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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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 Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:40 am Post subject: No Need To Say Grace Before The Tea Party |
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As I suspected, the Tea Party types are the start of a divorce between fiscal, social and neo conservatives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/us/politics/13tea.html?scp=1&sq=ryan%20hecker&st=cse
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For decades, faith and family have been at the center of the conservative movement. But as the Tea Party infuses conservatism with new energy, its leaders deliberately avoid discussion of issues like gay marriage or abortion. God, life and family get little if any mention in statements or manifestos. The motto of the Tea Party Patriots, a large coalition of groups, is �fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets.� The Independence Caucus questionnaire, which many Tea Party groups use to evaluate candidates, poses 80 questions, most on the proper role of government, tax policy and the federal budgeting process, and virtually none on social issues.
The Contract From America, which is being created Wiki-style by Internet contributors as a manifesto of what �the people� want government to do, also mentions little in the way of social issues, beyond a declaration that parents should be given choice in how to educate their children. By contrast, the document it aims to improve upon � the Contract With America, which Republicans used to market their successful campaign to win a majority in Congress in 1994 � was prefaced with the promise that the party would lead a Congress that �respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.�
Tea Party leaders argue that the country can ill afford the discussion about social issues when it is passing on enormous debts to future generations. But the focus is also strategic: leaders think they can attract independent voters if they stay away from divisive issues.
�We should be creating the biggest tent possible around the economic conservative issue,� said Ryan Hecker, the organizer behind the Contract From America. �I think social issues may matter to particular individuals, but at the end of the day, the movement should be agnostic about it. This is a movement that rose largely because of the Republican Party failing to deliver on being representative of the economic conservative ideology. To include social issues would be beside the point.� |
The more I read about the Tea Party the more I like it.
Of course, the establishment is trying to marginalize them using dead tactics:
http://wcvarones.blogspot.com/2010/03/is-npr-hate-group.html |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:56 am Post subject: |
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Interesting observations from the NYT.
Mind you, it could be argued that Obama is doing the Tea Baggers something of a favor in this regard by holding back on issues like gays-in-the-military etc. If he were to start addressing those more pro-actively, it would also put them more front-and-center in Republican rhetoric, and the Tea Baggers might catch a bit of the flu, via those sections of the movement that are more loyal to the GOP.
Of course, Obama probably thinks he's doing HIMSELF a favor by avoiding those issues as well. It's an open question whether the Dems or the GOP would sustain the most damage from a revivial of the "SoCon vs. liberal" argument. |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:30 am Post subject: |
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| I've been reading about them quite a bit lately. I don't see social conservatism as a dominate theme at all. They don't seem to care about gays in the military. They are extremely anti-amnesty, though. They will lean so-con, but their priority will be fiscal sanity. The so-cons and neo-cons have many issues that are more important than fiscal sanity (as we've seen with Bush and Bush). |
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catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:24 pm Post subject: |
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Unless Sarah Palin becomes its defacto leader.
Time will tell but I think it may end up being just an extension of the GOP.
pro-Israel, pro-war with Iran etc........ |
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.38 Special
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:27 pm Post subject: |
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| catman wrote: |
Unless Sarah Palin becomes its defacto leader.
Time will tell but I think it may end up being just an extension of the GOP.
pro-Israel, pro-war with Iran etc........ |
It is my experience that Palin is popular with older folks and die-hard Republican politiphiles.
Here is an example:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/20/ron-paul-wins-presidential-straw-poll-cpac/
It's one thing for Palin among gray-bearded Republicrats. It's a whole 'nother ballgame with conservatives at large. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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| stay away from divisive issues |
If a party comes out with a platform declaring that puppies are cuddly and sunny days in flower-filled parks are pleasant, it could gain a lot of agreement. However, can a party be a governing party if it stays away from divisive issues? Will social conservatives still come out to vote if their views are not represented by the candidates?
One of the most interesting political developments over the next 9 months will be whether the Tea Party gets absorbed by the GOP or whether it becomes an actual party--and therefore a rival to the GOP. |
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