Enough already with the Tea Party bullshit
You've heard of the Iowa Family Policy Center, right? In "news from around the state"-type wire reports, Chuck Hurley has frequently gathered his collection of supporters at the state capitol to protest either-- and alternately-- government overreach and the government's tolerance of freedom in the bedroom. Yeah, I don't get it either. Well, it turns out that the staunchly-conservative Family Policy Center collected more than $3 million in taxpayer grants between 2004 and 2009. The group has been pouring much of its money (yours) into the gubernatorial campaign of Bob Vander Plaats, through their Political Action Committee, even while the candidate himself is down at the statehouse "tea partying" it up with the anti-government, "Obama is a Nazi and/or Communist" crowd."I've struggled for weeks to come up with anything distinctive or interesting to offer about the national "Tea Party" movement. While feelings of cynicism and political alienation are entirely understandable in the populace, even justified... ok, healthy, the hypocrisy and tactics of leadership in this particular movement has infected it from its start, with the Tea Partiers then not unlike Sayid or Claire on that enigmatic, fictional island of "Lost"-- Once you've allowed Glenn Beck to speak to you, as it were, it's already too late. They may all pretend that they're acting in a non-partisan fashion, but that's the lie agreed upon by Tea Party organizers that permits the "unbiased" media outlets to cover the protests as something other than what they actually are-- an attempt at rebranding the same, discredited Republican Party in the aftermath of George W. Bush. Yes, as we all still easily recall, even with new guys now in charge, the Bush/Cheney presidency was to clusterfucks what "Avatar" was to Hollywood box office-- the all-time, undisputed champ.
We should all be soaked in our own tears over the fact that there's this seemingly-inexhaustible attention span by the media for what could be-- or have been-- a potentially-important citizens' movement against government waste, corruption, and overreach. But alas, there has been no statement at all within this movement, despite the bevy of microphones pressed against it, over the fact that we're fighting a pair of bloody, immoral, and budget-annihilating wars overseas, each with no conceivable purpose separate from corporate expansion.
The movement, instead, delivers its charges of government overspending and tyranny in the form of subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) racial bigotry, while assigning blame for the nation's ills to our economic underclass, which ironically and sorrowfully makes up a substantial percentage of the movement's unregistered and unofficial membership. An "anti-government" movement that has the Pork Barrel Princess Sarah Palin at its forefront, and the likes of the hysterical and hypocritical members of the Iowa Family Policy Center as its contributors, is far from righteous in its purpose. It's not even intellectually-serious.
posted by CM @ 12:15 PM
5 Comments:
Ron Paul speaks out against the wars.
Classic, anyone who disagrees with liberals ALWAYS get accused of racism and/or bigotry. Why not address issues instead of painting a diverse group of people with a such a broad brush.
How many Tea Party members do you actually know? I know several who are very frustrated that people like Beck and Hannity are trying to jump on and lead the bandwagon.
TA
NO, of course disagreeing with liberals does not make one a bigot, and obviously not everybody in this group, or even a majority, is racist, and YES, liberals are frequently guilty of painting with too broad a brush on that (as all people who argue politics are), but the movement is INFECTED with racism, I believe.
According to this CBS poll released Wednesday--
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002529-503544.html
--nationally, 30% of self-identified Tea Party supporters believe President Obama was not born in the United States, and another 29% percent say they don't know. That's half again the national average-- and that "Birther" movement is COMPLETELY grounded in and fueled by racial bigotry, says me. They're not just questioning the growth and size of government, they're questioning the Constitutional authority of the president, evidently based largely on that issue.
Incidentally, and this may help to repair our rift-- they don't seem to agree with you much either. According to this same poll and the link, 59% have a favorable impression of bandwagon jumper Glenn Beck, but only 28% say they like Ron Paul. That last stat doesn't paint this group with a very libertarian brush considering Paul is the only avowed and true Libertarian (capital L) in the Congress. It makes the group look more like the laboratory creation of a GOP focus group, which they are.
How can you justify saying the birther movement is “COMPLETELY grounded in and fueled by racial bigotry.” Is it simply that the birthers are questioning Obama’s eligibility to serve as POTUS under the constitution? Peoples’ motivations have nothing to do with the facts in this case. Nothing at all to do with where Obama was born or the wording in the constitution (“natural born citizen”). Calling people bad names does nothing to strengthen your argument.
Congress questioned McCain’s ability to serve since he was born in the Panama Canal Zone. But McCain has light skin and politics to the right of center, so I guess Congress couldn’t have been fueled by any racial bigotry.
Have you ever considered the birther movement might be, at least partially, politically motivated and not completely fueled by racial bigotry?
Have you ever considered that those who believe Obama was born in Hawaii are the racially bigoted ones? His skin is dark and his politics are left of center, so he must be telling the truth.
What exactly makes people so sure Obama was born in Hawaii? Where is the proof Obama was born in Hawaii? Where is the long-form birth certificate that would settle the matter? The certificate of life birth can be given to people who were not born in the US.
I have seen an old Kenyan newspaper article, an old NPR article (archived story has now been “corrected”), and a Kenyan member of parliament claim Obama was Kenyan born. Were these people racial bigots, too?
TA
Ok, you just linked to an "investigative" article at a website in which the next published "investigative" piece is entitled "Is Obama Lazy and Stupid?"
What to think? It's complicated. On one side, we have factcheck.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocacy website that depends upon the reputation of its objectiveness for its continued existence invited to view the hard copy of Obama's certification of birth by the state of Hawaii and concluding officially:
"FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said."
We have the state of Hawaii saying officially that ALL paper birth records were discarded in 2001, that the certification of live birth document stands as official, and a state DOH director stating that any certification of live birth for a person born outside of the U.S. would state the country of birth.
We have microfilmed archives of birth notices for Obama in both the "Honolulu Advertiser" and the "Honolulu Star-Bulletin" from August 13 & 14, 1961, both listing his parents' home address, 6085 Kalanianole Highway in Honolulu, and available for public viewing in the state's main library.
On the other side, we have a guy in a bunker harping on the web about the difference between a "birth certificate" and a "certification of birth," the ease with which state documents can be forged (an argument that unintentionally challenges the Constitutional authority of every man who's ever held the office), and for good measure (in other published "investigations" on the site), that academics have conspired to suppress Obama's "lack of academic achievements" through the years, uncovering the scandal that the "inspirational" president employs speechwriters, that he has broken a campaign promise to stay in touch with a paralyzed Iowa girl, and still shockingly, the cover-up of the murder of Vince Foster.
The "birther" movement is not about facts, it's about promoting ambiguity-- he's not born in Hawaii, he's Hawaiian-born, but not a "natural-born citizen", he has disqualifying dual-citizenship, there's a Kenyan birth certificate, manufactured claims by Obama relatives, forgeries, his middle name was originally "Muhammad," Barack Obama Sr. was not his real father, all of it.
The murkier the better because the specific shit doesn't matter. What matters is strengthening the perception among a percentage of voters and motivated activists that the president's "not American" like you and me-- and THAT is racial bigotry.
So the birthers are racial bigots because they are “questioning the Constitutional authority of the president” and questioning his place of birth?
Much of the media questioned Bush’s Constitutional authority because of the Florida mess, therefore the media are racial bigots. Congress questioned both McCain’s Constitutional authority (if elected) and his place of birth, therefore Congress is full of racial bigots.
The Kenyan MP, the Kenyan newspaper article, the NPR article, and the interview with the grandmother in Kenya, these all have questioned Obama’s birth and made the situation murkier, therefore these people must be racial bigots as well.
Are you still claiming that the birther movement is COMPLETELY fueled by racial bigotry? It is not politically fueled at least partially?
I hear all the time in the media how smart Obama is. Let him release his college records so we can be amazed at his huge IQ and standardized test scores.
My point here is to try to make you think twice about continually crying racism or bigotry whenever someone does not share your views. You can never prove what’s in a person’s heart so you might as well stop calling names and stick to the facts.
TA
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