I can hardly wait to see what the group says about this: :yumyum: Brainstorm - The Chronicle of Higher Education
What an incredibly well researched and even handed piece. I'm struck by the obvious intelligence of the writer and her careful ability to stay on topic. The skill she exhibits in not calling people names or resorting to ad hominems is to be commended.
I think the author has been watching too much Spongebob. I couldn't follow her rambling, even if I probably agree with some of her views (hard to tell from this ridiculously written article/blog) this was pretty bad, both logically and aesthetically. But maybe she wrote it like this on purpose? Maybe it was written in such an incoherent way intentionally to illustrate her point? Nah ...
The article made sense to me. The thing I can't get over is how often the Tea Party gets generalized, both positively and negatively. The point of the article is to ask: Just who the heck are these people and what do they want? As far as I can tell, much of the Tea Party isn't even sure of its own identity. Are they an extreme part of the Republican party, or are they an extreme independent group? Are they the new extreme libertarians or are they the new extreme Christian Right? One thing is for sure, to be a Tea Partyist... um Partyer.. um... whatever they are called... you have to be extreme. As in extremely angry that things aren't going your way and that there exists anyone at all in the universe that could ever want anything even slightly different than you. In other words: politics as usual. Nothing to see here. Move along. Maybe you should find something that makes you smile instead...?
I know several people who claim to be "Tea Party"...here in Texas you can find one about every 15 feet it seems. The funny thing is they are normal, everyday people, not wacko-racist-nut-job-homophobes that the "Left" or some in the media would have us believe. Are there Tea Party people who are racist? I'm sure there are, I'm sure some are alcoholics, drug abusers, porn addicts, sexist, homophobic, homosexual, Christian, atheist, patriotic, pissed, veterans, non-veterans, rich, poor, employed, unemployed, white, black, hispanic, other, Muslim, etc. The one thing they all have in common that I can tell is they want the size and scope of government to shrink. Beyond that it seems they are about as diverse in opinion as any given segment of the population. They are NOT, from what I've seen, a highly organized, intellectually and politically homogenized organization as many people seem to believe. They are more or less a seemingly loose collective of politically active people who agree on pretty much 1 thing, which can make them formidable and a game changer, especially in a primary. The “racist” and “homophobe” comments basically demonstrate that this writer (and I use the term loosely) either doesn’t know any of these people or doesn’t want to. He already has his mind made up and is basically name calling. As for immigration, there are divergent opinions there too. Most of the Tea Party people I know would like a controlled immigration policy…after all I am in Texas and this is a border state. I imagine in Kansas City or Wyoming they might have a difference of opinion. But the funny thing is, even in Texas nobody agrees (or so it seems) on how far immigration should be enforced, they only know what is doing to the local areas. Some people are actually xenophobic and want to shut the border down completely and deport anyone not born in the U.S. Being that my grandmother in law was born in Mexico and I was born in Brazil you might see why I would feel different. Others want a uniform, enforced policy by someone. This I can agree to as right now the state and the feds are tossing responsibility at each other. But in the meantime we are actually importing crime into our state, the drug cartels are increasingly out of control and have even begun to cross the border to “enforce” their territory committing homicides and just recently kidnappings of women and girls for sex slave trafficking. The news had done an admirable job of looking the other way time and again. Earlier this week in a border town a cartel hung a young woman and a man off of a bridge, stripped naked and chopped up. The woman had been disemboweled and put on display for everyone to see. It barely made the news. Just yesterday they dumped 35 (THIRTY FIVE) bodies onto an expressway while gun men wearing uniforms carrying automatic rifles held up traffic. Brownsville, Texas is becoming a war zone along with Eagle Pass and a few other border towns. The crime to citizen ratio is off the charts. Some of the traffickers and gang bangers will openly engage the police in gunfights and stand their ground in doing so (something I doubt happens anywhere up north). Honestly what is going on in Mexico is spilling over into the U.S. We’re talking Afghanistan and Iraq bad…though as of yet they are not using IEDs, just arson, shootings, bombings (the old fashioned way), assassination, decapitation, torture and terror. So you might be able to understand how some, Tea Party people and non-Tea Party people might want the government, any government to do something about this. Anyhow I thought I should mention I have a severe conflict of interest with the Tea Party so I am myself not a member, but I sympathize with some of their positions and consider them a true grass roots, populist movement and the name calling and malicious classification of them is simple intellectual dishonesty at best.
Some Tea Party members are this and some are that. The ones that liberals use to define the rest are the ones who are most vocal. There may be significantly more reasonable, peaceful teapartiers than not (which I believe is absolutely true), but you'd be hard pressed to name me one single Tea Party rally that was either peaceful or didn't have overt racist overtones (with only sporadic perfunctory attempts to disguise them as covert racist undertones). In this case, I don't blame the liberals for the mischaracterisation, I blame them for being lazy in their research (aren't they always?) while I blame the rest of the Tea Party for not publicly condemning the hateful sect of them.
Not a t.e.a. Party member Here's a partial list of T.E.A. Party Rallies: Are you saying that all of these gatherings (never been to one myself) were either racist or non-peaceful? Astoria, Oregon - About 200 Atlanta, Georgia - About 3,000 Augusta, Georgia - 1,200 to 1,500 Austin, Texas - About 300 protested big federal government.[26] Baton Rouge, Louisiana - About 1,000 Beaumont, Texas - About 2,500 Bellingham, Washington - Thousands rally Belvidere, New Jerssy - About 300 rallied for fiscal responsibility and smaller government.[27] Billings, Montana - About 200 Brighton, Michigan - More than 500 protested big government, health-care reform and high taxes.[29] Caro, Michigan - About 30.[30] Carson City, Nevada - About 600 Charleston, West Virginia - About 200 Charlotte, North Carolina - About 1,000 Cheyenne, Wyoming - Hundreds rally Chicago, Illinois - 1,500 set their sights on the November elections.[31] Cincinnati, Ohio - Thousands rally Clayton, Missouri - About 500 rallied for smaller government and against the health care law.[33] Cody, Wyoming - Tea Party holds rally Colorado Springs, Colorado - About 2,000 Columbia, South Carolina - About 1,000 Columbus, Georgia - 230 opposed out-of-control growth in federal spending and government power.[34] Columbus, Ohio - Thousands rally Concord, New Hampshire - Hundreds rally Cumberland,Maryland- 100 people attended Decatur, Illinois - About 100 Denver, Colorado - About 2,000 Des Moines, Iowa - More than 1,000 rallied for less government and less spending.[35] El Paso, Texas - About 4,000 Eugene, Oregon - Tea party holds rally Evansville, Indiana - More than 300.[39] Everett, Washington - About 500 Fairbanks, Alaska - More than 50 Florence, Alabama - Protesters are frustrated with the direction of government.[40] Fort Collins, Colorado - About 1500 protested an out-of-control federal government.[41] Fort Lauderdale, Florida - More than 1,000 railed against government spending and the new healthcare law.[42] Fremont, Washington - About 200 Gainesville, Florida - Hundreds rallied against out of control spending.[43] Genesee, New York - About 1,000.[44] Gilbert, Arizona - Thousands.[45] Grand Junction, Colorado - About 1,500 Grand Prairie, Texas - More than 7,000 protested a government that reaches too far into Americans' lives.[46][47] Grand Rapids, Michigan - Hundreds rallied for limited government.[48] Greensboro, North Carolina - About 2,000 Greenville, South Carolina - 400 rallied to rein in government spending and to limit government intrusion into citizens' lives.[49] Grennwich, Connecticut - 200 rallied against government spending and debt.[50] Hartford, Connecticut - About 1200 rallied for less government.[51] Hattiesburg, Mississippi - About 200 Helena, Montana - About 150 Henderson, Kentucky - About 750.[52] Honolulu, Hawaii - Hundreds rally Hornell, New York - Hundreds protested taxes and high government spending.[53] Houston, Texas - About 6,000 Hudsonville, Michigan - Hundreds rallied for limited government.[48] Huntsville, Alabama - 2,500 protested big government and expanded government health care.[54] Idaho Falls, Idaho - About 100 Indianapolis, Indiana - About 3,000[55] Iowa City, Iowa - About 300 Irvine, California - 400 protested spending and the health care plan - but with a festive tone.[56] Issaqua, Washington - About 100.[57] Jackson, Mississippi - Tea party holds rally Jamestown, North Dakota - About 200 Joliet, Illinois - About 300 Kansas City, Kansas - About 5,000.[58] La Habra, California - About 150.[56] Lafayette, Indiana - Hundreds protested unfair taxation, big government, and the health care reform law.[59] Lansing, Michigan - More than 1,000 protested government overspending and health care reform.[60][61] Las Vegas, Nevada - About 300 opposed higher taxes and government spending.[62] Lincoln, Nebraska - About 100 braved torrential rain and rallied against government overspending and for a return to Constitutional principles [63] Lisbon, Ohio - About 200 Little Rock, Arkansas - Thousands rally Louisville, Kentucky - Hundreds rally Madison, Wisconsin - Thousands protested government spending and higher taxes.[64] Manchester, New Hampshire - 500 to 600 protested taxes and the federal deficit.[65] Mason City, Iowa - Hundreds rally Memphis, Tennessee - 200 to 300 Mission Viejo, California - About 250 rallied against taxes, health care reform and illegal immigration.[66] Mobile, Alabama - Tea party rally held Montgomery, Alabama - More than 1,000 said they want less government, less spending and more respect for the constitution.[67] Montpelier, Vermont - About 100 Morristown, New Jersey - About 1,200 rallied against unchecked growth of the federal government.[68] Mt. Vernon, Illinois - About 200 Muskogee, Oklahoma - About 350 Naperville, Illinois - About 500 protested tax increases and reckless government spending.[69] Naples, Florida - Thousands rallied.[70] Nashville, Tennessee - About 200 New City, New York - About 175 attended a Rally for America.[71] New York, New York - Hundreds protested everything from taxes to the role of government.[72] Norfolk, Virginia - Hundreds railed about the need to change leadership.[73] Norwich, Connecticut - Several hundred expressed anger over the direction of the country.[74] Oceanside, California - 2,000 to 3,000 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - About 1,200 Olympia, Washington - Roughly 3,000 protested government spending.[75] Omaha, Nebraska - Hundreds rally Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - About 150 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - About 2,000 Phoenixville, Pennsylvania - Hundreds protested high taxes, growing deficits, and the new health care reform act.[76] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Nearly 2,000 protested U.S. government policies from health care to taxes.[77] Pleasanton, California - Around 10,000 protested government spending, mounting debt, and the national health care law.[78] Port Huron, Michigan - Hundreds protested federal spending and advocated for smaller government.[79] Port St. Lucie, Florida - About 500 protested a government that's too big.[80] Portland, Oregon - Tea Party rally held Portsmouth, New Hampshire - 250 gathered for a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party.[81] Prosser, Washington - About 150 Providence, Rhode Island - 500 to 1,200 Raleigh, North Carolina - About 1,000 Rapid City, South Dakota - Tea Party holds rally Richland, Washington - More than 600 rallied in defense of individual liberty.[82] Richmond, Virginia - Thousands rally Rochester, Minnesota - Hundreds railed against big government.[83][84] Royal Oak, Michigan - A couple hundred protested big government and high taxes.[85] Sacramento, California - More than 2,000 called for lower taxes and smaller government.[86] San Antonio, Texas - About 400 Santa Fe, New Mexico - Tea Party holds rally Salem, Oregon - 1,000 asked for less taxes and less government.[87] Salt Lake City, Utah - About 600 Santa Ana, California - 200-300.[56] Scranton, Pennsylvania - About 200 protested the tax and spend policies in Washington DC.[88] Seattle, Washington - Several hundred called for the government to curb spending.[89] St. Paul, Minnesota - More than 500 protested government spending and health care reform.[90] Shelby, North Carolina - About 500 Sherman, Texas - About 100 Sioux Falls, South Dakota - Tea Party holds rally Springfield, Illinois - Hundreds rally Spokane, Washington - About 1,000 Syracuse, New York - More than 100 called for less spending and lower taxes.[91] Tallahassee, Florida - About 600 Tampa, Florida - More than 1,000[92] Tempe, Arizona - Thousands.[93] Tigard, Oregon - Tea party holds rally Towson, Maryland - Hundreds rallied for less government and lower taxes.[94] Traverse City, Michigan - Close to 1,400 expressed contempt for government policies.[95] Trenton, New Jersey - About 400 Tucson, Arizona - Thousands protested unchecked government spending.[96] Tulsa, Oklahoma - Thousands rally Tyler, Texas - Tea party rally held Ulster, New York - More than 100 railed against the health care law, government bailouts, and out-of-control federal spending.[97] Wasilla, Alaska - Hundreds rally Wichita, Kansas - Several hundred protested the national health care law.[98] West Palm Beach, Florida - Hundreds rally Worcester, Massachusetts - About 2,500 Yorba Linda, California - About 700 railed against RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).[56] Zanesville, Ohio - About 200 April 17 Greenville, South Carolina - Several thousand rally Jackson, Mississippi - About 2,000 attend tea party Johnstown, Pennsylvania - About 350 gather in Central Park St. Augustine, Florida - About 5,000 attend the St. Augustine Freedom Rally Wallkill, New York - Several hundred rally along Route 211 West Chester, Pennsylvania - About 100 to 120 attend the Tea Party Rally for Liberty & Responsibility A couple of people condemning perceived racism. Georgia Tea Party condemns racist flyer Tea Party Leader, GOP Condemn Racial Slurs Hurled at Black Lawmakers I would be just as impressed if there was a liberal grass roots movement like this as well. It looked like the liberals could do something like the T.E.A. party with their war protesters, but they seem to have gotten less coverage starting around the end of 2008.
