The Dangers of The Tea Party

I read an article* in the NY Times yesterday by Mr Friedman delineating between what he described as the Tea Kettle Party, and the "real" Tea Party.

Now although I find Mr Friedman very interesting, over time I have come to see him as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Essentially I believe he is a conservative masquerading as a liberal.

I don't really mind whether he is liberal or conservative. Each and every reader of Mr Friedman should be less interested in his personal axe and rather should take the time to read and reflect on his writings and come up with their own opinion.

If only.

My experience is that too many of (his) readers are more concerned with who is doing the writing as opposed to what is being written.

In the article he belittles the Tea Party as rather a Tea Kettle-letting off steam without any real program. He then goes on to describe the "real" Tea Party. These are the Centrists, regardless of Party. In the Seventies they were the Silent Majority, and guys like Mr Nixon claimed to speak for them...

So what does Mr Friedman do? He dismisses the Tea (Kettle) Party and then merges them in to the "real" Tea Party.

And what do the "real" guys want? "First, a patriot: a leader who is more interested in fighting for his country than his party. Second, a leader who persuades Americans that he or she actually has a plan not just to cut taxes or pump stimulus, but to do something much larger — to make America successful, thriving and respected again. And third, someone with the ability to lead in the face of uncertainty and not simply whine about how tough things are — a leader who believes his job is not to read the polls but to change the polls."

Wow. Show me a Tea Kettle member who doesn't sign on to that. Mr Friedman rejects their movement out of hand, and then launches in with a better articulated version of their attack on the government, which he narrows down to a simple lack of leadership.

I think it is extremely dangerous to underestimate the Tea (Kettle) Party. In fact, by renaming them I am concerned that Mr Friedman has simply tried to take them out of the fringe and into the mainstream.

And in the end, after describing how it will be a more empowered and educated American worker who gets us out of this mess, he reveals his hand-we are "still waiting for a leader".

So were the Germans.

* http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/opinion/29friedman.html?_r=2&hp