideology. All I saw for 8 years is that our jobs went overseas, our money went to Iraq, deficits and debt, and the neglect of our country. It was “stay the course” with trickle down and now we are where we are. We are losing the middle class. So what is it that republicans will do to fix this damage? You help destroy our country with your ideology and laissez-faire. I am angry. I live in a town of 14,000 that lost 3 plants of 2000 people. There is no jobs here. You don’t speak for the middle class. It was tax cuts to the rich and our jobs left. Those tax cuts were for the here and now. It is spent money. It does us no good now with the country neglected and destroyed.
The tea party is headed by right wingers. The followers are angry I am sure, but it has to be more than taxes. It has to be about jobs and the dysfunctional government we have. And again, the wingnuts took over both parties. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-03-30/wingnuts-excerptmdashthe-hatriots-armed-and-dangerous/
And then you get Palin talking about “free market principles.” Wow, what a genius she is. More ideology.
