We all laugh at the tea party not realizing the Dem party sees "the left" the same way.

[dkf]

In reality tea party types have been the base of the republican party for years. They have always been the most upset at big government and abortion, etc.

I look at establishment Republicans freaking out at O'Donnells potential win and I can't help but wonder which of the Democratic party establishment looks at it's base, aka us, the same way.

And make no mistake, this site is decidedly left of center. In a recent poll of users, I noticed most called themselves liberal or socialist. At the time there were two miniscule votes for the moderates.

[BeFree]

1. well

given the sad sorry state of government in general, and realizing how corrupt it can be, and that the Parties are running this sad sorry state of affairs, is it any wonder they look at us as troublemakers?

Frankly, not being a troublemaker is a waste of time.

[dkf]

2. Yet will they let troublemakers dictate policy?

[BeFree]

4. LET?

They have no choice when confronted with the facts...AND... too many people who know the facts.

[zipplewrath]

3. Basically

The tea baggers are a particularly extreme version right now, but there has always been a "John Birch" wing to the GOP. The closest correlary I can think of on the left is the Code Pink folks. The DLC/New Democrat bunch hate the left wingers. What they never seem to grasp is that the left wing has basically defined the party since about 1932. The GOP used to be defined more by the "Rockefeller Republican" wing than anything else. Basically the banking class and some heavy industry thrown in. That all changed about the time of Reagan and those people came over to the democrats, via the DLC, because of the "social conservatives" amongst other reasons.

We sorta need a rise of the moderate wing of the GOP so that the democrats can become a liberal party once again. If the bagger candidates lose bad enough this fall, it could spell the end of them for another generation or so.

[dkf]

5. Well during my lifetime the teabaggers have been the base of the party.

Maybe there aren't enough moderately wealthy people to have a large amount of Rockefeller Republicans anymore.

[zipplewrath]

9. Baggers are just "birchers"

In the '50s, the same folks were called Birchers. Basically following the concepts of the John Birch Society. The rise of modern conservitism can be traced back to an intentional effort to separate conservitism from this bunch-o-folks. William Buckley and company were instrumental in accomplishing this. They were never gone, and to some extent were involved in the "social conservative" side of the GOP. But really, in the end, so many folks have "left" the GOP, that what is really going on is that they are the "only ones left" so to speak.

Bush was never a "Reagan conservative". Heck, Reagan wasn't a Reagan conservative. And lest we forget, Bush didn't even enjoy majority support in his first election. The GOP hasn't been a party of the majority in a long time. It is merely the only "other" option and plays the role of "spoiler" to a great degree. The result is that the democratic party has become a very large party which spans the political spectrum from the "far left" to the formerly "moderate republicans". That leaves the bagger/birther/bircher crowd as the "remaining voice" in politics. And in a media environment that elevates ANY voice in order to create conflict in the name of "balance" or objectivity, that gives these nut jobs alot of visibility.

[BeFree]

7. t-baggers birth date

when their hero bush presented the wall street bailout to the nation, the t-beggars were born.

Born to the realization that their heroes had lied to them, all the way to the bank.
That everything they believed in was a con job. They were being ripped off.

And so, they are reacting. A small fire which will burn out soon.

Now, it is our time. Our time to rise and shine. To show America once and for all, the Truth. To burn our candles so that those poor souls who are afraid of the dark politics can see where they must stand and be of help as we fight the system that lead to the bailouts.

[rucky]

6. And which corporate lobby is writing our talking points?

[BeFree]

8. Question, rucky

Can you list, say 5, of our talking points? Thanks.

[rucky]

10. I could try

but there's a 100% chance they would be disputed, corrected, refined, conflated, dismissed, topped, deflated, minimalized, criticized, etc. There is no message we all say at once, unless we're reacting to something they're saying. That's been our biggest problem - we get our asses kicked in the message discipline department.

[BeFree]

11. Ok here is my take

WE:

Social Security

Medicare

Equal rights

Responsive and transparent government

Peace

[Capitalocracy]

12. Oh look, a list of things that are ignored by the Obama administration

:banghead:

[BeFree]

13. well

In fairness the question was 'our' talking points.

Obama said all along: "Make me do it".

The things I listed were Democratic talking points well before Obama even appeared.

[Capitalocracy]

14. I know, but it puts it into perspective

that you'd put a list of the core beliefs we can all agree on, and it's basically a list of things that aren't on the radar for Obama.

I wonder how we're supposed to "make him do it" without being able to criticize him. What a conundrum.

[BeFree]

15. well

no doubt there are threats to our wisdom, but the idea that Obama has discarded these items is not true.

But it's good to not forget. Good to keep it up front.