Over the past few weeks I admit I have reached a certain level of “Tea Party” fatigue. Newspapers, television, magazines, and the Internet seem to be fascinated with the actions of the Tea Party faithful. But as I watch the rallies and protests, I can’t help but wonder what the future holds for this movement. What lessons can we learn about grassroots political movements from watching the Tea Party? And what lessons should the Tea Party leaders learn, quickly, if they want their movement to be more than the answer to a Trivia question about the early years of the Obama presidency?
The Tea Party’s level of political influence is open for debate, but for the moment I’m going to give the Tea Party the benefit of the doubt. I will take the members at their word that they are part of a massive grassroots movement. I will accept their claim that the vast majority of Tea Partiers are not racists, and are not advocating violent overthrow of the government.
If these are indeed the facts, then the Tea Party has another issue to deal with:
How do they continue to grow in numbers and in political influence without allowing themselves to be defined by the images of hatred, racism, and intolerance that have been evident at many rallies?
In effort to help, I am offering this list if unsolicited advice: The Top 10 Tea Party Steps to Credibility. Each and every one of these steps should be considered vital to the foundation of ANY American political movement.
Please read and discuss:
1. Reject ANY and ALL racist, homophobic, or misogynistic signs, slogans, chants, etc.
No legitimate public movement in America can tolerate the proliferation of hate. I hope the Tea Partiers who claim that race has nothing to do with the movement will stop and look around them. If you are at a rally, and someone shows up with a racist sign or shouts out homophobic slurs, you have an obligation to condemn that act. If you don’t, that act will define your movement.
Right now the Tea Party is starting to look like a place where bigots can come out of the closet (where they should stay) and can feel accepted. If that continues, the Tea Party is doomed.
2. To steal a line from Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles: When you hold your rallies… have a point. It makes it so much more enjoyable for the listeners!
You can’t build a political movement of any substance around bumper stickers, but too often when I listen to Tea Party speeches I hear nothing but slogans:
• Freedom from tyranny – Seriously, do you know anyone who is “pro-tyranny?”
• Constitutionally Limited Government – That’s what America is. And it’s what some of your members seem to want to overthrow.
• Fiscal responsibility – How do you want to achieve this? Aren’t taxes an important part of this? And where were you for the previous eight years?
The time has come for the Tea Party to start standing for something, instead of simply lashing out against things.
3. Stop shouting.
There is no correlation between volume and credibility. In fact, sometimes shouting makes you seem less credible. This doesn’t mean you have to be subdued. You can be outraged about the actions of the government without screaming at people. Trust me. I did it for eight years.
4. To steal a line from Oh Brother Where Art Thou… find a leader who has the capacity for abstract thought.
You need to seriously think about who you are letting represent you:
• Sarah Palin – When someone can write their talking points on their hand with room to spare, that’s probably not the person you want as your leader.
• Glen Beck – Writing nonsense on a chalkboard doesn’t make you an educator.
• Hannity? O’Reilly? Rush? A movement isn’t based on self-promoters. It should be based on promoting core values and beliefs.
• And you NEED to stop allowing Victoria Jackson and Stephen Baldwin anywhere near your rallies.
5. If you aren’t trying to incite violence stop using violent rhetoric.
Stop talking about overthrowing the government. Stop carrying signs that threaten Obama, Reed and Pelosi. We live in a democracy. Start talking about voting, educating, or, God forbid, community organizing!
When you say a “revolution is brewing”… when you equate Obama to Hitler… or when one of your leaders uses crosshairs on a map to call out lawmakers who voted for the health care bill… you are walking a dangerous path. The last thing a real political movement needs is to incite acts of violence. That’s when you become terrorists.
6. Leave the guns at home.
See step number five.
I understand that many people view the Second Amendment as providing an inalienable right to carry a handgun or a semi-automatic weapon around with them in public. But just because something is legal, do you have to do it?
If the Tea Party wants to unify around the right to bear arms, then that’s one thing. But if the aspiration is to become a political force for change, flaunting your guns will only undermine your efforts.
7. Study history.
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against taxation without representation. The protesters fought for the very system of representative government that the current Tea Party is protesting against.
This is just one example of how a movement needs to know history. Other topics that seem to warrant at least a Cliffs Notes understanding:
• Hitler
• Fascism
• Socialism
• The Budget Deficit (see: the G.W. Bush years)
8. Fact Check
Any time you carry a sign that says, “Keep government away from my Medicare!” you lose credibility.
Similarly, before you start talking about how much your taxes have gone up under President Obama, you should check your return. Either your taxes have gone down (for 95 percent of households) OR you came out of the Great Recession in pretty good shape income-wise. This doesn’t mean you can’t complain about taxes or spending… just try to do it over a foundation of truth.
9. Do NOT embrace the Confederate Flag as a symbol of your movement.
See steps 1 and 5. I know many people view the Confederate Flag as an important cultural symbol. The problem is, many of those people are racists.
10. Stop and think about what “Patriotism” means.
When you say you love America, is it the land mass that is defined by our borders that you love? Or is it the system of government, the checks and balances, the freedoms, and the ability to peacefully transfer power through elections that you love?
Advocating violent overthrow of our government isn’t patriotism. It’s terrorism at best, and could rise to treason. If you want to support the Constitution and the vision of our Founding Fathers, you can’t condemn the very system they set up.
I am not one to criticize the Tea Party for existing. I applaud political action whether or not I agree with a group’s point of view. I do, however, think the Tea Party is getting a free ride right now for some actions that should not be tolerated in American political discourse. And I believe eventually the Tea Party’s long-term prospects are grim if they don’t take steps now to curb some of the more troubling aspects of the “movement.”
Please weigh in on this discussion… I look forward to your thoughts. But please, no shouting.
Did the Washington Post read your blog Brian? Check it out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36955637/ns/politics-washington_post/.
Brian, thanks for your post. I could not agree more.
@Annique – Let me first say that I applaud your honesty. But I struggled with your comment that “if you are white in America, it’s can be unpopular to criticize black leaders”. While this may be true, the reason the TeaParty has been connected with racism is not simply because they are protesting the current president, who just happens to be black. Racism, racist signs, and racist rhetoric is prevalent at Tea Party events. Using Google’s image search and searching for “TeaParty racism” turns up many, many examples.
I agree there are crazies in every faction, definitely. But the attention the Tea Party is given by conservative media conglomerates is unprecedented, and without scruples. I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to what the Tea Party wants, other than the removal of the incumbent members of the executive and legislative branches. If given outright power today, what would the members of the Tea Party do? I’ve heard some ideas. Things like “abolish the IRS”, and “abolish the Central Banking system”. Both things that would be far more damaging to the economy and are more tyrannical then anything the current administration has done.
Another thing that completely baffles me is the constant rhetoric regarding taxes and freedom. I do not see how an action the current administration has taken limits individual freedoms. I get that people do not want to pay more taxes, but like Brian said, most people in the US are paying LESS taxes. And more taxes does not implicate less freedom. Secondly, socialism is not running rampant. The government did not, and is not taking of businesses left and right. You may disagree with the positions the government has taken and various bailouts, healthcare etc. but there still is no national car manufacture, no national banking system and no national health care system. Americans are still just as free as they were before the “Great Recession” and most likely, better off because of the actions that were taken (time will tell).
Still, I do believe that the TeaParty was founded on the idea of fiscal conservatism. But that is not what it currently represents… which is unfortunate. Because I’m sure, as you have eluded, there are card carrying members of the Tea Party who do believe in fiscal conservatism; a completely valid and legitimate cause. Those members of the Tea Party who do share this believe should be very, very upset, as the members of the conservative elite and conservative media are pandering to every uneducated, bigoted, angry, God fearing person they can find, and turning the whole thing into a circus to try to win votes come election day.
Where does that leave the real conservatives? Where does that leave the reasonable people who are capable of real political discourse? It leaves them shouting behind the guy holding the “Obama – The New Hitler” sign, that’s where.
Annique,
I’m really glad you decided to post your comments here. The point of this site is to encourage people to engage thoughtfully and I appreciate your comments and your point of view. I hope you feel welcome to post here anytime!
I in no way want to insinuate that Tea Partiers have a corner on the market when it comes to racism. And there is absolutely nothing racist about a white person criticizing a black president.
I am saying that the Tea Party suffers when it tolerates overtly racist signs, slogans or the use of racist language at rallies. There is a big difference between criticizing a president for policies or beliefs, and holding up a sign of the president depicted as a witch doctor with a bone in his nose. I hope and trust that MOST Tea Party members would find this offensive. The problem is, when you tolerate these signs at a rally… or you tolerate when members of your party use racist terms… it tends to undermine your entire movement and you risk being labeled, however unjustly, as racists.
Again, thank you for reading the post and for your thoughtful reply.
Jeff encouraged me to share my Facebook thoughts here, and have decided to take a chance. I don’t normally post comments about politics. I feel in the City of Minneapolis it is very unpopular to to have a moderate or conservative opinion…it’s a lonely place sometimes!
Unfortunately, there are crazies in every faction. It isn’t too hard to remember many horrible images about President Bush, including Nazi images. Do a search on “Bush Haters”, and you will find the same types of images being thrown about towards Obama today.
Furthermore, I don’t think I have to search too far in my memory when some political groups were tearing apart downtown St. Paul (I don’t think they were Tea Partiers). Why would one make a comment such as “I hope Tea Partiers who claim race has nothing…”. Let’s be honest Brian, if you are white in America, it’s can be unpopular to criticize black leaders. You’re going to come off as a racist to some, even if your true motivation is to disagree with policy. I know a few Tea Partiers myself, and I can say not a one of them is a racist. Let’s call a duck a duck..there is racism in America, but I don’t believe the Tea Party has a corner on the market.
You have made some good points and I enjoyed reading your post. I do not belong to the Tea Party, nor am I card carrying Republican or Democrat. But, let’s be honest, there are crazies on the Left and Right. Name calling, shouting, and violence have sadly been used by many many political groups
People I love dearly ARE card carrying Tea Party advocates. And, they do LOVE America. They just don’t agree with some of the policies of the Obama Administration. Thank God we live in America!
I am trying to convince my niece to post her comments here also. She and I have some great, thought-provoking discussions. She commented my Facebook post and I encouraged her to come here. She keeps me honest, when like Jeff, my emotions sometimes get the better of me and I rant without thinking.
Even though I did not like George W. or Dick Cheney, I cannot hate them. They have families and are thrust into positions of power where the answers and decisions are never easy. But, what I can disagree with is their political positions and policies.
If the Tea Party is indeed a credible movement, they do need a “brand” (this thanks to my niece), and a credible spokesperson. There are many credible, well-spoken Republicans who I like and admire. Heck, I’ve even voted for a few of them. But, the hate mongering has to end. On both sides. Let’s get to the issues and figure out where we agree and move forward from there.
Thanks Brian for sharing your thoughts. I thought Kristi made a very valid comment. I hear so many people, who are all over the political spectrum, express their hatred toward individual politicians and leaders. Who hasn’t heard someone say that they hate Franken, Pawlenty, Palin, Obama, Bachman, etc. We need to figure out how to discuss and disagree with ideas and philosophies. Personally, I am going to try to lead by example. I am going to try very hard to do this and not have my comments be personal attacks. If you hear me going on a personal attack, please remind me to focus on the subject and not the person.
Thank you Kristi for reading, digesting and considering Brian’s post. Disclaimer: Kristi is a dear friend of mine! I also know she would consider herself “conservative”. I enjoy discussing politics with Kristi because she provides a fresh, and often pragmatic view of issues that can be different than mine. But we respect each other’s opinion and can have healthy dialog without diatribe.
This makes her post so encouraging. There ARE ways to disagree without being hateful and intolerant. Thank you Kristi for reminding us that there are “haters” on both sides of the spectrum, and dissent can/should be voiced without malice. Those are the voices that are the most effective anyway!
This is easily the most rational, penetrating critique of the movement I’ve seen to date. I, too, admire anyone who gets active and gets involved in shaping political discourse, but I’m a little puzzled as to why the hate-filled rhetoric from not only the fringe members but the highest-profile leaders is not roundly condemned by conservative voices. Are they really so scared that they have abandoned their core principles, their sense of reason and their belief in debate over demagoguery and violence?
Anyway, great piece.
Thank you for putting into words exactly what I think and feel. I couldn’t agree with you more.
I knew an aquaintance that once had a bumper sticker that said FU@ck Bush. She really hated this man.
I asked her if she indeed hated him and she said she did and hoped he would die. I thought how hard it is for her to carry that anger. What a heavy load.
Hate and intollerance is a heavy load people.
I also applaud political action and people standing up for their beliefs and forming an opinion. I get so sad however when people carry and display such hate. History has told us over and over, extreme positions rarely prevail.