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In reply to the discussion: Tea Party’s hot mess: Inside a noisy, disenchanted movement [View all]pampango
(24,692 posts)2. Great Title: “Change They Can’t Believe In: The Tea Party and Reactionary Politics in America”
Another axis of difference between the two is that an establishment conservative will see policy differences or policy preference differences between them and progressives as merely political differences. But these reactionary conservatives see policy differences, or differences of policy preferences, as a contest between good and evil. They have this Manichaean way of looking at politics, this apocalyptic way of looking at politics. Therefore, compromise cannot be [allowed]. Compromise will not be tolerated whatsoever, because they see it as concession to evil, whereas an establishment conservative knows that compromise is necessary.
The bottom line is that a lot of people assume that the Tea Party people are just crazy but thats not the case. I mean, thats really not the case, and I want to dismiss that misconception as soon as I can Another misconception [is] that the Tea Party is really just a bunch of racist people and that their movement is about racism and its really not Its bigger than racism. People who tend to support the Tea Party, they tend to be sexist, they tend to be homophobic, they tend to be xenophobic; so its not just about race. Its about difference. Its about anything that violates their phenotypical norm of what its supposed to mean to be an American: white, mainly male, middle-class, middle-aged or older, heterosexual, and native born. Anything that falls beyond that description is considered not to be a true American and therefore these groups are encroaching on what they see as the real America, the America that theyve come to know and love through their lifetime.
Its not the astroturf movement that a lot of people think it is. I said that in that Brookings piece and Ive backed that up with some evidence. Now, we saw what happened in Virginia, right? You had this guy, Brat, who got almost zero support from national Tea Party organizations and look what happened. So I think theres really valid data showing that the Tea Party movement is not the astroturf movement that people think it is.
People want to say that theyre crazy, and theyre really not. They want to maintain their social position, their social prestige; and as Frederick Douglass once said, Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will. So its rational to want to hold onto your position; its completely rational. Its about the means through which [Tea Partyers] do that thats what the problem is.
The bottom line is that a lot of people assume that the Tea Party people are just crazy but thats not the case. I mean, thats really not the case, and I want to dismiss that misconception as soon as I can Another misconception [is] that the Tea Party is really just a bunch of racist people and that their movement is about racism and its really not Its bigger than racism. People who tend to support the Tea Party, they tend to be sexist, they tend to be homophobic, they tend to be xenophobic; so its not just about race. Its about difference. Its about anything that violates their phenotypical norm of what its supposed to mean to be an American: white, mainly male, middle-class, middle-aged or older, heterosexual, and native born. Anything that falls beyond that description is considered not to be a true American and therefore these groups are encroaching on what they see as the real America, the America that theyve come to know and love through their lifetime.
Its not the astroturf movement that a lot of people think it is. I said that in that Brookings piece and Ive backed that up with some evidence. Now, we saw what happened in Virginia, right? You had this guy, Brat, who got almost zero support from national Tea Party organizations and look what happened. So I think theres really valid data showing that the Tea Party movement is not the astroturf movement that people think it is.
People want to say that theyre crazy, and theyre really not. They want to maintain their social position, their social prestige; and as Frederick Douglass once said, Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will. So its rational to want to hold onto your position; its completely rational. Its about the means through which [Tea Partyers] do that thats what the problem is.
Great find, xchrom. Thanks for posting it.
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Great Title: “Change They Can’t Believe In: The Tea Party and Reactionary Politics in America”
pampango
Jun 2014
#2
Very interesting article with thought insights. Pegged the Tea Party on the nose.
Fla Dem
Jun 2014
#5
The Author, like a lot of lefties, wants to ignore the drop of income of the working class.
happyslug
Jun 2014
#13