'Tea party' activists: Do they hate liberals more than they love liberty?

[bobbyw24]

By James Bovard / April 23, 2010
Rockville, Md.

Many “tea party” activists staunchly oppose big government, except when it is warring, wiretapping, or waterboarding. A movement that started out denouncing government power apparently has no beef with some of the worst abuses of modern times.

Unfortunately, there is scant evidence that most tea partyers have studied the copies of the Constitution they generously hand out to bystanders.

At a Tax Day tea party in Rockville, Md., the speaking venue was draped with a huge banner: “Tired of Big Government?” Members of the “Tyranny Response Team” stood near the front of the rally with their official blue T-shirts. Giant American flags and ones with “Don’t Tread on Me” (with a coiled rattlesnake) were carried around by men with tri-corn hats. Political campaigns busily sold “9/11 Remembrance” bracelets.

And yet, the crowd of 300 seemed most outraged that the US government is not being sufficiently aggressive in using its power.

Ken Timmerman, the author of “Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America” and other hawkish books, declaimed that the US government must take every step to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Mr. Timmerman denounced the Obama administration for being soft on Tehran and urged support for legislation to impose harsh sanctions on Iran. Timmerman previously advocated a US naval blockade of Iran, which he claimed was planning a nuclear attack on the United States.

Running through a litany of President Obama’s greatest failings, Timmerman denounced him for forcing US agents to “stop using enhanced interrogation methods. Has that made us safer?”

“No!” the crowd hollered indignantly.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0423/Tea-party-activists-Do-they-hate-liberals-more-than-they-love-liberty

[RforRevolution]

The relationship is directly proportional. As hatred for statists of all types increases so too does your love for liberty.

[Stary Hickory]

Well yeah, there are a lot of Neocons in the crowds. Good chance to spread the freedom message. They can and do come around. The libertarian RP movement got big how? Mostly reformed neocons.

[Elwar]

"The American conservative hates the left more than the state." -Lew Rockwell

[catdd]

Well liberals blindly support a form of politics that threatens freedom, liberty, and free market capitalism.

[slothman]

With regards to the envirernment it does seem liberal hate is more significant.
The right is almost against the env. just because the liberals like it.
They don't conserve electricty because it is good, it does use up resources for example.
Alot of people here make fun of Al Gore rather than env. laws.

Liberals seem to be grouped into one big group.
Repub. can be dived into at least new-cons and libertarians.

[catdd]

The right is almost against the env. just because the liberals like it.
They don't conserve electricty because it is good, it does use up resources for example.

That is pretty generalized but there's some truth to it. I'm not someone who simply wants to be the obedient opposite of the left. The liberty movement has to walk the middle path and that requires stepping back occasionally and taking a look at the entire picture.

[Stary Hickory]

That is pretty generalized but there's some truth to it.

Doesn't matter anyways. If you want to waste electricity you must atone for it by obstaining from using other valuable resources. That is why people pay for the elctricity they us.

[catdd]

Doesn't matter anyways. If you want to waste electricity you must atone for it by obstaining from using other valuable resources. That is why people pay for the elctricity they us.


But he has a point that some people in the right tend to be the obedient opposites of the left - and vice versa. We fall into a rut that way.

[Toureg89]

The relationship is directly proportional. As hatred for statists of all types increases so too does your love for liberty.
but some people don't see the link between progressive liberalism and statism:

neocons=statists, but they hate progressive liberals (who=statists)

[AdamT]

"The American conservative hates the left more than the state." -Lew Rockwell

Just became a fav quote.

[Stary Hickory]

But he has a point that some people in the right tend to be the obedient opposites of the left - and vice versa. We fall into a rut that way.

Yeah I don't argue against that. Some people are into politics like they are their favorite sports teams. It makes me quite upset to tell you the truth. The us againgst them attitude that often prevails over reason and logic.

I have seen enough hypocracy in the GOP to know that people think just because a law or bill is Republicans it's fine no matter how progressive or immoral it is. Conservatives going on about the wasetful and immoral war in Bosnia and Haiti when they do the same thing as soon as they get into power.

I know the mentality, but amongst neocons you might find friends. Almost all of them say they are for small government and indivudual liberty. And some can be converted with enough effort.

[Ninja Homer]

Yeah I don't argue against that. Some people are into politics like they are their favorite sports teams. It makes me quite upset to tell you the truth. The us againgst them attitude that often prevails over reason and logic.

Yup. I don't know how many times I've seen, "We won, get over it sore loser!" as a response to an argument over the health care bill or something similar. In politics, you never really know if you won until you see the full effects of it a few or more years later.

[silentshout]

To answer the title, from what I have read...yes. Which is one reason I won't go to these events. As far as I'm concerned, since I want us out of the Middle East and am liberal on social issues, I am a liberal to the tea party types.

[Anti Federalist]

The money quote from the article:



If tea party activists cannot vigorously oppose torture and other high crimes, then counting on them to stalwartly resist any government policy that doesn’t mulct their paycheck is folly.

America needs real champions of freedom – not poorly informed Republican accomplices. Either tea partyers should become more principled or they should ditch their Gadsden flags and wear T-shirts of the lobbying group that organizes the rally they attend.

[LittleLightShining]

Yep. I think so.

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

I think part of the problem is that the people they conveniently interview happen to almost always be Statist doucheholes. It bugs the shit out of me that there never seems to be Ron Pauler's or other Libertarians interviewed by these 'newshounds'. We're being drowned out and I'm flummoxed as to how we can combat that other than TRYING to get the word out.

[Anti Federalist]

I think part of the problem is that the people they conveniently interview happen to almost always be Statist doucheholes. It bugs the shit out of me that there never seems to be Ron Pauler's or other Libertarians interviewed by these 'newshounds'. We're being drowned out and I'm flummoxed as to how we can combat that other than TRYING to get the word out.

Deliberately edited out.

Just like those interviews at airports when some new security "policy" gets handed down.

They'll go through 100 people who say, "This sucks, this won't keep anybody safe, goddamn police state nonsense", just to get to the one idiot who says, "well I'm all for it, anything for those brave boys in blue to keep us safe".

That will be the numbnuts that gets airtime, giving the impression that everybody thinks that way.

I know, I've seen it with my own eyes.