The Core Mission
by digby
Robert Parry refocuses on the central principle of the libertarian/populist Tea Party "movement:"
After the voting-rights comments, some media pundits, like Newsweek’s Howard Fineman, made excuses for Paul, saying he was just a political novice who hadn’t mastered the skill of packaging his answers in politically neutral ways. In other words, his only sin was believing too sincerely in his ideology and expressing it honestly.
However, what Paul was really doing was explaining what the Tea Party movement is truly about. Though it draws from a variety of political animosities – like white resentment of the nation’s demographic changes and a desire to “take our country back” from the likes of President Barack Obama – the Tea Party’s core mission is to stop the federal government from limiting the power of corporations.
That is why former House Republican Leader Dick Armey has thrown his corporate-backed FreedomWorks behind the Tea Party movement. It’s why Massey president Don Blankenship showed up in Stars-and-Stripes apparel to give a rousing speech to a Tea Party rally.
In essence, Big Corporations are pulling a Big Con on the common folks attracted to the Tea Party movement, getting them to focus their anger at Big Government as a threat to their “liberties” when the federal government is all that stands in the way of total corporate dominance of the United States.
So, instead of pressing for a democratized and energized federal government that could serve as a check on unbridled corporate power, the Tea Partiers are being turned into foot soldiers for “owner rights,” to ensure that corporations are freed from government regulations and accountability.
Funny how right wing populism always seems to do that, isn't it? Libertarianism is just a modern incarnation of an old political impulse that always rises up when the wealthy feel they need some protection. The racism, xenophobia, fear of progress and anti-government fervor among the followers are all real. But it's in service of the Big Money Boyz who are smart enough to know that there are quite a few people out there who would rather die of starvation than be forced to share food with someone who isn't a member of their tribe. They put that to work for their own purposes.
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