My blog neighbor Doug Wiken is right: everyone should read John Dean's diagnosis of the Tea "Party". Dean concludes that "Tea Party" is just a label for an amalgamation of long-standing conservative groups orchestrated by big corporate money that wants to "disrupt [democratic] processes, by gaming the system, in order to de-legitimatize government."
Relying on Canadian social scientist Robert Altemeyer's work and his own participation in an authoritarian regime, Dean also finds Teabaggers sharing an undemocratic mindset. He cites twelve major authoritarian follower traits. Read them, and you'll think, "My gosh! I know these people!" I quote Dean verbatim, but include examples in parentheses.
- They are more submissive than most to their leaders, and they take direction without question (think Rush Limbaugh's listeners).
- They are easily frightened and their leaders keep them that way (think Glenn Beck's rhetoric).
- They wear their self-righteousness on their sleeves, e.g., with their assertion that they are "the true Americans" (e.g., Sarah Palin).
- They are highly aggressive, so they lash out at those with whom they do not agree (see any comments submitted to this blog by Bob Ellis).
- Critical thinking and logic escapes them, and they rely upon simplistic slogans to answer complex questions.
- They inflate problems, and they find an endless supply of our "biggest problems" (think Allen and Leslee Unruh's ceaseless hyperbole).
- They hold conflicting and contradictory beliefs, which does not trouble them, because their thinking is compartmentalized (think Kristi Noem's farm subsidies).
- Double standards are totally acceptable to them, so they can be highly critical of others who do exactly what they do, or have done (think Noem telling SHS to "stop scaring seniors").
- They feel empowered when in groups, and gain strength by remaining together with like-minded others.
- They are highly dogmatic, since they do not know why they believe what they do, and they do not question themselves.
- They are ethnocentric and constantly judge others and events from an "us versus them" point of view (think Tea Partiers' obsession with immigrants and the frequency with which they urge critics like me to submissively shut our mouths or leave the country).
- They are prejudiced, and often racist, although some do not realize it or believe it when confronted.
Remarkably, Dean does not say we need to eradicate or re-educate Teabaggers. They have their place, says Dean; that place just isn't at the helm of democracy:
This is not to say that they are sociopaths or psychopaths, for they are not. Their authoritarian dispositions are neither good nor bad, but, frankly, I do not think these people are well suited for the politics of a democracy. Authoritarians make great soldiers and sailors, police officers and prison guards; they can be good CEOs and great NFL coaches. But they are about as adept at democratic politics as bulls are in china shops [John Dean, "The Tea Party: Same Old Authoritarian Conservatives with a New Label," Justia.com: Verdict, 2011.07.29].
Speaking of authoritarianism and xenophobia, my friend Larry Kurtz posts the following video of an impassioned speech from U.S. military veteran Mike Prysner, who sees those ills fueling American imperialism and distracting us from our real enemies:
We were told we were fighting terrorists. The real terrorist was me.
...[O]ur real enemies are not in some distant land. They are not people whose names we don't know, and cultures we don't understand.
The enemy is people we know very well, and people we can identify.
The enemy is a system that wages war when it is profitable. The enemy is the CEOs who lay us off of our jobs when it is profitable. It's the insurance companies who deny us health care when it's profitable. It is the banks who take away our homes when it's profitable. Our enemy is not 5,000 miles away. They are right here at home [Mike Prysner, war veteran].
This was a thought provoking article. Guessing that the many who visit will find other examples for each of the points.
Here's one:
Critical thinking and logic escapes them, and they rely upon simplistic slogans to answer complex questions. Sounds like the line the Governor and so many other
s have used... 'families have to balance their budget and the state should too.'
Here's a link to the enlightened business ethics of TEA "Party" Republicans.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/tea_party_rep_bank_should_have_known_i_wouldnt_be_able_to_repay_22_million_loan.php?ref=fpa
Sure wish I could have persuaded bankers that they were so stupid when they loaned me money that they did not deserve to be repaid.
Ask Noem to work this kind of business practice into her nice little home economics analogies for the government that prints our money.
"When fascism comes to America, it will not be in brown and black shirts. It will not be with jackboots. It will be Nike sneakers and smiley shirts."
- George Carlin
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power."
- Benito Mussolini
http://www.alecexposed.org/
"Rich people pay FOX people to make middle class people blame poor people."
- John Fugelsang
Cory ,
The Progressives on the left are no different. When are you going to answer my questions?
Cory, how about a new Madville blog feature "Sibby's Question of the week" He's always got a lot of questions. And we could all answer him pretty easily if we just had a little survey or something. Over the course of a year, he would get 52 questions answered. I know he probably has more than that. Kids always do. Any 6 year old can take down even the most fearless debater with about six "whys" in a row. So maybe save your self a little grief. Put up a survey, let everybody show Sibby the answer, and then if he has any more "whys" you can just point to the results. Hey' it's better than the standard frustrated parent line of last resort... "because I say so."
The funny thing about Sibby is he's an authoritarian looking for a message to browbeat us with. He keeps changing his mind about what we all have to know and do to make the world get better. Bless his heart though, he always gives it his very best shot whatever the cause du jour is.
Travis, your quotations are right on the money. As is Sinclair Lewis', "When fascism comes to America, it will be carrying a cross and wrapped in a flag."
Eve,
And how is the left's Social Gospel any different than the right's Dominion Theology in regard to wrapping the cross in a flag? [note: I disagree with both]
Cory, Bill...go ahead and deal with the question too.
You made this one too easy. I would have more trouble answering if you had asked about liberation theology. It has a few extremes that are tough to deal with.
Far be it from me to ignore an easy option, however.
Dominion Theology ignores this reminder from Jesus: Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place. (John 18:36)
DTs seek power because they wish to avoid the consequences that Jesus warned of: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (John 15:18-19)
They also forget the following: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:2-3)
The practitioners of the Social Gospel may forget some of the above but they at least remember "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27) DTers don't seem to remember this one.
I'll let the theologian in Cory's house deal with the assertion that James is "an epistle of straw" if you choose to trot out that old erroneous chestnut.
Steve, I probably can't add much to Leo's well-phrased response. He nails the DT/SG distinction. I'll simply add that you would be hard-pressed to find the same authoritarian tendencies in a profile of my Left that Altemeyer and Dean find among the claimants to the Tea label.
LK & Cory,
My research on the Social Gospel movement shows clearly that they too believe in creating the Kingdom of God on earth by men using the government. Both DT and the SG adhere to postmillial eschatology. Both are wrong.
And Cory, you will find "authoritarian tendencies" in all movements, including anarchy.
Sure, Steve, but not as predominantly as you find such tendencies among tea partiers. That may be why liberal talk radio doesn't take off the way conservative talk radio does: because liberals don't need daily communiqués from their propaganda chiefs to stoke their fears and reinforce their beliefs.
Steve,
I'm not quite as convinced as you that the SGers are concerned with escatological thought as DTers. All of these groups that we are discussion have splinter groups and all use some nuanced language that may allow for some differeing interpretations.
I did, however, admit that SGers had the flaw of being attached to the mundane. See above "The practitioners of the Social Gospel may forget some of the above . . ."
Diane Rehm's numbers have to be up there, Cory; she's one of the best liberal public radio hosts out there. Pacifica and other community driven broadcasts reach global audiences, too.
Commercial broadcast stations appeal to the lowest common denominator usually low income folks with industrial beer and potato chip addictions sitting in the cabs of their crewcab duallies or struggling to get out of her late-model Malibu to go into the bar to play video lottery.
Cory,
The left have their propaganda machines too; universities are their most effective tools.
LK,
If SGers would look into their eschatology, then they will see their DT brothers.
We haven't had a Star Trek allusion in a while.
I suspect that SGers and DTers are less brothers than residents of different universes like those presented in the "Mirror Mirror" episode. That little science fiction literary conceit was then driven to death on DS-9.
Not quite. The best one: http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/In_a_Mirror,_Darkly_(episode)
I missed that episode of Enterprise.
I'll stand by my assertion that DS-9 did too many "Mirror Mirror" episodes and rendered the concept useless.
Look, the truth is that all of us who try to actually do what Jesus told us to do - love our enemies, feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, tend and visit and help the sick, orphans, widows, etc. - well, we're all leftist socialists. As was Jesus, since He told us to do all of the above. Repeatedly. And said, in the parable of the sheep and the goats, that doing those things would matter far more than calling Him "Lord, Lord" when it came to salvation. (Matthew 25:31-45). And how about Acts 2:44-45? "And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." Can't get more communist than that. And Jesus also said, "How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:24). Look, the truth is, if He showed up today, most of "true conservatives" would want Him locked up. Just like they did under Caiaphas. Because He was and is and always will be dangerous to a nice, comfortable, safe, capitalist, authoritarian system of government. Sorry, Steve. That's the truth.
I think Sibby is setting up a false dichotomy and that the rest of us are falling for it. As with so many arguments from the right, there is no one who holds the opposite view. They constantly set up straw men that are easy to knock down. Think Joe McCarthy.
It's the way they take control of the conversation, frame it, and set the agenda. The game is over before it even gets started.
Bill,
I agree but as Eve and I showed, he made this little exercise so easy to blow up that I couldn't resist.
"well, we’re all leftist socialists. As was Jesus"
So Jesus said give to Ceasar, so he can take care of the poor so you don't have to?
And Bill, I am not pushing a false dichotomy, I am trying to destoy them.
Eva, you are right. Christ told us to do each of those things but I'm at a loss where He said the government must be the vehicle.
Since the "rich" pay the bulk of the income taxes (half the people pay virtually none), they are the only ones fulfilling their Christian mandate. Unless you are advocating more taxes on yourself the middle and lower classes, referencing the Christian call to "feed the poor" to extract more from those already funding what is being done is pretty ingenuous. Christ asked for us all do these things and not just the rich.
Troy,
The "rich" have lobbyists who create loopholes. The biggest tax is inflation. That benefits the rich at the expense of the poor.
"disingenuous" not ingenuous.
LOL, Troy, that's a riot! The half who don't pay taxes ARE the poor. You guys need to get off of that meme, especially in a conversation like this one.
The poor feed and clothe each other all the time. Just not via taxes, because they don't have anything to tax.
Bill,
So then why covet from the rich?
Troy, read this and then come back and tell us what you think. I know Warren Buffett has a limited understanding of capitalism and the economy, but he does throw some interesting meat on the table and backs it with actual numbers.
I'd love to hear how you disagree with him and take apart his argument.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?_r=2
Jana,
Thanks for finding support for my point. The solution is to reduce the government. Here are the steps:
Abolish the Federal Reserve.
Reverse the 16th & 17th Amendments.
Eliminate the New Deal programs.
Eliminate the Great Society programs.
Send the United Nations packing.
In many places, I agree with him. The reason he is able to have a low effective tax rate is the tax breaks (one person's incentives to do things are another's loopholes) he takes advantage of. Some incentives might be things like the "wind energy tax credit" designed to incentivize alternative energy sources. I believe all of us (liberals too) need to quit using the tax code as a social engineering vehicle. This is why I would like to see a flat tax.
Where I disagree with him is his statements regarding marginal tax rates don't change decision-making. It affects mine and many people I work with every day. If the above tax incentives/loopholes change behaviour (as advocated by those who support them), it is ludicrous that higher marginal tax rates won't change behaviour. It either goes both ways or neither.
Jana, get on board with me. Let's eliminate all the loopholes and incentives. Mortgage deduction, child care tax credits, exploration incentives for oil companies, wind energy tax credits, everything. Exempt the first $20,000 in income from income taxation and tax everything else at 20%/25% or whatever is necessary to raise about 20% of our GDP to fund the federal government (this is the number collected under Clinton when we balanced the budget last). Buffet will get his tax increase and so will most of the mega-rich, we won't have to frame every debate as about class warfare,
So between Buffett's column and John Dean's column is there any reason that serious journalists and critical thinking voters aren't asking better questions?
On the fly at lunch here, but why are we as an electorate not asking questions that challenge our elected representatives to go beyond the dogma of a bumper sticker platitude?
Sad.
Troy, I'm on board already and thinking that it could go even further. Unfortunately, the people that are making the decisions are trying to get elected and carefully calculating what is right for them and not the country.
So with the tail wagging the dog of Republicans and Democrats that cater to the low information voter crowd, how does that happen.
Personally, instead of the "super congress" I would much rather see 12 economists who have different opinions figure this one out.
OK, here's a crazy thought, let's treat the current political landscape like the ultimate fighting crowd does. Let's do a pay per view fight between Grover Norquist and Warren Buffett as the headliner. for the warm up matches we could have John Dean go against Dick Army or the Koch brothers (who ever would win the qualifier to represent the Tea Party.) And for the two hours in front of that we could have differing economists weigh in against each other in a no holds barred debate...complete with footnotes!
We both know that won't happen and Stace will still be seen as the savior of the totally inept and unsuccessful Republican party of South Dakota who is there to save us from total destruction. What a great example of the danger of low information voters and those that will pander to them.
So do you think we can make that happen?
Troy, I apologize that I didn't give you credit for the courage you displayed in offering up those solutions. Especially in light of the last debate where everyone of the candidates said no to a 10 to 1 cuts to revenue solution.
Not sure you care, but guessing that Stace and the gang that has pledged allegiance to Glen Beck and Grover will want you driven in shame from the party, but tell them where to go....please.
Jana, don't apologize. If you give me personal credit, it is also appropriate to then make personal negative comments. The problem is we should debate issues, not make personal comments, and find solutions.
And, don't be so hard on Beck, Norquist, et. al. unless you are willing to name those on the other side as well. Beck/Norquist are creatures of the current environment. But so is John Podhoretz (spelling is wrong) and Ed Schultz. As long as one exists, the other will too.
With regard to being driven out of the GOP, it is my party. I've labored for it since I washed cars to put Hirsch bumper stickers on cars 40 years ago. I believe government needs to shrink drastically, the budget has to come into balance very soon, and, where you and I might disagree, we don't have a revenue problem (composition yes but amount no). Until some other party comes along who advocates this better than the GOP, I'll be quite comfortable in the party.
Troy,
As far as a flat tax goes, I'd be willing to listen if the hedge fund guy who makes $4 million/year pays on all income of it just like the plumber or mechanic or teacher. Under some proposals, capital gains income differs from income derived from time and labor and therefore doesn’t count. If you’re advocating taxing all income, we might argue about the numbers.
You later indicate one shouldn’t be too hard on Beck unless one admits that Ed Schultz is also over the top and that the environment spawns both. I am tired of both parties doing the “we need to have our nasty folk being nasty because the other side is nasty; besides our nasty people are less nasty than their nasty people.†I have admitted that Olbermann is too snarky and Matthews is too boorish. I have not watched either in years. I have yet to hear Republicans/conservatives admit that they have stopped listening to Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly, Ingram or Coulter supporter. Instead, I am told that these people serve as a “necessary corrective to a liberal media establishment that is out to destroy the United States.â€
I think government should be small, effective, and do no harm. The Patriot Act and the debate over “torture/enhanced interrogations†convinced me that whatever tribe I now belong to, I can’t find a home in Republican/conservative circles.
I sincerely envy your ability to feel at home in the Republican party and the fact that Cory and others have found a place with Democrats.
Agreed Troy. We can argue on who's the bigger nutjob in the media, but the left does not have a Grover Norquist that has required Dems to sign an oath. You agree on that much?
"I have yet to hear Republicans/conservatives admit that they have stopped listening to Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly, Ingram or Coulter supporter."
I have stopped. All these people want to do is foster the Reublican/Democrat feud. That fight is a total waste of time. I have wasted way too much time on it already. I now ask my friends in the Democrat Party to do the same. We need to focus on who are real enemies are.