Tea baggers (aka racists) of the world unite

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity towards those who are not regarded as members of the herd" - Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) - British philosopher, mathematician and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1950)

In late 2009 the word "teabagger" officially entered the lexicon when it was short listed by the Oxford American Dictionary for their "Word of the Year" competition. The rise of the so called Tea Party movement in the last couple of years has created a fascinating, and yes, frightening, new dynamic in the American body politic, one which may well cause serious difficulties for both Republican and Democratic candidate's in November's mid term elections. While the movement publicizes that its charter is to protest government tax and spending policies and reduce what its members see as the rise of federal influence in their daily lives, the truth is that the Tea Party has evolved into a right wing, ultra conservative, overtly racist organization. More of that anon.

The genesis of the current Tea Party movement was born out of the Liberterian Party, a political party formed in 1971 and headquartered in Washington D.C. Its political platform advocates strong civil liberties, less government regulation and involvement in the daily lives of citizens, fiscal responsibility and a non interventionist foreign policy. Current Republican congressman Ron Paul ran as a Liberterian Party candidate for President in 1988, and while he remains in the GOP tent, he is seen by many as one of the more moderate, saner voices in the Republican Party.

The problem for Republicans is that the Tea Party movement has unashamedly morphed into an organization of racists. Their common enemy is President Obama. They are apoplectic that their comfortable white supremacist existence has been turned upside down by the election of an intelligent, charismatic black man. Some of their racism is subtle, more of it is blatant and in your face. The subtle racism is reflected in a strong anti immigration stance and their opposition to health care reform and affirmative action. Their public displays of racism have been at their rallies where the most vicious signs, banners and pictures of President Obama have been visible to the entire world. What's worse is that many prominent Republican politicians, including the Minority Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Minority Whip, have made speeches at these rallies, openly identifying themselves with these right wing nut jobs. They continue to call Obama a socialist. This of course is just a euphemism for you know what. But guess what?

The Tea Party movement is causing a big problem for the Republican Party. Republican National Committe chairman Michael Steele is openly courting the Tea Party leadership in an effort to merge the parties because he knows that they have the potential to take seats away from the GOP in this year's congressional elections. The Tea Party has moved so far to the right on the political spectrum that even semi conservative Republicans like John McCain are no longer considered conservative enough and are in the fight of their lives to hold their seats this November. To cite one example, in Arizona, former Republican congressman and current darling of the Tea Party movement, J.D. Hayworth, has announced that he will run against McCain in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate this summer, handing McCain arguably his toughest re-election battle yet.

A week after half term governor and blogger Sarah Palin made a speech at the inaugural Tea Party convention in Nashville, the founder of www.teaparty.org lashed out publicly at Palin's suggestion that the Tea Party movement be absorbed into the GOP - "She represents a growing insider's attack to the heart of the Tea Party. Very much like a wolf in sheep's clothing entering in at the gate as an ally, but for all intents and purposes there to seize and capture, not only one or two stray sheep, but the whole flock". Wow! Perhaps these people are now seeing Palin for exactly what she is; an intellectual midget, a slick opportunist and a fraud with no vision and even less humility.

According to the Teas Party manifesto, here are their "non-negotiable" core beliefs:

• Illegal aliens are illegal
• Pro-domestic employment is indespensible
• Stronger military is essential
• Special interests eliminated
• Gun ownership is sacred
• Goverment must be downsized
• National budget must be balanced
• Deficit spending will end
• Bail out and stimulus plans are illegal
• Reduce personal income taxes a must
• Reduce business income taxes is mandatory
• Political offices available to average citizens
• Intrusive government stopped
• English only is required
• Traditional family values are encouraged
• Common sense constitutional conservative self-governance is our mode of operation

.....and yes, we are a Christian nation.

Christian nation? This is just another way of saying that they believe in white power. It's not very subtle. A journalist recently commented that the Tea Party is "just a rebranding of the John Birch Society, its KKK Light". I couldn't agree more. Stay tuned. These people are dangerous, they incite hatred and they are crazy. They mean to do damage and it isn't going to be pretty.