Yesterday's primaries are being analyzed and bring this topic to the fore again.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100915/ts_csm/325722
'Tea party' is polarizing, but has many 'closet admirers,' poll finds
Christian Science Monitor, By Patrik Jonsson– Wed Sep 15
A few select quotes:
"The general party line says the tea party is fringe, but I think most of the public hasn't bought that point of view ... and sees the tea party movement in a positive to neutral light," says Mr. Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence in Ramsey, N.J., who last weekend oversaw the poll of 908 American adults. "The overarching message here is that Democrats have been in denial about the tea party [phenomenon] … and I think it's coming back to haunt them."
But the loosely organized "taxed enough already" movement, which has now claimed 18 primary and special election victories in support of mostly conservative Republican candidates ...
"If Mike Castle isn't welcome in the Delaware Republican Party, the GOP has just hung out a sign that says moderates need not apply," said Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications chief, in a statement.
My take:
I find it interesting that the Tea Party is being depicted here as "fringe", against moderates, etc. What it is, by and large, is a reaction against bailouts. While some of the candidates who won yesterday may have specific conservative views (anti-abortion, etc.), that is not a defining characteristic of the movement. They are out to oust spendthrifts, and have no sympathy for people who voted for bailing out huge banks and stock companies who trashed the economy. This is plainly mainstream grass-roots America talking, and I would expect many Democrats and independents agree.
I did not see as much about all the dangerous ultra-conservative libertarians this time around, but I probably would if I looked more.
I guess I'm a "closet admirer". Won't see me at any rallys, but I find them immensely entertaining. This is turning out to be fun to watch.
I thought I knew what Libertarian was, but ...
Yeah, the TPs are primarily minarchist in nature, a reaction to the fact gov't is now 45% of GDP -- a proportion last seen during WWII.
Minarchism is deeply hated by the political class, because their power is directly tied to the size of government. That's why the establishment GOP types are vulnerable -- Bush and about half of the GOP Congressional delegation have been making gov't bigger.
I don't really have time or inclination for rallies, but I joined an online TP group and I donate to some TP candidates.
Minarchism is deeply hated by the political class, because their power is directly tied to the size of government. That's why the establishment GOP types are vulnerable -- Bush and about half of the GOP Congressional delegation have been making gov't bigger.
I don't really have time or inclination for rallies, but I joined an online TP group and I donate to some TP candidates.
n*kBolt*Te = B**2/(2*mu0) and B^.25 loss scaling? Or not so much? Hopefully we'll know soon...
I think all conservatives and libertarians can agree that shrinking the size of government and limiting it's scope is a worthy goal.TallDave wrote:Yeah, the TPs are primarily minarchist in nature, a reaction to the fact gov't is now 45% of GDP -- a proportion last seen during WWII.
Minarchism is deeply hated by the political class, because their power is directly tied to the size of government. That's why the establishment GOP types are vulnerable -- Bush and about half of the GOP Congressional delegation have been making gov't bigger.
I don't really have time or inclination for rallies, but I joined an online TP group and I donate to some TP candidates.
KitemanSA wrote:Yup. Too bad the Republicans don't agree!Diogenes wrote: I think all conservatives and libertarians can agree that shrinking the size of government and limiting it's scope is a worthy goal.
I never liked Bush Senior, and the more I find out about Bush Jr., the angrier I get at him. Of course we had to deal with rinos like Specter, Collins, Snowe, Grahm, and half the time John McCain.
The Republican establishment has been needing it's @ss kicked for a long time, and I'm glad it's finally starting to get some comeuppance. People can say what they want about the social issues, but if you aren't fiscally conservative, you ought not be in the Republican party at all.