Tea Party, Meet Religious Right. Everybody Meet Ayn Rand

[marmar]

from AlterNet:



Posted by Adele Stan at 1:14 am
July 24, 2010

Tea Party, Meet Religious Right. Everybody Meet Ayn Rand.
Posted by Adele Stan on @ 1:14 am


LAS VEGAS, NEV. — In two major speeches and in the scuttlebutt of break-out sessions, Tea Party movement activists yesterday witnessed a subtle melding of their ideology with the sensibilities of the religious right and the cold capitalism of libertarian she-ro Ayn Rand. Along the way, more nakedly than before, presenters spoke of their clear-eyed plan to take over the Republican Party from within.

There’s a ridiculous idea circulating among some progressives that supporters of the Tea Party movement don’t give a hoot about the sexual and reproductive issues that move adherents of the religious right. If today’s RightOnline conference, a Tea Party gathering taking place in Las Vegas, is any indication, that calculus is based on a faulty abacus.

The Tea Partiers here heard today from two of their movement’s leading lights: Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who both wove strands of religious-right dogma or watchwords into their speeches.

The steely-eyed Pence is a big favorite among the Tea Party crowd, and is said to have his eye on the presidency. In the meantime, he occupies the number three position in the House Republican leadership: he chairs the House Republican Conference.

In a mid-day speech that rested primarily on the purported horrors of deficit spending, Pence illustrated his contention that today’s deficit spending is theft of the dollars of the adults of tomorrow, Pence used an anecdote from his own family life. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/07/24/tea-party-meet-religious-right-everybody-meet-ayn-rand/

[Turbineguy]

1. "....deficit spending is theft of the dollars of the adults of tomorrow..."

That's why we did not re-elect Poppy Bush.

[AlinPA]

2. "plan to take over the republican party" is bullshit. The teabaggers are the republican party.

They are the mainstream republicans. Fundamentalist, right-wing religious, anti immigrant, anti gay, racist, anti-government birthers and the entire republican platform is theirs. With Pence leading it it won't be long before the majority of republicans claim to be teabaggers and birthers.

[MikeNY]

3. Mainstream neocons will adopt the title

To fit the crime.

The Tea Party has a chance to end the wars. If they can do that, they'll get some credibility. Until then, its a way for mainstream Republicans to pledge allegiance to themselves. There is a real movement, but it is small.

[AlinPA]

6. I don't see them complaining about war. I see them as mainstream republicans. I know a lot of them

and they are all republicans who are involved in local politics.

[MikeNY]

8. Re: I don't see them complaining about war

Good article on this and how "mainstream" Republicans "don't get" what that whole movement was about: http://davidaslindsay.blogspot.com/2010/07/turning-tea-parties-antiwar.html

Before it started to get hijacked. Like you say, now every Republican is a member of the Tea Party. The primary Tea Party leaders, if they were serious about their beliefs, should've branched off and formed a 3rd party. This would be people like Paul, his son, and Palin. They clearly do not have mainstream favor in the Republican Party. But now every "God loving patriot" is in the Tea Party movement.

It has turned into another slogan, like "Change"?

Words are meaningless.

Only a third party could save this country from ethical bankruptcy. It has happened before, so people who say we MUST have a two party system don't know their history.

The early Tea Party was the disintegration of Bush-era neoconservativism. I would have loved to have seen it happen with a Republican administration in power. There is no way, after Bush, the even the most staunch, narrow-minded Republican, could possibly put up with George Bush's national disgrace to this country.

At its roots, the Tea Party started from sentiments Ron Paul made during the Republican primary debates, about pulling the troops out and reducing the budget. He schooled Guiliani and arguably cut him out of the campaign. He may be, in my opinion, the only honest Republican in that party, and thats mostly because hes a libertarian and not drunk off oil.

[KharmaTrain]

9. The Teabaggers Co-Opted The Paulbots And Visa Versa

Yes, there is a small fringe of the GOOP...the Paulbots who have burrowed themselves as teabaggers...so have LaRouchies, but the money and heavy lifting that made teabaggers a "nationalgrassroots Movement" were scumbags like Dick Armey and Freedomwerks. The whole concept is that the word "rushpublican" has become toxic...rebranding as teabaggers allowed those who didn't like the GOOP brand name an alternative.

Even the term "libertarian" has been co-opted these days as its become a convenient label for racists and other right wing malcontents to pretend they're not who they are. It's all a charade.

[AlinPA]

10. But I still believe that teabaggers are 90% of the republican party.

[krabigirl]

11. Most Paul supporters have left the "tea party,,,it is a neocon movement really. same old, same old.

[reformist2]

4. Don't the Fundies know Ayn Rand was a militant atheist??

John Galt's speech, the 80-page screed that is supposed to be the climax of Atlas Shrugged, is the most blistering attack on Christianity I have ever read. If the Fundies were to ever find out what *really* motivates their libertarian brothers, there'd be civil war in the Republican Party overnight.

[underpants]

5. Does Fox News, MSM, or talk radio ever give the whole story?

no of course not. Americans live in a bubble which is why this nonsense has not only be able to continue but is actually promoted by the talking box and the voices from the dashboard.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. They ignore the "please be kind" parts of the Bible, so...

They should have no problem ignoring the "there is no god" parts of Atlas Shrugged.

Worst of both worlds.

[Huey Long]

12. Yea

These people are hypocrites plain and simple.