I ended up riding to Chattanooga,with my brother in law,over Christmas.We generally don't talk politics but on the trip we did talk politics for a while.

Two things struck me.

One,he voted for Obama because it seamed to him poor
folks had been forgot..simply put..rich folks got the gold
..poor folks got the shaft.

Two,be careful who tell that you voted for Obama.Because
the reaction of those that oppose Obama is viseral.

Obama is doing what they did in Russia!Ect..Ect.

So the result is..as a East Tennessean that voted Obama
he's decided to STFU!

The Tea Party movement reminds me of the '64 Goldwater
campaign.The right wing fringe is drowning out the
conservative core.

It took Reagan three tries @ the presidency & 16 years to change the perception that conservatism was a shrill right wing fringe movement;that was "out of the mainstream."..to a "mainstream" philosophy worthy of being elected.

And in 20 years the acceptence of a conservative candidate
for president was complete.

Reagan received 10 times as many electorial votes & twice as many popular votes in '84 as Goldwater did in '64.

Can the Tea Party movement rid itself of the right wing
fringe & become a mainstream conservative political organization..that voters will vote for?

Like Reagan in '80 & '84.

Or will the Tea Party movement continue to allow the
right wing fringe to drown out the conservative core?

Like Goldwater in '64.

How the Tea Party folks answer those two questions will
shape our politics..in '10 & '12.

You forgot to add 'Make a significant investment in primary education that will reap benefits for years to come.' The Luntz method only works b/c most Americans lack the skill sets and curiosity to critically engage social issues and politics.

Watching the Becks and Palins of the world ply their trade is the equivalent of gazing into a collective mirror. They are manifestations of the political just as much as they are participants in political processes.

We are faced with an economy that was ok for most just 18 months ago but sucks..big time right now & a ubiquitous terrorist threat..we can't seam to get our arms around.

Futhermore,there is an deep distrust,among many,with Obama.

Ecomomy that sucks + terorist threat + deep distrust of the President = populist wildfire.

I see nothing wrong with being pissed about the economy,worried about if we are doing the right thing about terrorism or disagreeing with the President.

I understand where the populist wildfire is coming from.

IMO,the Tea Party folks can do one of two things:

1.Follow those that make ad hominem attacks adinfinitum...
..stay in a constant state of rage and end up in a hopelessly lost cause,like Goldwater..who famously thundered:"Extremism is no vice..moderation is no virtue."

2.Or like Reagan..proclaim "It's Morning in America." & seek a political groundswell that could propel a legitimate run for president.

The Tea Party movement reminds me of the '64 Goldwater
campaign

I think it's more like an army of Travis Bickles.

T. Frank.

Some days I feel like I'm living in a Sinclair Lewis novel.

#TeapartyPickupLines @Twitter

karlfrisch I've been known to filibuster for HOURS. #TeapartyPickupLines

RavenOn How about a little FountainHead? #TeapartyPickupLines #p2

zym999 I saved a dance on Ted Kennedy's grave for you. #TeaPartyPickupLines #RIPTedKennedy

sarahburris RT @tbridge "I'd tax that." #teapartypickuplines #p2 LOL

wordboydave RT @davidahilljr: Fuck it, we'll do it live! #TeapartyPickupLines

Metulj,what specfic populist movements was the German article refering to?

I have a proclivity to define political movements as presidential campaigns.

And I believe populist campaigns have been based
on the right,on the left plus the Dixiecrats.

IMO,Populist presidential campaigns:

James Weaver 1892

William Jennings Bryan 1896

Theodore Roosevelt/Eugene Debs 1912

Robert LaFollette 1924

Strom Thurmond/Henry Wallace 1948

Barry Goldwater 1964

George Wallace 1968

George McGovern 1972

Ralph Nader 2000

The closest a populist presidential campaign came
to being elected was in 1896.

William Jennings Bryan ran on a fusion ticket.

On the Democratic ticket:Bryan-Sewall
On the Populist ticket:Bryan-Watson

The 1896 Democrat/Populist ticket recieved
47% of the vote.

Google Tom Watson Georgia if one is interested in
how one man embodied both the progressive wing of
populism & the ugly wing of populism.

Tom Watson ran for vice-president on William Jennings Bryan's
1896 Populist ticket.

Again..just asking..how did the German article define
populist movements?

The % of the popular vote & electorial vote of populist presidential campaigns:

James Weaver 1892
8.5% 22 Electorial Votes

William Jennings Bryan 1896
46.73% 176 Electorial Votes

Eugene Debs 1904
2.98%

Theodore Roosevelt 1912
27.39% 88 Electorial Votes

Eugene Debbs 1912
5.99%

Allen Benson 1916
3.18%

Eugene Debbs 1920
3.42%

Robert LaFollette 1924
16.56% 13 Electorial Votes

Norman Thomas 1932
2.22%

Strom Thurmund 1948
2.4% 39 Electorial Votes

Henry Wallace 1948
2.38%

Barry Goldwater 1964
38.47% 52 Electorial Votes

George Wallace 1968
13.53% 36 Electorial Votes

George McGovern 1972
37.53% 13 Electorial Votes

Ralph Nader 2000
3%

Make the Future

About this blog
Jim Gilliam is a geeky activist building internet tools to shake up a broken political system.

* Act.ly is a suite of activism tools for Twitter, including petitions and events.
* GovLuv connects government leaders with citizens via Twitter.
* Tweet Progress is a directory of progressives.
* WhiteHouse2.org imagines how the White House could work if it was run democratically on the internet. (It is interesting here to look at how national priorities are ranked when "outsourced" to the citizenry)
* NationBuilder is the open source platform behind White House 2 being used by Australia 2 and Parliament 2 in Canada.

while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. Eugene V. Debs

Open Government Directive - what's in it and why it's a big deal.

Huffington Post was the answer to the Drudge Report. Tucker Carlson will launch The Daily Caller January 11.

The Democrats and Republicans have been allowed to become nothing more than two giant special interest lobbying groups. The only difference is that they manage to get their lobbyists elected. The English or Indian multiparty systems would produce fantastic results here.

Campaign finance reform and political party registration overhauls should be seriously considered. When it's easier for the large groups of people who don't identify themselves as either Blue or Red to get into the game, we might actually start seeing sensible progress made.

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PROGRESSIVE (n.): An "outside-the-box" thinker who refuses to think outside of their own box.