Cafe de Mello

Unless I miss my guess, we will now have to listen to several days of Fox News and Republican politicians crowing about the success of yesterday's tax day tea parties. The posturing politician and the Fox News parasitic lickspittles will moan about how President Obama and the Democrats in congress are not listening to the will of the people. And thank God they are not, at least not to these people.

To be honest, some of the protestors yesterday were expressing honest concerns about deficit spending, and that is, at least, a rational area for disagreement. Reviewing films of the tea party crowds reveals, however, that the bulk of the protestors was composed of a mixed bag of the lame-brained, the clueless, the conscienceless, and sore-losers who cannot accept that their side lost the election.

This point was driven home for me by a Youtube clip of Glenn Beck warming up the crowd attending a Tea Party at the Alamo in Houston Texas. Glen started his rant by lying about the contents of the Department of Homeland Security's threat assessment of right-wing extremists.

It might be more polite to say that Beck "mischaracterized" the report, but that would not be accurate. When Beck makes up things that are not in report he is simply lying to the crowd, and when his listeners show themselves to be uncritically accepting Beck's degenerate offal, they show themselves to be either simple minded or hopelessly biased.

Another example of the deep philosophical underpinnings of the tea party movement can is shown in a Youtube clip from a pre-party organizational movement. It begins with a serious call for the attendees to review online material from the "Constitution Party" (which somehow seems to have overlooked the separation of church and state so clearly part of the founding father's intent) and a discussion of the Libertarian party. It then degenerates into a harangue from a gentleman who believes his television digital to analog converter box is a brainwashing device and that college professors are "brainwashing" their students. This is seconded by a woman who wants to burn all the brainwashing books, like those that teach evolution. Yes, these are good Americans, with a deep understanding of our traditional liberties.

While Republican politicians will claim that they speak for these lost and disenfranchised souls (and some like Michelle Bachman are aluminum-foil-hat crazy enough to actually do so), in the clip from the Alamo referenced above, Glenn Beck proved that a significant portion of the crowd liked neither Democrats nor Republicans. The one unifying feeling bringing these folks together was captured by U.S. Representative Sam Graves (R-MO) in an article for the Kansas City Star. Graves ties the discontent to the stimulus bill and Obama's budget, of course, and notes that, "The government in Washington has once again stopped listening to its constituents." He has that both right and wrong.

The majority of the American people support Obama and the Democrats in their handling of the economy. We, the majority, elected him because of his vision, and he is listening to us on most issues. We say, "Thank the real or imaginary god he is not listening to the minority whose manipulated fears could destroy this country." That is how a democracy works.

This is not meant to deny the Tea party organizers and the tea party goers the right to gather and express their opinions. As long as their calls for "revolution" and "taking back the country" are intended to rally their supporters for peaceful protests and voting in the next elections, we must wish them luck. (But they shouldn't be surprised if we don't bow to their wishes at the moment.) If they think the digital to analogue converter on their television is brainwashing them, medication is in order. If they harbor thoughts of violent action, that is deeply un-American. If they think the digital to analogue converter on their television is brainwashing them, medication is in order.

A final note about tea party turnout:

I would like to believe that those attending the Tax Day Tea Parties represent the bulk of the remaining Republican Party; because so few attended that the Republicans would have trouble electing city councilmen and dog catchers. If this is their base, after the mid-terms election most Republican congressmen will be returning to their true calling, working sales at the used car lots of America.