This lady O'Donnell is Palin-esque. Now it comes out that she once said she dabbled in witchcraft and went out on a date with a witch. The finding of these old quotes led her to cancel her weekend TV appearances.

No problem.

 

Why do you doubt there is less than there is in the Teap Party?

I get that the Tea Party movement abhors government spending and such, but where were these protests during the Bush administration? The rise certainly seems to coincide with Obama's election.

 

I know that most of the Tea Partiers oppose Obama on ideological grounds, and that's fine. I also sense some subtle hints of racism/bigotry in the way some of its supporters refer to Obama, especially in terms of his religious beliefs.

 

Quite honestly, much of it seems personal, too. That was true with the Left and Bush, too, but it seems more prevalent on the Right these days. Some of the things Obama gets criticized for seems so ticky-tacky and, in some cases, very hypocritical.

 

The signs and banners at some of the rallies certainly seem to indicate that, too.

 

I don't think the Tea Party is overrun with it, but I think it's there.

 

As for the Left ... I can't stand the fact that some still see fit to give Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson credibility in racial matters, but I guess that's the nature of the beast. Sharpton has certainly moderated his tone over the last 25 years, but I can't forgive him for the crap he pulled in the Tawana Brawley fiasco.

I get that the Tea Party movement abhors government spending and such, but where were these protests during the Bush administration? The rise certainly seems to coincide with Obama's election.

 

I know that most of the Tea Partiers oppose Obama on ideological grounds, and that's fine. I also sense some subtle hints of racism/bigotry in the way some of its supporters refer to Obama, especially in terms of his religious beliefs.

 

Quite honestly, much of it seems personal, too. That was true with the Left and Bush, too, but it seems more prevalent on the Right these days. Some of the things Obama gets criticized for seems so ticky-tacky and, in some cases, very hypocritical.

 

The signs and banners at some of the rallies certainly seem to indicate that, too.

 

I don't think the Tea Party is overrun with it, but I think it's there.

 

As for the Left ... I can't stand the fact that some still see fit to give Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson credibility in racial matters, but I guess that's the nature of the beast. Sharpton has certainly moderated his tone over the last 25 years, but I can't forgive him for the crap he pulled in the Tawana Brawley fiasco.

 

Credibility is the understatement. When you have them speak at the national conventions, I would say that is more than credibility...........

This lady O'Donnell is Palin-esque. Now it comes out that she once said she dabbled in witchcraft and went out on a date with a witch. The finding of these old quotes led her to cancel her weekend TV appearances.

 

Actually, they canceled quite a few events before the video of witchcraft came out.

Actually, they canceled quite a few events before the video of witchcraft came out.

 

Video came out Friday. She canceled Fox on Friday night and CBS on Saturday.

I think this is an outstanding and sober-minded assessment of the Tea Party and the GOP: Assessing the GOP and the Tea Party.

Would you concede that there could be more of those elements in the Tea Party than there are on the left?

 

Either side could have more, so I guess I'd have to concede. :idunno:

I get that the Tea Party movement abhors government spending and such, but where were these protests during the Bush administration? The rise certainly seems to coincide with Obama's election.

 

I know that most of the Tea Partiers oppose Obama on ideological grounds, and that's fine. I also sense some subtle hints of racism/bigotry in the way some of its supporters refer to Obama, especially in terms of his religious beliefs.

 

Quite honestly, much of it seems personal, too. That was true with the Left and Bush, too, but it seems more prevalent on the Right these days. Some of the things Obama gets criticized for seems so ticky-tacky and, in some cases, very hypocritical.

 

The signs and banners at some of the rallies certainly seem to indicate that, too.

 

I don't think the Tea Party is overrun with it, but I think it's there.

Allow me to open with the statement that I consider it my good fortune to have met you in person and I consider you a friend albeit long distance and infrequent. You and I would both concede we are in many ways polar opposites in terms of our politics, but entirely respectful and civil in our interpersonal interactions. I actually enjoy visiting with you when the opportunity permits.

 

That being said, and genuinely expressed… the ongoing attempts to denigrate the Tea Party as nothing more than a bunch of uptight racist, bigot, homophobe, xenophobe, redneck, ignorant cracker astroturfers misses the entire thrust of what they are and what is going on. The media is missing it. The Democrat party is missing it. The Republican party is missing it.

 

For you to continue to assert that there are "more" of these types in the Tea Party than in any other mainstream Party indicates to me you may be missing it too.

 

I have yet to attend a Tea Party rally or donate to a Tea Party candidate, but I certainly relate to the frustration the majority of them express with our government and political process.

 

There is not a racist bone in my body. My feelings and motivations have nothing to do with race. BHO could look like Johnny and Edgar Winters and possess a pristine Anglo-Saxon pedigree for all I care… his policies and vision are IMO horrible for this nation. I would feel the same toward Al Gore, John F. Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, “Fill-in-the-Blank” if they were POTUS implementing the same reckless policies. My feelings have absolutely zero to do with skin color, gender, sexual orientation, hair style, zip code, tax bracket or otherwise.

 

Washington has indeed become a swamp, and it’s time to drain it and evict some of the fattest gators, leeches and parasites… in ALL parties.

 

The ongoing drone by the media to frame the Tea Party as mere Astroturf racists is merely making the media less relevant than they already are to many of us.

Allow me to open with the statement that I consider it my good fortune to have met you in person and I consider you a friend albeit long distance and infrequent. You and I would both concede we are in many ways polar opposites in terms of our politics, but entirely respectful and civil in our interpersonal interactions. I actually enjoy visiting with you when the opportunity permits.

 

That being said, and genuinely expressed… the ongoing attempts to denigrate the Tea Party as nothing more than a bunch of uptight racist, bigot, homophobe, xenophobe, redneck, ignorant cracker astroturfers misses the entire thrust of what they are and what is going on. The media is missing it. The Democrat party is missing it. The Republican party is missing it.

 

For you to continue to assert that there are "more" of these types in the Tea Party than in any other mainstream Party indicates to me you may be missing it too.

 

I have yet to attend a Tea Party rally or donate to a Tea Party candidate, but I certainly relate to the frustration the majority of them express with our government and political process.

 

There is not a racist bone in my body. My feelings and motivations have nothing to do with race. BHO could look like Johnny and Edgar Winters and possess a pristine Anglo-Saxon pedigree for all I care… his policies and vision are IMO horrible for this nation. I would feel the same toward Al Gore, John F. Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, “Fill-in-the-Blank” if they were POTUS implementing the same reckless policies. My feelings have absolutely zero to do with skin color, gender, sexual orientation, hair style, zip code, tax bracket or otherwise.

 

Washington has indeed become a swamp, and it’s time to drain it and evict some of the fattest gators, leeches and parasites… in ALL parties.

 

The ongoing drone by the media to frame the Tea Party as mere Astroturf racists is merely making the media less relevant than they already are to many of us.

 

The question is who are they taking their country back from? Are they taking it from me? If they take it from me what am I left with? The implication is that it has been taken over by an outsider. I don't think Washington does enough to change the culture of poverty, the Tea Party thinks it does too much, but it has not been taken over.

Allow me to open with the statement that I consider it my good fortune to have met you in person and I consider you a friend albeit long distance and infrequent. You and I would both concede we are in many ways polar opposites in terms of our politics, but entirely respectful and civil in our interpersonal interactions. I actually enjoy visiting with you when the opportunity permits.

 

That being said, and genuinely expressed… the ongoing attempts to denigrate the Tea Party as nothing more than a bunch of uptight racist, bigot, homophobe, xenophobe, redneck, ignorant cracker astroturfers misses the entire thrust of what they are and what is going on. The media is missing it. The Democrat party is missing it. The Republican party is missing it.

For you to continue to assert that there are "more" of these types in the Tea Party than in any other mainstream Party indicates to me you may be missing it too.

 

I have yet to attend a Tea Party rally or donate to a Tea Party candidate, but I certainly relate to the frustration the majority of them express with our government and political process.

 

There is not a racist bone in my body. My feelings and motivations have nothing to do with race. BHO could look like Johnny and Edgar Winters and possess a pristine Anglo-Saxon pedigree for all I care… his policies and vision are IMO horrible for this nation. I would feel the same toward Al Gore, John F. Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, “Fill-in-the-Blank” if they were POTUS implementing the same reckless policies. My feelings have absolutely zero to do with skin color, gender, sexual orientation, hair style, zip code, tax bracket or otherwise.

 

Washington has indeed become a swamp, and it’s time to drain it and evict some of the fattest gators, leeches and parasites… in ALL parties.

 

The ongoing drone by the media to frame the Tea Party as mere Astroturf racists is merely making the media less relevant than they already are to many of us.

 

What a great post stated much better then I ever could have.

 

As to the bolded part I really believe that this is the ONLY option Tea Party opponents have because they CAN'T refute the message, nor can they refute the fact that more Americans are agreeing with the tea party message then I think anyone imagined when they started.

Good points. These are the questions I think are being overlooked in the back and forth over whether we agree with or like the tea party. It’s no surprise there is an anti-incumbency fervor due to the prolonged state of a very bad economy, seemingly with no end in sight. What is interesting is that the rightward shift has even taken hold within the Republican party, creating some intraparty turmoil. This isn’t like 1994 or 2006. Without knowing how these “tea-party” candidates will do in the fall or the state of the economy during the next election cycle, my estimation is that this will be a one-time occurrence. Once in government, I’m not sure how these candidates will fare. They will be faced with the tradeoff of voting along the Republican line and participating in policymaking, thus being associated with the establishment, or voting along their ideology and be marginalized. In either instance they severely worsen their electability and popularity for the next cycle – they lose their luster with general voters, establishment type Republicans can say “see, we told you so,” and tea-party candidates lose their viability. Scott Brown was swept in as a tea-party backed conservative, but has thus far voted more closely to a Northeastern Republican. He has lost the support of the tea-party, but he’s making himself more electable to Massachusetts voters next cycle. So, in answer to 5wide’s question, I see this movement as a flash in the pan. I think the economy will have to suffer more while tea-partiers will have to keep distance from the Republican establishment for it to endure.

 

5wide asks some good questions, and I thought this was a well-worded answer.

 

Not sure if the TPers will be the proverbial "flash in the pan." I think it's too early to tell. Without question, they've had a significant impact up to this point. I've thought that America has been ripe for a legitimate third party for quite some time--maybe the last 10-15 years? I'm not saying the TPers are it (and I might be wrong about my third party assessment altogether), but I think many in the Republican camp (like myself) have become so disenfranchised with our candidates that we're looking for something different. Will be curious to see if the TPers can become that "something different."

Allow me to open with the statement that I consider it my good fortune to have met you in person and I consider you a friend albeit long distance and infrequent. You and I would both concede we are in many ways polar opposites in terms of our politics, but entirely respectful and civil in our interpersonal interactions. I actually enjoy visiting with you when the opportunity permits.

 

That being said, and genuinely expressed… the ongoing attempts to denigrate the Tea Party as nothing more than a bunch of uptight racist, bigot, homophobe, xenophobe, redneck, ignorant cracker astroturfers misses the entire thrust of what they are and what is going on. The media is missing it. The Democrat party is missing it. The Republican party is missing it.

 

For you to continue to assert that there are "more" of these types in the Tea Party than in any other mainstream Party indicates to me you may be missing it too.

 

I have yet to attend a Tea Party rally or donate to a Tea Party candidate, but I certainly relate to the frustration the majority of them express with our government and political process.

 

There is not a racist bone in my body. My feelings and motivations have nothing to do with race. BHO could look like Johnny and Edgar Winters and possess a pristine Anglo-Saxon pedigree for all I care… his policies and vision are IMO horrible for this nation. I would feel the same toward Al Gore, John F. Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, “Fill-in-the-Blank” if they were POTUS implementing the same reckless policies. My feelings have absolutely zero to do with skin color, gender, sexual orientation, hair style, zip code, tax bracket or otherwise.

 

Washington has indeed become a swamp, and it’s time to drain it and evict some of the fattest gators, leeches and parasites… in ALL parties.

 

The ongoing drone by the media to frame the Tea Party as mere Astroturf racists is merely making the media less relevant than they already are to many of us.

Contrary to some posters' opinion, I'm not a knee-jerk lefty liberal. I lean to the left, but I'm also much more moderate than many others on here.

 

I don't make the assertion lightly, Fastbreak. I'm basing my opinion on what I see, hear and read myself. I'm not taking my marching orders from websites, blogs and the media.

 

I believe that there are some in the Tea Party that practice racism and bigotry. I believe it shows up sometimes in their comments and signs, and I believe there are some in the media that use fear that stems from those feelings to stoke the Tea Party fire.

 

I really can't quantify it, but it's more of a feeling than anything else.

5wide asks some good questions, and I thought this was a well-worded answer.

 

Not sure if the TPers will be the proverbial "flash in the pan." I think it's too early to tell. Without question, they've had a significant impact up to this point. I've thought that America has been ripe for a legitimate third party for quite some time--maybe the last 10-15 years? I'm not saying the TPers are it (and I might be wrong about my third party assessment altogether), but I think many in the Republican camp (like myself) have become so disenfranchised with our candidates that we're looking for something different. Will be curious to see if the TPers can become that "something different."

 

:thumb:

 

Whether the Tea Party lasts past this election cycle or not (your guess is as good as mine), I think it could have a significant and lasting impact on the political landscape.

 

There's a lot of uncertainty and that is what fascinates me, and probably drives the political hacks nuts. I suspect there are large quantities of people (like me, like Fastbreak) who aren't Tea Party "members", don't go to rallies, don't donate money to them, etc., but we do agree with much of their platform, i.e., their views on the constitution, spending, etc. I don't think anyone knows how to quantify the people in this group...how they'll vote, how many will vote, etc.

 

Take the lady from Delaware for example...they're giving her no shot to win, but wasn't she down significantly in the race she just won as the voting day neared. I'm not saying she will or won't win, but I have another suspicion that the preliminary polling in some of these upcoming races might be off a bit more than normal.

 

Of course, I could be wrong. I'm far from a political expert.

 

Lots of questions and no answers to date. We should get a few by the year's end.

My problem with the Tea Party isn't racism. My problem is with what I feel is extremism. Even though I agree in theory with some of the principles, the elements that turn me off far outweigh any areas of agreement that I have with them. And when I say outweigh, I don't necessarily mean in number. I mean that what I perceive to be the outrageous nature of some of their member's beliefs. Those who believe he's Muslim, feel he's not a US Citizen, and say that they don't know anything about him. I don't agree with some of the aspects they espouse with regard to immigration, especially with regard to the legislation in Arizona. I don't agree with them on the healthcare issue. I don't agree with them on some of their economic principles. I feel they propagate fear as a means of motivation, which I guess is the "catch-all" reason I can't support them.

I feel they propagate fear as a means of motivation, which I guess is the "catch-all" reason I can't support them.

So do Obama and the Dems, do you support them? I can't think of a time when either side hasn't done their share of fear mongering near election time, when they were against legislation the other side came up with, and so on and so on.