re: #138 9Iron

Just jumping in here, really not trying to flame the thread:

Do most people here think that the majority of attendees at tea parties are bigots, rednecks, homophobes, etc. that they appear to me at least are trying to be portrayed as? Or do more people think that there are idiots in every crowd, and when someone says something stupid they deserved to be slapped down (figuratively speaking)? I don’t know if somebody said something racist to Lewis or homophobic to Frank, although it does seem to me that if there was something to it it would have already been blasted all over the news. That being said, is the issue here with one or two idiots that, or is the thinking here that everyone in the crowd is a bunch of idiots simply by reason of a differing view? I’m just trying to figure out the hate of the tea partiers, is it the bad apples (which is there on the left as well) or is it the political views that they promote?

I assume most tea party activists are decent people (I include rednecks in that category, BTW).

My concern with the tea parties as a phenomenon is primarily that they:

a. Appear to be lead by people who are either crazy, or actively fanning people’s fears for profit, or both.
b. Are telling and sharing with one another, bigger and bigger lies about the current political situation.
c. Are highly unhelpful in developing a strong conservative or Republican movement to bring into the post-Bush era.
d. Are actively paranoid.
e. Are actively allying with racist, insane, anti-American, revisionist and secessionist elements on the right- and left-wing fringe.

I have some other problems with them too, but my coffee break is limited.

I hope this answers your question.