Posted on 10/04/2010 12:35:59 PM PDT by La Lydia
Boiling Mad: A surprising and revealing look inside the Tea Party movement—where it came from, what it stands for, and what it means for the future of American politics They burst on the scene at the height of the Great Recession—angry voters gathering by the thousands to rail against bailouts and big government. Evoking the Founding Fathers, they called themselves the Tea Party. Within the year, they had changed the terms of debate in Washington, emboldening Republicans and confounding a new administration's ability to get things done.
Boiling Mad is Kate Zernike's eye-opening look inside the Tea Party, introducing us to a cast of unlikely activists and the philosophy that animates them. She shows how the Tea Party movement emerged from an unusual alliance of young Internet-savvy conservatives and older people alarmed at a country they no longer recognize. The movement is the latest manifestation of a long history of conservative discontent in America, breeding on a distrust of government that is older than the nation itself. But the Tea Partiers' grievances are rooted in the present, a response to the election of the nation's first black president and to the far-reaching government intervention that followed the economic crisis of 2008-2009. Though they are better educated and better off than most other Americans, they remain deeply pessimistic about the economy and the direction of the country.
Zernike introduces us to the first Tea Partier, a nose-pierced young teacher who lives in Seattle with her fiancé, an Obama supporter. We listen in on what Tea Partiers learn about the Constitution, which they embrace as the backbone of their political philosophy. We see how young conservatives, who model their organization on the Grateful Dead, mobilize a new set of activists several decades their elder. And we watch as suburban mothers, who draw their inspiration from MoveOn and other icons of the Left, plot to upend the Republican Party in a swing district outside Philadelphia.
The Tea Party movement has energized a lot of voters, but it has polarized the electorate, too. Agree or disagree, we must understand this movement to understand American politics in 2010 and beyond.
If you want to hear it yourself. It is the first segment.
http://www.bobedwardsradio.com/bob-edwards-weekend/
Right... they went directly to the race card. They are really truly clueless.
The left has abandoned all pretense of logic and reason, and is left with nothing but its hate. They’ll never admit to Obama’s failure because they can’t see beyond his color. Their shallow, superficial perspective has been revealed, and THEY are angry.
Hopefully that “boiling” anger keeps up to Nov 2. The recent polling that shows a shift back to the dems is unsettling.
What a crock!!! If the country had elected Thomas Sowell or Walter Williams, the Tea Party would not exist.
“But the Tea Partiers’ grievances are rooted in the present, a response to the election of the nation’s first black president and ...”
STFU. Moron.
I just wonder which ‘fad’ they will adopt when ‘hating your own country’ is no longer the fashion!!
“Nuff said.”
Indeed. I am very happy that they continue to miss the point. They will not understand where the attack came from when they are finally overwhelmed. Many Rockefeller Republicans are similarly missing the point(s).
I will drop the enemy a hint, confident that they will gaze at it like cows looking at a new gate, with dim incomprehension swirling in their sluggish minds.
IIRC, there was a story about an American who renounced his country and was perpetually remanded to different warships off-shore as a punishment - never to see his homeland again.....during his internment, he witnessed attacks on the homeland he hated and developed new feelings.....I believe this was some sort of story loosely connected to Francis Scott Key....
“What a crock!!! If the country had elected Thomas Sowell or Walter Williams, the Tea Party would not exist.”
Neither would the current depression.
“The left has abandoned all pretense of logic and reason...”
Here is another perspective. The left is evil genius. Their are two types of leftist, chalatan and dupe.
One manipulates with lies and the other believes.
Why? Groupthink.
If you recast groupthink behaviors considered to be antithesis to good decision making and instead encourage those behaviours, you can manipulate weak minded people who value group affiliation/belonging above all else into following leaders who only seek to USE group members to advance their own agenda of self.
This hangs on the wall of every leftist charlatan:
I
Thou shalt create an illusion of invulnerability shared by most members to foster excessive optimism and encourage extreme risks taking
II
Thou shall not allow any member to question the group’s inherent morality, instead members shall be encouraged to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions
III
Thou shalt promote collective efforts to rationalize in order to discount warnings, or other information that might lead members to reconsider their assumptions before they recommit themselves to their assumptions
IV
Thou shalt reinforce stereotyped views of enemy leaders as too evil to warrant genuine attempts to negotiate, or as too weak and stupid to counter whatever risky attempts are made to defeat their purpose
V
Thou shalt self-censor any deviation from the apparent group consensus, inclining each member to minimize the importance of their doubts and counterarguments
VI
Thou shalt create and maintain a shared illusion of unanimity concerning judgement conforming to the majority view
VII
Thou shalt apply direct pressure on any member who expresses strong arguments against any of the group’s stereotypes, illusions, or commitments, making clear that this type of dissent is contrary to what is expected of all loyal members
VIII
Thou shalt appoint mindguards to protect the group from adverse information that might shatter their shared complacency about the effectiveness and morality of their decisions.
They want to control us
we want freedom
the two concepts cannot “co-exist”,
and force will be used if one side doesn’t “give in”.
Hard to square with today’s “polls” showing Dems surging into the lead in many campaigns.
By November 3rd, they will be saying how the election was “stolen” and how the public voted based on a campaign of lies. That the voters were being scared into voting for xenophobes and racists.
Thanks for posting this. I myself heard this delightful “piece” and was astonished at how they STILL don’t get the Tea Party. In fact, it is rather humorous to see NPR attempt to understand the Tea Party any time they try.
I actually tried to poke around on the National Propaganda Radio website to find this piece, but I didn’t know the name of the show I was listening to, and I didn’t care THAT much. I’m glad others get to hear the same entertainment I did.
Boiling mad?.....
Putting it mildly!.....I don’t want radicals running my country!
Hmmm...does that apply to energy sector workers (read: coal miners) who voted straight party line Dem tickets despite the lefty-green agenda now part and parcel of the Dem platform?
They want to control us
we want freedom
the two concepts cannot “co-exist”,
and force will be used if one side doesn’t “give in”.
************
I agree with your analysis. I also believe that neither side will give in.
Hah, a NYT reporter pretending to be knowledgeable about the Tea Party. “We see how young conservatives, who model their organization on the Grateful Dead...”, did a computer generating random combinations of words come up with that part of the article?
“Tomorrow, one of those kids from ‘Tiny Beauty Queens’ will explain the National Electric Code.”
I've heard this same crap from leftists for YEARS.
Somehow, they think that we should vote for our "best interests" to empower THEM to steal from other people to [not] give it to us.
Sorry, lefties, we're not the thieves that you are.
He’s not black.
Any analysis of the tea party movement that assumes it has anything at all to do with race is missing the point. Race has nothing to do with it--never did; never will.
“Grateful dead” is what I call democrat voters!
We are people who made America great and who just want to be heard in our pleas for less government spending, lower taxes, less government control and a return to the principles that set our country apart from every other nation and made it the success it was.
What the devil is so darn hard for anyone to understand?
.....I believe this was some sort of story loosely connected to Francis Scott Key....
I’ve always the the SSB, taken in that context, was very moving. Key knows the country is young and under attack by superior forces. He has real doubts in his mind that it will survive. He is on the edge of hopelessness, The one thing he has to hang on to is the fact that he can still see the American flag flying.
It was made available by PRI (Public Radio International), not NPR, hence the difficulty. You know PRI: the even-farther-to-the-left version of NPR.
Ive always found that line from the left "vote against their own interests" intriguing and reveal..
Because we are suppose to be the selfish taker yet the "selfish taker" ... "vote against their own interests"? ...does the left ever get these two stereotypes they have of the right contradict each other
” The Man without a Country” “No man ever lived that loved his country more, or deserved less at her hands”
” The Man without a Country” “No man ever lived that loved his country more, or deserved less at her hands”
‘there was a story about an American who renounced his country and was perpetually remanded to different warships off-shore as a punishment - never to see his homeland again.’
The story is ‘The Man Without a Country’, by Edward Everett Hale, written in 1863 about fictional incidents surrounding the treason trial of Aaron Burr in 1807. It was meant as an attack on ‘traitor’ confederates. It has no connection to Francis Scott Key.
‘there was a story about an American who renounced his country and was perpetually remanded to different warships off-shore as a punishment - never to see his homeland again.’
The story is ‘The Man Without a Country’, by Edward Everett Hale, written in 1863 about fictional incidents surrounding the treason trial of Aaron Burr in 1807. It was meant as an attack on ‘traitor’ confederates. It has no connection to Francis Scott Key.
Hard to square with today’s “polls” showing Dems surging into the lead in many campaigns.
BULL CRAP!
Or Allen West, USArmy ret and an on-fire patriot. Florida, Vote West!
A great read!
Thank you!
I read that as an impressionable youth in an old book at my grandmother’s house in the 70s. I had to be under 10 at the time.
It stuck with my ever since, and I think it gave me a base for my patriotism.
If Zernike thinks the Tea Party wave is due to punk libertarians, well all I can tell Zernike is that we need more punk libertarians.
An open admission would have to acknowledge that Congress now represents our creditors interests-as opposed to those of We the People.
As our creditors expect payment for what was lent Congress...Congress’ principle job now is to complete our enslavement.
Don't look for 60 minutes to be doing any “investigative” reporting. Most Congressscritters would wind up on trial for treason for betraying us....or at least failing to legislatively ensure that what was lent could be paid back.
I think dead ingrates would be more like it.
Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli, Rick Santelli,
On a lighter note here’s a liberal goon beating up a Tea Party member:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFeUhSlHiUQ
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