I’ll use this post to collect some thoughts about planks, a platform for Tea Party activism.
I view the Tea Party not so much as a social conservative movememt, but a no-kidding Constitutional and financial movement which has symbiotoc relationship with many constituencies, some of which are opposed to one another. Therefore, the proper business of a successful Tea Party is to maintain as narrow a focus as possible, and to be as serious as possible in that goal, so that not only does it not alienate constituents through unnecessary distinctions, but it also makes the case for its core concerns in a convincing enough manner that the constituents are content to walk with one another for a time at any rate.
So the gay rights people and the traditional marriage people, the official English people and the legal immigrant people, the isolationists and the defense hawks can all work toward a common set of narrowly defined goals:
- Eradicating the specter of Communism from our government
- Eliminating the crushing burden of debt from those who follow us
- Reversing the decline of America as a power in the world
These are all stated in negative form, as the Tea Party is a reaction to the sorry developments along these themes.
Please do comment.
Collect, organize planks; give rubric-based analysis. Book em.
