Lefties hate the Tea Party.
That’s one of the reasons they try to smear it every chance they get. They like to play the “hate” card whenever possible. It has become a jaded tactic of many on the Left to call tea partiers racists and homophobes, which is a part of the shop-worn vocabulary of people who have run out of ideas.
They have also done their best to neutralize the movement by lying about the nature of the Tea Party’s rallies. On the day Congress passed the unconstitutional atrocity called Obamacare, then Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, marched through a large Tea Party group that had gathered to oppose the measure. She claimed, after the fact, that she had been threatened by the protestors. Other liberal Democrats in her company made similarly outlandish accusations, claiming racial slurs had been hurled at them.
To the chagrin of those Democrats and their fellow propagandists, plus the usual pack of media lapdogs, many of the tea partiers produced video recordings of the incident which offered incontrovertible proof that no such harassment had occurred. The manner in which they were able to completely debunk the usual liberal lies represented the essence of the movement and its enduring strength.
Why all of this hatred for the Tea Party? I would suggest it’s because the Left is deathly afraid of this grassroots movement. They have never had to deal with a phenomenon quite like this group of everyday American citizens who don’t seem to be intimidated by name calling and threats. The so-called “progressives” are used to abusing spineless mainstream Republicans who hide under their desks when they hear a discouraging word.
Proof that the Left fears tea partiers can be found in a report released by the Institute for Research & Education On Human Rights (IREHR). This left-leaning organization opposes white nationalism and white privilege and boasts “new hope” for its “dreams for social and economic justice.” The group is led by Leonard Zeskind, who describes himself as “a leading authority on white nationalist political and social movements.”
The report, “The Status of the Tea Party: Membership, Support and Sympathy by the Numbers,” looks at the state of the movement that arose in response to Barack Obama’s socialist agenda. The rise of the Tea Party helped Republicans regain the House in 2010.
“Against IREHR’s expectations, the national organizations at the center of the tea party movement have maintained stable memberships in 2013,” states the report, which analyzes membership, location and commitment to the ideals of the movement. The report further states, “During the past year, tea parties have endured leadership changes, significant splits, and the emergence of competitive forces. Nevertheless, core membership numbers have neither receded nor died, but grown by four percent.”
The report notes that opposition to the Tea Party’s goals has “hardened,” but party members have responded with a surge of commitment. The report says the “core membership” is estimated at more than 500,000 people, concentrated geographically in the South, even though some local groups are no longer “active” and staging events.
“At its core, this report is a wakeup call for everyone who cares about human rights,” said Zeskind. “The tea party threat to human rights remains persistent on a multitude of fronts.” In making that statement, he somehow forgets the abortion-loving Left’s total disregard for the human rights of an unborn child. Liberals are funny that way.
The author of the report, Devin Burghart, warned, “Tea partiers are more than minions for millionaires or the sum of ballots cast on Election Day. They are not illusions created by public relations magicians. Over the last five years, real people have been involved in real activities aimed at impacting politics, culture and civil society in negative ways.”
The study charges that Tea Party members are, you guessed it, racists. “The tea party movement has been populated by large numbers of self-motivated persons, obviously angry and dismayed by the presidency of Barack Obama, his policies, and the change he signifies—particularly the fact that he has broken the white monopoly on the presidency.”
In spite of the report’s criticism of the Tea Party, the IREHR says the movement should not be ignored or discounted. “To claim that these individuals and their actions are somehow ‘fake’ ignores the substantial evidence to the contrary, belittles those involved, and makes it more difficult to muster effective countervailing strategies,” the report says.
The study identifies those who are “sympathizers” and explains it is this group that influences polls that “sometimes falsely conclude…that the tea party movement was dead or dying.” In other words, many people who like the Tea Party movement are suspicious of pollsters and do not tell the person on the other end of the line what they really think, leaving the impression that support for the Tea Party is weak.
The study defines another group as “supporters” of the Tea Party, estimating its numbers to be in the 6-8 million range. Then there are “members” who make a powerful statement in a low-commitment culture. They “make calls, knock on doors, organize meetings, recruit new members, become leaders, and more,” the report says. The study identifies five groups leading the national movement—Freedom Works, Tea Party Patriots, Patriot Action Network, Tea Party Nation and Tea Party Express.
Not to be forgotten are the establishment Republicans, who, like liberal Democrats, fear and loathe tea partiers. They, along with the Democrats, make up the elitist ruling class of career politicians who slither down Washington, D.C.’s halls of power and gather in back rooms to cut their deals. If they have their way, this uprising of grassroots conservatives will be shamed into silence and eventually lose steam, at which point the Ruling Class can get back to business as usual.
Moderate Republicans and liberal Democrats should be so lucky. Ultimately, while big money may influence the maneuverings of the Beltway Barnacles, no amount of political treachery or media propaganda can overrule a concerned, informed and doggedly determined citizenry that knows the country is hanging by a thread and is committed to its restoration.
The Tea Party is alive and well.
Ed Baswell pastors The Clarion Church and is the host of Crossfire Radio, weekdays from 7-9 am, on The Promise, 90.7 FM. The show is streamed live worldwide at promisetalkradio.org and at ktbs.com. It can be seen each day on the KTBS 24-hour, digital news channel.
