“Progress has discouraged anybody who had anything to say in favor of man, in his common relations to manhood and motherhood and the normal appetites of nature. Progress has been merely the persecution of the Common Man.”
Something that the TEA Party has noticed, I'd say.
HT: Chesterton & Friends
I'd say this new tea party occupation of Wall Street have been brushing up on the GKC.
ReplyDeleteIf you think it's the Tea Party occupying Wall Street, you need to get your meds adjusted.
ReplyDeleteTea Party folks tend to have jobs and employers that frown upon taking weeks off to block public streets and harass commerce.
Yeah, those Tea Partiers are the REAL Americans. Not those college students worried about their job prospects, or middle-age workers who have been recently laid off. And those darn public employees, them folks are the real troublemakers, right, Amy?
ReplyDeleteThose "occupying" Wall Street are the usual suspects. The "paid-to-protest" crowd, the anarchists, the whiners, the Socialists. "I shouldn't have to pay back my student loans". "Tax the evil corporations" (who of course won't hire anyone because, in part they have significant regulatory and taxation uncertainty). "_____ is a human right". "Fight Global Warming".
ReplyDeleteSee where I'm going with this? These are a bunch of trust-funders with nothing better to do. It will get cold and snowy and they'll abandon the north and move down to LA, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta.
Same faces, different places.
Besides the mass arrests only the Occupy Wall St crowd has drawn upon themselves, the Tea Party was grassroots. Occupy Wall St. was incited by Obama and funded by:
ReplyDeleteAFL-CIO (AFSCME)
United NY
Strong Economy for All Coalition
Working Families Party
TWU Local 100
SEIU 1199
CWA 1109
RWDSU
Communications Workers of America
CWA Local 1180
United Auto Workers
United Federation of Teachers
Professional Staff Congress - CUNY
National Nurses United
Writers Guild East
And:
VOCAL-NY
Community Voices Heard
Alliance for Quality Education
New York Communities for Change
Coalition for the Homeless
Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP)
The Job Party
NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
The Mirabal Sisters Cultural and Community Center
The New Deal for New York Campaign
National People's Action
ALIGN
Human Services Council
Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State
Citizen Action of NY
MoveOn.org
Common Cause NY
New Bottom Line
350.org
Tenants & Neighbors
Democracy for NYC
Resource Generation
Tenants PAC
Teachers Unite
Your source???
ReplyDelete"the Tea Party was grassroots..."
As George Castanza once stated, it's not a lie unless you believe it is true!
Face it, NO political movement is "grass roots". It has its antecedents in power and money, and the Tea Party is no different. So quit embarrassing yourself.
Yes, the TEA Party demonstrations were 'organized' in the sense that somebody started the ball rolling and there was some money (not a lot) available for bus transportation.
ReplyDeleteSo what?
The sentiment that Gummints (all of 'em) are on the wrong track with their taxes, regs, regs, rules, rules, and ordinances--beginning with mandatory sex ed and running through Kelo and gay "marriage", with 1,000 things between--was sufficient to pull millions of people into the streets. Only a small fraction were afforded bus rides.
There's more behind the TEA Party revolution than the Koch brothers.
Far more.
Got the ball rolling, indeed. But what exactly is the motivation? Certainly the common everyday Joe Blow wants smaller government, fewer regulations and less taxation...noble causes. That much, I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteBut take a close look at the sheep in wolf's clothing and who stands to reap the benefits at the expense of the common man, who ultimately is being duped and swindled.
There is a difference between mainstream conservatism and a fringe agenda that tilts completely toward big business, while gutting fundamental government safety nets designed to protect the unemployed, public health, workplace safety, and the elderly.
Invisible hand, indeed!
www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer
Yah, I read the article. Again: so what?
ReplyDeleteEven Marx had this right: there's thesis, antithesis, and synthesis (in matters political, anyway.)
The Thesis from 1900-2000 was "Mo' Gummint"!! The Antithesis for the next XX years will be "Less Gummint!!"
Matters not who funds the antithesis--it could have been Bill Gates, or Charlie Brown. What matters is the underlying reality, which NO amount of money could change.
IOW, the funding was, in a way, incidental to the growing apprehension of the millions that something is wrong.
And--not to worry--I call both sides of the issues. If I think the local radiomouths are wrong, I say so.
Same with the local Pubbies.
So I don't have a lot of friends!
"What matters is the underlying reality, which NO amount of money could change."
ReplyDeleteAnd the reality is that those who have money generally have power. And when they have power, they make damn sure to stay in power. IF the Koch Brothers and company get exactly what they want, it's Robber Barons, Act II. And those who helped the cause will simply be cast aside. History has a sick way of repeating itself. It's Robin Hood robbing for himself and not for the benefit of the locals who support him.
those who have money generally have power. And when they have power, they make damn sure to stay in power.
ReplyDeleteThe Kennedys.
All the more reason to carefully observe the machinations of the wealthy who claim to be looking out for the interests of the everyday yokel!
ReplyDeleteWell, yes.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, just because some rich guy likes Idea A doesn't make Idea A a bad one.
What is bad? Envy.
I don't mind the rich, so long as they're not crooks.