[Philadelphia 1776]

"Tea Party Movement"--the new Weather Underground? by: Cliff Garstang Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 18:00:40 PM EDT

This week we will see anti-government protests in the form of "tea parties". These protesters claim to be descended from the famous Boston Tea Party instigators (America's first terrorists?), and the always-reliable Fox News has picked up on this self-proclaimed connection: Today's Tea Party Movement Has a Lot in Common with the Sons of Liberty. Unfortunately, as with many conservative attempts at propaganda, the logic is all wet. The original "Sons of Liberty" were protesting taxation without representation, by a tyrannical and distant government. The current protesters have representatives at all levels of government; they just don't like being in the minority. It seems to me that there is a better analogy for the Tea Party Movement: the Weather Underground.

You may recall those folks, especially because Republicans refreshed our memories by making absurd connections between the WU and Barack Obama, by the mere fact that Obama is acquainted with Bill Ayers. That claim was ridiculous on its face (no matter how many idiotic, brainwashed conservatives believed it). And I have to say that my current analysis is not flattering to the Weather Underground, who were motivated not by greed but by the conviction that their government was behaving unconscionably. Still, the parallel is there. The members of the Weather Underground, and other antiwar protesters, had legal means available to them to make themselves heard. They had representatives in Congress; they just didn't like that the majority in Congress was taking this country in a different direction. The Tea Party movement is similar. At the moment I have not heard of any proposed illegal behavior by this movement, but it does seem to me that they are in the early stages of revolutionary activity. This Wednesday may just be about "Tea Parties," but can bomb-throwing be far behind? After all, some of these same people have advocated wiping the Middle East off the map. They've assassinated (or applauded the assassination) of doctors who perform legal abortions. They've made threats (or defended those who made threats) against the President of the United States. These Tea Parties bear watching. It could be the birth not of a nation, but a dangerous terrorist network.