Thursday, February 24, 2011
Is the Tea Party Libertarian?
If you've ever thought that the tea party folks were libertarian let's just sit back and watch how they react to the President's decision to stop trying to claim the "Defense of Marriage Act" is constitutional... you'll see... the tea partiers are just right wing republicans...
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Is the whole of the Tea Party movement libertarian? Absolutely not. Are there social conservatives in the ranks of the Tea Party? Absolutely. What you fail to see or admit csm, is that the Tea Party movement(it is a movement, not a political party) is that it was formed for economic reasons, not social ones. If you read any interviews of the grassroots leaders(not Dick
Armey) of the movement, you will come away with the idea that these people are tired of the federal government overstepping their Constitutional restraints. Are some of these leaders against gay marriage or gays in the military or abortion or are for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or more religion in our society? Abso-fucking-lutely. And these are not standard libertarian beliefs. Who said the Tea Party were libertarians? Much of the libertarian literature I have read on the Tea Party isn't all sweet and nice, mainly because of some of the socially conservative views of some of it's leaders. The one thing libertarians like about the movement, IS the fact the movement is trying to put a governor on the federal government in economic terms. And I have heard a few interviews with national local Tea Party leaders(on NPR) and their apprehension with bringing socially conservative issues into the movement because that is NOT the objective of the movement. My advice to you is to maybe read something which isn't coming from the left. One thing which IS heartening, though, is that the left IS so concerned with the Tea Party. I don't know if this is because of the nature to pigeon-hole the opposition(i.e. contain and ridicule)or if they see the handwriting on the wall. Only time will tell.
Hmmm... you think I only read things coming from the left? What an absurd assumption. Anyway, the biggest problem the tea party, in general, has (in my opinion) is the rampant stupidity it shows as its public face much of the time. Perhaps there are some good ideas within it... couched within the stupidity of its most vocal proponents it worries me.
How about a couple facts about DoMA to counter the meme that it is just a right wing Republican issue?
It passed by a vote of 85-14 in the Senate (Dems 32-14 in favor, including names like Reid, Biden, Rockefeller, Baucus, Harkin, and Dodd).
It passed by a vote of 342-67 in the House (Dems 118-65 in favor).
It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
Not exactly "Tea Party" favorites.
Reid even has a problem with prostitution; two adults consenually having fun with an economic twist at the end. Certainly not a libertarian thinker, but alas I would bet most Tea Partiers would agree with him unfortunately.
Yes, there is quite enough scorn to go around re: what I refuse to refer to as the defense of marriage act. It is more like the we hate gays act.
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