Best Search: Why Is Tea Party Destroying Us?

Finally, someone from the political left has decided to start using the word “destroy” when searching online for what motivates the Tea Party. As such, they win a Best on POLITUSIC for today. Best search: why is the tea party destroying us?

The grammar, however, was questionable. I’m honestly not certain if the search was “Why is the Tea Party destroying us?” or “Why is the Tea Party destroying (the) U.S.?” Both make sense, but I prefer the former because it makes the query more personal. The problem that has allowed the wackiest within the Tea Party to overwhelm reason in American politics is that everyone else doesn’t take it personally… and so we sit on the sidelines watching the spectacle like a slapstick melodrama. We need people to take what the Tea Party is doing to America personally in order to grow the motivation required to stomp out the TP fire. We need more us and a lot less them.

If this visitor was wondering why the Tea Party is merely destroying the United States, then they are still a bit removed from the situation – not invested, and therefore personally removed from the problem that has manifested itself as the rabid, anger-driven group who is hell-bent on breaking government and shutting America off from the rest of the world. Something needs to feel personal in order to motivate someone to take a stand against bullies. We need more independents, democrats, and sane republicans to take politics personally so that enough take a stand against their jihad of destroying American government.

Let us hope that this visitor meant us, and not U.S. That would mean we’re one step closer to getting a united front in ending Tea Party control over the GOP.

Why is the Tea Party Destroying Us

The arc of the story is intricate with many players and court jesters all vying for the best money-making role, but the current reasons why the Tea Party wants to destroy us (or the U.S.) are simple. Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget that the Tea Party did start as an organic movement. It was a group of people who were “grass roots” and had a pretty simple message revolving around typical conservative fiscal ideas. It went off the rails when people who monetize politics in Republicanland annexed the movement and turned it into something very mean and very, very angry in an attempt to win congressional elections and beat Obama in 2012.

The original group of Tea Party people who had a legitimate cause became drowned out by the mob who simply enjoy hating Obama, hating democrats, and in general hating the rest of the world. That’s when it changed from the Tea Party into Tea Party… patriots. Where hating America meant being a patriot… the business of Republicanism is very odd, indeed. Once the original Tea Party was enveloped in all the fabricated hate of newcomers they could no longer control the movement and direction of the movement. (All the legislative failures on the House of Representatives have proven that.)

That’s how it all started and grew into this incredible thing that is out of control – but why does the current pre-school-screaming class that is called “The Tea Party” want to destroy the U.S. (or us)?

They don’t.

In the same way someone who is damaged might not understand that their actions cause damage to themselves and those around them, the Tea Party doesn’t understand the impact of their actions on America. They’re too proud and too angry. In Repulicanland it’s honorable to be angry. It gives meaning. It’s so twisted that many take pride in advocating overthrowing the U.S. government. They have pride in the audacity to say things like “overthrow the government” and “impeachment”. It gives them a tiny release of all the pent-up anger. It’s like a good sneeze

Many of the most extreme are, literally, damaged as a result of the honor-and-meaning-via-anger problem in the conservative mind. (I’m referencing the most extreme, here, not the whole. But the whole is controlled by the most extreme.) They are wholly convinced of demons in the White House and monsters under the bed. The Tea Party wants to destroy because that’s what people do when consumed by anger and fear. Destroying “things” is what one does when anger is the sole motivation.

We often forget that the cause of hate is anger. Hate is more of a bi-product; a way to express the anger. Those who make money of politics in Republicanland stoked the fire of all the anger in the Republican Party base. If you constantly feed a fire, it eventually burns down the house, then the neighborhood, then the town. That’s the Tea Party. They don’t want to destroy us all – they’re just so angry as a result of the anger-stoking from media and shady politicians that the anger manifests itself as the vile hate that we see on TV. The anger results in votes against everything instead of a single vote for something.

Are all the republican control state houses causing financial problems for those states? Yes. All the tax cuts they promised would save their states are crashing them. Credit ratings continue to be decreased in red states, schools are closing in red states, hospitals are closing in red states. The result is people living in states controlled by the Republican Party live in a second-class America – all because the Tea Party is so, so very angry. Blame right wing media. They’re the source of the anger, the anger is the source of the hate, and the hate is the motivator for all the political, fiscal, and social problems that the Tea Party has created in this country. The GOP is fighting the Tea Party… it’s time we get off the sidelines, too.

This post began in hope. Hope that this POLITUSIC visitor meant “us” and not “U.S.” Remember why that gives hope: because the only way to stop the Tea Party minority from destroying government is for all the rest of us to start taking it personally, stand up, and do something about it: educate and vote them out.

The more education. Then maybe a little more education (it’s the only way to prevent this crap from happening again).