Jim, this is all well and good, but using the Tea Party as the mechanism is a losing proposition. Tea Party is now a “prisoner” of the left, captured and presented publicly as “anti-American” for all that term has been defined.
I heard Jim Luntz talk the other day that conservatives need to change the tone and the content of the discourse and actually have a discourse. I’ve been thinking about how that might apply in our political discussions, because I think we mean well but are lousy at explaining our positions in a non-threatening and even positive manner.
So taking that to specifics, here are some examples:
How about we talk not about capitalism, but about economic freedom.
Not about lower taxes, but about protecting family finances.
Not about huge entitlements, but about holes in our mutual safety net.
Not about coveting minorities use of expensive social programs, but about buidling sustainable protections for minority families in the areas of training, jobs, and health care.
Those are just a few possible examples.
I agree with your sentiments, but after three decades we can’t get the media and our opponents to say “pro-life.” They still say “anti-choice” or “anti-abortion.” We can’t use the term “states’ rights issues” because that has been defined to be a “code word for racism.”
The people who control our culture and media are controlling our language. They will corrupt any term we use.
That’s no excuse for not trying, but it gives me little hope of successfully changing the language of the discussion.