Is it Time for a Progressive Tea Party?

we can't let the Tea Party have populism (0.00 / 0)

if they are affiliated with the Republican party they are the party of big business and war- we are the populists we do have to reclaim this mantle, tabbycat is correct.

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by: Ann R @ Sat Feb 20, 2010 at 22:06:31 PM UTC

Another Party (0.00 / 0)

I just heard about the "Coffee Party," which is being organized on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/group....

I know nothing about the group.  But if all they want to do is insult the Tea Partiers, we're sunk.

Anyway, good on ya, tabs.

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by: SmartyJones @ Sun Feb 21, 2010 at 02:48:52 AM UTC

Coffee Party = anti-Tea Party (0.00 / 0)

SmartyJones,
  I attended the DFA Campaign Academy in Brick, NJ last weekend. I was encouraged to sign up for the Blue Jersey blog.
I follow national politics, and know little of NJ politics (though I did do a bit of phone banking for Corzine... little good that did).
  I am a member of the Coffee Party. It reminds me of a joke by Will Rogers ("I am not a member of any organized political party; I'm a Democrat"). The Coffee Party is a slow-moving, not-so-organized group. But on the plus side, it is genuinely grassroots. I already support groups like MoveOn, and I am excited to think that not only can I help the Coffee Party succeed, I can help to define what it will stand for.
  So far, the Coffee Party has endorsed Wall Street reform and endorsed overturning the Supreme Court's supremely bad "Citizens United" (aka "Corporations United") decision.
  I think that Progressives need to both (A) fight for every Democratic seat this November and (B) organize for the long run. I see the Coffee Party being more useful for B than for A.

Luke 12:48 "to whom much is given, of him shall much be required". Would Jesus want progressive taxation, or regressive taxation?

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by: Christian_Dem_NY @ Sun Jul 04, 2010 at 00:01:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

You got it! (4.00 / 2)

I'm not sure why progressives have been so complacent. Perhaps we thought that the victories in 2008 were all that was needed.If anything, the Tea Party movement has shown us that outrageous street theater gets press attention. If we sit on our hands, we are in danger of letting people think the outrage is all on the right. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty outraged and would love a chance to show it.

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by: Helios @ Sun Feb 21, 2010 at 15:00:54 PM UTC

progressives have to (0.00 / 0)

organize. And quickly. There were people working their asses off last year on behalf of the Corzine/Weinberg ticket. The campaign failed because it wasn't coordinated in the same way as the 2005 campaign, and because the voters from the 2008 election weren't as involved. The corporate media was just icing on the cake.

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by: laur @ Sun Feb 21, 2010 at 21:25:03 PM UTC

The Democratic Party Establishment Is Ashamed/Afraid of It's Base (4.00 / 4)

The Democratic party establishment is beholden to the same corporate interests that owned the Republicans and that, essentially, funded/instigated the beginnings of the "tea bagger" movement.

I've been saying here FOR YEARS that elected Democrats needed to embrace the base and to run and govern as unashamed aggressive progressives.  

Jon Corzine lost the election because he didn't excite his natural base.   That's why Coakley lost Ted Kennedy's seat.

Obama has pretty much pissed away the first year of his presidency trying to work with people that are STILL trying to destroy his presidency.  

Meanwhile, establishmentarian hacks like Rahm Emanuel calls out progressives as "FUCKING RETARDED"   http://fdlaction.firedoglake.c...  and as far as I know, no one in congress has called for him to be fired...and Obama still loves the guy.

If we're going to form a large scale massive progressive movement it seems that it will have to be done despite the best efforts of the Democratic party establishment.

Here in NJ the New Brunswick activists who wanted more democracy in the way their city was governed were shafted by a DEMOCRATIC assembly and senate and GOVERNOR who could have passed legislation in the lame duck that would have helped them, instead the DEMOCRATS did nothing!!!!

Democrats had the POWER to vote to allow marriage equality; but they failed to use that power.....even knowing that it wouldn't have cost any of them their jobs.....on the contrary, such a move would have invigorated the progressive movement throughout the state!!!

Progressive doesn't mean being milquetoast ambitious brown-nosers looking to get a job...it means actually being willing to make a fuss and standing up for issues like single payer health care, and verifiable paper trail voting...and the environment.   It STILL rankles me that the head of the SIERRA CLUB endorsed Christie!

Let's face it, the opposition has dozens of 24/7 right wing radical radio stations and a national cable network that acts as a propaganda arm of the right wing radical Republican/corporate agenda.......we have nothing to put up against that except for a few scattered shows on MSNBC and a bit of liberal programming on WWRL (which can barely be heard on the air)....Air America died for lack of commercial sponsors....meanwhile Murdoch can run his propaganda operations like Fox News, The Washington Times and and the NY Post at a loss for decades.

The GOOD news is that with all of the billions of dollars being spent on brainwashing the public....most of them/us are still fairly decent human beings.....and still desire things like universal health care and financial consumer rights legislation and voter verifiable paper trails and public campaign financing etc   http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

You really can't blame the teabaggers/teapartyers too much.....if you or I actually believed what THEY believed we would probably feel and act the same way they do.     The problem is that they have been sold a bill of goods/lies.

The first step, in my opinion, to making any real change possible is for the progressive Democrats of America and of New Jersey to actually get involved in the process and to take over the Democratic party from the ground up.

WHen we REALLY have a two party system that offers voters REAL/GENUINE CHANGE; we will see some progress.  

Until that day comes, we will all continue to be fleeced and bled and butchered and raped by corrupt establishments that are routinely and systematically screwing with ordinary unconnected working people.....and they will NOT stop until they are forced to.   Being nice to/with them will have no effect.

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by: Nick Lento @ Sun Feb 21, 2010 at 23:52:42 PM UTC

A tea party divided cannot stand (0.00 / 0)

I think there are so many splits within the "Tea Party" movement itself that it would be foolish to try and replicate.  The recent straw poll at CPAC (Cracked Pots of America Convention) had Ron Paul in first place and Mitt Romney second place.  The two are near polar opposites on many of the issues.  And Ron Paul was nearly booed off the stage because of his opposition to war and support for a noninterventionist foreign policy, as well as his opposition to the use of torture, military tribunals, and the Patriot Act.

Even libertarians within the tea party movement are strongly divided between economic conservatives devoted to the Goldwater wing of the GOP, and progressive libertarians who emphasize social issues, civil liberties and anti-war.

In fact, there was a "Boston Tea Party" which ran a presidential candidate in several states in 2008.  They were organized by dissenters within the national Libertarian Party as a protest against the LP nomination of former GOP Congressman Bob Barr who they perceived as too conservative on many issues.

The bottom line for me is that the whole tea party obsession is a fad that will quickly lose its luster as the various groups continue to fight among themselves and the "silent majority" of Americans, as well as the mainstream media, loses interest.

I do agree, however, that if Democrats fail to pass significant HCR, jobs bill, and financial reform, there may well be a populist revolt from the left that will see alot of Democrats lose their seats in November even if it means being replaced by Republicans.

http://christiegonewild.blogsp...

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by: ken bank @ Mon Feb 22, 2010 at 00:13:31 AM UTC

make that "A Republican party divided..." (0.00 / 0)

     I often consider "divide and conquer" strategies to use against the Republican party. If I was to carve up the elephant, I would do so in three big chunks: The "theocratic Christian Taliban" faction, the "imperialist warmonger" faction, and the "Libertarian Social Darwinist cheapskate" faction.
    But for all their limitations and weaknesses, the Tea Party is not as inconsistent as the GOP (Greedy Old Privatizers). The Tea Party wants lower taxes (for the rich)... and therefore higher debt (for the rest of us). Their main issue is about to work against them. They want to make the Bush tax cut (and Bush deficit... and Bush debt...) permanent.
    If we can keep the Republicans from taking over the House and Senate, then the Bush tax cut will expire (and a good chunk of deficit and debt along with it).
    There are three mutually opposed goals that most on the Right support: big military spending, big tax cuts for the rich, and (in theory) a balanced budget and lower national debt. Republican leaders never actually deliver on budget-balancing or debt reduction, but facts and logic never stop them from pretending to be financially responsible.
    As the debt grows larger and larger, and draws the attention of apathetic moderates, support for both big military spending and big tax cuts for the rich will decline. So the Right will lose some popular support... but whether they change their name or not, a few teabaggers will always be with us.

Luke 12:48 "to whom much is given, of him shall much be required". Would Jesus want progressive taxation, or regressive taxation?

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by: Christian_Dem_NY @ Sun Jul 04, 2010 at 00:56:04 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Become a Radical Progressive (4.00 / 1)

Today all too often Democrats, liberals, and progressives become indistinguishable.  Many  identify too frequently with the more privileged elite, including corporations, successful businessmen, and powerful politicians, rather than the average Joe or Jill.

A radical progressive has a more negative view of the status quo, embraces populism, and is inspired by the radical labor and social movements of late 19th and early 20th centuries. These were activists who were able to delineate the differences between themselves and the status quo and get support from the public.

More recently members of such groups as Civil Rights, feminists, ACT UP, and Garden State Equality have been examples of radical progressives  - examples worth emulating.  

So yes Tabby you are right-on. it's time to cash in on the growing populism, get our message out, show our activism, and even become radical progressives.  

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." - Sen. Ted Kennedy

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by: Bill Orr @ Mon Feb 22, 2010 at 02:16:30 AM UTC

Well, (0.00 / 0)

"the minutemen" has already been appropriated by anti-immigration fools and "tea party" is now associated with anti-tax fools...so what's left now?

"New Declarators" - pin it back to the Declaration...

"Continentalists" - Look up Alexander Hamilton's writing for the reference...thought Hamilton never really was a "man of the people" - plus it easily plays into silly word stuff with the addtion of "In-" as a suffix

What we really need is a good gay-sex synonym to turn into a political slogan...I sure do miss Fox News talking about how they are "gonna teabag the whitehouse."

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by: Thurman Hart @ Mon Feb 22, 2010 at 20:43:45 PM UTC