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Monday, October 17, 2016

Hillary Clinton To Give New Life To Tea Party?

..... in our recent history nearly every Democratic presidency has given rise to a radical right-wing anti-government movement of some sort. Barack Obama's election spurred the creation of the Tea Party; Bill Clinton's election brought about the militia movement with their fear of black helicopters; and going back farther, the Kennedy and Johnson years saw the increasing prominence of the John Birch Society and other radical anti-communists. If Hillary Clinton becomes president, there will be some kind of grassroots uprising against her; the question is what it will look like and how effective it will be.

What distinguished the Tea Party from its forebears is that it was quickly incorporated within the GOP, as even establishment Republicans proclaimed themselves Tea Party sympathizers and began parading around in tricorner hats, either literally or figuratively. Founding Father fetishism became the order of the day, with every Republican waxing poetic about the need to reject this usurper Obama and restore the ideals of 1776.
The power of the Tea Party — or more properly, establishment Republicans' fear of the Tea Party — became one of the central organizing forces of the Obama era. Even more than they had before, Republicans were required to make a public display of their contempt for Washington, for government, and for Obama, even if it meant shutting down the government or threatening to default on America's debt. At every critical moment, even backroom backslappers like John Boehner had their options and choices shaped by the unruly mob waving "Don't Tread On Me" flags.......

http://theweek.com/articles/654748/hillary-clinton-rebirth-tea-party?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=afternoon&utm_medium=10_15_16-article_1