The Tea Party – The Frankenstein of the Right Wing!
For the past 30+ years the conservatives have meticulously developed an infrastructure to take control of the government. Knowing they could not rely on sheer numbers (conservatives have knack for being non-populist), they focused on getting folks in key positions, developing solid (and dirty) communication tactics, thanks to “geniuses” like Frank Luntz, and getting a strangle hold on the media through consolidation by a few conservative corporate entities.
But then, uh oh, the McCain campaign came up with this brilliant idea to bring on Ms. Palin. All that planning down the drain. Enter Palin and scores of nutcases (even by right-wing standards) with no grooming, no message prep, no allegiance to the planners who spent years preparing for the takeover.
For whatever reason, her charisma, her beauty, her folksiness, her mavericky way, or perhaps just the fact that she’s seen as an outsider...millions of Americans think Palin, and the many Palin wannabes that have followed should be given a chance to lead.
It turned out to be the perfect answer to capture those voters who have no allegiance to either party and who aren’t interested in all the ‘details’ of politics.
As most strategists will attest, it only takes a relatively small percentage of voters to change the outcome of an election. And of those voters, most tend to spend little time digging into the issues. Again, this turned out to be a perfect formula for the Palin-ites, and the Michelle Bachman-ites, and others to exploit. Attractive women yelling simplistic messages like, “reduce taxes” “reduce government” and the rest becomes (political) history.
The irony is amazing! Not only are the Democrats reeling from these crazies...but the Republicans are as well. They have a Frankenstein on their hands; a monster that will not answer to them, one that they can’t predict or control.
In two weeks, if even a portion of these nut cases make it to the Senate, both parties will have to deal with a minimum of 6 years of whacked out sound bites and weird proposed legislation.
I think it’s also ironic that conservatives have always been fearful of the masses getting too much power...and instead manipulated the public to follow their message. But the introduction of the Palin-factor was like aiming a 22 caliber at their left foot! Now they have a “populist” uprising of ultra-extreme right wingers with the support of many Americans who really aren’t paying much attention. Most Americans are not interested in the details of what’s going on, they’re just sick of both parties...both of whom they blame for the mess this country is in. SO, the Tea Party nutbags win by default!
Another irony: Us Dems and Progressives have always found our power in the masses. It’s always been agitate, educate, and organize. The greatest social achievements of the 19th and 20th century were carried out by progressives as we mobilized the masses to our cause. And now, in 2010 we are witnessing a twisted populism that has not stirred up the masses to become informed and involved...but rather to simply choose the lesser of three evils...No to Dems, No to Republicans, yes to Tea Party whackos!
The motto for these latter day loony-populists is not agitate, educate, organize...but rather agitate, agitate, agitate...after all, they only need to get a relative small percentage of the apathetic electorate to mark the ballot for these newcomers...after all they figure anybody will do better than those currently in power, right? right? (or left).
When this current election cycle is complete, and the dust settles, we may be waking up to the worst hangover imaginable. We could see a group of newly elected representatives and senators that are anti-government, ignorant, and angry taking the reign of leadership of this nation. Keith Olbermann’s new book “Pitchforks and Torches” reminds me of the scene in Frankenstein where the villagers come together to get rid of the monster. Unfortunately, in the case of the Tea Party monster, the villagers won’t be able to do anything about it for a couple of years in the case of congressmen...and six years in the case of senators who get elected in November.
But then, uh oh, the McCain campaign came up with this brilliant idea to bring on Ms. Palin. All that planning down the drain. Enter Palin and scores of nutcases (even by right-wing standards) with no grooming, no message prep, no allegiance to the planners who spent years preparing for the takeover.
For whatever reason, her charisma, her beauty, her folksiness, her mavericky way, or perhaps just the fact that she’s seen as an outsider...millions of Americans think Palin, and the many Palin wannabes that have followed should be given a chance to lead.
It turned out to be the perfect answer to capture those voters who have no allegiance to either party and who aren’t interested in all the ‘details’ of politics.
As most strategists will attest, it only takes a relatively small percentage of voters to change the outcome of an election. And of those voters, most tend to spend little time digging into the issues. Again, this turned out to be a perfect formula for the Palin-ites, and the Michelle Bachman-ites, and others to exploit. Attractive women yelling simplistic messages like, “reduce taxes” “reduce government” and the rest becomes (political) history.
The irony is amazing! Not only are the Democrats reeling from these crazies...but the Republicans are as well. They have a Frankenstein on their hands; a monster that will not answer to them, one that they can’t predict or control.
In two weeks, if even a portion of these nut cases make it to the Senate, both parties will have to deal with a minimum of 6 years of whacked out sound bites and weird proposed legislation.
I think it’s also ironic that conservatives have always been fearful of the masses getting too much power...and instead manipulated the public to follow their message. But the introduction of the Palin-factor was like aiming a 22 caliber at their left foot! Now they have a “populist” uprising of ultra-extreme right wingers with the support of many Americans who really aren’t paying much attention. Most Americans are not interested in the details of what’s going on, they’re just sick of both parties...both of whom they blame for the mess this country is in. SO, the Tea Party nutbags win by default!
Another irony: Us Dems and Progressives have always found our power in the masses. It’s always been agitate, educate, and organize. The greatest social achievements of the 19th and 20th century were carried out by progressives as we mobilized the masses to our cause. And now, in 2010 we are witnessing a twisted populism that has not stirred up the masses to become informed and involved...but rather to simply choose the lesser of three evils...No to Dems, No to Republicans, yes to Tea Party whackos!
The motto for these latter day loony-populists is not agitate, educate, organize...but rather agitate, agitate, agitate...after all, they only need to get a relative small percentage of the apathetic electorate to mark the ballot for these newcomers...after all they figure anybody will do better than those currently in power, right? right? (or left).
When this current election cycle is complete, and the dust settles, we may be waking up to the worst hangover imaginable. We could see a group of newly elected representatives and senators that are anti-government, ignorant, and angry taking the reign of leadership of this nation. Keith Olbermann’s new book “Pitchforks and Torches” reminds me of the scene in Frankenstein where the villagers come together to get rid of the monster. Unfortunately, in the case of the Tea Party monster, the villagers won’t be able to do anything about it for a couple of years in the case of congressmen...and six years in the case of senators who get elected in November.
posted by Mark Moshay at Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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