The Leftist Myth about the Tea Party Movement
By Leland Conway
First they accused us of racism. When that didn’t work, they said we were organized and funded by the Republican Party. When this was also found to be wrong, they pointed to a recent Homeland Security report and branded us “radical rightwing extremists” capable of any number of terrorist acts. The real story is that the left is terrified of a resurgence of the American spirit of individualism, patriotism and a renewed push for smaller government.
The tea party movement is not the brainchild of some well funded political organization. On the contrary, it is the natural reaction to one. For those who still cling to this argument, consider the following questions.
Where were you when George Soros and Moveon.org was funding much of the so-called “grass-roots” movement to elect Barack Obama as president? Where were you when ACORN was physically breaking into a foreclosed home that a bank had taken back from a perennial deadbeat member of their own group? Where were you when ACORN was paying people in cash and cigarettes to illegally register to vote multiple times?
If the tea party movement is funded by the wealthy Republican elite, then I’m still waiting for my check. So is the Reverend Dan Barnes of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Nicholasville who organized a protest on the courthouse lawn that drew more than 300 angry taxpayers. So is Mica Sims, a stay at home mom who’s fed up with over reaching government and spent her own money to organize an event that drew more than 500 in Lexington. So is Kelly Wallingford, a fed up business man and broadcaster in Richmond Kentucky who opened up his office parking lot for an event that drew more than 100 in Madison County as a prelude to Barry and Janie Spurlock's courthouse rally with 300 supporters.
Not a single one of these events was an "official" event of either major political party.
Sure, lots of Republicans showed up. But whether the media and the left want to acknowledge it, the Republican Party just happens to be full of, well, conservatives. Of course they came out in strong numbers to these events. That’s because Republicans also feel let down by their own party leadership who voted for this terrible spending rampage.
But there were a lot of angry Democrats, Libertarians and Independents at these events as well. I think that is what scares the Left so much. The reality is Obama won the election because Independents swung his way. He lured them with a lot of talk about fiscal responsibility, government transparency and cutting government waste. All promises which he has quickly broken.
Many on the left are trying to point to the "failed policies of the last eight years." This talking point is wearing thin, since those same Independents, and many Republicans have long ago acknowledged that Bush was too big a spender.
That’s why they have a very real reason to be worried about this movement. The only people who care about the "last eight years" argument are the liberal wing of the Democratic party – and there aren’t enough of them to keep congress or re-elect Barack Obama. The independent minded Republicans, Democrats and non-party affiliates see that, not only did President Bush make very poor moves on the economy over the last few months, but Obama made the same moves while stepping on the accelerator.
No, we’re not a Republican-funded bunch of "right wing extremists bent on terrorist acts" gathering at these tea parties. But we are a group of very legitimately angry Americans who see our personal wealth and freedoms disintegrating right before our eyes. That should strike terror into the hearts of the political Left.
