When the Left Went Teabagging: As You Chuckle at the Right's Newfound Activism, Don't Forget That the Left Sucked Balls for Years

The Lorax. It took me a while to figure out what the fuzzy red costume with a big yellow mustache was supposed to be. Ten minutes of staring at the photo and it finally hit me: The Lorax, from the Dr. Seuss book about the pollution caused by the production of Thneeds ("A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need"). A young woman in a Lorax costume was marching down the middle of a Seattle street, while the rest of the city smoldered and burned around her. This was 1999, and the WTO ministerial meeting -- and the protests and riots that surrounded it -- announced the arrival of the anti-globalization movement.

It seems like a thousand years ago. I was the editor of a well-read punk culture magazine, and we ran the WTO protests big. While the traditional media portrayed the protestors as mobs of messageless anarchist thugs and environmentalist wackos, we saw the movement for what it was: a disparate collection of people and organizations that were able to come together around a common cause, even if they arrived there via different routes. It was a movement that could support old hippies, fair traders, masked anarchists, people dressed as sea turtles, third-world debt relievers, social justice crusaders of every stripe and even, yes, the Lorax himself (er, herself). And what was the message that brought us all together? Er... well....

Search me.

While the WTO protests felt like they were presenting a coherent message, it was instead the pinnacle of the left's lost decades -- years of wandering the desert of obscurity, torn apart by competing causes and beliefs, fracturing into ever-smaller interest groups holding ever-smaller protests and actions. The WTO protests of 1999 and 2000 brought these many groups together for the first time, but they still weren't able to speak with one voice. Then towers fell, two wars were begun, and things began to Change.

Fast forward a decade: Many of the folks that paraded down the teargassed streets of Seattle turned in their gasmasks and said Yes We Can to finding common cause around a presidential campaign. An often divided left found their message and organized around it, finding victory after decades wandering the desert. And while the world certainly hasn't suddenly become a reflection of the dreams of the left, it's clear that things are at least beginning to tilt our way.

And so now a new group of the dispossessed have taken to the streets, arriving through a multitude of pathways, to speak in one voice against.... Taxes? Gun rights? States rights? Immigration? Obama? Coffee?

OK, maybe it's not one voice. And maybe it's not a coherent message -- actually, strike the "maybe" in that sentence. And maybe most of the groups are simply showing up to rally around their specific cause, and don't actually care about tea at all. And maybe the whole choice to rally around the term "teabagging" without double-checking its sexual meaning wasn't the brightest decision in the world, making it a very easy target for the Rachel Maddows of the world.

But haven't we been here before?

Haven't we -- the left -- been the teabaggers for decades? As you write off the right's tea parties as messageless, unfocused, marginalized ranting, don't forget that the left had our fair share of messageless, unfocused, marginalized ranting over the last twenty years. And that, ultimately, we needed those twenty years to understand how to become organized and take back power for ourselves. Without two decades wandering the desert, we wouldn't have built the modern infrastructure that the left stands on now. So laugh if you want, but today's teabaggers may be tomorrow's resurgent right.

Comments

[annecros]

The numbers are in, and aren't bad at all for a freshman effort.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics2/51_view_tea_parties_favorably_political_class_strongly_disagrees

Rasmussen:

51% have a favorable view of the Tea Parties, 34% very favorable. One in four people personally know someone who attended a Tea Party. 54% of Mainstream Democrats have a favorable view of the Tea Parties.

The Political Class, a tiny minority, is the only demographic with an unfavorable view. That was the goal.

[brooklyncitizen]

Surely you jest.

As laudable as it is to give dissappointed citizens the benefit of the doubt it is clear that these protests are anything but grassroots and are simply more propaganda from the right paid for by the right. We may even discover RNC receipts for Graphic design budget (protest signs), costumes (outfits worn) and tea bags bought. Just like the Palin fashion show the Right/FOX is footing the bill on this. If these tea-baggers were genuinely alarmed at the govt spending then the griping should have started when Bush was in office . He tanked our economy and Paulson doled out that first 750 Billion of bailout money that he then couldn't account for.

Similar to the cash palettes of billions that "dissappeared" en route to Iraq.

[vesaversa1]

The democrats have never tried recycling old ideas from the pass or 1776 to get their party back on tract .The Dem's are in the position they're in now because of new ideas and solution to this country many problems. You can not compare the republicans teabagger who didn't have a reason or really didn't understand why they were in the street acting like uneducated buffoons just out of high school .

[Acidic]

Your comparison seems O.K. at face value, but your missing the fact that the left is and were trying to get new ideas/ways of operation, as to where the teabaggers are pushing old outdated ideology.

[annecros]

I think comparing the Tea Party protests with the Vietnam War protests would serve you better. After all, many who attended 4/15 were exactly the same people as those who protested in the late '60s early 70s.

They managed the desired result in around five years.

[HyperInfluential]

Nice concept, both sides are equal, yada yada, but it doesn't work that way in reality. We never did anything so careless as to name a movement after...we­ll, teabagging. I'm sorry, the two groups are just different and you can try to compare them but they're not really the same at all. One group is fighting to keep their own cash in their pockets, the other group is fighting to feed all the hungry children in the world.

[aercolini]

It was really the failure of Republican leadership that allowed the left to oust conservatives. Sure, the left's organizational skills proved crucial at doing this and that organization was informed by years of planning protests. I do disagree with two points. The teabagging parties are not comprable at all to what protestors managed to acheive in Seattle. 1998 involved a worldwide coordination of groups from a diverse range backgrounds, from upper class college kids to blue collar workers. In 1998, they effectively shutdown WTO negotiations and focused the eyes of the world on the issue of free trade by seizing a city for days. Second, 1998 wasn't the end of a series of failed protests, it was the beggening of the rise of the political left, demonstrating the left's ability to use the internet to mobilize their grass roots and co-opt traditional media. Just to underscore the importance of Seattle, the first time I attended a protest was in February 2003. Before the protest we watched the film, "this is what democracy looks like," a documentary about Seattle to give us a sense of what our roles were and how far we could push things. Over 1,000,000 people showed up at that protest.

[SteveDenver]

I believe the left was unified and galvanized by the failures, deception and destruction of Bush. We were even joined by many moderates, and many more right wing citizens didn't support their party.

Several times over my 30 years of political awareness, I have watched my fellow lefties falter and tank under arrogance, misbehavior, ineffectiveness and infighting (to name a few). I think it is false comfort for us liberals to believe the GOP is self-destructing and slapping its own face.

We need to concentrate on OUR game and OUR activities to make sure WE stay strong, unified, focused and real. Otherwise our failures galvanize the opposition.

[Todd-o]

Thought provoking article. I would suggest that liberals have truly been wandering in the desert since their disillusionment with Johnson over Vietnam, and the subsequent admission of the horrendous lies during that time perpetrated by both his and then(albeit more predictably) the Nixon administration. Just like in our personal lives, lies and betrayal by those you trust most can lead to a permanent state of questioning of ourselves, and our values. I was born at the end of the end of the Vietnam War, but I've been reading a lot lately about that time period. I believe that a lot of the openness and honesty of Obama are a reflection of some of the key values the left has that are a direct legacy from that era.

[bbrecht]

I actually think the left in Seattle had a coherent message, but the media did not carry it.
But your point is well taken, we can laugh at these people but it's quite possible they can find their way back to power. Especially without an increase in pressure among those on the left for more accountability in all these bail outs. Nationalize the banks if that's what is necessary to overhaul the system. Leaving the criminally negligent in charge and letting them give themselves bonuses and high pay rates betrays common sense.

[henrywolff]

Uh, sorry, did I miss something. Were the Tea Party activists rioting in the streets and breaking stuff to the point where they had to be teargassed?

[AMERIKA]

I consider carrying signs that refer to Obama as Hitler the same thing. I also consider calling him a socialist and a fascist (do you even know what these terms mean) the same thing. I consider people holding up signs questioning his birth place the same thing. I consider the misplaced anger against taxation and the bailout just a disguise for racism...t­he same thing...if you see what I mean. We do not need the divisive ranting of a lunatic fringe right now while we are in crisis...w­e need a thoughtful debate about the role of government in our society. Having temper tantrums is pointless, wrong headed and stupid. My 2 cents.

[flossophy]

So you're saying they shouldn't peaceably assemble and show signs that express their views? These people probably have never protested anything in their lives... they're hardly the lunatic fringe. They're tax paying Americans.­.. do you pay taxes?

And btw, all of the anti-war protests I attended had Bush = H|tler signs all over the place. Although I never understood how liberating oppressed peoples is equivalent to what H-man did in the 30's. I suppose the left hasn't thought this small detail out.

Your 2 cents are really only worth .5 cents in this economy.

[peterg76]

The right is incoherent because they believe in contradictory things, and rely on deception to convince the masses to vote against their own interest. The left had no excuse.

[coultersnemesis]

half correct---i think "right" and "left" parties are so big that they include many people and interests, and yes, some things are not necessarily contradictory, but are in tension: example: individual right to self-determination is good, but we need some sort of govt intervention; but too much govt intervention infringes on individual autonomy. Collectivism is good, but too much infringes on individual dignity, etc.

[MomfromTexas]

I think it is more reasonable to compare the recent G20 protests with the WTO protests because they were both very large. Whenever large protests, with ten of thousands of people protesting, happen, you expect to get many different groups joining together and a fractured message being sent. The tea party protests were small, and when a protest is small, you expect it to be focused. I mean, usually when 200-500 people show up to protest, it's because of something particular, like choice or the death penalty, and everyone can say why they are there. Reporters were asking the tea party protesters why the protesters were there and getting a different answer from everyone they asked. This is really unusual for small protests, but it is NOT unusual for large protests.

[HyperInfluential]

Excellent point! I think the teabaggers DID have a coherent message, they knew exactly what they were protesting against, they just didn't feel comfortable sharing it wit reporters because although they believe this thing very strongly, they're aware they'll get "in trouble" if they tell people who aren't also in on it. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, because it's obvious: race.

[thedirtman]

WTO and the Teabaggers - an interesting comparison.

There are valid arguments for parallels, but one difference is critical. WTO protests led to the split of the Green Party from the Democrats in 2000. The recession in the two years that followed led to a reversal in the positions of many Democrats on the issue of globalization and job losses. From that point on the Democrats seemed to become more united.

I don't see what could make the Republicans united at this point. Sure, they all want lower taxes. Even a liberal Democrat would like to have lower taxes if it were possible. Everyone is already united. And no amount of reality could ever make the fantasy come true without a miracle in economic news.

I still think the Republican Party is toast.

[adelita01]

"Everyone is already united"

Two polls so far have posted information that Obama is the most polarizing figure in politics. But yet I'm intrigued at where you came to your opinion that "everybody is now united"

Pew Research
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1178/polarized-partisan-gap-in-obama-approval-historic

Rasmussen
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history

[aercolini]

He's polarizing all right, conservatives hate him and everyone else (70% of the country) loves him.

[uberliberal]

After the 2004 election I would've told you the Democrat Party is toast. These things go in cycles. I know many people within my circle that are feeling duped by Obama. They wanted "change" but this is not what they had in mind.

[kindGSL]

Not two decades, four.

We have been wandering in the dessert for forty years. This movement you all are making fun of is my effort to end the Drug War. It was not a Republican Party event even if they tried to make it look like it was.

I actually think your reaction is sophomoric.

The Reverend Sister Lauren
THC Ministry

You are miss-under­estimating me and my religious reformation.