The John Birch Society: A DU collaborative educational thread

[bobthedrummer]

There is no doubt in my mind that we, the people are experiencing endless repetitions of ideologies from one of the most extreme RW groups ever-The John Birch Society/JBS. This thread depends on your input. From the Tea Party to the neo-Nazis involved in the 2012 campaigns at every level the JBS "platform" is being repeated. I live in Wisconsin, once the home of the JBS, so I recognized the pattern a few years ago.

For those of you not aware of the history and current relevance of JBS ideologies below are a couple of links to start with.

The John Birch Society (Public Eye/PRA)
http://www.publiceye.org/tooclose/jbs.html

John Birch Society Celebrates Koch Family For Their Role In Founding The Hate Group (by Lee Fang, 6-10-11 Think Progress)
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/06/10/242334/john-birch-society-celebrates-koch/?mobile=nc

Add to this JBS thread DUers.

[Skidmore]

1. This is a history lesson that our younger DUers could use.

Some of us remember the Birchers before they were discredited for a while. They have definitely laid low for a few decades and have found their way back.

[bobthedrummer]

3. That's for sure Skidmore!

John Birch Society page (SourceWatch)
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Birch_Society

[HiPointDem]

2. good thread. i remember when jbs line was not found in msm and was considered fringe by most.

now it's everywhere. what a turnaround, & it's because of the power of money.

[bobthedrummer]

4. Yep, and another major reason for that is Citizens United imo HiPointDem.

Here is the JBS Core Principles page from their website
http://www.jbs.org/about-jbs/core-principles

[lunasun]

5. My mother was a JBS'r

I had to attend their God freedom and country conventions in Boston as a young child
It made me sick and I became a war protesting hippie

she bought all their mass produced publications and paraphernalia for sale too

I am sure all the teabagger stuff is funded and mass produced or paid to facebook /tweet



She was pretty teabagger crazy but b4 death became more liberal and voted for Clinton and hated Bush 1+2

However that did not change her just being crazy

[Control-Z]

6. I've thought your same thoughts

a million times since 2008. My father was a Bircher so I know these people first hand. And let me tell you, even though I was a very young child when I experienced it, most of them (Birchers), at least in OC, were not as bold or outspoken as this current crop. I think society disapproval kept them somewhat at bay.

Not my father, though. His hatred and bigotry shocked even the worst of the Birchers at the time. And what I'm hearing today sounds exactly like my father.

[Scuba]

14. Sounds like we have the same father.

[oldhippydude]

7. I grew up among the Birchers

in the 60's Idaho had the highest per capita birch society membership in the nation, they used to run speakers through on a circuit... the had a front group called TACT (Truth About Civil Turmoil) we used to go to meetings to heckle them..

working in the anti poverty programs in the 70's i got called a commie more times than i care to remember, and got real creepy looks from some of them, when i stopped for a beer, and threatened on a couple of occasions..

the irony of Fred Kocks monetary support... he made most of his initial fortune developing petroleum assets for the Russians under Lenin...

[lunasun]

8. Was TACT about Civil Rights movement ?? I remember they were big time

on ML King being a commie and was leading all Negroes to communism
of course all rock and roll was leading to communism too....so many things leading us to communism

We should all be communist by now or at least socialist since we(USA)didn't follow the JBs -that is what they promised - what happened???

[oldhippydude]

11. yes..... played on the racial tensions of the time

they were playing on the riots that were happening.... this would have been 68 if i remember right... must have been because i remember listening to the beatles white album before the gathering.. also i think my Nehru jacket and beads pissed them off..

[lunasun]

16. They were also against African countries starting to fight colonial rule and black majority rule

in Africa. Lot of fund raising I remember to stop these poor souls from ..............Communism!

Their circuits included British etc. coming to talk about the fall of colonialism in Africa with scary tales
I remember being fascinated with all the native items from places like Rhodesia(now Zimbabwe and Zambia I think?) they were hawking to fight the cause

Most likely a factor that influenced me to visit some socialist countries in Africa later in life

How truly American of them to funnel money to fight against countries trying to free themselves from colonial rule!!
!

the stupid never thinks
just follows

Thanks for the info it was all a childhood nightmare(see earleir post here) now so I do not rmemeber their code names like TACT or finer details.....
.Nehru jackets now I DO remember those!!

[bobthedrummer]

20. It's out and out racism today, too, from groups like JBS, lunasun. n/t

[raouldukelives]

9. Used to be a little John Birch bookstore here years ago.

Never knew what it was all about til years later. Hopefully I'll be able to spot them. I wonder if they use "Who is John Birch?" bumper stickers?

[XemaSab]

10. Dominionism

Every DU'er should know what this is. Google it.

[stranger81]

12. Some very good and well sourced information

About the JBS is available here:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbirchS.htm

[LuvNewcastle]

13. Reagan was nothing but a John Bircher

and Reagan, of course, is the patron saint of today's Republican Party.

[Scuba]

15. Thanks for the post, Bob. Good idea.

[bobthedrummer]

17. Fellow Badgers: JBS world headquarters moved to 770 N. Westhill Blvd. Appleton, WI in 1989.

Yep, fwiw- Appleton's St. Mary's Cemetery is the final resting place of the remains of Wisconsin's Senator Joseph McCarthy.
By all accounts most of the headquarters is literally underground.

The John Birch Society (Wikipedia page)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society

Perhaps that's why the Fox Valley remains such a RW stronghold here generously supported by people like the Koch brothers.

[Viking12]

19. The HQ is clearly marked in a busy commercial district.

Across the street from Woodman's, PetSmart, Tom's Diner, Gander Mtn, a movie theater, etc..They may be nuts but it's not like it's some top secret bunker or something. The Birchers are not some reclusive militia -- they're well represented at every Congressional townhall meeting and they don't make any effort to hide it.

[Hydra]

18. Thanks for the post

I've heard references to the Birchers, but not actual meat to what they do.

Fascism sold as anti-communism...it seems DC never gets tired of peddling it.

[coalition_unwilling]

21. KnR-Bookmarking for more indepth look later

today. Thanks for posting!

[bobthedrummer]

22. pass it on, coalition_unwilling n/t

[kskiska]

23. I had a priest back in the '50s who was a Bircher

I was a child then and didn't realize the meaning of this until years later. I liked him at the time, but when I read his views today…not so much.

[Dash87]

24. You can find their bull crap spewed pretty much everywhere except DU.

On how the UN is going to invade with the help of Liberals, and then the New World Order will be in charge of a one-world government. This government will supposedly be a Socialist dictatorship. Sometimes they add a religious spin on it too; that this is the coming of the Anti-Christ, and stupid crap like that. It's kind of amusing, but frightening at the same time.

[bobthedrummer]

27. It's the dogma of a hateful CULT! That's my perception Dash87. n/t

[ernie1241]

25. FBI FILES ON BIRCH SOCIETY

FBI FILES ON BIRCH SOCIETY AND ITS ASSERTIONS:
This 197-page report explains why J. Edgar Hoover and senior FBI officials within the Bureau’s Domestic Intelligence Division concluded in FBI memos that the JBS was “extremist”, “irrational” and “irresponsible”
http://sites.google.com/site/ernie124102/jbs-1

CONSERVATIVE CRITICS OF ROBERT WELCH and BIRCH SOCIETY:
Contrary to claims made by the Birch Society about the alleged "left-wing" origins of JBS criticism, the most potent adverse comments about the JBS have always originated from the right-side of the political spectrum. This report presents a representative sample of such comments.
http://sites.google.com/site/ernie124102/jbs-4

DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY:
This report presents documents which, generally, have never been previously publicly available -- including private correspondence between Robert Welch and numerous individuals and correspondence by JBS National Council members during the formative years of the Birch Society. This report is a work-in-progress and considerable new material will be added over the next few months.
https://sites.google.com/site/ernie1241/Home

[bobthedrummer]

26. You've lurked/slept here since '09 hmm?-Thanks for the links ernie1241.

[yewberry]

28. I was forbidden from getting the mail as a kid because of the JBS.

When I was little (like 6 years old), my mom was a representative in the NH state House. The JBS used to send postcards picturing torn-apart fetuses to my house because mom was vocally pro-choice.

Conservative values at work, right there.

[bobthedrummer]

29. Kick for more participation + link to Source Watch's portal to front groups (know your class ENEMY)

Front Groups (The Center for Media and Democracy/Source Watch based in Madison, Wi.)
http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Front_groups

[bobthedrummer]

30. RMoney articulates JBS awkwardly yet there it is in his sound bytes. n/t

[bobthedrummer]

31. Here's another kick, a post-Paul RYAN pick by Rmoney one. Add your JBS posts here DU. n/t

[bobthedrummer]

32. Wisconsin is the headquarters of the JBS-home to Tea Party alliances with RYAN-worth a kick today