Spartanburg, South Carolina’s Tea Party group’s latest article clearly point to the partisan, pro-Establishment mentality of many in the Tea Party movement. The article (which does not include its author’s name) refers to the large number of conservatives, libertarians and others on the Right who are not so pleased with the Romney/Ryan ticket as ‘Eeyores.’ The article reads like the rant of a pro-Establishment partisan:
Now please shut up about flip flopping, TARP votes, auto bailouts, shifting positions on conservative issues … the time to do something about your concerns (and mine) about those issues was before today, Sunday August 12.
As Rumsfeld said: “You go to war with the army you have—not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”
Either fight for Romney/Ryan or really … just shut up. Go away. Pick a hobby and sit out. Start a book club. But I don’t want to hear it. And I’m going to douse any complaining I hear, so just don’t bring it around.
Notice the repeated demand that dissenters ‘shut up.’ Also, notice the positive quote from Neo-con Donald Rumsfeld, a former Bush Administration official who is infamous for his support of torturing suspects and waging aggressive wars.
The rant concludes as follows:
You’re all on notice. Between now and November 6, whatever misgivings we’ve had about Romney, whatever concerns we have about how the media will treat Romney/Ryan, whatever we’ve been annoyed at re: earlier flipflops, or bad votes … around here …
NO EEYORES. We’re going to war with the army we have.
Wow!!! I didn’t see that one coming.
/s
This should surprise no one. The Tea Party is and always has been an offshoot of the GOP. All they are are loyal party members who became active due to the economic downturn at the end of the Bush years. They all truly believe that the US can be restored to its former glory if enough “true conservatives” can be elected to national office. When and if the economy turns around, they will shut up and stick their heads back in the sand.
Again, I have to strongly disagree with this line of reasoning. 1. The Tea Party is not one single group, but thousands of groups. 2. How have you missed all the fighting between the Tea Parties and the GOP establishment in the last year alone? The Tea Party groups were for the most part united in opposing Romney in the primary. 3. It’s true that many Tea Party folks are still trying to save the sinking ship, but more and more keep moving in the right direction. Writing off the Tea Party is a terrible error, because traditionalists are guaranteed zero chance of success unless they keep influencing the Tea Parties. Without that mass movement there is no hope.
Personally, I think the resentment by some in our circles towards the Tea Party comes from the fact that it has has greater success in creating a mass movement than their own groups ever have. I’m continually shocked by how easily some wish to throw away a movement that has so many moving in the right direction just because many have not gotten there yet.
Ok, 29thtn, I re-worded it to note that not all Tea Party folks agree with this sort of thinking.
Let’s see, in LA where the Ron Paul supporters were elected to the offices of the state Republican convention, the GOP establishment took over the delegate convention and adjourned the convention illegally. Then they tried to hold the convention in the parking lot. There have been reports of the Romney supporters becoming violent and using intimidation tactics against Ron Paul supporters. Ron Paul supporters in FL applied for a permit to hold a rally in a venue near where the Republican delegate convention was to be held. As far as I know as of now the permit as not been granted. That sure sound like the Dems. That’s freedom of assembly and speech by Repubs for ya. Ain’t they real special people. Like I have said before this is Satan’s Eden. Just my thoughts.
Deo Vindice
VA Southern, I completely agree that the US is sunk as a free country, but I would not blame the Tea Party folks for what happened at that convention. In fact, the Tea Party folks have been trying to get elected the same way the Ron Paul people were to get rid of the GOP establishment. Last year, I got myself made a delegate to a county Republican convention as part of a movement by the Tea Party to get rid of the people who run the show now, and while it did not get as bad as what happened in the case you mention, possibly because we did not have enough votes to truly challenge them, there was plenty of rule breaking and violent attitudes from the establishment toward the Tea Party.