Saturday, February 13, 2010

Tea Parties and Afterbirf

iOTW has a post up about Erick at Red State banning Troofers and Birfers. There's nothing wrong with Red State.  I used to go there fairly often and still check in once in a while.  I'd go there more, but I guess it is just too "mainstream" for my tastes. In other words, I'm much more likely to learn about what's going on at Red State by visiting funky sites like iOTW than I am from actually visiting Red State.  I don't say all this to complain about banning or not banning certain topics on a blog.  They can do as they please.

But later in the post Erick starts talking about keeping Birthers out of the Tea Party movement.  That's where I have a little issue.  I'm a semi-birther for lack of a better description.  I don't get hung up on the issue.  I don't think it is a winning issue to pursue.  I disapprove of Obama's records being sealed up so tight.  I feel he has things to hide.  But he IS in office and trying to move his agenda, and I tend to think that is the bigger fish to fry right now. 

The whole point of the Tea Party movement is that it is a spontaneous expression of the peoples' dislike of how our government is functioning.  It had its roots in bailouts and tax policy, then became a revolt against socialized medicine.  It has absorbed other issues too like anti-corruption and anti-incumbency.  It is becoming a catch-all for people who have a beef.  I'm cool with that.  Originally it was poo-poo'd completely by the media.  Now they at least notice it and report on it, though often unfavorably.  Herein lays the problem.  The Left is in charge right now.  They will NEVER see this as a valid movement.  People like Erick would like to weed out certain elements that are too "fringy."  It doesn't matter to the media, or to those in power, who is part of the movement.  If everybody showed up at a Tea Party in an expensive suit and spoke with an Ivy League diction, it would matter very little.  The ideologues want to implement their agenda.  Period.  We will not persuade them otherwise, whether we are "rabble" or "respectable".  The only thing that matters is pure power - numbers, dollars, and energy.  The Left will never like us, respect us, or choose to do things "our" way, so our only outlet is to amass as many people and dollars as possible and steamroll them.  Trying to somehow "legitimize" the Tea Party movement and shepherd it in certain directions is an attempt to turn it into something that it isn't.  It is spontaneous and amorphous.  It is decentralized.  That is its attraction.  It ought not be cubbyholed.  There should not be a litmus test of who "belongs."  Allowing certain prominent individuals to shape it to their liking will alienate some factions whose energy is valuable.  This could be the movement's undoing.

Run your blog how you want.  Run your mouth how you want.  Leave the Tea Party movement alone.

10 comments:

  1. This is where I would normally try to say something funny, but I really just gotta say the cut of your jib here is very strong.

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  2. I always get torn on this issue. I think the birthers are wasting valuable time and resources that could be better spent on fighting Obama's agenda, and supporting Conservative causes and candidates.

    That being said. I don't think you can ban them from movements. A blog is one thing, no one is in charge of the tea parties.

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  3. Sailingbum - Thanks!

    TMI - An Iowahawk reference? I'm not worrrrrthy!

    Matt - I think we agree too much. Maybe I should be stupid more often, just to stir things up a little.

    Matthew - Yeah. I think Barry is a lying sack of crap, and it would surprise me little to find that his documents show things about him that he REALLY wants to keep secret. I'm not saying that those docs would show him to be some Kenyan mooselimb usurper. I'm just saying he is a weasel with a lot to hide. But the facts are that he IS signing bills and he IS spending money and he IS deciding what to do with terrorists. I think it is best to concentrate on these things in the here-and-now and not get distracted by what may or may not appear in his personal records. Those who want to ferret out barry's info and publicize it - hey, feel free. I don't mind. I don't discount what you're doing but I don't feel compelled to join in, either.

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  4. Couldn't disagree more. You can't win nationwide or most statewide elections without the support of independents, and yes, even moderates. Scott Brown didn't win by appealing to the fringe. Neither did Bob McDonnell or Chris Christie. The birther nutters will drag the movement down.

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  5. I think Barry has much to hide. But the birther thing takes away things that we could be doing, like protesting his terrorist policies or his spending or his amazingly stupid socialism.

    Destroy Obama with the most effective and least self-damaging tools at your disposal. Even if the birther stuff is true-which it almost certainly isn't-going the birther route is going around your rear end to get to your elbow.

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  6. Amen, Innominatus. You said it perfectly and I agree with you 100% If the tea party ever needs someone to write a "mission statement", you should.

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  7. The basic premise of the Tea-Party movement, to my way of thinking, is anti-socialism. Anti-government control of our lives. The movement DEMANDS government accountability.

    They are also speaking for the Conservative wing of the Republican party. They do need to be reminded, however, that they need ALL of the Republican party to defeat the libs in 2010 and 2012.

    ReplyDelete

Family-friendly phrasing heartily encouraged.

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