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The ‘tea party’ movement in the USA is having some influence, particularly in the Republican party. It purports to be a movement of ordinary people demanding that government policies change to improve their country and their lives.
But looking at some of the changes demanded by this movement, I wonder what is in them for ordinary people. I can see the benefit for billionaires cloistered in their gated communities, but for the majority living from paycheck to paycheck?
Repeal the recently enacted Health Care legislation; abolish environmental protection and regulation at the federal level; cut taxes for the rich; cut government spending and services; interfere with school curricula on the basis of extreme religious beliefs; limit or stop trade union activity; remove government regulation concerned with advertising on children’s TV programs; remove regulation associated with foods and pharmaceutical drugs.
It seems to me that the supposedly ‘grass-roots’ tea party movement is actually a clever construct of faceless people of wealth and power, who can spend money to manipulate masses of people to clamour for changes and policies that in fact will only benefit the wealthy, to the detriment of the majority, and in the longer term, of their country’s well-being.
I have heard that people in Australia are trying to start a similar movement here. We should be vigilant, expose any such movement for what it is, and cripple it before it gets a hold and starts to scare mainstream politicians.
The Americans have shown themselves dumb enough in the past to swallow anything. So what else is new?
Cripple it KGO – http://www.austeaparty.com.au/
This is the result of American education. It’s not a failure but a success for TPTB.
What are KGO and TPTB? This is a blog, not a mobile ‘phone. It doesn’t cost any extra to write normal English.
Radagast”
“The Americans have shown themselves dumb enough in the past to swallow anything.”
I don’t think Australians are in a position to assume a high moral ground here.
After all, Australians very nearly got themselves a policy-free, backward-focused Abbott ‘government’.
What does that say for us?
that’s a very proffessionally put together site.
wonder how much it cost.
pity they wasted the money—-lots of bumf and not a comment in sight.
So true Rx.Still shaking my head.
OK GO
The Powers That Be.
This is not a mobile phone its the Internet – somewhere that has been abbreviating for decades – catch up.
Time to adapt – learn to google.
On the flip side – join the grammar popo – http://grammarpolice.com/
We should be vigilant, expose any such movement for what it is, and cripple it before it gets a hold and starts to scare mainstream politicians.
Our two party system has a history of doing just that, do you really think that dumb as dogshit Pauline was smashed and jailed because she had some outspoken radical ideas, . . . not likely, but getting 10% of the vote in about 6 months of forming one nation certainly did scare two parties who would have thought they had to share the trough with another type of pig.
Useful post.
The Tea Party movement was indeed an easy answer to complex problems for many Americans…it was fortunate to have the wealthy Koch brothers behind it…and promoting it the likes of popular talkback blowhard Rush Limbaugh…Murdoch’s Fox News (includin’ moral squid Glenn Beck)…diva who acts like a frontiersman Sarah Palin…and a number of influential pollies & blogs.
Considerin’ the missteps by the Obama administration at the beginning of their term…including “the bank bailout” (bad look)…too much stimulus funds goin’ to States that did not deliver or held back money & projects…and Obama bringin’ in a number of economists like Larry Summers & others who’d worked for the Clinton government that many blogs visited by independent/libertarian voters knew were part of the problem (think disposing of The Glass-Steagal Act seen as contributin’ to GFC)…
it’s not surprisin’ then that the privileged, who felt the Obama government was a risk to their wealth & existence, were able to hook into the disaffected independents and Republican base and create a protest movement.
They’d studied the sites of Alex Jones and other conspiracy theorists/bloggers…and Ross Perot’s campaign…so the template was already there.
And they had the media outlets to deliver the messages…propaganda.
N’