Finally, I Get It...

This is kind of a funny shirt that someone made for Glenn Beck's defamatory Honkey Ashram, according to TPM. In context it has racist undertones: like blacks and other minorities have it so good in America, where is the federally designated slice of the pie for poor white people? But taken at face value, it is a slogan I can get behind. I do believe America is a place where people who are economically, culturally and educationally marginalized should still have a place at the table. Even shit-kicker high school dropouts who might be prone to using the pronoun "y'all" during a job interview still deserve healthcare, clean air, decent working conditions, a home to call their own, peace... and the list could go on of things that America does pretty well, but has been doing a little less well lately.

The Tea Partiers are right to be worried: in a shrinking economy the elites of our society most definitely are squeezing the little guys. What I don't understand is why they think Glenn Beck or the GOP has anything to say to them.

A Murky Brew

Talking Points Memo has an interesting post on the "Florida Tea Party". To be honest, I didn't actually read the whole thing, but using the intensive skimming I perfected as an English major, I gather that the Florida political party known as "Tea" is not making many friends, but may have some strange bedfellows. Isn't it always like that with the social conservative crowd?.

Aparently, the national (small "t") tea party movement thinks that the officially registered (big "T") Tea party in Flordia is a case of GOP astro-turfing. However, since the party's candidates will inevitably split the conservative vote, the GOP is calling foul on Florida Democrats, saying that in particular Alan Grayson may have put up at least one bad faith Tea Party state candidate to split the conservative vote in that district.

Well you can't really have it both ways can you? Either it's a plot by the GOP to manipulate their electorally inconvenient grassroots or it's a plot by the DNC to manipulate the GOP's electorally convenient grassroots. Or maybe it is actually both, sort of a heads you lose, tails you double-lose for America's nominal deficit hawks. Frankly, the right has no one to blame but themselves:

Exhibit A) How many "teabaggers" voted for Bush? Twice, after he was obviously driving the national debt to towering new heigts? At least liberals have something to show for their profligracy. What exactly did Bush spend all that money on: occupying a foreign country and giving rich people tax breaks.

Exhibit B) You can't make Karl Rove your go-to guy and then start getting upset at other people's dirty tricks.

Exhibit C) Kissinger called the winning play 40 years ago: Racism + Fiscal Conservatism = Win Elections. If Michael Steele is confused, he can ask Pat Buchanan for a refresher. GW let the second part slip so far off the cliff that some base conservatives are as upset with Republicans as they are with Democrats.

The Take away: you can't run campaigns on fear alone; you need at least one policy idea, and Alan Grayson may be a Democrat, but he still fights like a Southerner.