In my last article," How 'bout that Tea Party " I demonstrated that the Tea Party is an "Obstructionist Movement." After more thought, I want to revise that somewhat and define it as a "mob."
1 : a large or disorderly crowd; especially : one bent on riotous or destructive action.
From The Sydney Morning Herald article:
"WASHINGTON: Protesters outside the U.S. Capitol, angry about the proposed healthcare reform bill, shouted ''n-word'' at a U.S. Congressman, John Lewis, a civil rights icon from Georgia who was nearly beaten to death during an Alabama march in the 1960s."
From The Denver Post :
"Democratic Party officials said at least 10 lawmakers have received threats. Some, but not Markey, have received security briefings from the FBI while it investigates. Bricks have been hurled through Democrats' windows, a propane line was cut at the home of a congressman's brother, and others have received obscenity-laced phone threats. The incidents include the shattering of windows at four Democratic offices in New York, Arizona and Kansas.
A brick tossed through a window at a Democratic Party office in Rochester, N.Y., over the weekend had a note attached that said, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice,' roughly quoting 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater."
Then, there is the following Facebook page , calling for an armed takeover of the White House if President Obama is reelected, (screen shot collage):
Conversations like the above are taking place on hundreds of forums every day. You can easily see the fear and hate in the words on these pages. So, where does that come from? In the beginning, this was primarily a racist reaction to the election of President Obama. But as it evolved, it grew to include many other right wing groups with prejudices and fears of their own. Then, the pundits and politicians began to see in this movement both economic opportunity and political power. The pundits took to the air waves and the politicians took to the stump; and they not only exploited this mob mentality, but fed it the nourishment it needed to grow, more reason to hate and more reason to fear.
Working for the Tea Party Mob has become a lucrative endeavor for pundits like Beck and Limbaugh. Not only have their audiences grown, their income has grown as well -- so much so, that Sarah Palin, who began as a political feeder of this movement, moved to Fox News as a Pundit with a million dollar contract.
For many politicians, feeding the beast has been good for their careers. In the 2010 elections, many won their bids for political office and now promote the Mob's agenda from the Halls of Congress by obstructing the will of the majority.
As the pundits pun and the politicians pollinate, the Mob grows even more hateful and more fearful, with no end in sight to it's destructive possibilities, as long as the pundits and politicians sell their souls for money and political power.
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