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Now that we have been subjected to six years of incompetence, lies, and corruption from the Obama administration, including a national party that exists to run interference for the administration, why hasn't the left started a movement similar to the Tea Party to address their party's obvious failings?
If I were a liberal, I would be outraged at what the DNC is doing to gut my ideology and its failure to pursue an agenda that fit my ideology.
Today's liberals are by and large uninterested in change, however. They dutifully fall in line with whatever this administration and the DNC tell them to do and say.
What ever happened to liberals with vision who used to question authority? It seems today's liberals exist simply to demonize and smear those who think differently than they do.
What?! The Tea Party started in 2008 as a cross-party ideology, one that was opposed to the Bailouts and the unholy union of big business and big government, the same union which brought us the Housing Bubble (which, by the way, happened during a time period where Republicans controlled all branches of the government.)
Within a year, the Tea Party was infiltrated and bought up by corporate interests, making them into a sham full of a mix of corporate pawns and radical loons that they are today. What was once a party opposed to corporate-government union is now the same party that brought us "corporations are people, too" and Citizen's United. In short, the Tea Party that was formed to protest the system is now fully part of the very system which it originally opposed.
Finally, the Tea Party's driving force today is extremism and hate - hatred of: gays, blacks, Muslims, other minorities, the poor, etc. They have not offered ANY actual reform to the system, unless one counts insane ideas, such as "get back to Bible rule!" and "get rid of the government and let big business do what it wants!" as "reform." So, it is incorrect - laughably so - to call the Tea Party a party of reform. They are dangerous extremists, and nothing more.
As for the Democrats, they aren't anything to write home about either. They are corporate sell-outs, as is par for the course, but there are two main reasons no "Tea Party" movement has formed on that side of the aisle:
1) What would it represent? Progressives tend to be far less judgmental of others. Right-wing loons care what religion you worship, what color your skin is, if you're having sex "the right way," and so on. Real progressives don't care about any of those things, making it impossible to form a driving party based around "do whatever you want provided you don't hurt anyone." Left-wing extremists, however, would care, but they have been thoroughly marginalized, even by their own party, that they only hold power in a few nutty areas of a few states. Long story short, mainstream Republicans have failed to slap down the extremists in their own party, while mainstream Democrats did that years ago in most parts of the nation.
2) Lost hope: We HAD a party of reform - the Tea Party - and it was morphed into a collection of corporate sell-outs and hate-mongers in less than a year. That really takes the wind out of anyone's sails who might have been planning to create a party of reform.
Now that we have been subjected to six years of incompetence, lies, and corruption from the Obama administration, including a national party that exists to run interference for the administration, why hasn't the left started a movement similar to the Tea Party to address their party's obvious failings?
If I were a liberal, I would be outraged at what the DNC is doing to gut my ideology and its failure to pursue an agenda that fit my ideology.
Today's liberals are by and large uninterested in change, however. They dutifully fall in line with whatever this administration and the DNC tell them to do and say.
What ever happened to liberals with vision who used to question authority? It seems today's liberals exist simply to demonize and smear those who think differently than they do.
conservatives are extremely ideological. This means that for conservatives doing certain things no matter the impact are goals within themselves and this means that conservative elected officials are much more likely to identify with and seek to carry out those ideological beliefs.
So cutting taxes is a thing to do whether there is a budget surplus and a growing economy or a deficit and a shrinking economy and everything in between because cutting taxes is an ideological sign post for conservatives and a goal unto itself.
Liberals don't gave those kinds of iron clad pursue at all circumstances ideas and as such the Democratic Party tends to isolate the ideological elements of the Democratic Party.
So that's why there is no liberal equivalent of the tea party
So let me get this straight: It's not enough for the extreme right wing of the Republican Party to be spending all its time attacking the President, now you want Democrats to do the same thing?
No thanks. Most of us liberal Democrats have concerns or disagreements with what President Obama is doing, but we also know that he's better than any imaginable Republican, and that a large factor in his problems is the fact that the Republicans have been determined from Day One to prevent him from accomplishing anything that will benefit the country.
The Tea Party are not conservatives, they are not libertarians, they are far-right backwater nuts. Goldwater campaign veteran Vic Gold recently referred to them as "nihilists." So there is no "liberal" equivalent. A far left equivalent might be the Workers World Party or the scummier elements of the Occupy movement.
One reason is that some of us see the concept of "taxation" as being that of a fee for services rendered to the individual by the government. I don't know, but I'd assume most "tea party" people see it this way as well.
Then there are the rest who see taxation as both a punitive device and a money tree. When you see taxation as somewhat of a prison for those who are economically successful (or aspire to be) and at the same time a place for the economically unsuccessful to swill, there is no reason to have a "tea party." Things are going just as you see fit.
No thanks. Most of us liberal Democrats have concerns or disagreements with what President Obama is doing, but we also know that he's better than any imaginable Republican
This. I'm philosophically libertarian sometimes bordering on anarchist, but even I agree Obama's better than the bunch of creationists, warmongers and other pinheads in the Tea Party, or even the mainstream GOP.
Anarchist (n): a person who believes that government and laws are not necessary.
Libertarian (n):
1 - a person who believes that people should be allowed to do and say what they want without any interference from the government.
2 - an advocate of the doctrine of free will
3 - a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action
Must be that Acapulco Gold from last night talking. I just wanted to point out what you are claiming to be.
I flap my arms and start flying on a regular basis.
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