The crazy fringe of the right wing is energized... and this is a good thing how?

[Peacetrain]

If I hear one more talking head, expound on how energized the crazies are on the right side of the aisle.. my head may explode. It does not take a lot of crazies to ruin us all. When Karl Rove of all people is calling out that they (the teaparty people) are nut jobs.. Can you imagine how they will tear it up, if even a few of them get into power.

How is this a positive thing?

They are not energized, they are fanaticised.

A little example of how a minority of fanatics can change the course of a country and not for the good.

"Hitler's Rise to Power
Once released from prison, Hitler decided to seize power constitutionally rather than by force of arms. Using demagogic oratory, Hitler spoke to scores of mass audiences, calling for the German people to resist the yoke of Jews and Communists, and to create a new empire which would rule the world for 1,000 years.

Hitler's Nazi party captured 18% of the popular vote in the 1930 elections. In 1932, Hitler ran for President and won 30% of the vote, forcing the eventual victor, Paul von Hindenburg, into a runoff election . A political deal was made to make Hitler chancellor in exchange for his political support. He was appointed to that office in January 1933.

Upon the death of Hindenburg in August 1934, Hitler was the consensus successor. With an improving economy, Hitler claimed credit and consolidated his position as a dictator, having succeeded in eliminating challenges from other political parties and government institutions. The German industrial machine was built up in preparation for war. By 1937, he was comfortable enough to put his master plan, as outlined in Mein Kampf, into effect. Calling his top military aides together at the "FÅhrer Conference" in November 1937, he outlined his plans for world domination. Those who objected to the plan were dismissed.

[queenjane]

1. I concur

The parallels are really frightening. Incremental creep of fascism, jingoism, racism, homophobia, religious fanaticism, wrapped up in patriotism. Just discovered the writer Alan Furst. He writes espionage thrillers set in Europe during the 1930s & 40s. Well-researched, bone-chilling.

We dismiss the threat of the "crazy fringe of the right wing" at our own peril.

[Raine1967]

2. it's not a good thing, I think Even Rove gets that.

There is a reason he's this vocal about O'Donnell. I read articles like this: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2010/09/tea-party-organizer-on-rove-karl-should-stay-out-of-it.html With parts like this:
“Karl should stay out of it,” said Kremer, calling his comments against O’Donnell disgraceful.

National Republicans had said Tuesday they would stay out of the race now that Castle has been defeated. Those proclamations were being walked back by Wednesday as NRSC Chairman John Cornyn and RNC Chairman Michael Steele both said they would support O’Donnell.

Kremer said that support is great, but not necessary.

“She doesn't need their support to win. Obviously, no one thought she could win this, they were going after her with full force. I believe, she was outspent 10 to 1 and she won it. She won it by a big margin. So yeah, I think she'd like to have their support, but it's not required. She needs the support of the people to win,” said Kremer.

“You know these seats don't belong to the Republican Party or the state parties. They belong to the people. No matter how much money you can put into these races and the establishment gets behind these candidates, you can't buy the fire in the belly, that passion and that is what is enabling the people to go out and elect these true conservative candidates,” she said.

You see what is starting to happen here? Ms. Kremer is basically giving the GOP a big middle finger and a big cup of STFU. The Tea Party - which the GOP lovingly allowed to grow, danced with, played politics with - now threatens the party itself. I think that Karl Rove sees this. O'Donnell is a very weak candidate, and going after the low hanging fruit is smart; it's a warning to all the Tea Partiers that perhaps they might want to learn their place.

The GOP is still dancing with the devil, but I think this is a warning shot across the bow. I really feel like you don't tell Karl Rove to STFU with out paying the price. Ask Joe Wilson and John McCain.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

3. This is great news....

Americans are not a fanatical people, by and large.

As much as DU and Free Republic hate to admit it, we're not a terribly liberal or terribly conservative country. To the extect that normal Americans think about politics at all (and normal people really try to avoid politics) they consider themselves largely neutral.

The frothing at the mouth nutjobs, the laughable political amateurs (I'm looking at you, Jan Brewer), the people who you would would HATE to have living across the street from you, are now in charge of the Republican Party. If you think the Bush-Cheney wing of the Republican Party was a friggin' train wreck, you haven't seen anything yet.

I couldn't be happier at what will be the short-lived ascendency of the Tea Party. They're going to provide just enough cover for Democrats to make some much-needed and long-overdue corrections to our national politics.

[opihimoimoi]

4. Their energy is transforming their Party Brand into a pile of DOO

I call that AMAZING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ME2uk-wVeA

We are so fortunate to witness the Start and Decline of the Baggers

It just amazes me

[Cognitive_Resonance]

5. A desperate GOP is responsible for unleashing the kookery. Solution: expose, defeat, discredit. nt

[Phx_Dem]

6. I don't think anyone said it was a good thing that they're energized,

but having Dems run against a bunch of crazy wackos is better than having them run against a reasonable person.

The teabaggers are a small faction of the Republican party (based on the number of GOPers who support them) and they are an even smaller faction of the total electorate. But if we sit around bitching about everything, instead of helping to get Dems motivated and voting, they will win. Constant complaints from your own party only helps to further depress the Democratic voters.

This is the Dems election to lose.

[AlinPA]

10. I don't believe that they are a small faction. They are the majority of the republican party.

There are 10 teabagger candidates at this time and they have controlled the primaries. That looks like a majority to me.

[RBInMaine]

7. That they are taking over the R's and purging out any hint of a moderate is GREAT news. I LOVE IT !

It means in the medium to long term their party SHRINKS exponentially. In the immediacy, it helps us energize OUR base because it hands us a great narrative: that the Republican Party has lost its marbles. Now all we have to do is attack them RELENTLESSLY as the nutjobs that they are.

[AlinPA]

9. Six years is a long time;that's how long those teabagger senators will be in their seats.

There can easily be 9 of them.

[AlinPA]

8. Agree. There will be at least 9 teabaggers in the senate after November's election.

Joining with the other crazies (DeMint, Inhofe, Coburn, Hatch, et al) makes the US senate a scary thing. The nine seats: FL, AK, PA, KY, UT, CO, WI, NH, NV. We have not yet seen the enormous amount money that will flow to these races.

[karynnj]

11. I am more optimistic than you - I think we will pull off wins in at least

WI and NV - at this point CO is close too. (The polls do look bad in PA, where obviously you know more of what's happening.

This is not a good thing that they will be to the right of the already pretty far to the right Republicans. I was listening to RW radio when I went out on an errand - and the really scary thing is that they were already saying the best thing about the primaries is that Republican liberals - like Lugar (!), Snowe and Collins know that unless they "listen to them", they will be out. That is terrifying - in that they might just become even less likely to work with Democrats - though that is hard as they have been pretty uncooperative.

That attitude might mean that though it would be incredibly risky they may NEED to change Senate rules evne though they have a small - at risk - majority. Imagine the difficulty of passing a budget when the lunatics want to defund HCR and many other parts of government. It really could be Hellish and harder to deal with than the awful 109th Congress (2005/2006)

[AlinPA]

12. It could get worse; at the Beck event in DC their message was "the next time we come here

we will be armed".