http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/opinion/crashing-the-tea-party.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
Crashing the Tea Party
By DAVID E. CAMPBELL and ROBERT D. PUTNAM
Published: August 16, 2011
GIVEN how much sway the Tea Party has among Republicans in Congress and those seeking the Republican presidential nomination, one might think the Tea Party is redefining mainstream American politics.
But in fact the Tea Party is increasingly swimming against the tide of public opinion: among most Americans, even before the furor over the debt limit, its brand was becoming toxic. To embrace the Tea Party carries great political risk for Republicans, but perhaps not for the reason you might think...”
“So what do Tea Partiers have in common? They are overwhelmingly white, but even compared to other white Republicans, they had a low regard for immigrants and blacks long before Barack Obama was president, and they still do.
More important, they were disproportionately social conservatives in 2006 — opposing abortion, for example — and still are today. Next to being a Republican, the strongest predictor of being a Tea Party supporter today was a desire, back in 2006, to see religion play a prominent role in politics. And Tea Partiers continue to hold these views: they seek “deeply religious” elected officials, approve of religious leaders’ engaging in politics and want religion brought into political debates. The Tea Party’s generals may say their overriding concern is a smaller government, but not their rank and file, who are more concerned about putting God in government.
This inclination among the Tea Party faithful to mix religion and politics explains their support for Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. Their appeal to Tea Partiers lies less in what they say about the budget or taxes, and more in their overt use of religious language and imagery, including Mrs. Bachmann’s lengthy prayers at campaign stops and Mr. Perry’s prayer rally in Houston.”
“Yet it is precisely this infusion of religion into politics that most Americans increasingly oppose. While over the last five years Americans have become slightly more conservative economically, they have swung even further in opposition to mingling religion and politics. It thus makes sense that the Tea Party ranks alongside the Christian Right in unpopularity. ..”
“House bills give a glimpse into the tea party’s vision for America
“If the House ran America, what would America look like?
“It would have no more sweeping health-care law. The House voted to repeal that in January.
“ It would have no more federal limits on greenhouse gases. The House voted to ax them in April
“And it would not have three government programs for homeowners in trouble on their mortgages. The House voted to endthem all...”
“The best-known part of the House’s vision has to do with spending. The House passed a budget that calls for a major overhaul of Medicare, forcing new recipients to buy private insurance after 2022. It passed, with five Democratic votes, a bill that demanded a balanced budget amendment: essentially, a spending limit written into the Constitution.
But the House’s bills have gone far beyond the budget.
It has passed legislation to forbid new energy-efficiency standards for lightbulbs, and to punish shining a laser pointer beam at an airplane in flight. It voted to take away federal funding for National Public Radio, and for public financing of presidential campaigns...
“The House also took a stand against President Obama on the military campaign in Libya,rejecting a motion to approve of U.S. involvement. And it voted to rein in Environmental Protection Agency efforts against “mountaintop removal coal mines,” by requiring the EPA to defer to decisions by state regulators.
“On three major issues, the House seemed to acknowledge that simply repealing a Democratic idea might not be enough— and that it did not have its own answer yet.
“On Jan. 19, for instance, 242 Republicans and three Democrats voted to repeal thelandmark health-care law. For good measure, the House later voted to repeal several pieces of the law individually.
“In place of the law, Republicans had said they would craft their own solutions for problems involving high costs, and the denial of coverage for preexisting conditions. Their slogan, outlined in last fall’s Pledge to America, was “Repeal and Replace.”
“But so far, no replacement has appeared.”
Cassi Creek:
The comparison of our GOP/teavangelist legislators to the Afghani Taliban is neither inaccurate nor careless. The xenophobia that the teavangelists deny is common to both groups. The inability to compromise for the good of the nation and population is displayed by both. A willingness to destroy other cultures and their artifacts marks both groups. The acceptance of an ancient religious book as an infallible and inerrant design for cultural and governmental purposes is frightening.
Both the Afghani Taliban and the teavangelists believe that they have every right to force their brand of culture and its intertwined theocracy upon all other inhabitants of their respective nations. They see no reason to allow any other faith to be practiced, and no reason to allow a secular nation. Both groups flourish in more rural, less well-educated regions of their respective nations. Both are willing to use violence to suppress and eliminate any competition in government and/or culture. They are both quick to demolish any social safety nets, education systems, and health-care programs that benefit the populace. They are far less concerned with any replacements that might make life better for the common population. Given the chance, both groups will attempt, and have attempted, to roll the social and political conditions back to third world theocracies.
While the polls cited above indicate that teavangelisim is losing ground in this nation, it will, I believe, undergo at least some resurgence during this presidential election cycle. I hope that my prediction is wrong. I'd very much like to see the complete removal of teavanaglism from public and from political matters in this nation. I'm willing to begin locally, helping to defeat our local teavangelist Congressman Roe.
Roe Must Go!
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