Why the Tea Party won't last - part 1

Note: I've split this post into two parts due to length. I'll post the second part on Wednesday.

The Tea Party would like to think of itself as here for the long run, possibly replacing the Republican Party as a national party. That the Tea Party movement is a large movement with many members is not to be denied, but can they actually achieve anything? Are they a new political party or just a passing fad?

If you look to the social movements of the past you’ll see that the Tea Party just doesn’t have what it takes. Even the people they claim to admire, our founding fathers, did more than just throw tea in a river out of anger. The founders weren’t randomly angry at the king, they had legitimate grievances, and they took specific actions to change things. There are four reasons the tea party will not last: They do not have clear goals and objectives, they have an inconsistent message not grounded on facts, their direction is backwards rather than forwards, and their movement is not embraced by young adults. It is these four things that make a social movement historical as opposed to a footnote.

So, you’re mad. What are you going to do about it?

First, the Tea party movement does not have clear, ACHIEVABLE, goals or objectives. They have vague goals like lower taxes, or no taxes, getting government out of our lives, etc. When you look at movements of the past that were successful they had clear goals and objectives. The civil rights movement of the 60s was not out to end racism (though that was a hope), they were out to change the laws that made racism seem legitimate. The woman’s suffrage movement didn’t have as it’s goal to make men see women as equals (though that was the hope), it’s goal was to give women the right to vote. By having a clear goal that is achievable your movement can affect social change. There is less racism today (but as events over weekend of the Health Care vote show it is by no means gone) thanks to the civil rights legislation. Hilary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi are testaments to the social change brought about by the suffrage movement (though the small number of female senators is testament to how far we still need to go). If the Tea Party movement were to have a clear goal that it could achieve, something that could be voted on, it might have some staying power. Vague ideas with no actionable items are philosophy not government.

Totalitarianism: or how a President elected by 66 million people enacting legislation he said he would pass once he became President is somehow subverting the will of the people.

The Tea party also has an inconsistent message that is not grounded on reality. The civil rights movement and the suffrage movements were trying to correct wrongs that ACTUALLY existed. Black people in the United States could not eat at lunch counters, sit in the same sections or use the same water fountains or toilets as white people. That was the reality of the United States in the sixties. The Tea Party talks about government totalitarianism, socialism, government takeovers, none of which are real. Many tea party members are on medicare and don’t want government run insurance. They simultaneously want more government regulation of corporations and less government meddling. If the tea party movement wants to last it’s going to need an actual message that is grounded on facts.

As a liberal I believe that government can help people, because I’ve seen in my own life that it can. So when I support health care reform it is because I’ve seen that there are people who have insurance who get sick and have their coverage dropped (reality), then these same people have to struggle just to live, literally LIVE (reality). Arguments that there is going to be a government takeover of hospitals (fiction), Death Panels (fiction), the government coming between you and your doctor (fiction) may help keep people scared, but they do not make for a lasting movement because once people see the reality, they won’t follow the movement anymore. Claims of socialism, fascism and communism (which aren’t synonyms) will only take you so far.

Next: Why you may not understand their music but you still need their support.