Is there going to be an Anti-Teabagger backlash?

[bobalot]

Just as the "New Left" radicals of the 60's and 70's eventually alienated the mainstream and helped shift the nation politically right, are the teabaggers provoking the same reaction?

I get the feeling while the far-right are very loud and have got a lot of politicians crapping their pants or sucking up to them (like the entire Republican party), their actual support base is relatively small. It is really restricted to:

1. White old people
2. Radical "Libertarians" (or well off white guys if you want a more accurate description)

Let's also be honest, teabaggers sound crazy for the most part (Obama is a fascist, death camps, etc). Their actions are getting even more disturbing (such attempting to intimidate elected officials).

Do you think that they will keep getting more and more extreme and provoke a backlash?

[Coyote]

There will eventually be a backlash, but it will not be as sharp or pronounced as the backlash against the "New Left" was. Like it or not, America is a very "conservative" nation across the entire political spectrum (even our "Leftist" politicians are center-right nationalists compared to most European parliamentarians). Average people in the USA will break away from and marginalize the teabaggers, but on some levels they have some sympathy for some of the teabagger complaints.

The teabaggers themselves are their own worst enemy-- if you listen (and you don't even have to listen carefully) it is obvious that they are just frustrated people venting, for the most part. Try to pin them down on specifics and you won't get much. They can't even organize and agree on ideals nationally.

So it may not be a backlash so much as just a loss of momentum-- and a few years from now, we'll look back at it, laugh nervously, and you won't be able to find anyone who will admit to having been a part of it.

[Bluewolf]

The teabaggers themselves are their own worst enemy-- if you listen (and you don't even have to listen carefully) it is obvious that they are just frustrated people venting, for the most part. Try to pin them down on specifics and you won't get much. They can't even organize and agree on ideals nationally.

I'd like to pick up on that point. This will be anecdotal but It gives you some idea of how these people can work. I have been on Something Awful which has in one of it's political sub forums a long running thread of the members of Free Republic (a very far right wing site). Now this site is pretty much a Tea Bag one through and through if a little more insane. You however see how they respond to various articles etc. On the subject of Republican/Tea Bag ones they are very divided. Some don't want to become more organised at all. Some dislike the Republicans. Some think that they need to spread more etc. The opinions of these people are very divided and I personally think that they are divided enough to burn out or at least ebb away eventually. I can imagine they will only get stronger if certain things happen but that's just about it.

[Themightytom]

Hmm if there IS a backlash it would escalate pretty quickly. I suspect a lot more tea party members have guns than the new left did in the 60's and they don't seem to have qualms about carrying them to volatile situations.

[Teebs]

I'd have thought the teabaggers have far fewer establishment enemies than the left movements in the 1960s and 70s and that would make a backlash far less likely.

[Coyote]

Hmm if there IS a backlash it would escalate pretty quickly. I suspect a lot more tea party members have guns than the new left did in the 60's and they don't seem to have qualms about carrying them to volatile situations.

To be honest, I think a lot of the gun carrying is "hurf-hurf" posturing. They want to look tough and act all manly-man but if push come to shove I seriously doubt many of them will actually resort to using their firearms. The Michigan Militia sold out the Hutaree; and the Hutaree themselves --for all their bluster-- were obviously in no hurry to become the next Ruby Ridge.

A lot of the teabaggers and militia types these days are older, with families and aren't hurting as much as they think they are. They have a lot to lose, and are mostly bark and little bite.

A few of them, certainly, will go off on lone wolf type attacks, but they'll be the disjointed attacks that no one will want to claim-- that guy that shot up the Holocaust Memorial; the guy that flew his plane into the IRS office; and that dude right after Obama got elected that got in a firefight with officers because "Obama was going to take his guns away". No groups or militias took up these peoples' rallying calls, in fact most teabaggers distanced themselves from them (except for some muttered sympathy for the plane attack terrorist).

Actually, if there is "direct action" taken by political groups, I'd guess that it will follow the traditional style of attacks we've seen in the US: mostly carried out by various types of IEDs. Direct force-on-force clashes of armed bands are rare for good reason; the nutcases tend to get steamrolled, partially because to their dismay the rest of the populace doesn't rise up to support them.

[Themightytom]

Actually, if there is "direct action" taken by political groups, I'd guess that it will follow the traditional style of attacks we've seen in the US: mostly carried out by various types of IEDs. Direct force-on-force clashes of armed bands are rare for good reason; the nutcases tend to get steamrolled, partially because to their dismay the rest of the populace doesn't rise up to support them.

...and then comes the part where they realize they are categorized as domestic terrorists and that That Guy They Voted For REALLY expanded government authority in this area.

[jcow79]

Did somebody say backlash? When I read this article from a Fair & Balanced news source I honestly had to double check it was from the source I thought it was and not an Onion article. It reads like a Stephen Colbert skit or something.

Tea Party Opponents Hope to Infiltrate Party, Dismantle It
AP
Jason Levin, creator of http://www.crashtheteaparty.org, said Monday the group has 65 leaders in major cities across the country who are trying to recruit members to infiltrate tea party events for April 15 -- federal tax filing day, when tea party groups across America are planning to gather and protest high taxes.
Opponents of the fiscally conservative tea party movement say they plan to infiltrate and dismantle the political group by trying to make its members appear to be racist, homophobic and moronic.
Jason Levin, creator of http://www.crashtheteaparty.org, said Monday the group has 65 leaders in major cities across the country who are trying to recruit members to infiltrate tea party events for April 15 -- federal tax filing day, when tea party groups across America are planning to gather and protest high taxes.
"Every time we have someone on camera saying that Barack Obama isn't an American citizen, we want someone sitting next to him saying, 'That's right, he's an alien from outer space!"' Levin said.
Tea party members said the backlash comes from ignorance.
"They can't actually debate our message and that's their problem," said Bob MacGuffie, a Connecticut organizer for Right Principles, a tea party group that also has members in New York and New Jersey.
The tea party movement generally unites on the fiscally conservative principles of small government, lower taxes and less spending. Beyond that the ideology of the people involved tends to vary dramatically.
Levin says they want to exaggerate the group's least appealing qualities, further distance the tea party from mainstream America and damage the public's opinion of them.
"Do I think every member of the tea party is a homophobe, racist or a moron? No, absolutely not," Levin said. "Do I think most of them are homophobes, racists or morons? Absolutely."
The site manifesto says they want to dismantle the Tea Party by nonviolent means. "We have already sat quietly in their meetings, and observed their rallies," the site said.
Another tea party organizer said the attempt to destroy the movement was evidence its message is resonating.
"We've been ignored, we've been ridiculed. Well, now they're coming after us," said Judy Pepenella, a co-coordinator for the New York State Tea Party. "Gandhi's quote is one we understand: 'First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."'

By FAR my favorite line.

Opponents of the fiscally conservative tea party movement say they plan to infiltrate and dismantle the political group by trying to make its members appear to be racist, homophobic and moronic.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Ironically, the main reason why there wont be much of a TeaParty backlash as compared ot the Liberal backlash of the 60's, is because by and large the modern TeaParty Movement is a small Fraction of the over all people involved in the 60s counter culture.

Imagine if there was no internet, no 24hour news cycle, and especially no Fox News. how much influence do you think the TeaParty would get? Much of their current fanaticism is due to groups like Fox News whipping them up into a fever. In the 60s we had routinely thousands upon thousands of groups meeting all over the country, constant protests, constant battles with cops, constant shouts and cries.

The TeaParty 'movement' seems huge only because they get endless airtime and free publicity. But there really isn't that many of them. As others have said in a decade or so they will simply be largely forgotten and ignored. The counter culture of the 60's and 70's on the other hand... Well the Backlash came about because they were actually DOING things. They pushed hard for reforms and people LISTENED to them. By the end of the 70's or so the Right was pushing back because they Left was a viable threat. Then the leaders of the counterculture started getting killed off, the Right got into office, and the next thing you know we had 20years worth of undoing what was done in the 60's and 70's.

SO long story short, there wont be a "backlash" against the TeaParty because no one 'really' thinks they hold any real power.

[Invictus ChiKen]

This might cause a fracture in the Tea Party, if it happens Link

Halloran is now a Maybe
Last month rumors started swirling that newly elected New York City Councilman Dan Halloran, an openly Theodish political conservative, was considering a Tea Party-fueled challenge to Democratic Congressman Gary Ackerman in November. After a few days of speculation, and increasing attention from political reporters, Halloran seemed to back down on a serious attempt for the seat, though he did leave the door open a crack in case he changed his mind.

“I’ll sit down and talk to [local party leaders], but I’m not inclined to run … I haven’t ruled it out, but Gary Ackerman has tremendous financial and political resources. My big picture right now is the state of the city and that our district gets its fair share of money.”

Well it looks like Halloran’s inclination is changing, his spokesman Steve Stites now says that he’s “considering” a run for Ackerman’s seat, while Halloran himself is saying that Ackerman’s support for the recently-passed health care package has “changed things a lot”.

“City Council Member Dan Halloran, a Republican elected last year, said that he is now strongly considering challenging Rep. Gary Ackerman for Congress after Ackerman’s vote for the health care package passed last month and Ackerman’s behavior at the bill’s signing ceremony.”

The big question: does he have a chance of winning? Swing State Project seems to think it’s a long-shot.

“NY-05: Dan Halloran, a Republican who won a Dem-held seat on the NYC City Council last year, is weighing a challenge to Rep. Gary Ackerman. Halloran, a practicing Theodist, thinks he can make Ackerman pay a price for voting in favor of healthcare reform. Ackerman, for his part, has $1.1 million on hand and the support of the Queens Independence Party. This district also went 63-36 for Obama (but notably, that’s the same percentage that Kerry got, suggesting there was something of a “conservative white ethnic New Yorkers for McCain” effect here).”

To make this a close contest, two things would have to change, the Queens Independence Party (which backed Halloran for City Council) would have to switch support from Ackerman to Halloran, and he’d have to pick up a lot more money so he could run in a far larger geographic area. He would also have to pick up a lot of support outside of Tea Party and local conservative parties. Recent polling analysis shows that despite the Tea Party’s momentum and enthusiasm, they are predominately a conservative movement, and it’s fair to say they might do little to sway non-conservative-leaning independent voters.

“Although the Tea Party gets pretty decent numbers among independents, support is smaller among self-proclaimed moderates; only about 15 percent of moderates support the tea-party (Gallup) and about 10 percent consider themselves a part of it (Wilson). Liberals, who support the tea-party in the high single digits, are actually pretty close to the moderates.”

Naturally anything can change in politics, but a swing and miss here could harm Halloran’s long-term political future. Especially if local Queens residents start seeing him as someone more interested in higher office than in serving out the term he was just elected for. Ackerman, meanwhile, seems pretty confident that the health-care vote won’t harm his standing with local constituents.

“Ackerman said the health care bill was a “very easy vote” for him and that the bill was overwhelmingly popular in his district. Ackerman added that he was “not overly concerned” with a potential Halloran challenge, noting that the Council member represents only about 20 percent of Ackerman’s constituents, while Ackerman has represented all of Halloran’s constituents for decades.”

I’m guessing that Halloran will remains a “maybe” unless something happens, a bad poll, evidence of softening support for Ackerman, or a scandal, that would make him believe he has a real chance at the brass ring. How long he can do the “maybe I will, maybe I won’t” dance without frustrating his Tea Party supporters remains to be seen.

More links at the blog, long story short if the Tea Part gets a worshiper of Norse Gods into congress I can see a major religious war breaking out amongst them.