Why does the Left hate the Tea Party so much?

Following the recent debt debate and credit rating downgrade, the use of the tea Party as the whipping post of the Left has hit a new high. During the 2008 campaign and the first two years of Barrack Obama’s Presidency, everything from the bad economy to hoof and mouth disease was blamed on George Bush. However, even the Left’s hatred of George Bush pales in comparison to the rage felt toward the Tea Party. Take a look at some of these recent quotes:

· "I think they're totally unreasonable and doctrinaire and not founded in reality. I think they've been smoking some of that tea, not just drinking it."…. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean

· "The fact of the matter is that this is essentially a Tea Party downgrade. The Tea Party brought us to the brink of a default. ... It was the right thing to do to avoid that default. It was the wrong thing to do to push the country to that point." ….David Axlerod

· "This is not rhetoric or hyperbole -- this is real. This rise of this Tea Party so-called movement -- bowel movement in my estimation -- and this blatant uncovering and ripping off the mask of racism." …. Former ACORN president Bertha Lewis.

So just what is it that the Left hates so much?

A matter of Philosophical views

Let’s begin by taking a look at the Tea Party itself. Unlike a union, a corporation or a government, there is no “leader” of the Tea Party, nor is the Tea Party a singular body. (It has been said that the Tea Party movement will end the day there becomes a political party called “Tea Party”.) The Tea Party consists of many groups throughout the nation. There is no official doctrine, no rules set in stone. The core beliefs, however, revolve around the idea that the federal government has grown far too large, wield too much power, and is oppressing far too many constitutional liberties. Without government in the way, the individual can decide how he’ll live and how to use his natural talents to get ahead in the world.

The belief structure of the left can be thought of as a photo negative of the Tea Party. The left sees the nation as divided into two factions, the people and the wealthy (aka big business). The wealthy take every opportunity to exploit the people for the sole purpose of increasing the wealth of the wealthy. This is done to ensure the people do not receive the fair share that they so rightly deserve. The only way to prevent the wealthy from laying waste to the nation is to have a huge national government to control the wealthy, and to redistribute wealth from the wealthy to the people. In the eyes of the Left, Republicans want smaller government because they are on the side of the wealthy, and Democrats are on the side of the people because they support big government.

Most Tea Party members see the word as a clean slate. In other words, no matter my race, color, or religion, no matter if born rich or poor, an individual can accomplish whatever he puts his mind to. Individual choice goes hand in hand with personal responsibility. This is in striking contrast to the view of the left, who are experts in the blame game. For example, all of the economic woes are George Bush’s fault, and the people could get ahead if it were not for the wealthy.

Why the hatred

There has been disagreement on how the country should be run as long as there has been a nation. However, the hatred the Left feels toward the Tea Party goes far deeper than the old “Republican vs. Democrat” argument. You see, the Republican Party has been going down the same path as the Democratic one, albeit with a 50 year delay. To be sure, there have been many “Progressive Republicans”. While Democrats offered big government, for the most part Republicans offered not-quite-so-big government. Thus while the two parties did not get along, there were areas that could be agreed on, and a “tic for tack” could take place.

The Tea Party turned the world view of the Left on its’ head. Here was a group made up of ordinary Americans….the very people the Left claim to be looking out for. They didn’t want not-quite-so-big government; they wanted a massive downsizing of the government. Much like the quote from Japanese Admiral Yamamoto (“I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant, and fill him with a terrible resolve.”), the tea party voiced its discontent not only with the Democrats, but the Republicans as well. Taking a page from the Democrats own playbook, Tea Party gatherings and protests took place all over the nation.

Part of the hatred from the left stems from the fact that there is no leader of the Tea Party, no one figure to blame. As the Tea Party is a leaderless movement of individuals, they are “the people” that the Left claims to care so much about. Thus, it now seemed to the casual observer that “the people” were the Tea Party and the Left were those who fought against public opinion….the entire narrative of the left had been reversed!

To be sure, the left has pulled out every stop to de-legitimatize the Tea Party. They have accused Tea Party member of working for the insurance lobby and big oil. When that didn’t stick, Tea Party members were accused of being racist (ignoring the fact that Herman Caine, an African-American businessman, is one of the Tea Party favorites for the 2012 election), then Fox News drones. The liberal education establishment frequently states that Tea Party members aren’t bright enough to know what is good for them, and the “draconian” cuts in Federal spending will have the people eating cat food. Lately, the Left is simply saying how unreasonable the Tea Party position is.

The Tea Party fights against everything the Left believes makes a good country. Thing such as punishing those who are successful, government run health care and retirement….everything the Democrats on the Left have been promising voters, the Tea Party is against. No wonder there is rage.

I hope you have enjoyed this article. As always, feel free to leave comments. Be sure to stop by my political blog at FreedomRedux.com! Just for fun, I have added a YouTube video clip from the movie Demolition Man. In the clip Dennis Leery goes on a rant about freedom….I think this is how most members of the Tea Party feel.