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The Tea Party Is.....

What is the Tea Party to America?

  • Total voters
    69
megaprogman said:
I think this is a good assessment and accounts for a lot of the differences that many people see in tea parties. Many people here will bring in their individual experiences and hold that as a better information source than the marketing or what others tell them. I know it is certainly true for me. The tea party in my area is basically a southern holiness church revival (with all of the same political talk that goes on in those types of churches) more than anything else, for example. However, that mixed message, is at the same time relevant and irrelevant, depending on what aspect of this movement we focus on in whatever discussion.
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Yes. I wouldn't contend that individual local tea parties may have some that are as focus on religious conservatism as the other portions. When you get down to that level the chance for disparity and changes are possible. However, I don't think you can talk about individual local tea parties and suggest that it somehow is relevant greatly on the national scale...let alone to the point of claiming its a "religious organization". I think what the national over arching group is about AND the things that are nearly universally common amongst the local groups is far more relevant and the far better representation of what "The tea party" is when speaking of a broad description. I don't see how heavily discussing social conservatism because some of the local groups may be more apt for it is any more relevant than talking about libertarinism because some of the local groups may do that or talking about some whacky view that some random local DNC office holds when discussing the Democratic Party on a national level.
 
VanceMack said:
So the Tea Party members DIDNT stand opposed to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008? They werent regularly voicing opposition to GWB and his announced intent to sign the bill? Yeah.....history isnt what you WANT it to be, baby.
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Members, yes -- but they were not in the Tea Party as there was no Tea Party at that time.

History of the Tea Party Movement

Since its inception in February 2009, the Tea Party movement—with the help of viral videos and social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter—almost instantly found a large and loyal following that has gained traction and supporters.
 
CriticalThought said:
:roll: This is ridiculous.

Tea Party Closely Linked to Religious Right, Poll Finds - The Note

Christian conservatives make up only 22% of America but comprise half of the tea party movement. As a group the tea party is just as much a religious movement as it is an economic one.
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It's like what Tocqueville and other political scientists have said about political organizations. They are focused on one issue to maintain popular membership, but are not entirely willing to move into other subjects for fear of alienating others and losing much needed political influence. There can be a disproportionate amount of people with other sympathies, but the focus is on a particular issue. What I say is not ridiculous, just more subtle.
 
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What if...? said:
Actually, not to jape (as I am prone to do) the fact that the Tea Party has failed to attract many minority members does matter to some extent.

Why does its message fail to resonate with minority citizens?

Is it the result of a failure of conservative messaging or a success of liberal messaging or something else entirely?
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The tea party's message doesn't attract people who believe in big government,more spending and higher taxes no matter what skin color they are.
 
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ReverendHellh0und said:
Here are the black Tea Party members the media can’t seem to find | The Silent Majority

Black Republicans offer hope after Barack Obama's failures on race - Telegraph



And pointing out you called us a racist movement is not attacking you.
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Wow Rev! A big 'ol thank you for that first video.
One of the best I've seen.
I'll add this. How did Alan West manage to get elected if the Tea Party is racist?
They also would love for him to run in 2012.
And more proof that the TP doesn't care about the color of skin.

Herman Cain is my pick in 2012 and if the Tea Party is so racist, how is he doing so well in straw polls?Herman Cain presidential campaign, 2012 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cain won the poll with 22%. Runners up were Tim Pawlenty (16%), Ron Paul (15%) and Sarah Palin (10%). Ron Paul won the Summit's online poll.
Pawlenty Wins PLC Straw Poll; Santorum Finishes 9th | PoliticsPA
Pa straw poll
Pawlenty 1st
Cain 2nd
Bachmann 3rd

It's time the left gave up their obsession with race as far as the tea party goes. They are starting to look like idiots and they aren't fooling the American people any longer with the race baiting.
 
digsbe said:
Is that a problem? Does this make Republicans or Conservatives racist? Can you look past the fact that 90% of African Americans are Democrats and that maybe with the 10% who isn't only very few would run for public office as Republicans?
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While it's true that far more run as Democrats than Republicans, when they do run as Republicans, they almost never get elected. Of the nearly 26,000 Congressional seats up for election since 1900, there have been only 6 blacks elected as Republicans. Up until our most recent election, that number was only 4 blacks elected as Republicans since 1900. Allen West, one of only 2 black Republican Congressmen, lost in 2008.

Of the 42 blacks in Congress now, 40 are Democrat and 2 are Republican. Even using your measuring stick of 90% of blacks are Democrat, less than 5% are Republican. And even that is only since this past election. Going into that election, there were no black Republicans in Congress at all. None. 0%.

Blacks don't get elected as Republicans. They haven't for well over 100 years now.
 
liblady said:
farmers you mean? lol!
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Farmers, yeah. There are people that live outside the cities that aren't farmers though. In fact, about half the population of the US is like that.
 
Hicup said:
Two of the best political posts (In a row even) that I have seen on these forums for a while now!


Tim-
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Yeah, thoughtful commentary that doesn't just set off my bs alarms. I like (even if I'm not sure I agree):2wave:
 
CriticalThought said:
I don't know what grasp of history you have, but the Tea Party didn't form until after Obama was elected and primarily as a response to his health care reform. I don't know why you guys keep trying to rewrite history and pretend that it began before Obama was elected.
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That's not even close to true. Perhaps you could say that they didn't formalize until after he was elected, but they aren't really a formal, centralized organization now. I think it's your grasp of history that's a little muddy.
 
Mellie said:
And......why does it matter how many blacks or whites or hispanics are voted into office? What should matter is their character, their policies and their plans for our country. You'd think, anyway. :sigh:
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Suuure .... it's just coincidence that of the nearly 26,000 election races going back to 1900, only 5 black Republicans had more character and better policies than their white opponents. :roll:
 
Sheik Yerbuti said:
Suuure .... it's just coincidence that of the nearly 26,000 election races going back to 1900, only 5 black Republicans had more character and better policies than their white opponents. :roll:
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What districts were they in? Their political persuasion? I don't doubt race has at least something to due with it going that far back, however, these seemed to be additional criteria not mentioned, or at least that I thought were not mentioned.
 
CriticalThought said:
I asked, and I repeat, "why is the tea party composed mostly of white people?"

That is the question that you and mellie refuse to answer.
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I think they both did, but I will too. Because by and large, white people are more fiscally conservative (in the US) then minorities as a result of entitlement programs. Entitlement programs that Tea Partiers want eliminated.
 
Sheik Yerbuti said:
While it's true that far more run as Democrats than Republicans, when they do run as Republicans, they almost never get elected. Of the nearly 26,000 Congressional seats up for election since 1900, there have been only 6 blacks elected as Republicans. Up until our most recent election, that number was only 4 blacks elected as Republicans since 1900. Allen West, one of only 2 black Republican Congressmen, lost in 2008.

Of the 42 blacks in Congress now, 40 are Democrat and 2 are Republican. Even using your measuring stick of 90% of blacks are Democrat, less than 5% are Republican. And even that is only since this past election. Going into that election, there were no black Republicans in Congress at all. None. 0%.

Blacks don't get elected as Republicans. They haven't for well over 100 years now.
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42 blacks in Congress? How racist of the Democrat party to only have 40. You see 12.85% of America is black. There are 100 senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. That's 535 members of Congress total. To have it proportional to the black population, there should be roughly 68 black members of Congress. 90% of blacks are Democrat, yet the Democrat party only has only 40 black members in Congress. How racist! Why don't they have 68 members or more?

Black republicans lose? Does this prove racism? Maybe the Democrats are racist for not voting for a black candidate. Is it because Republicans vote for the white Democrat over the black Republican? Let's do some more math, if only 5% of blacks are Republicans, and only 2 members of Congress are black among the 42, then blacks would be equally Represented in Congress along with the black Democrats when compared to the total number of blacks in Congress and calculating using their respective percentages of 90% Democrat and 5% Republican. 5% of 42 is 2.1. There are 2 black Republicans.

To conclude, Democrats must be racist because only 40 of their Congressman are black. When compared to the US black population it should be around 68 if they want to keep things proportional. Consequently, if 42 black Congressmen is a fair number, and 2 of them are Republicans, then this would be fair as 5% of blacks are Republicans and the 2 black Republicans represent 5% of the total amount of blacks in Congress.
 
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Hicup said:
So...

Dissatisfied white people equal Tea Party
Dissatisfied blacks equal Democratic Party

Seems we're all dissatisfied here? :)


Tim-
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Yeah, I think that's the gist.

I often come off as liberal because of my positions, but I came to many of them from a libertarian perspective.

I'm almost perfectly socially liberal because if I tell no one how to live their lives no one gets to tell me how to live mine, etc.

I'm actually encouraged by the degree of actual discussion going on here lately, even with all the usual PR chaff thrown up to prevent it.

When it comes right down to it, people are much more alike than they are different.

Its politics and PR that hyper-emphasize what differences there are. To keep us in the little mental boxes they like to keep us in.
 
digsbe said:
42 blacks in Congress? How racist of the Democrat party to only have 40. You see 12.85% of America is black. There are 100 senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. That's 535 members of Congress total. To have it proportional to the black population, there should be roughly 68 black members of Congress. 90% of blacks are Democrat, yet the Democrat party only has only 40 black members in Congress. How racist! Why don't they have 68 members or more?

Black republicans lose? Does this prove racism? Maybe the Democrats are racist for not voting for a black candidate. Is it because Republicans vote for the white Democrat over the black Republican? Let's do some more math, if only 5% of blacks are Republicans, and only 2 members of Congress are black among the 42, then blacks would be equally Represented in Congress along with the black Democrats when compared to the total number of blacks in Congress and calculating using their respective percentages of 90% Democrat and 5% Republican. 5% of 42 is 2.1. There are 2 black Republicans.

To conclude, Democrats must be racist because only 40 of their Congressman are black when compared to the US black population it should be around 68 if they want to keep things proportional. Consequently, if 42 black Congressmen is a fair number, and 2 of them are Republicans, then this would be fair as 5% of blacks are Republicans and the 2 black Republicans represent 5% of the total amount of blacks in Congress.
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Not to mention creating programs designed to keep us dependant on.... and voting for.....them.
 
Sheik Yerbuti said:
While it's true that far more run as Democrats than Republicans, when they do run as Republicans, they almost never get elected. Of the nearly 26,000 Congressional seats up for election since 1900, there have been only 6 blacks elected as Republicans. Up until our most recent election, that number was only 4 blacks elected as Republicans since 1900. Allen West, one of only 2 black Republican Congressmen, lost in 2008.

Of the 42 blacks in Congress now, 40 are Democrat and 2 are Republican. Even using your measuring stick of 90% of blacks are Democrat, less than 5% are Republican. And even that is only since this past election. Going into that election, there were no black Republicans in Congress at all. None. 0%.

Blacks don't get elected as Republicans. They haven't for well over 100 years now.
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How many ran for republican seats and didn't get elected?
 
ReverendHellh0und said:
yeah but it's better than dressing up in all red like a unionist clown. :shrug:
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You'd think they'd stop making fun of the tea party and how they dress in tri-cornered hats or red, white and blue after this.:lamo :lamo

My gawd, talk about embarassing.:3oops:
They need to come out and denounce the brain eating Zombies in their ranks.

 
VanceMack said:
So its fair to say that all liberals are racist because their are racists amongst their numbers? Beautiful logic process that!

The Tea Party FORMED to fight excessive government spending. the Tea Party formed to stand AGAINST a REPUBLICAN president. You may not like it (yeah...thats what we call an 'understatement') but their primary goal is to oppose out of control federal spending.
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What you just did was completely and totally commit intellectual fraud of the worst sort in the interest of ideology.

I stated clearly that

Yes, there are some in the tea party faction who are concerned mainly with fiscal responsibility - or at least their particular spin on what constitutes that concept.

And yes, there are others who are using that facade to attempt to promote a far rightist agenda that has failed to get off the ground over the last fifty years.

The existence of one group does not deny the existence of the other group. They both seem fairly comfortable with each other.
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You - very dishonestly
- twisted to infer I was saying that they are one and the same.

Your line about being formed against a Republican president is a perfect example of there being a small amount of partial truth to the statement. Historically, you can indeed demonstrate where some rabid Ron Paulites were against Bush. But the tea party faction as we know it did the vast vast majority of its organizing, its growth and its actual activity when Obama took office. That also is fact. So do you judge the movement by its early infancy - or by the adult it became?

What you have done hers is try to put lipstick on the pig to make it the most attractive pin-up picture of a pig ever seen. In the end, its still a pig.
 
ReverendHellh0und said:
You insist on lying and incorrectly callin me an extreme right winger. So why the hell not.:shrug:


Btw. Got a brand new contract, worth a hell of a lot of money... Best part I replace 30 union guys with my shop. Great day. :mrgreen:
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I would not believe any of your self serving boasts any more than I can respect the utter vile vitriol you spew in thread after thread here.

Do you really think its only me calling you a right winger? You have created an image that you have carefully crafted. You are what you want to be and you know it. We know it. You go out of your way to project a very narrow and specific image of the radical conservative who is in love with tea party principles and hates anything left of that. yes, that qualifies as a right winger.We have been through this before. Why do you think people here feel you are a right winger? Answer that and you may discover some truth about yourself. You could even call it AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. That irony would probably be lost on you.
 
Barbbtx said:
You'd think they'd stop making fun of the tea party and how they dress in tri-cornered hats or red, white and blue after this.:lamo :lamo

My gawd, talk about embarassing.:3oops:
They need to come out and denounce the brain eating Zombies in their ranks.

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That's funny. I didn't see anyone in this video that wasn't white, by the way. Zombies are apparently exclusionary racists.
 
digsbe said:
42 blacks in Congress? How racist of the Democrat party to only have 40. You see 12.85% of America is black. There are 100 senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. That's 535 members of Congress total. To have it proportional to the black population, there should be roughly 68 black members of Congress. 90% of blacks are Democrat, yet the Democrat party only has only 40 black members in Congress. How racist! Why don't they have 68 members or more?

Black republicans lose? Does this prove racism? Maybe the Democrats are racist for not voting for a black candidate. Is it because Republicans vote for the white Democrat over the black Republican? Let's do some more math, if only 5% of blacks are Republicans, and only 2 members of Congress are black among the 42, then blacks would be equally Represented in Congress along with the black Democrats when compared to the total number of blacks in Congress and calculating using their respective percentages of 90% Democrat and 5% Republican. 5% of 42 is 2.1. There are 2 black Republicans.

To conclude, Democrats must be racist because only 40 of their Congressman are black. When compared to the US black population it should be around 68 if they want to keep things proportional. Consequently, if 42 black Congressmen is a fair number, and 2 of them are Republicans, then this would be fair as 5% of blacks are Republicans and the 2 black Republicans represent 5% of the total amount of blacks in Congress.
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Even if we were to entertain your logic, using your numbers -- of the 68 blacks who proportionally should be in Congress, 7 should be Republican (10%) and 61 should be Democrat (90%); all things being proportional. Republicans, with just 2 in Congress, represent just 29% of their burder while Democrats with 40, represent 66% of theirs. And again, that is only thanks to this past election where 2 blacks managed to get elected as Republicans. Prior to the 2008 election, the Republican share was zero percent. So no, Republicans are still more racist. Perhaps that's why blacks gravitate to the Democrat party.
 
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