Odum did a fine job below in regards to the so-called "tea party" "movement" and explaining how it's going to try to basically inflate its numbers this Independence Day weekend, cornering the market on "patriotism". Considering how much of it's based on deception, that's not surprising.
Something else not surprising? Despite the repeated insistence of many of its organizers that it's a "non-partisan" event, it's not surprising that the Anti-Defamation League just released a must-read report, non-partisanly entitled White Supremacists and Anti-Semites Plan to Recruit at July 4 Tea Parties.
The Tea Party phenomenon, which began with anti-tax rallies staged across the country on April 15, 2009, will continue as activists in almost every state are planning similar events on July 4. Notably, white supremacists are again planning to participate. As they have done with other political and social issues, for example, promoting the Ron Paul campaign and using the immigration debate, white supremacists and anti-Semites are planning to exploit Tea Parties to disseminate their hateful views and recruit a larger following.
According to the report, there's been an uptick of activity on the Neo-Nazi site, Stormfront, with lots of comments similar to this:
"A big crowd of irate White folks protesting the government seems like the perfect time and place for us WN's to promote our cause, at least to my way of thinking."
"I think they'd be ideal for spreading WN literature and gaining recruits in large numbers, more quickly."
Yes, I know, one can't judge a site solely by its comments, but we are talking one of the biggest hate-sites on the web, here. That's not all though, as apparently, a group called "Whites Forward" has formed another group, Tea Party Americans Coalition (TPAC), with the expressed function of spreading their message at these rallies. I guess they know a good opportunity when they see one, eh?
Now, of course, in no way am I trying to paint all of the teabaggers with some broad Anti-Semitic brush. Even though they're egged on by some of the most deluded, immoral characters we know of such as Glenn Beck, by no means does one going out and protesting tax breaks for the middle class and expressing feigned outrage at Obama over things that were just fine under Bush equivocate somehow with being a jack-booted skinhead. Even I can see that, through my hopelessly partisan worldview.
But I don't see too many of those Stormfront guys at any of our rallies, do you?
by the title/point of this post…
I don’t see anything in the diary about political parties. I’m sure there’s at least some Libertarians and Republicans involved in the Tea Party Movement (or whatever it’s called), and as far as I know the Tea Parties are not affiliated with any political party. Dosn’t that make them non-patisan? Not that I’m saying I agree with them in any way…Groups/efforts can be non-partison and still be wrong.
The terms “partisan” and “non-partisan” have been misused recently to mean without single party affiliation, generally as a means of insulating the Republicans or Democrats from harsh rhetoric expressed by supporters outside of official party communication.
The Random House College Dictionary defines “partisan” as “an adherent or supporter of a person, party, or cause.” Other dictionaries offer similar definitions. By these definitions most of the major political groups on both the right and left are clearly partisan.
We should probably try to be careful about identifying “cause” based groups as non-partisan, and reserve the term for public interest groups that work to improve understanding of an issue, rather than advocate from one side or another.