DETAILS THE 'TEA PARTIES' OVERLOOK....
I'd kind of forgotten about it, but apparently, far-right activists continue to organize "Tea Party" rallies and talk about "Going Galt." It's a little right-wing fad that hasn't quite gone away, as evidenced by this Orlando get together over the weekend. A local radio host, who helped make the event happen, called it a historic gathering of 4,000 "God-fearing patriots."
Reading over some of the quotes from attendees, one starts to get a sense of what's bothering these folks. For example, they don't like government spending. Or deficits. Or stimulus efforts. Some wanted to argue that Bush isn't to blame for the economic crisis. Others wanted to see the Federal Reserve eliminated altogether.
Perhaps the most striking quote came from a local man who'd recently lost his job at an electrical-equipment company. He wants to see the federal government spend less on economic recovery and focus more on "my grandchildren's money."
Oh my.
Outside the Beltway's Alex Knapp, a libertarian, took a look at some of these events and came up with some important observations. Knapp noted, for example, the fact that most "Tea Party" participants will get a tax cut from Obama, so it's kind of difficult to believe them when they say they feel put upon. For that matter, "Tea Party" cheerleaders didn't mind excessive government spending when it was going to an unnecessary war in Iraq. He concluded:
Let's call the "tea party" and "going Galt" nonsense what it is: unprincipled partisan hackery. If these were truly principled protests, they'd have been around all through the Bush and Republican-controlled Congress years, too.
Quite right. It's no doubt inconvenient for this crowd, but a Republican Congress and Republican White House worked together to increase the debt by $5 trillion, expand the size of government, increase spending, increase the tax burden on the middle class, and expand the powers of the executive to undermine civil liberties. The some people attending "Tea Parties" not only cheered these GOP policymakers on, but voted to keep them in office as long as possible. (Indeed, many condemned those who disagreed, accusing liberals of "treason" for failing to support elected leaders during a crisis.)
Literally just two months into a Democratic administration, far-right activists are now holding public protests? They're mad about deficits and a loss of "liberty"?
I almost feel sorry for the folks who get conned into believing this nonsense.
Update: I'd almost forgotten, at the Orlando rally, organizers distributed signs that read, "Obama Bin Lyin' -- IMPEACH NOW."
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