John Birch Society Redux

[Contrails]

Is the Tea Party nothing more that a resurgence of the John Birch Society from 50 years ago or are there fundamental differences between the two?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/10/the-john-birchers-tea-party.html

[BB-35]

No.....

[Chris]

Is the Tea Party nothing more that a resurgence of the John Birch Society from 50 years ago or are there fundamental differences between the two?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/10/the-john-birchers-tea-party.html



Baloney. I see nothing in the article that's true of the tea parties. The second lines states its purpose: " finding an apt historical analogue for the Tea Party caucus".

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_Caucus:


Relation to the Tea Party movement[edit]

An article in Politico stated that many Tea Party activists see the caucus as an effort by the Republican Party to hijack the movement. Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz refused to join the caucus, saying "Structure and formality are the exact opposite of what the Tea Party is, and if there is an attempt to put structure and formality around it, or to co-opt it by Washington, D.C., it’s going to take away from the free-flowing nature of the true tea party movement."[6]

In an attempt to quell fears that Washington insiders were attempting to co-opt the Tea Party movement, Rep Michele Bachmann stated "We're not the mouthpiece. We are not taking the Tea Party and controlling it from Washington, D.C. We are also not here to vouch for the Tea Party or to vouch for any Tea Party organizations or to vouch for any individual people or actions, or billboards or signs or anything of the Tea Party. We are the receptacle."[7] [8]

Additionally, Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Marco Rubio of Florida, all Tea Party supporters, refused to join the caucus.[9][10] Toomey said he would be "open" to joining, and spoke at the first meeting, but did not ultimately join.[11] Johnson said that he declined to join because he wanted to "work towards a unified Republican Conference, so that's where I will put my energy."[12] Rubio criticized the caucus, saying "My fear has always been that if you start creating these little clubs or organizations in Washington run by politicians, the movement starts to lose its energy."[13]

http://i.snag.gy/JzqrJ.jpg

Oops.

[Mister D]

The Poujadists? Seriously? not that any of his readers know who he's talking about.

[Chris]

If you want a half-way decent analysis of the tea parties by a liberal, try The Tea Party and the GOP Crackup (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303376904579135231053555194)


More than a decade ago, before the post-9/11 national fervor set in, Walter Russell Mead published an insightful essay on the persistent "Jacksonian tradition" in American society. Jacksonians, he argued, embrace a distinctive code, whose key tenets include self-reliance, individualism, loyalty and courage.

Jacksonians care as passionately about the Second Amendment as Jeffersonians do about the First. They are suspicious of federal power, skeptical about do-gooding at home and abroad; they oppose federal taxes but favor benefits such as Social Security and Medicare that they regard as earned. Jacksonians are anti-elitist; they believe that the political and moral instincts of ordinary people are usually wiser than those of the experts and that, as Mr. Mead wrote, "while problems are complicated, solutions are simple."

That is why the Jacksonian hero defies the experts and entrenched elites and "dares to say what the people feel" without caring in the least what the liberal media will say about him. (Think Ted Cruz. )

The tea party is Jacksonian America, aroused, angry and above all fearful, in full revolt against a new elite—backed by the new American demography—that threatens its interests and scorns its values.

...

[Cigar]

Btw; me and Da Pres just talked.

He said, is that your best shot? :)

[pjohns]

If you want a half-way decent analysis of the tea parties by a liberal, try The Tea Party and the GOP Crackup (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303376904579135231053555194)

Excellent insights!

[Ravi]

The whole thing came to a climax with the famous black-bordered flyer that appeared on the day of J.F.K.’s visit to Dallas, which showed him in front face and profile, as in a “Wanted” poster, with the headline “WANTED FOR TREASON.” The style of that treason is familiar mix of deliberate subversion and personal depravity. “He has been wrong on innumerable issues affecting the security of the United States”; “He has been caught in fantastic lies to the American people, including personal ones like his previous marriage and divorce.” Birth certificate, please?

I hadn't made the connection before but it is certainly apt.

[Chris]

I hadn't made the connection before but it is certainly apt.

If it is then make your case. The author certainly didn't. You would have to begin by saying something about the tea parties as the author hasn't. It's basically an extended association fallacy. Good luck, ravi!