Find the link
I have to start by giving a shout out to my Bulls for their game one win over the Celtics on the road yesterday. Sure there's a lot of basketball left in the series, but with Garnett out and the Chicago riding some pretty good momentum from the end of the season, anything can happen (though Aaron balloon deflatingly pointed out that the Bulls' road to the championship would likely go through Boston, Orlando, Cleveland, and L.A.).
Second item. I didn't quite get the Tea Party extravaganza. It seemed that higher taxes was the focus of the disgruntlement (hence the chosen date of observance), but was this all about raising taxes on the rich? Not that I'm for doing away with the Bush tax cuts, it just didn't seem like that was the focus of the protests and I didn't quite see what was. It kind of felt like conservatives were reaching for an expression of their frustrations without finding the unified voice that they've been oft criticised for lacking as of late. I am a conservative by most measures and want to see the republicans regroup in a productive way, but I'm not personally inspired by activism for activism's sake.
Second item. I didn't quite get the Tea Party extravaganza. It seemed that higher taxes was the focus of the disgruntlement (hence the chosen date of observance), but was this all about raising taxes on the rich? Not that I'm for doing away with the Bush tax cuts, it just didn't seem like that was the focus of the protests and I didn't quite see what was. It kind of felt like conservatives were reaching for an expression of their frustrations without finding the unified voice that they've been oft criticised for lacking as of late. I am a conservative by most measures and want to see the republicans regroup in a productive way, but I'm not personally inspired by activism for activism's sake.
Comments
This graph gives a pretty good Idea of what I think they are protesting:
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/76998/
This definitely isn't activism for activism's sake. Actually, what's most remarkable about these protests is that this is not the normal crowd that has gone to every move-on, code-pink, hippie protest in the last couple years. From what I can tell, these are mostly middle-class people, most of whom have probably never felt the need to go to a protest before in their life.
Having said that I think these protests are unique, and also sharing some of the same frustrations, I don't think I would go to a protest myself because I just don't like protests in general.
--rdh
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/77025/
http://rossdouthat.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/04/the_tea_parties.php
Then there's this which is kind of off point, but kind of on point, too:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTM5YjM4MDk0NzlkZDVjYzYzN2U5NGMzMzA3M2U5YTA=
It seems this idea that "the protesters don't know what they are protesting" is an developed media meme. Let me delicately suggest that perhaps you have fallen prey to this media-generated narrative. Not that you are necessarily influence by the common wisdom, but because there is so much ability to cherry pick in reporting, the evidence as presented by reporters may skew the picture of the protesters. Of course my information is also from a handful of blogs so maybe I'm the one being played!
-rdh
I get the whole "fed up with the expansion of government" sentiments underlying the Tea Parties, but still feel that it lacked a central message, a specific law/policy with which they disagree.
I also will claim exemption from your meme theory (good word by the way). Though this might undermine any opinion I express on the matter, I actually didn't read (or watch as I don't have TV) a single article discussing the Tea Parties. I think I heard a short blurb on NPR about the planning phase, but most of what I heard was from locals that attended and blogged about them.
On the other hand, what other way are these people going to get attention and get their message out? Also, it might not be fair to paint these protesters with the same brush as the protesters of the past. There have been almost no center-right protest in the last forty years.
I get the whole "fed up with the expansion of government" sentiments underlying the Tea Parties, but still feel that it lacked a central message, a specific law/policy with which they disagree.Isn't drastically increasing the size of government and spending an policy? Sure it was executed in parts, but I don't think it makes sense for the protesters to just protest TARP II, or just protest the stimulus. It's the cumulative effect of Obama's policies that has lead to 2009 deficit projections being four times as large as any deficit in the last 8 years.
--rdh