A Long-Expected Tea Party, Fin

Part 5: Conclusions?

“Capitalism inevitably and by virtue of the very logic of its civilization creates, educates and subsidizes a vested interest in social unrest.” –Joseph Schumpeter

To quote my father, it might be time for a third party, but the Tea Party isn’t it. They’ve been called a fringe movement that will quickly die away. The sheer numbers it was able to muster suggest that the story might be more complicated than that. The Tea Party certainly did not invent the concept of calling the President Hitler and making signs that say he should be impeached. The Tea Party is significant because it boasts many more members and is treated much more seriously by mainstream groups than were any extreme leftists during the Bush years, however. The most commonly cited reason for this is that they are racist, deeply uncomfortable with the idea of a black president, of a country where the concept of white privilege is quickly eroding. This may be true for some folks, and the Tea Party definitely does attract some extremists, but I believe the reason for its popularity is more obvious. It’s the economy, stupid! We enjoyed relatively good times economically under Bush; we had a recession but people got their jobs back and we blamed 9/11 and the terrorists. Obama has had to contend with the worst recession in nearly 80 years. Remember Hoovertowns? It’s fairly traditional in America to attribute to the president far more power over the economy than he actually wields.

The movement probably will fizzle out in 2012 or 2016, once Republicans regain a majority in Congress and regain the White House, and the economy improves. The Tea Party will have no Raison d'être . In the meantime, it seems that its main impact will be forcing Republican politicians to cater to a large group of extremists in their electorate. In my heart of hearts, I’d like to believe that it will also lead to some rational discussion of economics, budget problems and the proper role of the state in modern life. But, on the other hand, I’d also like to believe that the Redskins will make it to the Super Bowl this year.