Brewing Up Trouble

I think Chip Berlet underestimates the role the mainstream media have played in the rise of the Tea Party. Over the years left-wing movements have either gotten no attention from the media or have been denounced as out-of-touch extremists. By contrast, the first time the Tea Party organized a rally, it was headline news throughout the country, and angry protesters were “passionate Americans.”

Conservative activist David Horowitz writes, “In political warfare you do not fight just to prevail in an argument, but to destroy the enemy’s fighting ability.” Through control of the media, the Right has destroyed our fighting ability.

I fell down laughing at Chip Berlet’s analysis of the Tea Party in David Barsamian’s interview “Brewing Up Trouble.” Let’s begin with the truth. The Tea Party started in opposition to New York Governor David Paterson’s asinine proposals for higher taxes on soda, snacks, chips, cigarettes, and so on. Known as the “obesity taxes,” they fanned the sparks already ignited by out-of-control spending in Washington, D.C., by both Presidents Obama and Bush. The protests surrounding these taxes were organized mostly on blogs, Facebook, and other social-networking sites and were led by students and libertarian organizations in February 2009.

The Tea Party’s members are a diverse group who range in income from the poor to the upper middle class. I do not see race, because we are all Americans, but if you must categorize people like animals, all racial groups are represented in its ranks.

Chip Berlet’s interpretation of the Tea Party’s politics is a little askew. Yes, the Tea Party wants smaller government. Yes, it wants spending restricted to Constitutional limits. But, no, its message does not all come down to “throw the bums out.” The recent midterm election proved the American people want checks and balances in their government. It proved the Tea Party has actually put people in office and not just thrown them out. The truth is the politics of most Tea Party members range from center left to center right, which is not where our government is.

Tea Party members also get their news from many different news sources besides Fox News. There are other channels on the TV, and there is something called the “Internet.” Berlet’s perspective is an extremely biased, left-of-center view of the Tea Party movement.

After reading the letters in the February 2011 Correspondence about the Chip Berlet interview on the Tea Party [“Brewing Up Trouble,” by David Barsamian, November 2010], I realize why The Sun gives me such a rush when it arrives in my mailbox: your readers are not just from many different states but also from many different states of mind.

I am a Republican who voted for Obama because I believed we needed a change. But Congress is a beast that has been in Washington, D.C., too long and has forgotten its constituents. That is why I voted Republican again in November 2010. And I am not a member of the Tea Party. I am also not antigay, anti-feminist, antiabortion, or anti-immigrant. I agree with Chip Berlet that the Progressive movement, which could include both Republicans and Democrats, needs direction and an ideology to attract mainstream citizens.

The interview with Chip Berlet cleared up some misinformation I have read on the Internet about “concentration camps” operated by the government and threats to U.S. sovereignty. What I read online was scary and overwhelming. It didn’t make any sense and was not substantiated by authoritative sources. Nevertheless this news was accepted by a member of my family who would have me sell my home, pack up, and run to an unspecified location, as long as it is away from here.

Barsamian’s interview is the first reasonable account I’ve read of where this nonsense all began. Damn the people who started this rock slide rolling. It frightens and befuddles the poor folks who believe this stuff, and it harms helpless people who get carried along in the tide.