I can't understand people here who chortle with each Tea Party victory,

[pnwmom]

and assume that this can only be good news for the Democrats -- and by extension, the country.

I think it is truly frightening that such a large vein of hate and racism still exists in America. And even though the Teabaggers are only a minority within the Republican party TODAY, their message is tugging the whole Republican party to the right. And that moves the whole country to the right, because it changes the location of the center.

And the more races they win, the more the media will treat them as a legitimate player in American politics -- and even more people will sign on to their agenda. In another 10 years, or even sooner, we could have a Teabagger president. And no one here will be chortling then.

These people are a THREAT. Don't laugh at them. Figure out how to help defeat them.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. The Teabaggers definitely scare me.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Brownshirts

The parallels in history are clear.

[pnwmom]

5. And they started out with only a couple percent of the vote.

The Teabaggers are already polling about 20%.

[area51]

70. +1 n/t

[AmericanMan1958]

2. *Agree*

Oh, I so agree

[pnwmom]

4. Welcome to DU, AmericanMan1958!

[pepperbear]

6. THANK YOU.

[backscatter712]

7. With O'Donnell, it's simply because she's too crazy to win the general.

So Delaware's Senate seat is going to a Democrat.

But you're right - the Tea Party is dangerous - we're talking proto-fascism here, and if it develops further, things will get really ugly.

[TorchTheWitch]

31. people said that about Rick Santorum

It's these crazy ultra-right candidates that give Dems the excuse to move yet even further to the right, so even if the Dem wins, the fact that they won against someone that nuts gives them the excuse to be Repub-light... and these days, it's not even "light". The further the GOP goes into the utter crazy zone of the right the further right the Dems go.

There's nothing funny about complete nutters anywhere near political office. Nazi Germany is a good example of that.

The fact that O'Donnell won the primary in blue state Delaware of all places should scare the SHIT out of everyone.

[BolivarianHero]

44. Yeah but...

Southern Delaware is not large enough to counterbalance the North the way Phil and Pitt is couterbalanced by the misplaced chunk of Talibama in the middle.

[napi21]

8. Everyone needs to recognize that the Teabaggers are NOT

what they sem. They are tools of the Dick Army's & Koch Bros's of the country and the minions are doing a good job at pushing through the ideals of their $ backers.

[Steely_Dan]

9. Absolutely Right...

I have been stating much the same on other threads where the TB are being laughed at. This is NOT good news for this country. As far as I'm concerned...if they can get nominated, they can win. We need to counter and not just sit back and make fun of them.

-P

[eridani]

10. My dad lived in Skokie, IL in the 30s

He said that the both the German-American and Jewish communities there blew off the local goose-steppers as irrelevant crackpots. The next thing he knew, he and a bunch of his friends were in the armed forces.

[McCamy Taylor]

11. I agree. How can racists who mock the disabled get such a large political voice?

Answer, they are being bankrolled by corporatations. Their real agenda is $4/gallon oil, endless wars for oil, a Wall Street run on Social Security, unlimited federal handouts to (primarily European) phamaceutical companies and an end to all Civil Rights and civil liberties legislation under guise of keeping us "safe".

If there was no money behind them, they would be laughable. They also would not have non stop MSM coverage. It is the money part that makes them dangerous. You can sell America almost anything if you saturate the airwaves with it.

[pnwmom]

17. Yes, they are dangerous because of the power the media is giving them.

And that's not going to go away, no matter how much we laugh at them.

[opihimoimoi]

12. Make them a National JOKE.... which they are....

[pnwmom]

18. Nixon was a national joke who went on to become President.

So was Reagan.

People who are not afraid of Palin, Beck, and the Tea Party have no understanding of history.

[Davis_X_Machina]

29. They were, especially Nixon, but...

...also Reagan, who began running for President in '68, skilled career politicians.

No comparison.

[pnwmom]

50. Palin is a highly skilled politician. She's absolutely brilliant at it.

How do you think she got from being Mayor of Wasilla to candidate for V.P. in just a few short years?

[Arkana]

42. Nixon and Reagan did it in an age before the 24-hour news cycle

and electronic media.

You may not think that makes a difference, but it does. A BIG one.

[pnwmom]

51. Yeah, it was tougher back then. But Palin's a pro in this era. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

13. I know the great temptation is to laugh at Sarah Palin

and her chums, but I think we must take them seriously, as I've been warning for more than two years now. Times are tough, and the less well informed and more religiously inclined are inspired by these firebrands. The ignorant are easily swayed. They're angry already; it's easy to get them worked up. At a time when we should all be working together, they're tearing the fabric of the country apart.

[Mrsadkins9399]

41. I totally agree...

my husband who is not into politics at all, says he will leave the country if Sarah Palin becomes President.

[Arkana]

43. We can't laugh at them and beat them at the same time?

[Blue_In_AK]

48. I laugh as much as anyone,

but I take them very seriously, also, too. :evilgrin:

[Poboy]

49. Mockery if used as one of many weapons, fine. But weapons MUST be used!

Fight these ignorant MFers and without mercy!

[JohnnyLib2]

14. Firmly agree.

Rec.

[Shallah Kali]

15. imagine a majority of them on your city council or school board

they might not have enough pull to legitimately win much in the big races they still can win on local levels and the next thing you know you have another no-nothing who can't talk straight but sure can fire up fanaticism. Texas is stuck with their school board standards for the next 10 years because not enough libs and moderates listened with folks like the texas freedom network tried to warn 'em.

a lot of folks said no way w would get in and he managed to get in twice. a lot of folks said how much damage can he do. :cry: :banghead:

these might seem to be idiots but they are USEFUL idiots just like w. was. never forget there are masters behind those puppets waiting to pull everyone's strings if any of them get in.

[JI7]

16. Only when it means Dems keep the Seat, it was different in places like Arizona with MCCain and

HAyworth. in that case most wanted MCCain to win because Hayworth actually had a chance of winning in November. so if republicans were going to win it would be better it be mccain than hayworth.

but nobody thinks odonnell has a chance of winning.

[pnwmom]

19. Maybe she doesn't -- but any Tea Party win is a loss for the country. n/t

[Adsos Letter]

20. I am in total agreement with you. And many of them are in agreement with this sentiment...

Extreme Makeover: Religious Right And Its Political Allies Call For Redrafting Our Founding Document

LINK: http://blog.au.org/2010/09/15/extreme-makeover-religious-right-and-its-political-allies-call-for-redrafting-our-founding-document/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AUblog+%28The+Wall+of+Separation%29&utm_content=FaceBook

And that should be enough to give anyone pause about the possible ramifications of this whole thing.

[pnwmom]

53. A constitutional convention is truly a frightening thought.

We'd only get to that point if 2/3 of the legislatures wanted one. But if they did, then anything could happen.

[DrDan]

21. I agree with you - two years ago they were nothing - now they have national candidates

and they are doing it with palin-like leaders and simple messages.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

27. That Reminds Me Of A Movement Popular In The Thirties And Forties

~

[pampango]

22. Question is "Are they the Know-Nothings of the 1850's or the Nazi's of the 1930's?"

The Know-Nothings came out of nowhere, grew quickly then died out in less than 10 years. Of course, we all know that the history of the Nazis was very different. Both parties shared an antipathy towards "others" (for the Know-Nothings it was immigrants and Catholics, among others; for the Nazis it was Jews and many non-Germans - Roma, Poles, Russians, etc.) whom they blamed for their countries problems. (Always easier to blame "others" for your problems than it is to look in the mirror. :) )

I agree we shouldn't laugh at the teabaggers. (Well, it's hard not to sometimes, but I know what you mean.) Besides not laughing, I think we should "figure out how to defeat them". To me that means figuring out how to make them follow the path of the Know-Nothings into oblivion and being the butt of jokes rather than the path of the Nazis to power and holocaust.

[pnwmom]

56. Let's hope they're the modern day "Know-Nothings" then.

They certainly act like them. Do you happen to know how that party's name came to be?

[mmonk]

23. The "tea party" is the well financed darkness

which challenges liberty at all levels.

[stuntcat]

60. Tomorrow morning on NPR is a report of how Tea Party is funded!!

not sure how honest they'll be... I used to have a little faith in NPR but now I feel it's not too different from Fox. Anyway I hope people will pay attention.

[lamp_shade]

24. You're absolutely right.

[Crystal Clarity]

25. The only solace I take is the fact that they

(currently) are an older and mostly white demographic. If they don't find a way to appeal to a larger base, eventually their political strength will decline by shifting generational and racial demographics. But we're talking years here, and this would only be the long-term outcome IF they don't broaden their base. The problem is, as someone upthread pointed out, with enough money, the American people can be sold just about anything. And money they have...

[ck4829]

26. Bingo.

This will lead to disaster if we don't go out and vote in droves this November.

K&R.

[whyverne]

28. I tend to disagree. I'd rather see a teabagger win than

a regular lying , cheating repuke. What, they're going to go to Congress and be ideologues? like it or not, Congress is a deliberative group with deals and compromises. Teabaggers don't believe in deals or compromises so they would be useless pariahs.

[pnwmom]

54. Palin is a Teabagger and she believes in deals and compromises

and anything else that will increase her power.

[RagAss]

64. Actually, Palin drove the campaign of a national war hero into the dirt.

[SwampG8r]

72. they would follow the model

of several minorities in congress and all vote togetrher
gives a lil more power but not much more

[hlthe2b]

30. I agree...

This could backfire badly--and not only on the RETHUGs.

[DailyGrind51]

32. I can't understand people who chortle, period!

Then again, maybe it is more of a death rattle than a chortle?

[leveymg]

33. Chortle at your peril. They've turned the GOP into a base for a Far-Right mass movement.

Here we go again:

[customerserviceguy]

34. The people who do that

probably live and work with like-minded individuals, and don't really know what folks outside their area think and feel about politics and the economy. They figure that everybody sees the tea partiers the way they do, as buffoons.

In about a month and a half, some are going to be in for a rude awakening. The Rethugs cleaned out their RINOs the last few election cycles, they're replacing them with economic conservatives who have attached themselves to the tea party label. We need to take the opportunity to wash ourselves clean of the Blue Dogs and corporatists who populate our party, and replace them with true progressives in 2012.

[Fumesucker]

35. I don't see the teabuggers as being that much different than your run of the mill Republicans..

Other than the fact that they're somewhat more honest about what they believe.

The teabuggers aren't really saying anything that Limbaugh hasn't been spouting for decades now and we all know that El Rushbo is the de facto leader of the Republican party and has been for a long time.

[Sapphocrat]

45. Agreed, with a slight twist.

All we're really seeing is a much more public platform for the truly insane radical religionists that have always been in our midst.

It's what those of us who have been forced to deal with such lunatics have been seeing for decades -- frothing maniacs like Peter LaBarbera -- only now they've got the national (and worldwide) stage they've always craved, and a taste of blood.

I think the brick-between-the-eyes realization of the deep-down hatred and sheer insanity of these racist, homophobic theocrats is coming as a shock to a lot of people. Oh, there's been awareness of their existence, but they're easy to ignore when they seem relatively isolated in their donation-funded "ministries" (and when it's not you -- the collective "you" -- constantly being threatened by their hateful activism), but now they've been unleashed on everyone, everywhere.

On their own "merits," they don't scare me any more than they ever did -- they'll continue to try to destroy my rights, and one of them might blow a hole through my head someday -- but the fact that any American with half a brain would afford their deranged crusade a shred of legitimacy and actually vote them into public office scares me to death.

At the risk of invoking Godwin's Law, I can't help but think of Brian's question to Max at the end of this scene, which I would pose to anyone who thinks this is just a passing phase:

"Do you still think you can control them?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs5bnVoZK4Q

[felix_numinous]

36. Though there is a lot to laugh at,

we underestimate the RW at our own peril. I learned this well under GWB, and really his father too, they feign weakness to lure their opposition off balance, then come in for the knockout.

[slackmaster]

37. K&R

:kick:

[GOTV]

38. I think the assumption is that none of them can win a "real" election ...

... one that's open to a true cross section. That's why they are laughed at and not feared.

Of course the way democrats demoralize their own base the 2010 election may not be a typical cross section with so many Dems not bothering to vote.

[pnwmom]

52. If you're on the ballot as a major party candidate, you can win.

No matter how nutty you are, having that major party label gives you a solid foundation of support.

[totodeinhere]

57. Well, if the current polls are any indication, some of them might very well win.

Angle in Nevada, Paul in Kentucky, Rubio in Florida, and Miller in Alaska all have a shot at winning. And Mike Lee in Utah is a shoe in. And we have several tea partiers who will probably win House races as well. Overall, it's very scary.

[myrna minx]

39. K&R n/t

[DevonRex]

40. Huge K&R. They're a very dangerous threat.

And Buck in CO has a good chance of winning against Bennet. I'm not laughing.

[TonyMontana]

46. Disagree

Unless they actually start winning, they're great news for Democrats. For each teabagger loss to a Democrat, the Republicans will have to force themselves to be more moderate.

But that means, of course, that Democrats actually have to get out there and vote instead of all the infighting that seems to be happening.

[totodeinhere]

58. But isn't the reverse also true? Might not Tea Party wins force the GOP to the right?

There are so many Tea Party candidates on the general election ballot that just due to the law of averages some of them might actually win.

[Poboy]

47. It just illustrates that no matter the message, people respond to STRENGTH and CONVICTION!

The mealy mouthed, wishy-washy Dems in leadership will be steamrolled.

Yes, Dems have all the popular issues on substance, but unless they attack and speak with conviction, backed with ACTION and commited behavior, they will continue to LOSE.

Americans HATE wimps.

[pnwmom]

55. No, it illustrates that a large number of people respond to fear and hate. n/t

[stuntcat]

59. agree

I was already pretty sure The Stupid were going to hold us all back but now I'm just amazed how low people can go. It's worse than Idiocracy because they're so crazy about religion and guns.

[donheld]

61. The old addage is "be careful what you wish for"

Some may have wished these Tea Party victories to our peril.

[spanone]

62. we dismiss them at the country's peril

they are dumb and dangerous

[progressoid]

63. AND let's not forget that while they may force "moderate" republicans join our ranks

it moves us further to the right. We ain't getting any more liberal by adding them to our roster.

[DirkGently]

65. Laughing is a great response to lunatics. It deflates them.

It's not that it isn't disturbing that these people are winning Republican primaries, but happily, it greatly increases the chance of Republican defeat, and it represents a certain karmic justice to the GOP's courting of fringe Christian / rightwing radicals. They wanted people like Palin to bring the pitchforks 'n torches crowd, which they did. Then then they grabbed the wheel and started driving the bus. Happily, they DO still represent a small minority of Americans, and bringing their grotesquely ill-informed ideology into the spotlight affords us all the opportunity to examine it thoroughly.

I, for one, will continue to laugh at idiocy. That doesn't mean ignoring it, but it's a reasonable response to platforms like Paladino's Poor People Prison or O'Donnell's Anti-Masturbation and Mutant Mice platforms.

As long as we're all laughing, they're not in office.

[ibegurpard]

66. nor can I

and warnings about it will just get you labelled a concern troll.
the people on this board must live in some alternate reality.

[Forkboy]

67. I never chortle.

[GreenPartyVoter]

68. Do too. I saw you that one time.

:P

[Forkboy]

69. Shhhh!

Don't ruin my image! ;)

[NYC Liberal]

71. The way they win is when WE start legitimizing them.

Btw, they're already in office. Plenty of right-wing nuts in Congress and in state offices. Just because they've given themselves a name doesn't mean they are any different.