Written by David Starr   

The Tea Party of the United States originated as a series of autonomous units, with no central organization to handle the various issues the TPers generally are into; a Party without an official platform. But if there are central issues TPers nationwide all agree to and/or allow, it's "less government," "no new taxes," "controlling the national debt," "a balanced budget," among other goals. And among these other goals, there are the "anties": anti-Obama, anti-LGBT, anti-atheist, anti-union, anti-labor, anti-communist, anti-environment, anti-climate change, anti-basic rights, etc.

With the tradition of anties, there are alleged reasons, if there are any worth taking seriously. The Tea Party Tribune/"Tea Party and Political News Reporting," has a list of intros linked to articles, that are as fictional as the movie poster for the "Time Machine," posted on the front page of the TTT in attempting to symbolize a future world dominated by the mutated Eloi ("liberal," no doubt) that devours homo sapiens for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The analogy is immature. But the anties are beyond that, a cross over into the bizarro world.

Some TTT intros: "Obama care was deliberately designed to wreck the health care system [it's been already wrecked by the very privatization = profiteering TPers support]." "Obama is on record repeatedly admitting that his economy-killing health care takeover was merely a cynical scam to impose a full-blown socialist health care system...[I question the semantics; TPers don't know what socialism really is.]" "The Obama Care fiasco...screw-ups that know NO bounds...where his 'truths' are NOTHING but LIES...'' "Wallbuilders prove that Obama is anti-Catholic, and anti-religious Jews, so, in summary - anti-Biblical."
Then, to cover bases, "Unable to Defend Their Agenda, Liberals Attack the T.E.A. Party."

The Weekly World News tabloid couldn't have said it better.

Of course, that isn't the worst of it. The Tea Party has been accused of having racist sympathies, at the least (Grimryan, Huff Post, 10/24/2013). Stormfront is an openly racist, "White Pride World Wide," i.e., ultranationalist, website where the Tea Party has been a regular topic. There are claims that TPers "already have racist attitudes and present an opportunity for white 'nationalists' to ply their message."

Some Stormfront fans regret that the Tea Party isn't racist enough, although there is an admittance that they themselves are Tea Party members and/or have attended TP meetings. There is the certainty that many TPers "are knee-jerk racist toward darker-skinned people," but are not "sufficiently anti-Semitic."

U.S. Representative of Congress Alan Grayson, However, (D-FL) didn't mince words:

"Tea Party members have persisted in falsely characterizing the President as Kenyan and Moslem, called Rep. and veteran civil rights leader John Lewis a 'nigger,' Rep. barney Frank a 'faggot,' called Hispanics 'wetbacks,' and would force them to speak English," rather than being civil about learning English as a second language.

Grayson received the unsurprising backlash for his remarks. But, being a Democrat with a consistent political spine, Grayson didn't back down, replying, "If the hood fits...wear it [referring to a TP connection to the Klux Klux Klan]."

Another direct, and academic, assertion came from Christopher Parker, a political scientist at the University of Washington, based on a study he did about the TP and its members: "I found that people who supported the tea party tended to be more racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and [of course] anti-Obama."

Anti-Obama racism coming from TPers was evident at a speech the President was giving in Arizona (8/2013). Among the TPers' actions, focusing on race, chanted "Bye Bye Black Sheep," and one sign saying, "Impeach the Half-White Muslim."

Other TP "get-togethers" provided a little more variety in subject matter, although Obama was still the main target:

"Obama's Plan - White Slavery," Obama pictured in a Nazi uniform with Hitler moustache, giving the seig heil salute, "Seig heil Obama!," "Obama the Anti-Christ," "Obamanomics - Monkey see, Monkey do," "Impeach the Muslim Marxist!," "Anti-Christ Living in the White House," and "Impeach the Kenyan."

One TPer claimed Obama was the Anti-Christ, saying his name is mentioned in the Bible, describing him that way. Another TPer claimed that Obama has started his own private army, but was corrected when told it was a volunteer organization, unarmed, of course.

There was an individual claiming that fascism is socialism, all mixed together. This person must have been "showing off" his Tea Party IQ. Fascism and socialism obviously are mortal enemies.

One woman accused Obama of making department heads czars. She was corrected, being told that the use of the word czar was started under Reagan and expanded under Bush Jr.

Some TPer carried a sign in a protest in front of the White House saying, "Unarmed...This Time." Then, there was the racist confederate flag carrier, "standing his ground" in front of the White House.

And racial supremacy myths have been openly expressed. At a Tea Party immigration rally, one speaker claimed that TPers have the bloodlines of the U.S. founders in them, thus having pure DNA. But referring to Hispanics, this same "molecular biologist" implied inferiority compared with "pure" whites, saying that you can't breed Secretariat to a donkey. Then, you won't have a "superior" species. Another racist slur against Hispanics , "wetbacks," has been used by TPers and their politicians.

In summation, the many accusations against Obama have had a recurrent, and crude, theme: He has destroyed the country; he's a Muslim in disguise; he's raised taxes very, very high; he is a "smorgasbord" of entities, from an anti-Christ to a, uh oh, liberal (oh my!).

Vagueness, clichés, many "I don't knows," gross inaccuracy. Calling Obama a Marxist, a Hitler, etc. is the Tea Party's/Right-wing's use of labels just for the bad connotations, nothing more. It is quantity (a shit-load of accusations), not quality (content, accuracy, some, or any, degree of intellectual thought).

How in the hell can one express strong convictions, and to justify them 100%, when those, like Tea Partiers, don't know shit about the issues they are asked to comment on?

And with the recent failure of the Boehner/Tea Party government shutdown, the GOP itself is potentially splintering.

Another way of saying Tea Party? Totally Pathetic.

© 2013 David Starr