‘Tea Party’ is over: Ex-activist says racism, hypocrisy killed the movement
OPINION - Sadly, what began as a genuine opportunity to make this country more free has deteriorated to racist name calling, fear of anyone with brown skin, and an irrational focus on Sharia law...
We are mad at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for trying to tell us how much soda we can drink because we should be able to consume whatever we want, whether it’s trans-fats or soda or raw milk — the government shouldn’t tell us what we can put in our bodies. Unless of course it’s a substance that WE think is harmful, like marijuana. And that’s even though sugary drinks have been linked to diabetes, and even though children now get what was once called “adult onset diabetes.” We should be free to drink as much as we want. And even though marijuana has never hurt a single person it is illegal, and we will lock you up, ruin your life, and put a felony on your record if you try to ingest it. We don’t need “Nanny Bloomberg” (as Sean Hannity calls him) telling us what is good for us and what is bad for us, and if I want to eat or drink things that are bad for me, I have every right. But I cannot smoke things that are bad for me … except cigars and cigarettes, and …
It is all so hypocritical it makes your head spin.
Driving Independents away
Hypocrisy and racism are what drove independents who voted Republican in 2010 away from the Tea Party. The same thing has happened with the Libertarians, like me, who were part of the original Tea Party. We have been driven away from the rallies and the meetings because what was supposed to be a movement about fiscal issues has become the activist-wing of the GOP. If you don’t think every Muslim is a terrorist you are not a real Tea Party member. If you think that the U.S. Constitution does not say anything about drugs, and that therefore, under the 9th and 10th Amendments the issue should be left to the states, you are not a real Tea Party member. And when you use the Constitution to prove to them that they are wrong it sends them into fits.
I remember explaining to one pseudo-constitutional “scholar” that the Full Faith and Credit Clause says that legal acts and records from one state are valid in every state. Therefore, if you respect the Constitution and believe in the strict interpretation of the Constitution then you must understand that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. That law says that gay marriages in one state do not have to be recognized by other states.
But because of the Full Faith and Credit Clause, marriages from one state are recognized by other states. I asked this so-called conservative how he could say that he is an expert on the Constitution and that the Constitution is sacred, while supporting DOMA, which basically says, “To hell with the Constitution — states don’t have to recognize this particular document issued to these particular people.” I thought he was going to swallow his own tongue. He just had this look on his face that said: “does not compute.” Then he called me a liberal and walked away.
I don’t understand how these people think they are going to win elections when they tell people that “God hates gays” and all Muslims are terrorists, and every Hispanic is an illegal alien. I asked this during the racist Facebook conversation. Do they think that gays, Muslims, and Hispanics will vote Republican in spite of the fact Republican activists are telling them how much they hate them? Or do they think they can win elections with only white, Christian, men over 40 voting for them.
Either way, as a Republican campaign consultant I do not look forward to the next few election cycles. The best hope we have, really, is the mid-term elections, when blacks, gays, Muslims, and Hispanics are more likely to stay home.
Phil Russo is a conservative activist, radio host and campaign consultant. Follow him on Twitter handle is @Libertas1776.
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