What is teabaggery's appeal and is it enduring?

[cali]

I think much of teabaggery's appeal is its anti-intellectual stance; the wisdom of the common folk facade, the hating on the "elites". And what the teabag folks identify as elites is entirely different than what I (and likely you) identify as elites.

I'd argue that this anti-intellectualism which has always been a robust force in this country and its political life, is one of the main elements that will keep teabaggery as a force to be reckoned with in 2012 and beyond.

[BeFree]

1. It is racist

It is hate. It is fear manifested. It could even be reptilian.

[cali]

2. yes, it's all those things

but I think that the point that it's part of a long tradition of anti-intellectualism in this country is germane.

[NightWatcher]

7. it's racist and gleeful ignorance

have you seen the 20 year old minivans driving around with FairTax or Ron Paul bumperstickers? I wonder if these idiots know that they are advocating a 25% sales tax. I wonder if they are aware that they are carrying the water for millionaires while at the same time begging to be shit upon.

[cali]

9. It certainly is that

and gleeful ignorance is decidedly anti-intellectual.

[BeFree]

17. Elites

They hate people who are smarter than them. It isn't anti-intellectualism as much as it is they hate feeling so gawd damn dumb. Which they are because they are so full of hate.

Our despised elites are those who think they are smarter than everyone else, and so they think should rule everyone else. Such eliteness is anti-democratic.

[BeFree]

20. Example

The nuclear people who, because they are so narrowly focused on atoms, think that they should be the only ones allowed to talk about nuclear power. These kinds of elites have given us Fukushima.

[stockholmer]

39. reptilian! quick call David Icke

:sarcasm:

[Love Bug]

3. They appeal to people's fears

Teabaggers have a rosy view of a past where white men were in charge, women and minorities knew their places, and homosexuals were invisible. What's that quote from An American President? "(Republican candidate) is only interested in one thing. Telling you what to fear and who to blame for it." Or something like that.

Anti-intellectualism certainly plays a part, as you say. They don't want to think for themselves. They depend on their ministers and Fox news to tell them what to believe.

[cali]

6. do you think it has "legs", as a movement or do you think

it will burn out by 2012?

[Davis_X_Machina]

16. Not unless..

...Congress can repeal original sin, or there's a vaccine found for the fundamental depravity of mankind.

So the answer in this fallen world is, no. Not by 2012, not ever.

It will change names, and the packaging will change. So long as people in the aggregate -- though one by one they're often rather nice -- are shits, under some name or other it will be with us forever.

[RKP5637]

15. +1, And I would also add to that, "when Black people knew their place." They just

can't hate Obama enough. IMO the catalyst has been having a black president, that uppity up black man. The success of America has come from a percentage of bright, educated and forward thinking people, but a good part of America has always been of the teaparty mentality IMO. I've always found it easier to run across butt headed ignorant conservatives in America than forward thinking people.

[whathehell]

41. "I've always found it easier to run across

butt headed ignorant conservatives in America than forward thinking people".

That probably has something to do with how long you've lived here and in what region.

[RKP5637]

44. Yes, quite true, it is regional, or at least the percentages are higher in some regions IMO.

[jwirr]

50. Yes, they fear many of the ideas we as intellectuals are interested

in. For instance climate change - scientists define the problem but the Tbaggers fear the solutions - they are afraid of change. Their protests are a form of denial of the problems we face today. It will continue until more people recognize that futility of denial. I am not too worried about them yet as they are only about 30% of the population. However they showed us in 2010 what a small minority can do if the majority is asleep at the wheel. I think our biggest problem is too many people are more interested in dancing with stars and Charlie Sheen than the truth.

[JBoy]

4. It's also a place where bigotry can kick its shoes off

and nobody will say your feet stink.

[RKP5637]

28. Isn't that the truth! Well said! n/t

[SoCalDem]

5. Media loves it & promoted it in Aug '09

Had they reported honestly about it, it would have withered on the vine.

It's racist/jingoistic

[YvonneCa]

29. I agree with this. I think they are a minority...

...in this country. But the media gives them a stage, which makes them stronger AND gives them a legitimacy they don't deserve.

[JitterbugPerfume]

8. it is fueled by fear

They are afraid of anything that is different . Anti-intellectualism is a plague on America.

[YvonneCa]

30. Fear and ignorance. n/t

[JitterbugPerfume]

48. willful ignorance

[YvonneCa]

55. Often, yes. n/t

[Initech]

59. I think ignorance is a by-product of fear - and I'm an armchair psychologist.

I say this because it's a cycle - people are afraid of things they don't understand. So by not learning about it they're afraid of it.

[leftstreet]

10. It was a tool to revive a dead political party

Voters annihilated the GOP in 2006 and 2008

The healthcare town halls were drawn out long enough for the media to help create some 'opposition.'

[YvonneCa]

31. BINGO! n/t

[VioletLake]

11. I'd argue that the anti-intellectualism you refer to,

is more than just "the wisdom of the common folk facade, the hating on the 'elites'". It also encompasses nativism, belligerent nationalism, racism, and religious bigotry. In the end, anti-intellectualism (and teabaggery) involves a rationalization of some pretty ugly things.

As far as how robust and lasting it is remains to be seen.

[RKP5637]

22. IMO it's always been a part of America, sometimes it's covered up, and sometimes it

rears its ugly head. Back in the 50's/60's they wore robes. And some cover it with suits, but it's always been there and cuts across all levels of wealth and education. And often the religious are among the worst IMO.

[YvonneCa]

33. Sometimes the religious are used. JMHO. n/t

[RKP5637]

35. Yes, very very true! n/t

[VioletLake]

37. I agree, but I believe that they stand a chance

of rising above their weaknesses. Hopefully, one of these days...

We "pro-intellectuals" will have to keep working towards that.

[RKP5637]

49. Hope so! Often, anymore, it seems like one step forward and then three backward. n/t

[whathehell]

42. It's always been a part of Everywhere....

Check out the recent racist demonstrations, protests and evictions, such as that of the Roma in Europe...Not to mention the

historic anti-semitism.

[RKP5637]

47. Good point! It appears to be endemic to the human species. Now, the question that

always arises in my mind when I say that is, is it genetic or conditioned ... are some predisposed to that behavior under the right conditions ... It appears to me often that some are hardwired, no logic changes their minds ... which sometimes leads me to believe it's a function of brain development.

[whathehell]

66. I don't know if it's a function of brain development but

some think of it as a kind of evolutionary

survival instinct going back to prehistoric

times when one had to be suspicious of the "different"

as only one's "own kind", starting with the family perhaps,

were known and therefore able to be trusted.

[RKP5637]

67. This makes a lot of sense to me. And why the RW "fear" tactics work so well on some. n/t

[Botany]

12. There is a black guy in the White House

“What we need in our nominee is this. We need someone who understands and comprehends the seriousness of the times we live in, and
second, we need someone who knows what to do. They know what the proper solution would be to get us back to liberty.” M Bachmann

Code words for: A Black Man is President and that is not the liberty we had in mind,



BTW to Freepers and lurkers isn't this a pretty picture.

[EstimatedProphet]

13. Teabillyism is empowered bullying

That's its appeal. Give bullies attention, give into them, and they get even more aggressive and bullying.

[frebrd]

19. You beat me to it......

by one minute.

:)

[Populist_Prole]

21. That's quite valid. Bullies are often anti-intellectuals too.

The whole tea party movement just legitimizes their attitudes to almost make them seem widespread, even normal, in their eyes.

They are very much like talking to a belligerent drunk: They have this fired up passion that, to them,, feels just so right to act out, and their inebriation makes them unaware of what bellicose fools they really are. If you've ever tried to reason with one, even pacify, you see where it won't work. I've seen it so many times: The more calm, rationally, and concise you try to reason with them; the madder they get.

[EstimatedProphet]

27. And there's only 2 ways to deal with a belligerent drunk

Ignore them, if you can, and let them pass out;

Throw it right back at them, harder. They'll either back down or they'll get even stupider and make complete fools of themselves, and eventually get thrown out of the bar. But talking reason with them is out of the question, you're right.

[Initech]

58. Like I keep saying: Today's bullies = tomorrow's republicans

And I base this off my own personal experience - I found out the guy who bullied me in high school - his parents were republican and they called my house shilling for the Dole campaign.

[frebrd]

14. It appeals to people with a bully streak......

who haven't got the balls to be bullies independently.

[donco]

18. its people pissed

off at both parties.

[cliffordu]

23. Bzzt. KInd of a wrong answer,

unless you want to include the fact that they are pissed off at everything because they are obviously not in charge anymore.

That their fantasy of power has been shown to be just that.

The white racist homophobe misogynist crowd and their apologists, that is.

[JoePhilly]

65. Its the foundation of the GOP.

The far right Christian, social, conservatives who doesn't like programs for the poor because Rush told them such programs are actually nothing but reparations for "welfare queens".

[Avant Guardian]

24. When your ideology does your thinking

This is what you end up with.

[OHdem10]

25. It is simple. They had the gall to stand up fight for what they believe

The sparkle has worn off real fast. They do not
have the same amount as at the time of the elections.

Even Independents are not happy with the policies.

At the time of the elections, the country was angry, the
teabaggers were able to stir up the Anger. In time,
I believe we will discover that most people in a fit
of anger just said Throw the BUMS OUT. It was more about
just an attitude of getting rid of whomever was in office
and the Teabaggers and COC pointed to the Democrats.

There is a lot buyer's remorse going on.

The appeal of the Teabaggers was their standing up and fighting
for what they believed. It was not their beliefs.

[YvonneCa]

36. Your words: "The appeal of the Teabaggers was their standing up and fighting...

...for what they believed. It was not their beliefs."

I think this is true.

[RevStPatrick]

26. It's the new Know-Nothingism...

By definition, half of the people are of below average intelligence. Teabaggism and Know-Nothingness are among the pitfalls of Democracy. People don't like being told they are dumb. Especially when they really are dumb. The tradition of democracy says that everyone has value and that everyone's perspective has value. Unfortunately, not every perspective is based on reality, particularly in a nation where propaganda has as much force as it does here and now.

Is Teabaggery enduring? I don't think so. It's the pendulum swing at this moment, and it always swings back in the other direction. I recently began to revisit a book I read in the late '90s - "The Fourth Turning." It's a generational/seasonal look at history. Right now there is a new generation of people coming up, and the Boomer generation is entering elderhood. My generation - GenX is entering middle age, and convulsing because of it. Seasonally, we have entered a Winter/Crisis phase in our history, and like several other times in American history, it is ugly and dangerous.

I think much of teabaggery is a general railing against the established order. And unfortunately, largely due to the propaganda we are faced with, too many of the people who are attracted to teabaggery simply don't understand what they are railing against. And largely due to the fact that so many of them are of below average intelligence.

My 2 cents...

[RKP5637]

34. Yep, they never look/sound like the sharpest tools in the tool shed IMO. n/t

[pampango]

64. Great point. The Know-Nothing movement flared up dramatically and died quickly.

They were afraid of immigrants, Catholics, and change in general. They wanted to country the way it used be, even in the 1850's. They could have easily originated the slogan "We want our country back".

It does seem to be a cycle that the country goes through periodically. Nativism seems to flare up during periods of large scale immigration or economic recession/depression. My guess is that the Know Nothings and the teabaggers view(ed) themselves as "populists" not "anti-intellectuals". Distrust in the governing elite (intellectuals?) can be called many things - good and bad.

"The Know Nothing movement was a nativist American political movement of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothing

[RickFromMN]

32. I told one of my mother's friends never to talk to me again. She was a teabagger.

She kept forwarding these emails.

Finally, I had enough.

There was a common theme amongst these emails.

She, and people like her, thought they were like the ants.
They worked hard. They earned what they got. They got what they deserved.
If you weren't an ant, you were some other insect, in their mind, a detestable insect.

They didn't want to be like that other group of lazy insects.
I can't remember those lazy insects...I think it was grasshoppers or locusts or something.
Those lazy insects didn't work, they ate the ant's food. They ruined and destroyed everything.

The emails would end saying it was better to be an ant than a grasshopper.

From her, I have the impression teabaggers think they are the only hard working people.
They think they got everything they have, by themselves, through their hard work.
They think they get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
They won't listen to any opinion that contradicts their opinion.
They know they are doing God's bidding. They know God is on their side.
They know they are correct. Any opinion, to the contrary, is dismissed, out of hand.

She was religious, I think very religious. I tried to appeal to her through religion.
I tried to remind her of the proverb of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37 and Mark 12:28-31,
what Jesus said was the second greatest commandment, that a stranger is our neighbor,
that government is a tool of the people, that we should use our tools to help others,
that health care should be a right...and she couldn't bring herself to think or listen.

Instead, she got hung up on the idea we should practice tough love.
She felt people got what they deserve. People could do better through hard work if they wanted.

I finally gave up on her and told her never to communicate with me ever again.
I didn't care she had been my mother's friend. She was no longer my friend.

[YvonneCa]

38. When you get right down to it...

...it is a very selfish ideology.

[atreides1]

40. Simple description of Teabaggers

Flat earth, knuckle dragging , mouth breathers!!!

[thelordofhell]

43. teabagger = gop = fear

Never will a teabagger vote for a Democratic candidate

[BR_Parkway]

45. "they" are going to get something more than you - and you have to pay

for it. Gays, African Americans, Latinos.... there's always a "they"

[RKP5637]

53. Yep, they are always looking for a scapegoat to blame for their own ineptness. n/t

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

46. racism, low paying service sector jobs

the right wing hate media machine and the "mandate".

Take a bunch of poorly educated people that make $12 an hour or less, that have nothing but faux news and hate radio blaring, add a mandate to buy health insurance, like it or not, plus a black president = tea partiers.

[handmade34]

51. if they

were educated, they would be here with us

[Adsos Letter]

52. They believe they represent the true spirit of the 18th century American Revolution

Their racism and anti-intellectualism is folded into their self-perception as carriers of the Founding Spirit, as they misunderstand it.

An excellent recent work on this is Jill Lepore's: The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle over American History.

[Klukie]

54. A false sense of self sufficiency that masquerades their overwhelming penchant for avarice

I have come across plenty of smart teabaggers and plenty of ignorant ones and what binds them is a sense of entitlement and greed.

[unblock]

56. it's not about logic or policy, it's about emotions. mostly, in this case, frustration.

they are tapping into the frustration that many people feel for various reasons.

everyone's frustrated with the sucky economy.
bigots are frustrated with more minorities and a black president.
lots of people are frustrated with the establishment political parties.

the koch brothers and other tea-party supporters have created this "brand" as the only legitimate "rebel" voice out there. if some democrats are establishment and other democrats are frustrated and want more change, that's just democrats being disorganized and having in-fighting and a split in the party and no coherent philosophy and no leader and all that crap. but if republicans do the same thing, well, the establishment republicans are solid party loyalists and the ones for change are the tea-party. a surging new political force to be reckoned with.

really, it's just a way for people on the right to vent their frustration without really leaving the republican party. the anti-intellectualism is really just one facet of the anti-establishment frustration. but it's not the core. if they weren't frustrated, the tea party would go away. if they had their way, they wouldn't mind if the president were highly educated, provided he were white and republican and the economy was booming.

[Initech]

57. It's for people who like to think they're anti establishment.

But really they're just unpaid mouthpieces for the big wealthy business interests that control us.

[Hugabear]

60. Rich elites like the Koch brothers are appealing to their hatred and racism

Hmmm...sounds an awful lot like another political movement that took place about 80 years ago...

[LeftishBrit]

61. A combination of a tendency to seek simple solutions to difficult problems, and plain old racism

In hard economic times, it's easy to want a simplistic solution, and often a scapegoat or two. And the hard-right provide such solutions and scapegoats. In addition, I am sure that some people from traditional right-wing backgrounds dislike having a president who is either Democratic or black, let alone both!

In March 2009, I posted:

'At the moment, there is exceptionally fertile soil for the growth of anti-establishment Right movements: they always flourish in hard economic times, and if one were trying to imagine a leader of the political establishment who would most arouse the ire of such people, it would be difficult to find a better example than Obama: liberal, black, international in heritage and upbringing, *and* a member of the Educated Elite! (tut tut!)'

[southernyankeebelle]

62. Rember all the lower middle class and working people in this country don't have a

college degree and yes some of us are old yet we are still strong democratics. Please don't paint us all with the same brush.

[Hugabear]

63. I think this image sums it up pretty well as well

[Shallah Kali]

68. They are Right-Wing Authoritarian Followers

Dr. Bob Altemeyer's - The Authoritarians - free book in pdf here:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/


OK, what’s this book about? It’s about what’s happened to the American government lately. It’s about the disastrous decisions that government has made. It’s about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It’s about how the “Religious Right” teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country. It’s about the United States standing at the crossroads as the next federal election approaches.

snip

Because if you do, you’ll begin an easy-ride journey through some very relevant scientific studies I have done on authoritarian personalities--one that will take you a heck of a lot less time than the decades it took me. Those studies have a direct bearing on all the topics mentioned above. So if you think the first paragraph is a lot of hokum, or full of half-truths, I invite you to look at the research.

snip


Don’t think for a minute this doesn’t concern you personally. Let me ask you, as we’re passing the time here, how many ordinary people do you think an evil authority would have to order to kill you before he found someone who would, unjustly, out of sheer obedience, just because the authority said to? What sort of person is most likely to follow such an order? What kind of official is most likely to give that order, if it suited his purposes? Look at what experiments tell us, as I did.

If, on the other hand, you’re way ahead of me, and believe the extreme right-wing elements in America are poised to take it over, permanently, I think you can still get a lot from this book. The studies explain so much about these people. Yes, the research shows they are very aggressive, but why are they so hostile? Yes, experiments show they are almost totally uninfluenced by reasoning and evidence, but why are they so dogmatic? Yes, studies show the Religious Right has more than its fair share of hypocrites, from top to bottom; but why are they two-faced, and how come one face never notices the other? Yes, their leaders can give the flimsiest of excuses and even outright lies about things they’ve done wrong, but why do the rank and file believe them? What happens when authoritarian followers find the authoritarian leaders they crave and start marching together?


His comment on the Tea Party (pdf) http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/drbob/Comment%20on%20the%20Tea%20Party.pdf

html version via google cache http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http%3A%2F%2Fhome.cc.umanitoba.ca%2F~altemey%2Fdrbob%2FComment%2520on%2520the%2520Tea%2520Party.pdf

1. Authoritarian submission. Authoritarian followers submit to the people they consider
authorities much more than non-authoritarians do. In this context, Tea Partiers seem to believe
without question whatever their chosen authorities say. Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, various
religious groups, the House and Senate GOP leaders, Sen. Grassley from Iowa, Rep. Bachmann
from Minnesota, and of course Sarah Palin can say whatever they want about the Democrats, and
the Tea Partiers will accept it and repeat it. The followers don‟t find out for themselves what the
Democratic leader truly said, what is really in a bill, what a treaty actually specifies, or whether
taxes have really gone up. They are happy to let Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin do their thinking
for them. It has gotten so bad that their leaders casually say preposterous things that are easily
refuted, because they know their audience will never believe the truth, or even hear about it.

2. Fear. Fear constantly pulses through authoritarian followers, and Tea Partiers are mightily
frightened. They believe President Obama is a dictator. They also think the country will be
destroyed by its mounting debt. They readily believed the health care proposals provided for “death
panels” that will euthanize Down‟s syndrome babies, “put Grandma in the grave,” and place
microchips in each American so the government can track us. When Rep. Paul Brown (R-GA) said
that Obama‟s plan to expand such things as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps was really intended to
create a Gestapo-like, brown-shirt military force in the United States, his followers accepted this.
Conservative leaders especially vilify Barack Obama, recently calling him in the space of two days
(April 7 and 8) the “most radical president ever” (Gingrich) who is “inflicting untold damage on
this great country” (Limbaugh) and is inviting a nuclear attack on the United States by indicating
we won‟t hit back (Palin). The people who orchestrate the Tea Party movement know well what
button to push first and hardest among social conservatives, and they work it overtime. And they
know spreading fear “works” with others as well. Sometimes it seems they are all trying to out-
boogie-man each other.

3. Self-righteousness. Self-righteousness runs very strongly in authoritarian followers, and
combines with fear to unleash aggression in them. The Tea Partiers commonly describe themselves
as “the good Americans,” “the true Americans,” “the people,” and “the American Patriots.” They
could hardly wrap themselves in the flag more thoroughly or more often than they do. Theirs is the
holy cause. They believe they are the only ones who can save the country.

4. Hostility. Authoritarian aggression is one of the defining characteristics of authoritarian
followers. Do Tea Partiers seem particularly aggressive? The behind-the-scenes organizers of the
protests often provided the “words” for the protest through talking-points they distributed. But the
protestors put the feeling into the song, and the feeling was often hostility. They angrily called
people who disagreed with them at the town halls “Liars,” “Communists,” and “Traitors.” They
booed and booed until opposing speakers simply gave up. They lashed out at elected representatives
who tried to engage in dialogue. If you look at some of the videos of last August‟s protests, you can
see veins bulging in the necks of some of the Tea Partiers as they vented their fury.