The Tea Party? Get over it already
In their discussion of the Tea Party as 'delirious' and 'unhinged', liberals like Bill Clinton are exposing their own snobbery.
...there has always been an anti-party, anti-politics strain to the Tea Party. It is ironic that the group has 'party' in its name, since it is clearly not a party, and is arguably anti-party. The incoherence of views beyond the anti-tax message, the generational differences, the calls for 'taking back our country' - all suggest that the Tea Party is neither coherent nor really just about policy; rather it is the product of disarray amongst Republicans and the confused, anti-political times we live in.
So, the Tea Party may be novel in some respects, but it is not that difficult to recognise its limitations. But the discussion of the Tea Party in the American media has always been out of proportion to its size and true influence. From the conservative side, it is understandable why they would want to hype up the Tea Party. Fox News and right-wing talk radio, in particular, have promoted the movement in an attempt to refresh conservatism after its recent setbacks. But what is less obvious is why liberals are so preoccupied, even obsessed at times, with the Tea Party.
Given that the Tea Party is relatively small and skewed towards older Americans, liberals could have ignored or downplayed it. Instead, they exaggerated the Tea Party's numbers and influence. They portrayed the organisation as a growing mass movement and a dangerous threat...
More at http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/8775/