Love the description...

...of Liz Warren as the leader of the potty-trained version of the Occupy movement. Excerpt:

The Tea Party came into being as a reaction to Republican complicity in bailouts of all sorts: of Wall Street firms, and of irresponsible mortgage borrowers. Occupy, and the potty-trained version of that movement led by Elizabeth Warren, demands more bailouts: of people who borrowed money for college or to buy a home, of fashionable corporations that do not want to pay market rates for financing, etc. Senator Warren is an energetic proponent of corporate welfare for Boeing, General Electric Bechtel, Caterpillar, and other such poor, defenseless little mom-and-pop operations.

If you are looking for actual rather than theoretical opposition to bailouts and corporate welfare, then your choices include Senator Rand Paul and Senator Ted Cruz, but practically nobody who might be called a progressive.

Of course the far left do nothing but posture every time a budget like this gets passed, and the idea that there is some type of opposition coalition forming between activists on opposite sides is ludicrous. I have pretty much turned into someone who is not particularly fond of the Tea Party movement, mainly because they seem to get in the way of the kind of consensus in the GOP that is required to move the right agenda forward. It doesn't help that I get some very pushy fundraising calls and emails from different Tea Party groups, nor that I know more than most conservatives would like to know about the Patriots/Express lawsuit.

Speaking of Libertarians

Since we are on the topic of libertarians (small 'l', if you please) I should point out an excellent piece on American Thinker by Doug Thorburn about why libertarians should vote for Republicans. Thorburn presents the case well, first highlighting the difficulties he has had with Republicans over the years, but then getting practical and results-oriented about it in the two concluding paragraphs:

Voting for Libertarian Party candidates today serves only to divide the vote between those who would slow (Republicans) or reverse (libertarians) the trend towards increasing statism. Splitting the vote allows those who would accelerate that trend to win by default. We need to support -- dare I say it? -- the lesser of the evils. While most votes require me to hold my nose, I get lucky now and then and truly support a candidate. I would love the opportunity to vote for a Rand Paul, a Ted Cruz, a Marco Rubio -- and suspect I will soon have such an opportunity. But we need to ensure Republicans -- even those we would never vote for in a sane world – win the Senate so that we can hold the line in the interim. We can’t afford to give another seat on the Supreme Court to a pseudo-liberal. The reign of Harry Reid, one of the most despicable statists ever to hold elected office, must end.

My pocketbook is walking the walk today. I am supporting, via monetary donations, libertarian-leaning Republicans and even non-libertarian Republicans in close races against statists/Democrats. This includes those running for Senate in Colorado, Alaska, Iowa, North Carolina and New Hampshire and, for governor, in Wisconsin. (I sent a bit to Mia Love in Utah even though she’s winning handily in her congressional race, only because she should be the face of the Republican Party.) I’m considering sending financial support to Republican senators running in Louisiana and Georgia, but waiting until the expected runoffs. I implore other libertarians to vote for and monetarily support Republicans. If there is any chance to salvage some semblance of constitutional limited government, it must be tried. After 40+ years, it’s obvious the Libertarian Party, while serving as an educational platform, cannot win a major political office. The Republican Party is, faults and all, our only hope.

I wouldn't say the "lesser of the evils", but I know that's a coined phrase. I prefer to say "the better of the imperfect candidates" if I'm talking about, for example, voting for John Kasich rather than Ed FitzGerald. I mean, come on, FitzGerald isn't evil, just horribly misguided in his ideology and displaying awful judgment in his personal life. And I'd say the same about Obama and Sherrod Brown, for that matter.

Politics really is the art of the possible, Moreover primary season is the time to knock out GOP "company men" if you think they need to step aside for more dedicated conservatives or libertarians. No one would have thought to themselves a few years ago "Hey, I'll bet a libertarian-leaning no-name candidate could knock out Eric Cantor in a primary." But that's what happened. Hopefully small-l-libertarian Dave Brat will win the general, but there is a Libertarian Party candidate on the ballot, also. (Big 'L' -- for loser.) Hopefully people voting in that race will take Thorburn's advice and vote for someone with a chance to win.

The Tea-hadist

72 virgins for the Tea Party:

It's like some evil genius convinced the Congressional Republicans that they would get 72 virgins if they blew up their own party.
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) October 11, 2013

Thomas Jefferson is weeping, and not just for the cheapass theft of copy.

Sign the petition to Defund Obamacare

Feb 23 (.223) is the Day of Resistance

Here's the main page where you can sign up for updates.

Here's their volunteer page on Facebook.

True dat, Schmuley

Rabbi Schmuley Boteach has said some things with which I don't agree, but when he's on he's on, and he does a great job here in defending the Tea Party. Excerpt:

The very premise of dignity is something acquired through personal effort. Dignity is the human aura that comes through self-reliance. Its underlying premise is independence. A dependent life is a fundamentally undignified life. Self-respect is earned through the sweat of one's brow. An heir to a great fortune may travel the high seas in a hundred-foot yacht and soar through the air in a Gulfstream V. But he will remain fundamentally bereft of dignity so long as he is living on someone else's dime.

The effort to recapture the dignity that springs from self-reliance is what the tea party, at its core, should be all about.

Get your hands off it

Whoa.

What bothers the elite so much about the Tea Party is that it is full of people who believe in the greatness of the nation and, from outside eyes, appear to be unapologetically nationalistic, a sin they had long since denounced. They are embarrassed of their kin. They view American nationalism as a sort of mental retardation, because the Euro-bigots have convinced them of it. Had they the backbone and clarity to argue the merits of Americanism, they would not have severed their manly parts in an effort to fit in.

Where these Americans view themselves as more enlightened than the middle-class working Joe, they invite into the void of estranged nationalism a sort of self-annihilation, a desire to squash Americanism into quasi-European world membership. They view patriotism as a disease and worldliness as a badge. They, who have been across the oceans and mixed with the peoples of other nations, return to America with a desire to remake themselves by remaking the nation. What's worse, they generally have the money and power to make the attempt.

Damn straight.

Beginning to See the Light

Here's the cherry on top, man. My week is already made. The famous VU drummer, Maureen "Moe" Tucker, at a Tea Party rally. Red State has the scoop with this video:

Moe comes on around 2:38 in the video. Reason reported on this also. Moe has always been her own person. John Cale talked about how back in the band days she would bring a dress when they toured to wear to Mass on Sunday. He said she drank with the band but didn't do all the drugs they were into.

David Warren: "Insofar as we are adults, we have never required comprehensive daycare"

Now here's a Tea Party-friendly man north of the border with a great prescription, eh. Excerpt:

The closest thing I can see to hope is currently invested in the tea party movement of the U.S. Notwithstanding the slanders heaped upon it, this movement is good-willed, riot-free, indeed situationally non-urban, and under the leadership of basically sane people. Of course, there is no guarantee that any movement devoted to genuine political change can remain so, under the inevitable provocations.

But something must be done, and here is the closest thing, anywhere in the West, to a political movement committed to the only measure that can possibly save us from riding over that cliff. Merely slowing down won't do it.

That measure is, quite frankly, the complete dismantlement of the Nanny State, and the restoration of the status quo ante -- governments focused on the provision of national defence, and domestically on the machinery of law and order. Full stop.

NAACP: Civil Rights Abuser

Dennis Prager delivers devastating clarity on the continued race card playing by the left, especially the NAACP. Here's a taste:

One year and eight months after the president's election, one can say with certitude that the election of a black has done nothing to change the dominant story (because the Left dominates our stories) about American racism. It is as central to the liberal/Left depiction of America now as it has been since the civil rights era.

But there is one very big difference. The vast majority of non-blacks no longer cower before the charge of racism. You can see it in the anger and ferocity of various tea parties' responses to the false accusation of the NAACP. Before the election of Obama, an NAACP attack on one's anti-racist credentials might have been debilitating. No more.

It seems quite possible that the NAACP has now lost whatever moral clout it had among Americans. It is now seen by more and more Americans as what in fact it became some time ago―an abuser of its civil rights moral cachet.

Please read the entire article to experience the full effect of a well-reasoned Prager argument. Every paragraph of it is powerful, backed by evidence and common sense, and contributes to the conclusion:

Therefore, if the NAACP's preoccupation with white racism reflects the thinking of most or even many blacks, it means that there is nothing white America can do to undo the ongoing perception of endemic racism in this country―a perception that is now considerably more destructive to blacks than to American society as a whole.

More Apocalyptic Standup from The Master

I was just remarking to a good friend that I tend to only read articles if I expect they will be funny, either intentionally or unwittingly. So naturally my brain's diet includes a hearty dose of Mark Steyn, like his most recent piece on those scary Tea Party folks. Excerpt:

Will it work? For a long time, tea partiers were racists. Everybody knows that when you say “I’m becoming very concerned about unsustainable levels of federal spending,” that’s old Jim Crow code for “Let’s get up a lynching party and teach that uppity Negro a lesson.” Frank Rich of the New York Times attempted to diversify the tea-party racism into homophobia by arguing that Obamacare’s opponents were uncomfortable with Barney Frank’s sexuality. I yield to no one in my discomfort with Barney Frank’s sexuality, but, with the best will in the world, I find it hard to blame it for more than the first 4 or 5 trillion dollars of federal overspending. Eschewing such cheap slurs, Time’s Joe Klein said opposition to Obama was “seditious,” because nothing says sedition like citing the U.S. Constitution and quoting Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately for Klein, thanks to “educator” William Ayers’s education reforms, nobody knows what “seditious” means anymore.

But then it gets even better.

Meanwhile, Comedy Central — you know, the “hip,” “edgy” network with Jon Stewart, from whom “young” Americans under 53 supposedly get most of their news — just caved in to death threats. From a hateful 83-year-old widow who doesn’t like Obamacare? Why, no! It was a chap called Abu Talhah al Amrikee, who put up a video on the Internet explaining why a South Park episode with a rather tame Mohammed joke was likely to lead to the deaths of the show’s creators. Just to underline the point, he showed some pictures of Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film director brutally murdered by (oh, my, talk about unfortunate coincidences) a fellow called Mohammed. Mr. al Amrikee helpfully explained that his video incitement of the murder of Matt Stone and Trey Parker wasn’t really “a threat but just the likely outcome.” All he was doing, he added, was “raising awareness” — you know, like folks do on Earth Day. On Earth Day, lame politicians dig a hole and stick a tree in it. But aggrieved Muslims dig a hole and stick a couple of comedy writers in it. Celebrate diversity!

Of course the conclusion is more serious than funny, viz., the media pretends Tea Partiers are a threat and won't say a thing bad about Muslims, of whom they are rightly scared to death.

Hugh Hewitt on the Inadvertant Colbertiness of the MSM

Great piece. Hewitt--who is about as center-right as they come--has been an ardent supporter of the Tea Party Patriots, and that fact should put the lie to the smear that the Tea Partiers are a frothing mob of inbred Birchers. I loved the line "They are all Dan Rathers now, except that Dan Rather may, just possibly, get it."

The attention being paid to the cranks and the nuts serves a political purpose of the mere far left, however, so it will continue. This is part of the effort to delegitimize and marginalize the exploding anti-growth-of-government movement. This deeply-felt concern over the viral expansion of the public sector is what has driven the Tea Party Movement, and it is also what will power the pummeling Democrats will receive at the polls in the fall.

In the blink of an eye, just as the federal government was swallowing whole the American health care system, it burped and then tossed down the student loan business. This follows the digestion of most of the American car business and the $800 billion "stimulus" that wasn't. Jabba-the-Fed is feeding.

Americans are stunned by the rapacity of the Democrats. The vast, vast majority of the objectors are mainstream and often previously apolitical Americans. Many are long time conservative activists. A handful of nuts have infiltrated their numbers, and the usual media suspects choose to focus on the crazies and not the millions. Many of these MSMers fretting over the rise of the fanatics use the term "Tea Baggers," which is itself an assault on civil discourse. Or they sneer at rallies which require actual commitment of time and resources, or at hand-made signs that suggest a familiarity with the Federalist Papers. They find red-white-and-blue clothing amusing. Then they turn to cluck at how standards of debate have declined in the House. Very amusing.

And just fine. This is the age in which extraordinary levels of media sophistication on the part of media consumers have stripped the MSM of influence. Old media trees are falling in old media forests, and no one hears a sound. The highly paid anchors are being mocked by those viewers who even bother to tune in. The big names seem wholly unaware of the joke. They are all Dan Rathers now, except that Dan Rather may, just possibly, get it.

For the record

I've been noticing a meme in the some conservative blogs/vlogs (RedState, PJTV, etc.) which seeks to establish an either-or dilemma for Senator-elect Brown's victory, i.e., they're pitting the GOP against the Tea Party movement. I have no desire to engage in armchair quarterbacking after such a stunning victory, nor do I wish to beat the dead horse of the GOP's faults or the dead pony of the Tea Party movement's blind spots. I merely want to point out that on the same day I heard about Scott Brown's rising poll numbers on the Michael Medved show I received a call from the National Republican Senatorial Committee asking for money for Brown. After verifying with them that every penny I contributed would be used to help him pull off a victory, I gave them my Visa card number. The idea that if Republican party officials don't show up with bullhorns then they shouldn't receive any credit is absurd, especially in a state like Massachusetts where independents and Democrats (22%) helped him to carry the day.

So we should give credit where credit is due. Yes, it's true that grassroots mobilizing was more on display in the race, especially in regards to the contrasting of homemade Brown signs and pickup trucks with Coakley's last-minute fundraiser in the Sonoma Wine Bar. But to the eager beavers who recently discovered politics, you might be surprised at the wealth of strategic information which can be provided by a large political organization like the GOP. Any candidate would be a fool not to take advantage of this affiliation and rely on their "ground game" alone. It's a both-and strategic alliance which hopefully will continue throughout the year and provide more victories in November.

Loser Lowlight from Coakley's Epic Fail of a Campaign

First, congrats to Scott Brown for pwning Coakley.

Now: here's what might constitute one of the lowest moments in the last several days for Martha Coakley. I heard it on Medved's show first; he put it to a hip-hop beat complete with a police whistle--hilarious.

"Remember the dream and act on it!" Zzzzzzz.... This reminds me of the sort of meaningless pap delivered with a vacant, passionless anger and belabored over-pronunciation (we speak English, OK?) that I've heard served up by sixty-something plainclothes nuns who are usually dressed in garb similar to Coakley's and are given a big moment to say something at Mass, sometimes in lieu of a proper homily delivered by the celebrant.

Great line at the end: "I know that all of you who are gathered here today to celebrate Martin Luther King also have made that commitment and understand how important it is that tomorrow we act on the dream and we make sure that we allow me to continue that work.... BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABOUT ME ANYMORE AND IT NEVER WAS...." Oh, is that too funny? Well, she's right. It's not about her anymore, lol.

Chris Johnson: Male Kathleen Parker collapses on his fainting couch

Hey, don't mock the furniture, Mr. Midwest Conservative. That fainting couch was handmade and has been sitting in the family bungalow for years!

Too good...

Why do I think the millions who marched on Saturday are on to something important? When the male Kathleen Parker collapses on his fainting couch.

I wonder if Chris Johnson will be called un-Christian for this "vicious assault" on a fellow Christian? Not that I want him to receive the treatment with which I was graced... just wondering.

Funny how Rod hedges his bets by adding an update where he links to Matt Welch's common assessment that, hey, these people aren't that bad in the main... a few expected kooks... etc, etc. And Welch flatly condemns "geek" and "nut" standard caricatures of the Tea Party protestors by the news outlets, something we don't expect Rod to ever do.

H/T Dianonymous.

Byron York on the 9/12 Protest

It's good. Liked this paragraph:

Some people were animated by a single issue -- health care, taxes, the Second Amendment. But in dozens of interviews with marchers, the picture that emerged was of people who believe things are racing out of control along a whole range of fronts in Washington, and that no one is representing their interests. Obama and the Democrats in Congress, they believe, are simply pushing too hard on too many things. It's unlikely that there would have been a rally this size just about the stimulus, or just about cap-and-trade, or just about the takeovers of the auto companies, or even health care. But put them all together, and there is an enormous and growing fear that Obama and his allies are rushing to wreck the system.

I think it is sort of the beginning of a new coalition, and I'm glad to see that some big GOP dudes, like Jim DeMint, are taking note here. I'm like Dr. Dunch in York's story; albeit I've always been interested in politics, going to Canton for the Tea Party Express stop was my first time at an event like that. It's not really my favorite type of event, but like Senator DeMint, the absence on greasy, unbathed weirdos and the presence of regular Americans is the first thing I noticed.

York notes that some of these folks supported and voted for Obama because they didn't realize how far left he would end up trying to push the country.

Their attitudes toward Obama himself are complicated. No one I met expressed hatred for the President. A few had voted for him, and others, like Christy Smith, said they were deeply moved when he was elected. Many others opposed him all along. But now, the predominant mood is deep distrust. They believe Obama will raise their taxes, that he will blow up the health care system, that he will weaken America's defenses.

Since I mentioned the Canton, OH Tea Party, here are a few signs I photographed at the event.


Obamacare = Sub-prime Health Care


Obamacare is the Clunker!


The Constitution: The other document they didn't read.


2012?

Estimated 2,000,000 at Washington DC Tea Party

Two-minute montage.

Aerial time lapse photos, pretty cool.

It's a go for the Tea Party Express in Canton, OH

WRT aforementioned Tea Party, I'm definitely planning on being there. I will be wearing my newly-acquired Dissent is Patriotic T-Shirt, of course.


Here is the link on Facebook and here is the official site link. This is the first time I'll have attended anything quite like this, so I will attempt to get lots of footage from it and even blog on-site it if that's possible.

Tea Party in Canton, OH on September 9, 2009

Here's a link for the details. I'm going to try to be there.