Where is the center of gravity in Wisconsin?
Indeed, where is the center of gravity in the Tea Party movement as a whole? When trade union employees openly despise unions on ideological grounds, and hate teachers both for their union organizations and their "indoctrination" tactics (outrageous, how they demand children learn facts in order to be graded on their progress!) and advocate policies which are absolutely certain to harm them and their children where does the fault lie? What supports this edifice of apparent fallacy?
Their stated enemies: organized labor. EPA. Any other regulatory agency you'd care to mention. Islam. Mexicans. (Sometimes) Jews. Socialists. Fascists. The courts (including the ones with Republican judges.) And of course, big-D Democrats.
Those are just the coherent enemies, the ones confirmed to actually exist. The incoherent, probably nonexistent enemies list, is longer.
This movement is centered on a facially-plausible goal: taking the country back, presumably by forming a voting majority and removing from power any and all representatives of the above enemies list (and of course, of the imaginary enemies, too, but I'm operating on the assumption that their representation is weak at best, while the Tea Party seem to be operating on the assumption that the imaginary enemies are the strongest of all; more on that later.) In support of this goal, the movement has united a powerful, popular "news" organization (a distinct "win") quite a few middle-class Americans (also a definable success) and a modest cross-section of the most gullible, ignorant rubes you could ever hope to avoid meeting (arguably, also a success; every one of those rubes has a vote, or will in ten years.) Perhaps as many as 10 million people ally themselves to the Tea Party agenda, and align against the Tea Party's enemies. Perhaps another 10 million, perhaps a few more, generally sympathize with some of the Tea Party goals and will support some of them some of the time (say, lower taxation or less government money spent on schools or NPR.) Out of perhaps 200 million voters, then, they have support from as many as 10%, depending on the issue.
In short, the Tea Party movement is certain to be a complete failure, both short- and long-term, for one reason and one reason only: they refuse to identify and align with anyone who does not first, identify with and align with them. That, I think, is the center of gravity: ideological chauvinism. A minority movement, demanding that the majority come to them for answers. A grassroots movement which insists that all the other grass move to its plot in order to put down roots. (note that the rest of the lawn feels just fine in its own soil)
I may try later, to unravel the apparent internal contradictions between the Tea Party's stated enemies, and their goals and actions, but my point today is this: chauvinism only works for majorities already in power. For those out of power, it guarantees that they will remain powerless. Short fused, and certainly loud, the Tea Party movement is a dud.
Their stated enemies: organized labor. EPA. Any other regulatory agency you'd care to mention. Islam. Mexicans. (Sometimes) Jews. Socialists. Fascists. The courts (including the ones with Republican judges.) And of course, big-D Democrats.
Those are just the coherent enemies, the ones confirmed to actually exist. The incoherent, probably nonexistent enemies list, is longer.
This movement is centered on a facially-plausible goal: taking the country back, presumably by forming a voting majority and removing from power any and all representatives of the above enemies list (and of course, of the imaginary enemies, too, but I'm operating on the assumption that their representation is weak at best, while the Tea Party seem to be operating on the assumption that the imaginary enemies are the strongest of all; more on that later.) In support of this goal, the movement has united a powerful, popular "news" organization (a distinct "win") quite a few middle-class Americans (also a definable success) and a modest cross-section of the most gullible, ignorant rubes you could ever hope to avoid meeting (arguably, also a success; every one of those rubes has a vote, or will in ten years.) Perhaps as many as 10 million people ally themselves to the Tea Party agenda, and align against the Tea Party's enemies. Perhaps another 10 million, perhaps a few more, generally sympathize with some of the Tea Party goals and will support some of them some of the time (say, lower taxation or less government money spent on schools or NPR.) Out of perhaps 200 million voters, then, they have support from as many as 10%, depending on the issue.
In short, the Tea Party movement is certain to be a complete failure, both short- and long-term, for one reason and one reason only: they refuse to identify and align with anyone who does not first, identify with and align with them. That, I think, is the center of gravity: ideological chauvinism. A minority movement, demanding that the majority come to them for answers. A grassroots movement which insists that all the other grass move to its plot in order to put down roots. (note that the rest of the lawn feels just fine in its own soil)
I may try later, to unravel the apparent internal contradictions between the Tea Party's stated enemies, and their goals and actions, but my point today is this: chauvinism only works for majorities already in power. For those out of power, it guarantees that they will remain powerless. Short fused, and certainly loud, the Tea Party movement is a dud.