Okay, getting some of this out of my system, and also so I don't lose some of the links.
Might be a little post hoc ergo prompter hoc, but this is interesting. That's a chart showing the difference between the top 1% earners and the rest of us. I haven't delved too deep into the data set yet (I'd be interested in seeing, say, how the demographics play out between those in the top 20% to the lower 80%). But food for thought when the battles come about how we need to have the rich have more so they can create more jobs. This chart definitely talks to that point and pretty much makes a raspberry in its face.
Points at Eric and says, yes. And I'll add to the argument that the crazy right seems to have lost context. They're all about the "But they got that for Xmas and we want one too" style of revenge attacks. Well, buddy, just because the one side actually has a case for being lead into an unpopular war, suffered under debilitating tax cuts (yes, you read that right, see "deficit" if you're wondering what I'm talking about), and had the fear drum pounded more than enough times doesn't mean you also have to have a little red ball because you lost the election.
Roger Ebert may no longer be able to speak, but man, he still has a powerful voice.
And then there's the "Official Michigan Tea Party", the one that will actually be on the ballot, that may be a sham. I wonder how my conservative friends feel seeing the same rhetoric and responses coming out of this sham organization that mirror similar arguments I've heard from the right "we are too legit, and we're so put upon by you asking these questions and feel we're under attack so we're not coming out" feel about it? Probably the same way I feel about it (although in this case I'm chuckling - doesn't mean they aren't stupid arguments).
And finally, the "Huhn, why didn't I think of that" file about Bell City Council and their salaries. Oh, yeah, I remember. Because we'd go to jail because of it. Hope they enjoy their time wearing Orange.
4 comments:
RE: the Michigan Tea Party - Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. The black woman who is running for office in IL was challenged by the Democrats and she won because she followed the rules. If the MI Tea Party candidates followed the rules, they should be allowed to run.
The original Tea Party has the opportunity to educate the voters.
Business Insider was intriguing. As a debate coach, I'm always looking for good free online sources - and this one failed the test. WND is slightly less biased than this site.
This is the nice thing about a blog, to keep track of links. I do that too, but I forget to tag the entry and lose the virtue of finding again quickly. Alas.
Anonymous Cassie
BI is biased, but the charts are from other sources, they've just gathered them all together to demonstrate their point.
And I think you're thinking of Alvin Greene in SC. I haven't heard of this story in IL.
However, I do think the MI Tea Party is a move by progressives to divide the conservative vote (or at least it has the appearance on its face of that). However, in general, the Tea Party candidates have been doing a good job of that themselves without any help.
Also, in general, from either side I despise such actions as an escalation that it both unwarranted and unnecessary. It's just in this case, as I denounce them, I chuckle at their tactics because they're mirroring the rhetoric and tactics to the nth degree. It's the same reaction I get from good parody.
Cedra Crenshaw was put back on the ballot after a court challenge to her petitions.
The Michigan Tea Party is almost certainly an attempt to split the conservative vote. I think that the original Tea Partiers are in a long-term win win position. Either the elected MTP™ will actually support the OTP™ policies (win) or the MTP™ will be so bad that the fraud will be exposed and the OTP™ can use it to discredit the Democrats who backed the MTP™. Also win. The brand may take a hit, but I think it will survive, like Coke survived New Coke.
(If I had to go look up how to use that ASCII code, you better believe I'm going to overuse it.)
Alinsky tactics on both sides are by overuse losing their effectiveness (I hope.) I understand the conservative mindset that wants to fight fire with fire. Unfortunately, everybody gets burned.
AC
Cassie, thanks for the link to the Crenshaw campaign. However the second link to her being reinstated on the ballot was broken. I think it's most telling in the last half of the article where she also made moves to have someone else (the independent) removed from the ballot. And that the comments form the long time political works on "everybody tries to get everybody else off the ballot" is telling.
And getting the forms right is a very big thing. For my own elections, it's something that is very important (and Ohio just changed our laws on reporting and collecting dates, in case you didn't know). Also, reporting while collecting is also very complex, even for our little races. I simplify things by having a committee of one (me), and I don't accept donations. I also spend less than a thousand on my campaign (which excludes me from the financial reporting - in fact, in my last election I spent only the $45 filing fee).
However, for the MI Tea Party, I think you're missing that the goal is to split the conservative vote to allow the Democratic nominee win the election. If that happens, I don't think it'll be such a win for the Tea Party. It'll be telling what happens in the next year as the Party experiences the growing pains every nascent movement experiences. I'm not convinced there is a core belief strong enough to compensate for the political Coriolis effect (see Ross Perot's party in the 90s and the fracturing of the national organization movement over the past year). What happens to the remnants of the storm will certainly affect the primary of the 2012, but the influence in the general election might become blunted. Will the disillusionment bring about a stronger force or will those who weren't active before go back to not being active (which is happening with a lot of the "Obama Youth Movement"), merge into the Republican Party (which is also dealing with the defections of "conservatives"), go farther to the fringes, or coalesce in a different form (such as PACs or something like the Right to Life organization).
Of course it's easy for me, on the outside, to predict the demise of the movement.
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