The Tea Party is partial proof that Obama is partially successful

[garthranzz]

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/2010_elections/index.html?story=/tech/htww/2010/07/28/lyndon_johnsons_tea_party

From the article on salon.com, which talks about the backlash to LBJ's civil rights legislation and medicare:

The backlash against the Great Society did not immediately threaten Democratic control of the House and Senate. The Republicans gained 47 seats in the House, and still were down by 60! In the Senate, the GOP only gained three seats, leaving Democrats with 63. But there's little doubt that the pendulum had started to swing. The Voting Rights Act and associated civil rights legislation ended Democratic dominance in the South, contributed to Richard Nixon's victory in 1968 and put into motion the forces that swept Ronald Reagan into power.

(As an aside, those of us who wring our hands at the harsh rhetoric of Tea Party activists would do well to go back and consider the tone of political debate during the peak intensity of the struggle to pass civil rights legislation. Perlstein makes an indisputable case that it was far, far uglier then than it is now.)

It is folly to compare the incredible achievements of the 89th Congress with the record of the past 18 months, but it is worth considering: In both cases the fierce counterreaction from the right does not necessarily represent a failure by the governing party, but its success. The passage of the Voting Rights Act and an awesome slate of progressive legislation turned white Southern Democrats into Republicans. The passage of healthcare reform -- the first major healthcare-related legislation since Medicare -- energized the Tea Party.

(read the whole thing; it's worth it)

[babylonsister]

1. The scary black man got stuff done. They hate that!

But it's indisputable that he did. I don't even think he's that scary. :)

Seriously, we have an old guard who doesn't like a black man being involved in anything, and their ugliness is showing. Their kids, brought up with the same 'values', likewise.

It's over for them in the long run, and they hate that. Rethugs are riding on those coattails to my infinite disgust.

[Merlot]

3. If he wasn't black, it would be something else...

That he's black just makes it worse for them. Don't think for a minute that if he were white they'd like what he's doing any more.

For me it's like icing on the cake.

[bigwillq]

4. I agree

I am sure some, possibly a lot, of their anger and rage and hate against President Obama, is because of the fact that he is black. But if Hillary or Biden or fill-in-the-blank Democrat were President, their actions would be similar.

[Merlot]

5. If HIllary (or any woman) had won the presidency, I think people would be

amazed at how much sexism still exists in this country. In fact, I think quite a few people were surprised at how much racism is still alive in this country.

[old mark]

10. The RWers were EXTREMELY angry that Hillary Clinton was running at all!

Many felt that she would institute a real "socialist regime"...very similar to the "communist Democrat foreign controlled" Obama administration...

The right is just crazy - they will be against ANYONE the Democrats run for President for any reason their sickness can dream up - sex and race are just obvious ones for them.
With JFK, it was his Catholic religion.

They will ALWAYS find something, even if it is a totally absurd lie, like the birther idea...


mark

[bigwillq]

11. Again, I agree!

Sad but true. What a country!

[caledesi]

7. Well said BS....you are right....

and this "big-gubmint thing" and "socialist" .....just substitutes for Obama! The baggers cannot bring signs on MLK Aug. 28th...huh

:wtf: ....gee I thought it was those "crashers" who made them look racist!

[Exilednight]

2. The only thing it proves is that the kkk is capable of remarketing themselves. It has nothing.....

to do with any policy he has put forward.

[calimary]

9. Kicking this post.

I think this is a key point. My husband recalled something similar recently, saying the teabaggers reminded him of the John Birch Society back when he was a kid, which had a lively presence in a nearby community.

[Pirate Smile]

6. K & R

[Dragonfli]

8. Wow, desperately wishful thinking combined with grasping at strays with the KKK resurgence

Racism is not a sign of progress, it is only a sign of racists. They are not reacting to any perceived victory of liberalism over conservatism but rather they fear the fact that a non-lilly white could possibly hold the reigns of power.

If they really looked at only the accomplishments, they would love the mostly republican idea based legislation he has brokered on behalf of trickle down economics and the corporate privatization of both health and education.

They are idiots, reading their scatological droppings as if they are tea leaves really gives them way too much credit.

Wishful thinking gone wild...