The politics of the 'Tea Party' movement - 25-Apr-2010 - Generational Dynamics

If you want to understand why people flocking to the "Tea Party" are so angry, then forget the crap you've been reading in the NY Times, and consider the following quote:

"How did the destruction of the American financial system, the world financial system, and the American financial system -- tell me, how did that happen, when the biggest enemies we've had in the last 100 years -- the Nazis, the Communists, the Fascists, Imperial Japan, even Osama bin Laden -- not one of our enemies could ever destroy our financial and political system. They couldn't even imagine it. How did it happen? Quite easily.

In the last 20 years, our financial elites and the political class have taken care of themselves and led our country to the brink of ruin."

This encapsulates why a lot of people are furious. And long-time readers of the web site are well aware how furious I am at what's been going on, and that I was furious years before the "Tea Party" was even launched (early in 2009). I'm not a member of, or participant in, the "tea party" movement, but I identify with much of their anger, and I see them as having adopted MY anger, rather than the other way around.

The last 20 years include both Republican and Democratic administrations, and both Republican and Democratic Congresses. This is not about party ideology or party politics. It's about greed and arrogance on the part of elite financial engineers and their managers, politicians and journalists, who take the attitude that they can use their power and influence to screw anyone they want for their own personal gain.

Now, if you'd like to read some mainstream media crap about the Tea Party, read the column by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post.

But if you really want to understand why Tea Party people are so angry, then spend ten minutes listening to this video of Steve Bannon's speech last week. The above quote is at the 2:00 point.

The Republican 'civil war'

An analysis by Kimberley Strassel in the WSJ describes how the tea party movement is splitting up the Republican Party for the same reasons that it's attracting Democrats.

She says: "The Republican Party is split. But the real divide is between reformers like Mr. Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who are running on principles and tough issues, and a GOP old guard that still finds it politically expedient to duck or demagogue issues. As Republicans look for a way out of the wilderness, this is the rift that matters."

Speaking for myself, I'm just as furious at Republicans who caused this problem as I am at Democrats. When I read how some banker defrauded the public, I don't say to myself, "Oh, he's a Republican, so that's OK," or "Oh, he's a Democrat, so that's fine." I couldn't care less what party they belong to. Politicians of both parties have turned into crooks. As far as I can tell, this attitude is shared by a lot of people in the Tea Party movement, as well.

As I've been saying for years, long before the Tea Party started, America is headed for a new political consensus that will throw under the bus almost all of the agenda developed by the Boomers on the right AND left since the 1960s. The Boomers believe that they changed the world, but the world is about to change them.

From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, this major political realignment is coming, and today it looks like the Tea Party is going to play a role. It obviously makes the Democrats very unhappy, but it's also splitting the Republicans. Take whatever partisan pleasure you'd like from that statement, but in the end, no one is going to be happy about what happens.

Why do they disapprove of President Obama?

A recent NY Times / CBSNews poll finds that Tea Party supporters are wealthier and more educated than the general public. They're more likely to be older -- from the Boomer and Silent generation.

But one thing that always seems to unite them is that they highly disapprove of President Barack Obama and his policies. This has caused the leftist loons to accuse Tea Partiers of everything from racism to stupidity. (Do you remember the Presidential campaign, when Hillary Clinton was running against Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton were being called racists? Opposing President Bush's policies was considered patriotic, but opposing President Obama's policies is considered racist.)

It's as simple as that. Obama and his supporters are constantly directing contemptuous remarks at Boomers, and so Boomers disapprove of Obama.

The Pew poll on trust in government

A related but separate phenomenon from the Tea Parties is the increasing distrust in government felt by people in all generations.

"By almost every conceivable measure Americans are less positive and more critical of government these days. A new Pew Research Center survey finds a perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of government – a dismal economy, an unhappy public, bitter partisan-based backlash, and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials.

Rather than an activist government to deal with the nation’s top problems, the public now wants government reformed and growing numbers want its power curtailed. With the exception of greater regulation of major financial institutions, there is less of an appetite for government solutions to the nation’s problems – including more government control over the economy – than there was when Barack Obama first took office.

The public’s hostility toward government seems likely to be an important election issue favoring the Republicans this fall. However, the Democrats can take some solace in the fact that neither party can be confident that they have the advantage among such a disillusioned electorate. Favorable ratings for both major parties, as well as for Congress, have reached record lows while opposition to congressional incumbents, already approaching an all-time high, continues to climb.

The Tea Party movement, which has a small but fervent anti-government constituency, could be a wild card in this election. On one hand, its sympathizers are highly energized and inclined to vote Republican this fall. On the other, many Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the Tea Party represents their point of view better than does the GOP."

The article is accompanied by a graphic that shows the changing levels of trust in government over time, since the 1950s:

This is another one of those many cases where the generational interpretation is so obvious that it almost screams at you. But mainstream media is completely oblivious to it. The Pew Research article tries to explain in terms of Presidential personalities, but in the end, it all comes down to generations.

As with all generational crisis wars, World War II united the country behind the government, and trust in government remained very high during the Recovery era that followed the war. Trust began to fall sharply in the generational Awakening era of the 1960s-70s. That was time of political chaos in America, with assassinations, long hot summers of street violence, and bombings by the Weather Underground.

Incidentally, you can see the same thing happening in countries that are in generational Awakening eras today, including Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and Thailand. There's political chaos in all of these countries, like America in the 1960s, and trust in government is plummeting.

In America, trust bobbed up and down and up during the generational Unraveling era of the 1980s and 1990s, but has been falling sharply since the generational Crisis ear began in the early 2000s.

This is all following the generational script. Right now, trust in government has fallen extremely low, and continues to plummet.

And there's one more thing. As I've been saying for years, many bankers are going to go to jail. That's part of the same phenomenon.

Distrust is turning into public anger and fury, and the Tea Party is rising out of that anger, and will have its revenge.

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 25-Apr-2010
The politics of the 'Tea Party' movement

The Republican 'civil war'

Why do they disapprove of President Obama?

The Pew poll on trust in government

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 25-Apr-2010 The politics of the 'Tea Party' movement

The Republican 'civil war'

Why do they disapprove of President Obama?

The Pew poll on trust in government

Web Log Pages

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 25-Apr-2010
The politics of the 'Tea Party' movement