When former news magazine "Time" selected the creator of Facebook as their "person of the year," they knew there would be a few whiners out there asking why the archetypal "Tea Party Patriot" shouldn't have been given the nod instead...what with upending an attempted socialist overthrow of the United States.
But Time had an answer. Unlike Facebook which is really important and substantive ("I poked you! Poke me back!"), the Tea Party is more of a short lived phenomenon like the Beatles and will soon be breaking up because individual members presumably want to spend more time with Yoko Ono.
Alleged writer David Von Drehle says "In a sense, identifying with the Tea Party movement was like catching Beatlemania in the 1960s. People were drawn in for different reasons — the beat, the haircuts, the lyrics — and great gulfs of taste divided the John fans from the Paul fans, the George fans from the Ringo fans."
As much as we hate to burst Von Drehle's hallucinogenic bubble, we think that Tea Party members aren't emulating the "Fab Four" so much as the "Founding Fathers," a group whose greatest hits (like "The Constitution" and "The Bill of Rights") have remained consistently popular for over 200 years.
And so, as Time marches on into the dustbin of journalism, we'll choose not to worry too much about a magazine which finds "Yeah, yeah, yeah" trivial...but previously declared "Yes We Can" to be orgasmically profound.
Time's "Person of the Year - 2012"
For about half of the Bush years, these progressive journalists kept talking about a non-existent recession until enough people believed them so that one actually happened. So it's not a surprise that they think the same tactic will work to make the Tea Party movement disappear in a similar manner.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for them, I do not think it will work, any more than endlessly talking about a non-existent recovery is going to create one of those too.
The problem is substance: They have none. On the other hand, the Tea Party does. Government is out of control. Government has become absurd. The people running the government are corrupt. Un-and-under-employment is over 10%, and real growth outside of the government sector is under 2%. They can pretend these facts don't exist or matter, but those behind the Tea Party know better.
At least I liked the Beatles until 1965. Time Magazine has never been worth a crap, ever.
ReplyDeleteYour reference to the Founding Father's greatest hits was apt. I would have given The Constitution at least an 85. It has a great beat and is easy to march to.
Finally, much like hip-hop is a vile perversion of music, the Obama regime is a vile perversion of the presidency and, like slavery and Notorious B.I.G., will be a shameful part of our history.
The mainstream media love celebrities and fads. To them it makes the news current and hip. Obama was and is a celebrity presidential candidate and president and hopefully a fast fading fad. Tea partiers have a much more profound grounding as you so appropriately pointed out. We know who we are and we know what we believe. And our beliefs only get stronger as these idiots attempt to define and then disparage us.
ReplyDeleteEarl
John the Econ- The mainstream media's effort to talk the Tea Party out of existence is doomed to fail because one of the defining principles of the Tea Party Movement is "We're not listening to you anymore." Not coincidentally, study after study shows that Tea Partiers are better informed than any other political/demographic group on matters of government and current events.
ReplyDeleteAngry Hoosier Dad- "It has a great beat and is easy to march to." EX-cellent!
Anonymous Earl- Liberals have to perceive patriotism as a "fad" because they're personally incapable of holding onto any principles for longer than a couple of weeks.
Remember when 9/11 put both parties on the same political team? That lasted about as long as the smoke continued rising from Ground Zero - and came to a very specific end when a politically voracious Hillary Clinton displayed a headline proclaiming "BUSH KNEW!" on the Senate floor.
Political partisanship was not only re-embraced by the left, it has fallen to the worst depths imaginable under the current president. Even 9/11 couldn't change the appalling self-serving nature of liberals.
Does TIME mean the alleged creator of Facebook whom, until the movie controversy came about, remained much of an unknown to most people?
ReplyDeleteI can't even think what his name is, right now.
Reminds me of a game we'd play in the pool in the summer. Blindfold one kid, they're 'IT'
ReplyDelete"IT" calls out "Yoko!" everyone else hollers "Oh, NO!" and bolts from the pool...
Sorry, cheap shot
Agreed, the Teeps are NOT going anywhere, and the more we're not listened to, the louder we're going to get.
Government WILL stop the crazy spending, and WILL get smaller - the question is how soon, and how catastrophically... (hint - the sooner we do it, the more gentle the fall - wait too long, and it will be truly disastrous)
Pete(Detroit)- You're right that the craziness IS going to stop one way or another. The American economy is already out of the plane and the ground is coming up fast...the question is whether we'll be able to open a parachute in time to make the impact survivable.
ReplyDeleteThe left was more than happy to embrace 9/11 as a vehicle to expand government. Remember "You don't professionallize until your federalize!"? They saw it as a great way to add a few hundred more thousand federal voters/workers.
ReplyDeleteIf Time understood politics and wanted to keep the left in power forever they would be pumping the Tea party and pumping up the just about to pop egos of the worst offenders on RWTR (right wing talk radio). I hate to suggest specific actions because (allowing for the possibility I have delusions of grandeur and schizophrenia etc et cetera) I have begun noticing that some of the things suggested in the over the horizomenofringal edge blogs get picked up by the playa's on occasion. What better way to destroy a movement than to swing it by its legumes? I particularly enjoyed the more than a couple callers to national talk shows after Karl "How DARE he express an opinion" Rove said that Chrissie McDonnell might not be the strongest candidate in a state where they consider Ted Kennedy a right winger. Three of them, to the resounding agreement of the hosts, wanted Chrissie and JOe Miller to be the new leaders in the Senate. Resounding agreement. Yo!! Those old leaders won't give up easy, evil doers. They must be purged! Say Amen, brother!
ReplyDeleteWell, you have to actually be IN the Senate to LEAD the Senate. One of those technicalities. Face it. Rove was smart enough to just stop fighting O'Dummel and he was pushing Miller a long time ago. Any intelligent people here need to find some way hold onto the gains we made and grab at least a technical/nominal majority in the Senate next time. Then, DON'T start whining about what didn't get done by --PLEASE GOD -- our new Republican President. Real progress is incremental, as is damage. Make a toe hold and hold it. scrape out a hand hold and hold it. bit by bitter bit we need to take this country back or drop by drop if need be. Are you prepared to die for this country? R U??