Tea Party movement based in anti-minority attitudes

[Berkut]

They've been completely and thoroughly co-opted by the very forces they were formed to fight.

They were formed to fight bigots and racists?

No, the people who co-opted them are not the people who make up the bulk of the vocal membership.

They were co-opted by the Koch's and "No government is better than Obama government" radicals. They appeal to the bigots and dumbshits because it works to get them all foaming at the mouth and demanding even more stupid and right wing morons.

This really is the exactly modern equivalent of the Know Nothing party. Sarah Palin is their perfect model politician. Ignorant and proud of it.

[Razgovory]

That wasn't how I understood Seedy's statement, but I can understand your interpretation.  When we talk about the Klan I tend to think of the Klan of the 1920's which had millions of member most of whom were not violent.

The Klan of the 1920s may have had lots of members that were individually law abiding and non violent, but probably not collectively. There were lots of lynchings in the time period.

There were lynchings yes, but the practice was in decline from the beginning of the 20th century.  There would be spikes, typically associated with economic hardship or panics about communists and such.  At it's height the Klan had something like 6 million members, it's unlikely they were all or even most of them were killers.  I think this is because the public tolerance for lynching was declining so they couldn't get away with it as often.  Oddly they didn't concern themselves with blacks much.  Blacks had been pretty much suppressed.  In fact Marcus Garvey, a major black leader, actually spoke in front of a group of Klansmen.  Mostly they were concerned about the influx of immigrants with alien religions and political ideas.

[crazy canuck]

They've been completely and thoroughly co-opted by the very forces they were formed to fight.

They were formed to fight bigots and racists?

No, the people who co-opted them are not the people who make up the bulk of the vocal membership.

They were co-opted by the Koch's and "No government is better than Obama government" radicals. They appeal to the bigots and dumbshits because it works to get them all foaming at the mouth and demanding even more stupid and right wing morons.

This really is the exactly modern equivalent of the Know Nothing party. Sarah Palin is their perfect model politician. Ignorant and proud of it.

I am not sure it is all that easy to define who "they" are at any point in the Tea Party movement.  All we really have to go by are the extreme politicians and positions "they" are said to support.

[Valmy]

In fact Marcus Garvey, a major black leader, actually spoke in front of a group of Klansmen.

Black Nationalists who favored segregation, like Nation of Islam types, typically got along pretty well with the Klan.

[Razgovory]

The Tea Party was never co-opted.  What happened was that some people wanted it to be something that it wasn't, and when they realized that it wasn't what they hoped, they claimed it somehow got hijacked.

[Eddie Teach]

The Tea Party was never co-opted.  What happened was that some people wanted it to be something that it wasn't, and when they realized that it wasn't what they hoped, they claimed it somehow got hijacked.

More like it was never really anything.

[Valmy]

The Tea Party was never co-opted.  What happened was that some people wanted it to be something that it wasn't, and when they realized that it wasn't what they hoped, they claimed it somehow got hijacked.

This was me.  I was excited for a second that it was this anti-establishment thing and got all disillusioned it had been hijacked by the same old stale reactionary right wing people from...eh...I guess hour #2 of the first protest.

[Razgovory]

The Tea Party was never co-opted.  What happened was that some people wanted it to be something that it wasn't, and when they realized that it wasn't what they hoped, they claimed it somehow got hijacked.

More like it was never really anything.

It was a vehicle to express dissatisfaction that Obama won the election.  Beyond that it was it was just hot air.

[merithyn]

Hot air that has caused a lot of issues with the current government.

[MadImmortalMan]

I think people overestimate the importance tbh. A few mainstreamers got primaried, but the GOP never came close to being controlled by these people.

[CountDeMoney]

I think people overestimate the importance tbh. A few mainstreamers got primaried, but the GOP never came close to being controlled by these people.

Wait until this time tomorrow, when a lot of committee gavels change hands in the Senate.

[Ed Anger]

Rand.

[MadImmortalMan]

Rand.

Don't get too excited. If it were going to happen in the Senate, it would have happened in the House by now. Don't look at who makes the news, look at who writes the checks.

Is McConnell going to lose?

[Ed Anger]

I posted that for Seedy's benefit.

[CountDeMoney]

Asshole.