Posted on 09/27/2010 6:49:40 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Liberal pundits and the politicians whose agendas they favor continue to misunderstand the Tea Party movement and, what is worse, fail to realize how much the disdainful tone of their criticism fuels it. This may be changing now as the ominous signs proliferate — the primary victories of Christine O’Donnell, Joe Miller, Rand Paul and Sharron Angle, the likely election victory of Mark Rubio and, in recent days, the startling news that Carl Paladino and Joe DioGuardi may be closing in on supposedly shoo-ins Andrew Cuomo and Kirsten Gillibrand (I say “may be” because there are conflicting polls). And of course there is Sarah Palin, who, despite endless analyses of her personal and political shortcomings, looms larger on the national stage every day.
The usual response to each tea part victory has been to say (1) it’s a one-off aberration (2) the primary turnout was low and unrepresentative and (3) he or she could never win in the general election. This has even been the position of the Republican party regulars who have often opposed the upstarts. Mitch McConnell was visibly upset by Rand Paul’s victory. Ten days before the Delaware primary, that state’s Republican party chairman Tom Ross called O’Donnell a liar who was “unhinged from reality.” Rick Lazio and Rudy Giuliani have declined to endorse Paladino, who is known as “crazy Carl” (an epithet he cheerfully embraces). Karl Rove has expressed alarm at the emergence of candidates who “did not evince the characteristics of rectitude, truthfulness and sincerity, and character.”
These developments have led Time magazine to conclude (in its Sept. 27 cover story) that we are seeing a “shaking up [of] the Republican party,”...
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Rochester Mn TEA Party Good Debate turn-out sent in email;
RTPP State Candidate Forum Was Standing Room ONLY
The Rochester Tea Party Patriots held their first debate for the State of Minnesota’s legislative offices Thursday evening in front of a packed room with over 90 attendees. Even though not every candidate joined us for this extremely informative discussion, it was a very successful and insightful event.
It was disappointing that the Post Bulletin and other media outlets decided not to join us so that they could have had the ability to report firsthand about our event and the responses that the candidates gave to the questions directly from the audience.
We were glad to hear answers to questions ranging from the state budget to education and health issues coming from the audience. With the candidates we heard from we were able to learn more about where they stand and what issues are important to the people of Rochester and our surrounding communities. We thank Mr. Quam, Mr. Rolih, Mr. Senjem, Mr. French, Mrs. Nelson, Mr. O’Connell, and Mr. Benson for taking part in our discussion.
btt
I know Stanley Fish pretty well. He is a very smart guy. I have usually found his academic work to be destructive in its effects, but he has been very influential in his field and impossible to ignore.
Look at his arrogant statements at the end, like tea partiers don’t have the ability to debate or reason.
He’s preaching to his choir, not to us.
Stanley Fish is essentially saying, through use of his Antaeus and Heracles analogy, that if the tea party movement is separated from that which gives it strength, then it will be defeated by that with which it is unfamiliar—namely, rational thought.
His intellectual error is to miss the fact that the tea party doesn’t get its strength from dirt, but from rational thought itself.
Professor Fish will have plenty of company in his sorrow when he realizes the left today have neither reason nor strength, nor ground to stand on.
Instead, engage them as if you thought that the concerns they express (if not their forms of expression) are worthy of serious consideration, as indeed they are. Lift them up to the level of reasons and evidence and see how they fare in the rarified air of rational debate where they just might suffer the fate of Antaeus.
Professor Fish, thank you. This is all I, as a conservative, have ever asked since the Health Care Bill. Let the public see the bill, DEBATE it at least a year, express their views to their representatives, THEN hold a congressional vote. Not the other way around. Not Ms. Pelosi's "We need to pass the bill so you can find out what's in it." That was morally wrong, and is one of the reasons the public has turned against the Washington establishment. Such practices have poisoned the political environment and are setting neighbor against neighbor.
the fact is that the left pokes fun at the Tea party because they can not debate them. The debate would destroy the last glimmer the left has for its right to rule and they know it.
debate nannystatism vs freedom yeah that will go over real well.
agreed.
Except this time, Hercules is on OUR SIDE.
I’ve never heard of this Fish until you posted this so I’m not familiar which way he leans. I did read this again, though, and unless Fish is being very sarcastic, this still came across to me as a finger in the eye to tea partiers in the last two paragraphs. Could be he’s being sarcastic and mocking the left who think they are so intellectual.
The Ruling Class has had the power since George Bush Sr. They have lead us into this mess we may never recover. The plan it The World Order and if we don’t stop it soon, we will all be slaves to it.
An incestuous article where the New York times quotes Time Magazine is not worthy of reading, much less believing.
His intellectual error is to miss the fact that the tea party doesn’t get its strength from dirt, but from rational thought itself.
Socialism is the arbitrary dismissal of the process by which an organism - a political party, a corporation, a living entity - comes into being ("Why?") in favor of the Kennedys' preferred question, "Why not?"The trouble is, if you lack understanding of "Why?" you can have no conception of the answer to your dream question, "Why not?" "Why not?" becomes an unserious question to which the prejudged answer, "Yes we can!" is taken for granted and is not open to rebuttal."Yes we can!" - and off they go, shredding the Constitution and creating precedents and institutions which are excruciating to live with and excruciating to dismantle. Social Security, Medicare, entitlement welfare, and so forth. All created by mere acts of Congress - if, during the present administration, even that - but constraining future Congresses and future generations as if they had been carefully vetted and embedded in the Constitution like a Constitutional amendment.
Which is the long way of saying that Stanley Fish is asking people who agree with his politics to leave behind their childish airs and submit to an adult discussion of the issues. But a socialist without an air of superiority is a fish out of water.
Please contact me if you’re interested in being added on or taken off the Carl Paladino for Governor ping list. This looks to be a fairly high volume ping list for a while, probably until the election.
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