Ignoring Palin and the Tea Party extremists won't make them go away

[Hugabear]

When Sarah Palin first burst on the national scene in 2008, many of us tried to dismiss her out of hand. She's obviously so unqualified, not very bright, makes a complete fool of herself whenever she appears on TV, once the election is over, hopefully she'll just drift away and we won't hear from her any more

When the Tea Party first began having their rallies a few years ago, we poked fun at them, but many of us figured that they were just a small group of racist, anti-government malcontents, surely not worth getting worried over.

We were told that if we just ignored them, they would go away. Unfortunately, they didn't go away. Fueled by non-stop anti-government rhetoric from folks like Beck, Limbaugh, Savage, and Hannity, they continued to grow and become bolder. After all, not only was Obama and the Democratic party their opposition, they were the enemy, labeled as threats to democracy. That rhetoric continued to increase, eventually leading to the propagandists urging their followers to "take action", "take them out", "target" those people they had labeled as the enemy.

Yes, there are many factors that lead to the rethugs victories in November, but part of the problem is that we underestimated the impact of Palin and the Tea Party. We can't continue to make that mistake. We need to educate people, campaign for our politicians, redouble our efforts. We can't afford to allow an extremist like Palin to win in 2012. I know there will be people who will say that Palin has no chance to win, but that's a dangerous assumption. Speaking as a Floridian, many of us thought that Rick Scott had no chance of becoming our governor, especially given his criminal history. He shouldn't have won, but he did, and that should serve as a lesson.

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. One clarification

You write,
"Yes, there are many factors that lead to the rethugs victories in November, but part of the problem is that we underestimated the impact of Palin and the Tea Party."

It is important to remember that the "many factors" for the rise of teabaggers is really just one factor. The teabaggers are a creation of the real holders of power on the right-wing. The group was heavily marketed by the right-wing media as well as the mainstream media. Their creation and growth was no different than a network advertising the Mickey Mouse Club as a new show and then providing information on how anyone could become a member. FOX News literally became a 24/7 perpetual telethon to raise membership and inform the new teabag members where the next event would take place.

Good Post! Cheers!

[Hugabear]

2. It definitely helped to to energize their base

Much like a certain inexperienced German politician in the late 1920's/early 1930's, they know how to tap into a growing uncertainty and hatred out there. They also know how to tap into the racist feelings that are still out there. Many of these are people who probably never really got into politics all that much, but now they've been energized and given a target for their hatred and fear.