tea party

Tea Party Protestor/Terrorist

Re: Oklahoma Tea Party Plans To Form Armed Militia, Sean Murphy and Tim Talley | 04/12/10 09:30 PM | Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

They want to form a state sponsored separatist Christian cult like the Hutaree group recently arrested in Michigan. The first question that comes to mind is why. Why, or for what purpose, create an armed militia outside the National Guard? The stated purpose for the militia is to confront the Federal Government for perceived wrongs to the State of Oklahoma. 

Tea party movement leaders say they’ve discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers.

So, who’s face is going to be on their targets during weapons training?

Even after all the denials the Tea Party really is made up of radical right wing separatists. The Tea Baggers continue to define themselves this way. They want to form an armed militia that has the full support of the state.

“Is it scary? It sure is,” said tea party leader Al Gerhart of Oklahoma City, who heads an umbrella group of tea party factions called the Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance. “But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?”

Wait a minute! Doesn’t Oklahoma take in more federal dollars than they pay? In accordance with data released in 2005 (latest I could find) the citizens of Oklahoma receive $1.38 for every $1.00 they send to the federal government. This is true of most “red” states. It seems to to me that this militia wants to cut off its nose to spite its face, as they say. On the other hand, the larger populated “blue” states pay in more than they receive thereby distributing their wealth to the red states. Of the 31 states in this category, 24 are solid red. This means that the federal government is redistributing wealth from people that have higher incomes in blue states to those that have lower incomes in red states.

But Mr. Gerhart is pissed off that Oklahoma and other states are being “rolled over” by the federal government. The problem with this anger is that it is a mystery as to where it is aimed. The tea baggers seem to pick and choose which part of the federal government they hate. They don’t like the health care mandate, but they take federal dollars for highways and unemployment with a smile. This from Digital Journal:

Bloomberg gives a bit more detail in its more current analysis and observes more than 90 percent of Tea Party backers say the U.S. is moving more toward socialism than capitalism, while 70% want more government involvement in job creation. In other words, they don’t want the government interfering except in certain designated areas, as they also were found by majorities to want Social Security to remain under government control and didn’t see the Veterans Administration as socialism.

This particular group says they want the State of Oklahoma to defy the federal government over the health care mandate. Other “Astroturf” or fake grassroots, groups are frustrated with the mandate:

But the militia talks reflect the frustration of some grass roots groups seeking new ways of fighting recent federal initiatives, such as the health reform plan, which requires all citizens to have health insurance.

If they would read the law, they would find an interesting amendment that allows states to opt-out of not only the mandate, but the whole program as long as the state meets certain rules. From the Huffington Post article, Wyden: Health Care Lawsuits Moot, States Can Opt Out Of Mandate:

But states that found the mandate objectionable could simply create and insert a new system in its place. All it would require is applying for a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services, which has a 180-day window to confirm or deny such a waiver.

That language has been inserted, almost verbatim, into the bill Obama signed into law on Tuesday. And if there is any confusion about how much leverage it gives states to drop the mandate, Wyden cleared it up months ago during a hearing at the Senate Finance Committee.

Since the Tea Baggers can’t get it straight which way they want it, and since they are ignorant of the law, it leads me to the conclusion that this anger and frustration, and broad-brushing the government as the enemy, is less about the mandates and more about the President who signed it into law.

The demographics of the tea party is overwhelmingly white, male, older, and with higher than normal incomes. This is also the demographic that voted heavily for Senator John McCain for President. I know it is hard for the right wing fringe to loose an election after having so many years of  ideological candy land with George Bush, but elections have consequences. The right wing lost. It still stings, I know, but they are being dishonest in their anger.

Not only should they be forthright about who they are really angry with, but the tea baggers should also use their anger constructively, like they should rally to get out the votes for their candidates instead of creating armed militias to shoot at …who? The Democrats? Obama? Who’s next, blacks and Jews?

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