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"I'd Stand By Them Any Day Of The Week"

by: Dean Barker

Wed Feb 17, 2010 at 22:15:54 PM EST
Two-fold legacy politician and former six-term DC Villager Charlie Bass dons the costume of anti-incumbent insurgency:
"As far as the tea party movement is concerned I love 'em. God bless every single one of them. Do you know what their agenda is? Exactly the same as mine. They want leaders down there who are going to make a difference and they are just as terrified about the spending that is going on and their primary - if not their whole mission - is to stop the spending," Bass said before saying how he believed Democrats are constantly finding new ways to spend more money. "As far as the tea party people are concerned I'd stand by them any day of the week because I think that they have started the grassroots movement in America that's going to save our nation."
Now, to be fair to Mr. Bass, I restricted my Tea People search to a) New Hampshire, and b) the issue he explicitly mentions as his unity of support - "to stop the spending."  Thus, I kept away from the photo of the guy with the racist Obama t-shirt, the other guy carrying a loaded gun at the Obama Portsmouth town hall protest, as well as stuff "from away," such the Washington Tea Person who called for the hanging of a sitting senator, etc...

Instead, here are screenshots of signs taken from a pro-Tea Party YouTube video (parts 1 and 2) of the April 15th tax protests in Concord and Manchester, one which featured interviews with pols more naturally allied with the Tea People Movement such as Frank Guinta, Jennifer Horn, Al Baldasaro, and even Nancy Elliott.
Dean Barker :: "I'd Stand By Them Any Day Of The Week"





Now, I realize Mr. Bass is obviously trying to capitalize on the flavor of the day, and is likely concerned about how he, with such a long DC past, and unofficially supported by the NRCC, might not fit the anti-government atmosphere in the GOP as well as, say, a Jennifer Horn.

But with this clumsy embrace of the Tea People, he ought to be aware of what exactly he's chasing after. Or rather, the voters of CD2 ought to be aware of what exactly Bass is clumsily chasing after.
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"I'd Stand By Them Any Day Of The Week" | 5 comments
Bass: Pick Me! Pick Me! (0.00 / 0)
Bass must figure the Tea People have nowhere else to go. Afterall, former half-term Governor says they have to pick because "we have a two-party system."
Asked what her advice would be to conservatives as the November elections approach, Palin first lavished praise on the Tea Party movement, calling it "a grand movement" and adding, "I love it because it's all about the people."

But she quickly pivoted to the broader question of whether the Tea Party movement might successfully field its own candidates in national elections, and on that point she sounded far from convinced.

"Now the smart thing will be for independents who are such a part of this Tea Party movement to, I guess, kind of start picking a party," Palin said. "Which party reflects how that smaller, smarter government steps to be taken? Which party will best fit you? And then because the Tea Party movement is not a party, and we have a two-party system, they're going to have to pick a party and run one or the other: 'R' or 'D'."



www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com
I do think it's accurate that the emphasis on (0.00 / 0)
bi-partisanship is a call for a continuation of the two-team, two-party system because that's what accords with the conflict/contest mode of behavior.  There are, essentially, two kinds of competition: one involves many competitors striving to achieve a common goal ad seriatum; the other involves two competitors battling against each other to the metaphorical death of one.  Conservatives have settled on the latter, perhaps because it corresponds to what economic competition has become, a gladiatorial contest in which no holds are barred.

Bi-partisanship is another one of those "ships" that don't take you anywhere.  At best, if one side isn't vanquished, you end up with a stalemate.

[ Parent ]
As a proud New Englander, I prefer coffee. (0.00 / 0)


--
"Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past; you must fight just to keep them alive!"

@DougLindner

Granite Grok: "I don't think so, Charlie..." (0.00 / 0)
... I can't think of any solid TEA Party person being in favor of some of that voting history. Just like the guy in Colorado who claimed that that TEA Party was behind him, he'll most likely get the bounce, too, for trying to ride coattails.  This is not MA where a moderate (Scott Brown) could be considered be considered sufficiently conservative for that electorate.  I can't remember seeing him, or hearing reports of him, being at any TEA Party events (or 9/12 meetings, and other Liberty / Freedom meetings), so the "cred" ain't there.

On the other hand, in NH CD-2: Jennifer Horn? Absolutely!  Bob Guida? Absolutely!  

Charlie?  Zero.




www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com
Interesting contrast to Guinta, (0.00 / 0)
who is a libertarian deep in his DNA and a tea party favorite.  He communicates with them, in public, entirely in dog whistles.

He's for privatization of Social security and ending of Medicare, for instance, but he covers it with enough honey that it doesn't pull any headlines.

He did say the other night that he would extend the Bush tax cuts, add tax breaks for small business AND  propose a balanced budget for 2011.  

His style is all sweetness and reason but his 912/tea party supporters are his base.  They know they can trust him.

As CPAC illustrates, they're pulling everyone to their far right fringe this year.  Good luck to them, I say.

"I'd Stand By Them Any Day Of The Week" | 5 comments

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