Bizarre, Congress, Politics, Society

Tea Party: “We Are Not Terrorists!”

Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The wrath from the right has been scortching ever since VP Joe Biden commented that certain freshman tea party congressmen were acting “like terrorists” in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling. There was equally no love lost when John McClain commented that the tea party freshman were acting as “deceivers” and their ideas were “bizarro.”

Now Tea Party freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) (No, not the one with the Maserati that goes 185) has produced his own video decrying the incivility and telling us that “Vice President Biden, I’m not a terrorist. Terrorists target and kill people.” You can watch the lament here.

While the language employed by the VP was quite over the top, and especially so given Biden’s challenge to introduce more civility into public discourse, our freshman congressman fails to see the irony of his words.  No one suggests the Tea Partiers are calling for mass extinction of liberals or undocumented aliens, or gays or the poor. But what do they want? 

Here’s Nevada GOP Senate Tea Party candidate Sharon Angle on  the frustration of her comrades:

“I hope that’s not where we’re going, but you know if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.”

Some Tea Party candidates are a tad less discrete in their call for violence. Here’s Texas Tea Party candidate Stephen Broden, “Our nation was founded on violence. The option is on the table. I don’t think that we should ever remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms.”

Alaska Tea Party candidate Joe Miller found a lot to like in East Germany’s “checkpoint Charlie” system of stemming the tide of freedom-seekers “immigrating” to West Berlin during the Cold War:

“The first thing that has to be done is secure the border … East Germany was very, very able to reduce the flow. Now, obviously, other things were involved. We have the capacity to, as a great nation, secure the border. If East Germany could, we could.”

And the Tea Party has a thing or two to say to liberals about the notion of any separation between church and state:

 “Do you know, where does this phrase ‘separation of church and state’ come from? It was not in Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists. … The exact phrase ‘separation of Church and State’ came out of Adolph Hitler’s mouth, that’s where it comes from. So the next time your liberal friends talk about the separation of Church and State, ask them why they’re Nazis.” —Glen Urquhart, the Tea Party-backed Republican nominee for the Delaware House seat. You can even watch him here. 

And then there’s that “witchy woman,” Delaware’s own Christine O’Donnell,  who, when questioned about whether the Constitution calls for separation of church and state during a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School delightfully noted, “You’re telling me that’s in the First Amendment?”  Ahems were heard around the world on that one.

New York Tea Party darling Carl Paladino had this suggestion for the poor:

“Instead of handing out the welfare checks, we’ll teach people how to earn their check. We’ll teach them personal hygiene … the personal things they don’t get when they come from dysfunctional homes. These (prisons) are beautiful properties with basketball courts, bathroom facilities, toilet facilities. Many young people would love to get the hell out of cities. You have to teach them basic things — taking care of themselves, physical fitness. In their dysfunctional environment, they never learned these things.”

Then there’s the First Lady of the Tea Party, Michele Bachmann, sharing all the inside dope on what it really means to be gay (no husband jokes, please):

“If you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement.” — then Minn. state senator Michele Bachmann

There’s scores more and they deal with all manner of insensitivity to the poor, immigrants, the 45000 Americans who die every year from inadequate health care, and just about everyone else the right likes to pillory.

Now most of these quotes were from losers in their electoral races and maybe they represent only the most extreme dunces the Tea Party has produced, but that’s not really the point is it? The point is that while the far-out Right might be justly indignant for the rhetorical excesses of the Left, they can’t seem to find the words to decry the excesses of their own camp. 

There’s a word for that.

Source: Huffington Post

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

359 thoughts on “Tea Party: “We Are Not Terrorists!””

  2. Elaine,

    Congratulations! (a little early) That’s wonderful news! You’ve certainly gotten a head start on the grandmothering learning curve with your pre-birth pictures (plus a very nice anachronism…). Whether a boy or girl the child will be lucky to have you as a grandmother.

    OS,

    Not all people who use sock puppets here do so to disrupt the conversation – I’ve used several myself (albeit obvious ones – except for the one that isn’t… [if you’re wondering who that is, it’s not important…]) just because I like different voices. Rest assured that there are others who do the same from time to time (with no obvious ill intent). Don’t confuse the tactic with the cause it’s being employed in – after all, Byron may be jumping from identity to identity trying to outrun his past, but most of Bdaman’s alter-egos are pretty obvious (not all, though…) – most of his disruptions of threads are in his main voice (or an obvious puppet) – he just prevents any substantive discussion by trolling threads – like this one (care to answer my point that even if man-made climate change is a complete hoax, pollution control is critical to our survival as a race, Bdaman? I didn’t think so…). The way I see it, what matters is whether or not you are acting in good faith – not what your essentially anonymous identity is…

    lottakatz,

    You’re right – everyone should chill out. I have to say that I bear part of the responsibility for what has gone on here – not because I have done anything wrong (I haven’t) – but because I was the one who started poking trolls with a stick… well… really I made a pointy stick and gave it to some people to poke trolls with. (in my defense, it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot by doing it [you can’t blame a scientist for doing experiments, right? No trolls were harmed (just annoyed) and I didn’t violate any ethical standards…]). So I apologize to all of the regulars for riling them up. Sorry, guys – I did have a good reason, though.

    Personally, I think the solution (if one wants to have a substantive discussion – which I do) is a private forum – at least until technology improves enough to weed out disruptions. I applaud JT’s stance on free speech, but sometimes (if you want to get something done) speech has to be protected by a wall – away from prying eyes and insidious words.

    pete,

    If you try that game you need to have a stomach pump standing by… 😉

  5. pete,

    I was drinking through the whole exchange … you should have said something … I would have played.

  6. Nal,

    I have to tell you that when the post went up complete with BIL’s avatar I was totally confused and couldn’t figure out what was going on.

  7. Bdaman,

    I am the one who provided Buddha is Laughing and others with information – information which did not originate with or pass through any guest bloggers before it got to me. Professor Turley was assured of this (by several other people in addition to myself) when rafflaw was fallaciously accused of providing me with IP or email addresses. You’re just trying to raise a fuss to get me to reveal my tricks… sorry – I’m not that stupid. (Note to the real Buddha – my cousin Joel does some AMAZING card tricks…) And, by the way, I knew that it wasn’t the real Buddha posting without any more information due to site access than you have… (well – I could have known… if I cared) Why would you expect Gene to have any trouble finding that out when he actually HAS site access? Do you think him incapable of finding and comparing two entries in a database? If so, I think you have a problem with projection.

    Mespo,

    I don’t think Byron/Rae/Tautology/Roco is kderosa. Just my opinion (let’s call it a professional one, though…).

    All,

    If you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to, send me an email at (first name)@(last name).net

    Kevin Kesseler

  9. damn, just when i was going to suggest a drinking game for those here who imbibe. every time kd called gene, buddha you have to take a drink.

    of course whoever has access to the blog can get the ip addresses of anyone who comes to the site whether they comment or not. mouse droppings.

    i just really hope our host doesn’t become tired of the controversy and shut down his site. i’ve enjoyed reading the posts and the comments.

    some of them anyway

  10. OS, well said and 2X.

    Elaine, Congratulations! Now that’s something that’s actually important 🙂

    Gene, I’m not sayn’, I’m just say’n. Some folks are nuts.

    Blouise, thanks for your earlier kind words and g’night.

    G’night all.

  11. Elaine,
    Congrats in advance! Our grandsons are coming over tomorrow morning and we get to baby sit them so I will be thinking of you and your daughter!

  12. I cannot support Gene in his effectively banning, even if temporary, kderosa and Byron is Laughing.

  14. If I were crazy and skilled and thought messing with JT was a noble cause, I would sow the seeds of distrust on his blawg, throw in the possibility of identity theft and then hack or solicit personal info from his posters and make it appear that someone on JT’s blawg, a guest poster perhaps, stole it and did something bad with it. Consider, people are paid to be agents provocateurs. I have see the job offerings from right-wingers. Who knows what other offers or mission creep may develop from such a relationship? I (speaking here of being paranoid) can see that happening. I think everybody needs to chill out.

    Bdaman, chill, I would hate to think you believe you are among enemies here. You are already a public person. I’m betting you’re safe from anyone here (or BIL if that is your concern) but an agent provocateur might well think you or any other public person from this blawg would be easy pickings and useful for nefarious purposes. Srsly. All you public people need to be mindful. Not strung-out – the terrorist’s win that way 🙂 – just mindful. There is an obvious stalker/berserker here as evidenced by the new StalkingBuddah blawg.

    Also FWIW, I’d be moderating K and Byron big time, they’ve become toxic to this blawg. A ‘new’ BIL with a funky IRL- moderate his butt, we’ve been down that road before. I don’t even have to pay lip service to the 1st Amendment, I’m not a constitutional lawyer, so I can speak such heresy on this blawg without guilt.

    Also, FWIW, If Gene were Buddha, then I think that’s great. One of the best things about the intertubes is that a person can reinvent themselves. They can reinvent, reconstitute, reform, and reinvigorate themselves. Take the best and leave the rest and come back ‘better’ than before.

  15. Elaine, congratulations.

    May the new arrival be a blessing in all your lives.

  17. I have not posted much recently because of the incessant disruptions and stalking. This is some sick stuff that has been going on. If a person creates sockpuppet accounts, it is almost always for the sole purpose of creating a problem for the blog. A genuine commenter who intends to engage in an honest discussion–even if it involves disagreements–does not need a sockpuppet account. Sockpuppets and stalkers seem to always be up to no good, and that is not healthy for a blawg.

    Sockpuppetry is designed to mislead. That is a diplomatic way of saying “lying.” If there is another reason for creating a sockpuppet, feel free to enlighten me. I did see a legitimate reason a few times over on Daily Kos, such as when a poster deliberately changed usernames for good reason. For example, a lawyer who posted as “Major Danby” changed his username because people thought he was a military man although the name came from a fiction novel, and he did not want to mislead. Other than a few instances like that, there seems to be no legitimate reason to create sockpuppets.

    Of particular concern is the continued obsession with whether Gene is BiL. Then there is talk of Byron and Patty C, a dispute that goes back far before I discovered this blawg. I do not know who these people are and do not care. The one thing I do care about is whether discussion can remain civil and on topic without constant disruption and gratuitous insults. I came over to this blawg because I liked Professor Turley the first time I saw him on TV. I like the regular commenters who stay on topic and engage in interesting discussions, even when we disagree. Those regulars can disagree without being disagreeable. On the other hand, there are a few–one in particular–who seems to delight in being boorish. I doubt seriously that there are many who read this who enjoy boorish behavior.

    Now I am checking out for the evening. I have a seminar all day tomorrow and need to be up really early. G’night all.

  18. Mark,

    “The point is that while the far-out Right might be justly indignant for the rhetorical excesses of the Left, they can’t seem to find the words to decry the excesses of their own camp.

    “There’s a word for that.”

    *****

    Yup! The rules about rhetorical excesses apply to everybody but them.

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