600.
Posted by: Donna
AZBlueMeanie has a nice post up at Blog For Arizona about how the conservative base is being played by the Tea Party astroturf operation and how the MSM is dutifully playing along. I especially appreciate this bit:
Note to the media: “conservative populist” is an oxymoron. Conservatives are all about maintaining the wealth and privilege of the wealthy and privileged. Historically, populists have always been farmers and laborers in progressive movements seeking to challenge the economic status quo and to get a piece of the wealth and privilege from the wealthy and privileged. Read a history book sometime.
That would be nice but it won’t happen. And the Meanie is a lot more charitable toward and optimistic about the teabag dupes than I am.
Believe it or not media losers, there are issues on which liberals, progressives and yes, even the tea partiers agree. One such issue is the bailout of the Wall Street banks whose casino capitalism nearly destroyed the world’s economy. Liberals, progressives and yes, even tea partiers agree that we want the TARP money paid back, we do not want the pirates of Wall Street to receive multi-million or billion dollar bonuses for their reckless destruction of our economy, and we want the perpetrators of these crimes to be prosecuted. And we agree that there must be rules to prevent these crimes from ever happening again.
Much as I’d like to believe that I’ve known too many raging Dittoheads over the years to think that “Bush’s base” in their new “Tea Party Patriot” costumes are suddenly driven by a desire to make Wall Street play by the rules. Maybe others are having different encounters but the only interest I’m seeing them show in the banks is to grouse that the entire fault of the economic collapse is the home loans that Democrats (and ACORN) supposedly forced banks to give to unworthy low income minorities. I’m not seeing signs complaining about banker bonuses at the teabirther rallies either. I am seeing plenty complaining about Obamacare and the same old stale boilerplate blah blah about the gubmint giving money to people who don’t work. Honestly, if I thought there was a glimmer of usefulness in joining forces with the 30% of the country who will never vote Democratic, will never think that brown or gay or female people deserve rights, and who will always call “socialist” whatever Rush and Fox News tell them to, I’d be all for it. But I can’t.
Getting back to the complicit mainstream-so-called-liberal-media, I have to ask: What is the purpose of the fawning coverage they are giving to a convention in Nashville that attracted 600 paying participants? A typical trade conference at the Phoenix Convention Center gets far more people than that. The Tucson Gem Show, going on right now, has more people in attendance on a given day. Heck, a good neighborhood yard sale in Ahwatukee might get more people dropping by than the number assembled at this ridiculous gathering of rage-aholics at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. It’s not that numbers are everything, but you have to wonder why the MSM wants to elevate the importance of this particular subculture, while ignoring others. Like, say, the thousands of people who show up for Netroots, or the millions who show up to protest needless wars or exploitive trade policies? Or shoot, the millions of people who shop at yard sales these days? That’s at least as much of a story as this phony astroturf “Tea Party” movement.
Gosh, you don’t suppose all the unwarranted hype over the teabaggers could possibly be cynical ploy to advance the interests of Wall Street?
12 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
Donna,
” Historically, populists have always been farmers and laborers in progressive movements seeking to challenge the economic status quo and to get a piece of the wealth and privilege from the wealthy and privileged. Read a history book sometime. ”
Do you mean a history book like Das Kapital ? Who would have thought that Marx was a populist ? For that matter who would imagine Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin as populists ?
Funny thing about Socialists, they are not real big on property rights. In the name of the people they can and will confiscate your business, your farm, and your home.
It has great appeal to those who never accomplished anything in life and need to blame others. It also has appeal to the young, who have no life experience.
It’s amazing that Socialism-Communism is not more successful in the US, because Americans, historically, have the worst sense of history of any educated people in the World. And anyone who has studied history knows with out question that Socialism always fails in large scale applications. It’s only marginal successes tend to be in small homogeneous communities.
“It’s only marginal successes tend to be in small homogeneous communities.”
You mean like Europe?
*wonders what history books Alan has been reading*
Das Kapital is not a history book. It is a book on economic theory.
oh and yes, very strong social democracies are in effect in several countries in Europe, so why claim what is not true at all Alan? Other than you are a conservative and apparently they are all incapable of being honest.
Alan Scott seems to be the one in need of a history lesson. All one needs to do is look at the Populist Part from the late 1800′s which included farmers and workers and resulted in the income tax, the 17th amendment and called for the abolition of the gold standard and 8 hour work day.
I still get chills reading the William Jennings Bryan speech.
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/
“There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that if you just legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, that their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous their prosperity will find its way up and through every class that rests upon it.”
Zelph,
““It’s only marginal successes tend to be in small homogeneous communities.””
” You mean like Europe? ”
Specifically which Socialist nations in Europe are a success ?
todd,
” All one needs to do is look at the Populist Part from the late 1800’s which included farmers and workers and resulted in the income tax, ”
Why don’t you give me that history lesson and explain to us all why the income tax was enacted. I was under the impression that it was needed to pay for wars. I know it became permanent in 1913, but there were previous incarnations.
Seeing that it enabled the US to finance it’s imperialistic wars, I’d think you progressives would oppose it.
Appleblossom,
” I still get chills reading the William Jennings Bryan speech. ”
I am not exactly sure of this anymore, but wasn’t Bryan the inspiration for the Brady character in the play and movie ” Inherit the Wind “. If I’m correct he would be a strange hero for a progressive like you.
Alan, are you disputing the facts I listed to back up the claim that populism has been a largely left-wing or progressive?
todd,
” Alan, are you disputing the facts I listed to back up the claim that populism has been a largely left-wing or progressive?”
No, I just was questioning the income tax. It probably was a populist goal, but I believe there was more to it. There were temporary income taxes before 1913 to pay for wars. There was an income tax passed to pay for the civil war.
In 1894 there was an income tax enacted and a year later declared unconstitutional because of being a direct tax. I admit to being unclear about direct and indirect income taxes. One is ok, the other is not.
” I admit to being unclear about direct and indirect income taxes. One is ok, the other is not.”
The 16th amendment cleared that up.
Todd ,
To get back to my comment on Bryan inspiring the Brady Character in “Inherit The Wind”, I was referring to his being a religious holy roller. That would seem to a strange hero for progressives, but I suppose back then you did not have to be an atheist to be a good one.
The 16 th Amendment has sure filled it’s redistribution mission. According to Stossel 60% of our fellow citizens get more in benefits than they pay in taxes. You Socialists have won. Congratulations.