Tea Party protesters are extraordinary, not ordinary
I read radio host Michael Graham's new book this week entitled, That's No Angry Mob, That's My Mom: Team Obama's Assault on Tea-Party, Talk-Radio Americans.
In the book, Graham defends millions of typical Americans like his mom--"ordinary people who worry that Obama's socialist policies are jeopardizing America's future." Count me as one of them, though I don't like the use of Graham's description of tea party protesters as "ordinary." They are anything but.
But before I tell you why they are extraordinary, what do their demographics look like? According to a a Quinnipiac poll:
74 percent are Republicans or independent voters leaning Republican;
16 percent are Democrats or independent voters leaning Democratic;
5 percent are solidly independent;
45 percent are men;
55 percent are women;
88 percent are white;
77 percent voted for Sen. John McCain in 2008;
15 percent voted for President Barack Obama
Ann Althouse noted that there are more women than men. Funny, because all the media does is talk about the angry white man in relation to the tea partiers and town hall protests. They need to get with the program and realize that there are a lot of angry women out there. I've met them.
Many are small business owners who fear their businesses will fail because of increased taxes and regulations. Many are already paying increased worker's comp taxes that are hurting their bottom line. Other women are moms like these who fear that their kids will be left the burden of extraordinary debt for years to come. Still others I have met long for individual freedom and the right in the United States of America to make their own decisions about their business, health care and what they eat, drink and think.
They, like the men who are protesting at the Tea Parties, are not ordinary Americans. The ordinary are the elite politicians who think that they know what is best and try to foster their will on these independent citizens. The ordinary are those who demand that government give us cradle to grave entitlements that lead to a loss of freedom and an increasing debt to be carried for years to come. The ordinary are the media who are so biased in favor of the Obama administration that they do what they can to smear these extraordinary citizens for daring to voice their opinions.
The extraordinary are the citizens who are refusing to be ordinary and go along with the program down The Road to Serfdom.
I salute them.
In the book, Graham defends millions of typical Americans like his mom--"ordinary people who worry that Obama's socialist policies are jeopardizing America's future." Count me as one of them, though I don't like the use of Graham's description of tea party protesters as "ordinary." They are anything but. But before I tell you why they are extraordinary, what do their demographics look like? According to a a Quinnipiac poll:
74 percent are Republicans or independent voters leaning Republican;
16 percent are Democrats or independent voters leaning Democratic;
5 percent are solidly independent;
45 percent are men;
55 percent are women;
88 percent are white;
77 percent voted for Sen. John McCain in 2008;
15 percent voted for President Barack Obama
Ann Althouse noted that there are more women than men. Funny, because all the media does is talk about the angry white man in relation to the tea partiers and town hall protests. They need to get with the program and realize that there are a lot of angry women out there. I've met them.
Many are small business owners who fear their businesses will fail because of increased taxes and regulations. Many are already paying increased worker's comp taxes that are hurting their bottom line. Other women are moms like these who fear that their kids will be left the burden of extraordinary debt for years to come. Still others I have met long for individual freedom and the right in the United States of America to make their own decisions about their business, health care and what they eat, drink and think.
They, like the men who are protesting at the Tea Parties, are not ordinary Americans. The ordinary are the elite politicians who think that they know what is best and try to foster their will on these independent citizens. The ordinary are those who demand that government give us cradle to grave entitlements that lead to a loss of freedom and an increasing debt to be carried for years to come. The ordinary are the media who are so biased in favor of the Obama administration that they do what they can to smear these extraordinary citizens for daring to voice their opinions.
The extraordinary are the citizens who are refusing to be ordinary and go along with the program down The Road to Serfdom.
I salute them.
Labels: interesting books, tea parties
posted by Helen at 6:59 AM
19 Comments:
Well, we all salute you back.
And Mr. Dr. Helen as well.
Trey
The Tea Party folks that I have met were "ordinary" in the sense that there were no so-called "civic leaders" among them, they were just plain people who were concerned enough to step forward and get involved. They were willing to devote their time, often at considerable personal expense, to an effort to stop this abomination that is sweeping our country.
Their "ordinariness" was evident in that many of them were rather poor public speakers; they were not at all familiar with that role. They were the folks who, under other circumstances, would be standing in the crowd. This was further evident by less than terrific organizational skills, but again, they did what had to be done.
They are not the usual community leaders. Those people have failed us completely, and now it is time for "ordinary people" to step up and take charge.
Ann Althouse noted that there are more women than men. Funny, because all the media does is talk about the angry white man in relation to the tea partiers and town hall protests. They need to get with the program and realize that there are a lot of angry women out there. I've met them.
You have to understand the press, the narrative is more important than the facts (see: Duke rape case). They convince themselves of the story they want to tell ahead of time and then select their sources to back up the narrative. Go to any crowd and you'll likely find at least one "angry white man." He becomes the face of the whole organization because he fits the narrative. Besides, all "real women" are liberal feminists who support bigger government (see: Sarah Palin, not a real woman). That's another narrative.
I have this quaint dream that one day, the press will return to actually reporting facts instead of the narrative. Then I wake up.
In an analysis that I had seen the other day,the stats are very close to what you have posted. However, the writer pointed out thatgiven the split between many tea party folks and the GOP, the two groups are likely to be at cross purposes and thus theDemocrats will gain by the split between the two in an election.
As for the facile label, Socilistic, take a peek at this
http://i.imgur.com/590Ev.png
and ann coulter is in canada presently, and discovering something she already knew;
canadian politics is socialist.
imagine being screamed at by protesters to the point where your security people fear for your safety...on a college campus!
Ah, Fred, don't fall for the simplistic gooberishness of some random troll.
Let's see: yes, my power is provided by an unregulated city-owned utility (who kick back their profits to the city to cover their shortfalls, not to the citizens who pay the bills), but many people get their power more cheaply from a privately-owned utility.
TV is an on-going development begun in the 1880s, usually by tinkers, inventors, and engineers working for such non-government sponsored entities such as Bell Labs, Westinghouse, and GE.
Tell me, Fred, which government agency formulated digital and HDTV?
Roads and bridges are built by private contractors, who in turn subcontract out bits and pieces to other private contractors.
And you don't get internet connections at home from the government. You get them from a cable, phone or dedicated private enterprises such as Comcast, Time-Warner, CenturyLink or Verizon.
Pretty much anything you need, you can get from a private source. In truth, the government sucks ass at actually providing goods and services.
Been to the DMV lately? had to endure the VA hospitals? no, sadly the government model is an awful lot like Henry Ford's Model T color choices: you can get any color you like, as long as it's black. Huh, wonder why Ford Motor Company ditched that policy starting with the Model A?
There's a lot of differences, but, at heart, the Tea Party is to the Right what the Vietnam protests were to the Left: a primer in how to resist a government whose actions you don't like.
A lot of people, though they are older and more 'established' than the 1960s crowd, are learning that you sometimes have to raise your voice if you want heard.
That being said, the Tea Party protesters are more extraordinary than the 1960s types because 1- the TP people are usually employed and have full lives; the 1960s radicals were mainly college kids and the unemployed.
A lot of ordinary people who've never done something like this before are cutting their teeth now. It's a good thing because it's waking up a lot of previously politically apathetic Americans.
And that's good!
"canadian politics is socialist.
imagine being screamed at by protesters to the point where your security people fear for your safety...on a college campus!"
Canadian guy here. Could you guys not send your trash to our country please? We have enough problems without some venom-spewing twit running around telling the Brown folks who live here to "ride a camel".
If you actually read accounts of the evening, it was boisterous, though not nearly as what you would see at your average tea party, so it's hilarious in an post talking about "extraordinary Americans" that you somehow thing the behavior of these students is anything different. Just so we're clear... Coulter LIED when she said police shut down the event. They did no such thing. She shut it down, and will undoubtedly profit from her wounded animal act greatly.
Are we socialists? Yeah, sorta. We have universal healthcare, meaning we take care of each other when we're sick, but you can still make stupid amounts of money in this country, or be poor as dirt. Like the US, it's entirely up to the individual.
I feel it is my obligation to make the authorities aware of the following "HATE SITES" -
ScrapSchumer.com - FrankFumbles.com
SmashStupak.com - DumpDelauro.com
DumpBlumy.com - MurphyMustGo.com
DumpChrisDodd.com (Mission Accomplished)
Yeah, John, just don't try to make money as a doctor.
John go back and read it again. The school shut it down because of safety concerns. There were at least 20 people who were going to riot if they could find a camera so the campus police decided that was it. Reason.com can give you reading lessons, if you want them. Reason.
Thank you Helen! These have been my thoughts exactly lately. I was one of the co-chairs of the Knoxville Tea Party. Wife, Mom, Professional Consulting Geologist, Junior League member... Pretty scary bio, wouldn't you say? Angry? Yeah I'm angry. I see our "leaders" in Washington DC trying to destroy everything that is great about this country. I see the majority of Americans opposed to the reckless expansion of our debt and government control, and they just ignore us, belittle us, marginalize us, and mock us. I worry about the future for my children, who will be out of college in the next 2 - 4 years. I worry about the future of their children. Will they even know the wonderful history and traditions of the USA?
I want these Tea Parties to run for office. The founders want individuals likes these to run. A man reluctant to run would care about the job he does and not care about getting elected.
Thank you for the salute!
Jared Rhoads
Director, Lucidicus Project
http://lucidicus.org
Sadly, we are witnessing negative changes that on the current course will likely lead to the demise of the great experiment. That leaves us with the option to sit back and watch it happen, or step up and do something individually and in concert to effect positive change. That realization is what transforms ordinary citizens into extraordinary citizens.
Haven't you been listening to Our Dear Leader? There are no exceptional Americans, and I presume that means extraordinary ones as well.
I asked my Mom the other day if she ever imagined in her wildest dreams that she would be going to protests at the Capitol at age 81. She said, no, she couldn't have imagined that before.
TO: Dr. Helen, et al.
RE: "Jeopardizing"???!?!
-..."....Obama's socialist policies are jeopardizing America's future." -- Dr. Helen
Heck!
He's not MERELY 'jeopardizing' the America's future. He's destroying it.
However, it's nice to see that others are BEGINNING to 'catch on'. Albeit entirely too late. But all too many people have been raised not to recognize a threat until it smacks them where it hurts. And, based on past experience....that includes YOU.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[The Truth 'hurts'....only those who are opposed to it..... -- CBPelto
John from Canada said:
"Are we socialists? Yeah, sorta. We have universal healthcare, meaning we take care of each other when we're sick[…]"
I lived for years in Rochester, NY. If one wanted to see a Canadian, one could either attend a Rochester Americans hockey game, or visit Strong Memorial Hospital or Park Ridge Hospital. (I worked at Park Ridge for a time.)
Both the ice at the "BlueCross Arena at the War Memorial" (interesting name, no?) and both hospitals' beds had lots and lots of Canucks.
At the hospitals, your countrymen had crossed the border and paid premium prices for something they putatively could have had for "free" at home. So much for "taking care of each other."
Regarding Ms. Coulter, she was sitting in an Ottawa club (with her bodyguard) when her planned University of Ottawa appearance was canceled — by the police. Interesting that in Canada the cops are apparently sensible, and the acadmics wear the brown shirts. What a country!
Post a Comment
<< Home