Ed. Note: this is a satirical take on the Tea Party Patriots
I spoke with Victor McCoy of the Greater Illinois Chapter of the Tea Party Patriots and Sons to learn about the group from an insider.
Victor McCoy, the pro-tem Sergeant-at-Arms for the Greater Illinois Chapter of the Tea Party Patriots and Sons, offered insights on his cause and his personal motivations for getting involved.
The interview began with a discussion of whether the Tea Party might remove Senator Reid and others with whom they disagree. McCoy explained why the Tea Party would prevail:
"Here's the difference: We have God on our side; we have Christ. We have an army. We have God's army [and] we have angels. And we have wisdom and sageness."
Lest anyone imagine that he and his fellow Tea Party members are blind followers, McCoy made sure to preserve his control:
"Don't tell me what you know about what I know. I'll tell you what I know; I'll tell you what I believe. Don't tell me what I believe!"
In response to the question of whether guns were for offensive or defensive purposes, McCoy had a practical explanation:
"When you carry a gun . . . you don't go, 'Hey, I'm gonna use this for offensive or defensive purposes.' You just use it! You have it in case. You have it for either situation."
He had a similarly pragmatic response to the issue of whether military training amounted to these groups simply preparing to kill other Americans:
"You said 'kill' fellow American citizens. You said nothing about perhaps wounding. . . . Perhaps shooting in the leg first, as a warning. I can't check every single person's citizenship before I shoot them in the leg, can I? . . . I can't be expected to ask them to run back . . . to wherever they're from to get some paperwork. . . You said, 'Kill American citizens,' when perhaps I just want to wound illegal aliens."
As for the question of the courts:
"[I refuse to] respect the authority of the court. . . I don't sanction it. I don't see it. I don't recognize the authority of the court in the United States. And I put "United" in quotes and I put "States" in parentheticals."
The Party's fundamental interests seem to boil down to simple economics:
"Have I received help or compensation for the work I did for AmTrack? Yes I did. Do I continue to? Yes I do. But that doesn't negate the fact that I've been out of work, and I want the government to get me a job. Where's my job at? . . . They're spending all this money on all this crap . . how come they can't spend money on me getting a job. I want a job."
At least in McCoy's case, economic frustrations have spurred a deep resentment of American government:
"I'm furious at the government. I always have been. Well, I wasn't that angry when Bush was in office. But I was furious when that evil anti-Christ, Bill Clinton, was in office. And now they got this evil, anti-Christ Obama in office. But before Clinton I wasn't that upset, when the first Bush was in office. Or Reagan. But I was really upset when Jimmy Carter was in office with his "Lazy Fare" attitude toward the Russians and coddling up to Egyptians . . ."
At the same time, he maintains a fundamental faith in American business:
"Don't handcuff Wall Street. It's not Wall Street's fault. I believe in an America where you rise to your potential. You are allowed to succeed. You're allowed to rise to your potential. You're allowed to do whatever you need to do to achieve that. . . . A great man said, 'By any means necessary.' And that's one of my credos."
You really must listen to the whole interview to fully appreciate his points.
Ian Masters can be heard Monday to Thursday at 5 PM PST and Sundays at 11AM PST streamed live at www.kpfk.org. "Bigger and Blackerer" will hit stores in May.
Sally Kohn: Tea Parties: Brewing Racial Resentment
Immigration and the diversifying of the American population are the latest incarnation of the ruling class' favorite historic bogeyman of racial resentment.
Ronald B. Robinson: Heaven To Earth: Obama Is Not The Antichrist!
As a Christian and Jesuit-schooled Catholic, I can tell you in no uncertain terms: President Obama is not the Antichrist, although though that's what about 25 percent of Republicans believe.
The Supreme Court has defended the right of citizens to engage in robust and raucous colloquy. That ruling applies not only to Tea Party protesters but to all Americans as well.
Well done, HuffPo. Also, EPIC FAIL, HuffPo commenters...
Are you people serious?
Watch the whole damn thing. He tells you at the end that it was an April Fool's joke.
The writer of this aritcle had to have listened to the whole thing, and known this was a joke, right?
But don't get me wrong. I am also disappointed that Obama has not been able to turn the ship of state around on a dime after eight years of daily damage wrought by the RotGut party. Obama is now as war criminal for not prosecuting Bush / Cheney.
But the Republican Party has become the fan club for attention-deficit teenage girls of all ages and sexes, unable to decide between Fabian and Frankie Avalon, infatuated with Zec Efron one month and all moony over Rob Pattison the next, smitten with Mitt Romney one campaign and pining over Marco Rubio the next. That anyone could ever get a tingling sensation from the beaky-geeky Tim Pawlenty is just so weird, a sign of desperation. Further proof that the Republican Party's "big tent" has become a bughouse.
I watched an interview with Newt Gingrich this morning and my blood ran cold, listening to his hate-filled, fear-mongoring words. He spouts the same ole thing about our president, I suppose believing if it is said enough it will make it true! And as I watched, I realized these idiot divisionist are going to keep on going and I believe that is the most dangerous factor in our USA to date.
Where were they when the incredibly expensive Iraq started? Helping and screaming for it of course!
Iraq will cost YOU $ 10,000 by the time we pay back Red China in 30-40 years.
Or $ 40,000 for the average family !
I agree that government spending must be careful and productive, it must make sense. I think we give too much away in foreign aid, especially to Israel which does not need it, and spits in our face. It's too bad that much of the public only now is waking up to the federal and state debt problem, because lots of it was caused by Republicans at all levels.
Maybe we need an Iraq War Tax, since we are robbing from other pressing needs for it anyway. This way at least people will see that war is not cheap, it cost's big money. They will be angry at Republicans every time they pay the tax, and year after year they would just laugh at the GOP when they claim to be frugal.
(... it IS satire, isn't it...? PLEASE tell me this is satire... I'm starting to feel uneasy abut this... like I'm supposed to think it's a REAL interview, then it's a clever and obvious satire... then I think,"They're trying to lull me into a false sense of paranoia and fear, then reassure me it's all in good fun and an April Fool prank, and then I remember as a kid with the Civil Defense sirens every Tuesday at 10:30 morning, and thinking "What if the Commies attack at 10:30 FOR REAL?" And then I was reassured in the knowledge that if I saw the flash, I would have just enough time to crawl under my desk, crouch down, cover the back of my head with my interlocked fingers... and live to vote for Richard J. Daley some day...)
So THEIR world, THEIR society is SCREW EVERYONE YOU POSSIBLY CAN as MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN and ANY WAY YOU CAN in order to get ahead? Wow, a nation of total predators feeding on each other any way they want? This is what they call FREEDOM? Advocating a society of liars, cheaters, scam artists and thieves? Do they get to KILL you in order to be "Successful", too? Can they rob the local bank as well? Shoot the armored car guards while they're at it? ANYTHING goes if it will make you "successful" including outright lawlessness and mayhem? Or, do they draw the line at legalized murder? This guy calls Clinton and Obama the anti-Christ? What happened to "Thou shalt not steal"? Dear God, is THIS what these people think the founders wanted America to be? Is THIS their "vision" for THEIR country when they take it back?