[Peace-discuss] Tea Party Non-negotiable core beliefs

[C. G. Estabrook]

The point is that the tea-party is not one thing.  Or, to put it another way, 
the organized tea-party group(s) involve a very few people.  Beyond them there 
is a large mass - according to a recent poll, more than half the US population - 
who sympathize with what they hear of the tea-party - because they know how 
their own life circumstances have been confiscated over the last generation by 
the Republicans and Democrats.

That's what they mean by "Take America back!" = take it back to what (they 
understood) it was a generation ago: good jobs for those who would work , good 
housing for those who did work, etc.

We needn't note again that the Ron Paul movement was an integral part of the 
original tea-party impulse, and there is no member of Congress clearer than Paul 
on the need to bring all US troops home.

Meanwhile Libertarians and Paleoconservatives - who have been against the war on 
principle, not just "pragmatically" (= "We're losing!") - are rallying to the 
tea-party movement. For many examples, see the excellent site <antiwar.com>.

Meanwhile various prowar groups - neocons, statist reactionary "Reagan" 
Republicans, conventional Democrats - are also stirring the tea. They're using 
their money and  subsidized propaganda (mostly from ideological institutions 
like universities and newspapers) to build up a prowar consensus.  (US 
capitalism needs the war, after all.)

The future of the antiwar movement in the US is unlikely to lie on the 
nonexistent left-wing of the Democratic party - Obama et al. have seen to that 
(witness the Oct. 2 rally in DC).  To build the movement up again will 
necessitate talking to everyone who opposes what the permanent government is 
doing - notably, expanding an imperialist war in the Mideast, the specialty of 
the Obama administration.


On 11/11/10 1:54 PM, Karen Medina wrote:
> On AWARE on the Air this past Tuesday, Carl Estabrook was trying to
> make the point that the Administration is afraid of people taking to
> the street against the war, and that the Tea Party, since it is for
> smaller government and no taxes, is anti-war as well.
>
> A reasoning person would think this were true.
>
> Today, I was handed a copy of a magazine put out by the Tea Party. The
> entire magazine was pro-military.
>
> I went to the web.
> According to TeaParty.org, the following are the Non-negotiable core beliefs:
> 1* Illegal Aliens Are Here illegally.
> 2* Pro-Domestic Employment Is Indispensable.
> 3* Stronger Military Is Essential.<------ this is the one that I want
> to point out.
> 4* Special Interests Eliminated.
> 5* Gun Ownership Is Sacred.
> 6* Government Must Be Downsized.
> 7* National Budget Must Be Balanced.
> 8* Deficit Spending Will End.
> 9* Bail-out And Stimulus Plans Are Illegal.
> 10* Reduce Personal Income Taxes A Must.
> 11* Reduce Business Income Taxes Is Mandatory.
> 12* Political Offices Available To Average Citizens.
> 13* Intrusive Government Stopped.
> 14* English As Core Language Is Required.
> 15* Traditional Family Values Are Encouraged.
>
> Similar statements can be found in many more places. :
> http://patriotpost.us/alexander/2010/06/24/the-tea-party-movement/
> Indiana Tea Party-ers had signs that said: "Got Rope" and "Our
> forefathers would be shooting by now."
> In a CBS-TV news interview, Jones said simply, "We are extremely
> patriotic. We are extremely American."
>
>
> The Tea Party is no more anti-war than the average military contractor is.
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