The Like/Hate Thread

[Pinky]

It seems to be (at the higher level) orchestrated to be a smoke screen for the Republican party to mobilize the harsher, more confrontational elements of the right and a way to grab the pissed off moderates and disenchanted base. I agree with much of their policy issues at face value but I can't take them seriously when they say they want to 'take the country back' as if they only lost it when the democrats came into power and the dismantling of our rights and expansion of the government hasn't been happening for decades (well since the dawn of the republic, but its accelerated in recent times)

the whole thing has been rather disorganized, so i can't believe it was republican-made without a great deal of proof. really, i was mystified by how slow the republicans were in backing the movement when it first picked up steam last summer. it wasn't until fall that i noticed republican leaders mildly showing support. they're definitely into now, though.

from what i can tell, it is pretty much what you just said. people are tired of being kicked around by the two-party system. remember, obama campaigned as a fiscal moderate (at least compared to bush), but when he quadrupled down on deficit spending the moderates and independents who voted for him got angry. seems like they're backing the republicans because there's nobody else that can do anything.

yeah, it sort of stinks that third party brands are a joke, but the tea party people are pushing the political landscape to the right which is as much as you'd get from a multiparty coalition of this nature. even some democrats are starting to campaign against their own party's agenda to avoid getting caught by the backlash (there was that whole thing about the house dems collecting just enough votes to get the insurance reform bill through, +1 extra, specifically to minimize their party's liability for doing it). it just looks less impressive because moderates and conservatives and libertarians are rallying behind one party.