I just came back from the Tea Party in Port Huron. I thought I was just going out for a picnic with my wife and her family - turned out it was a tea picnic. Meh.
While I support the agenda that the tea parties are supposed to be about, there was far too much at today's event that had nothing to do with the issue at hand as far as I was concerned. All this despite the very first speaker going out of her way to tell us that this was a non partizan event, not aligned with one group of another.
Having heard that, the first guy (a preacher) then rattled on for half an hour using quotes from the bible to describe the "evil" we are now facing and the "peril" we are now in. I'm a Christian, but that pissed me off.
He talked about the war on terror, the demise of family values, the rights of the unborn and a host of other conservative agenda points. Hardly once did he talk about government spending and increased taxation. If I'd been a liberal who was pissed about increased government spending, I'd have been really upset that a cause I supported had been hijacked.
Later on, some of the speakers covered this in depth and made what I though were some very good points. But, if I hadn't been with my family (many of whom were looking at each other and saying "This is kinda off topic isn't it" or words to that effect), I would have left long before the relevant pieces were ever discussed. As it is, I'm glad I stayed and glad I am now able to comment on the tea parties with some degree of understanding that I didn't get through Fox or CNN.
I don't think the tea party organizers are doing themselves any favors with this sort of approach. They are also providing ammunition to their detractors, which is a shame.
There's a saying in advertising. Throw someone a ball and they'll probably catch it. Throw someone five and they'll probably drop the lot. By trying to get across multiple messages, I believe the tea parties (if the Port Huron one is indicative of the national approach) are likely to fail to get across the one they believe is most important, which I think is a terrible shame.
White Supremacists May Attempt To Co-Opt July 4 "Tea Parties" To Promote A Hateful Agenda
"New York, NY, July 2, 2009 ... White supremacists and neo-Nazi hate groups plan to take advantage of the anti-tax "Tea Parties" set to occur in more than 1,000 cities and localities over the July 4 holiday weekend to disseminate racist fliers and other materials and attempt to recruit others to their cause, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)."
Farther up on this thread you roll your eyes at those who see these teabagging events as racist. A man is often (justly or not) considered in connection with the company he keeps. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes, if you find yourself in the company of people who make you uncomfortable, it might be time to re-think the thoughts that brought you into their company. There might be something at the root that isn't quite kosher. Or ADA approved, whatever.
Hmmm. OK, I understand the point you're aiming at and, if one believes the NYT article there might be something to it. However, I can only speak for the event I blundered into.
There was no white supremacist or racist agenda. There were no fliers of the sort the article describes (the only handout was a letter from Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm). There was in fact no visible white supremacist presence that I could tell.
The reason I "roll my eyes" is that on the basis of articles like the one you have quoted, some (or even many) people seem perfectly willing to dismiss the tea parties as racist events. Indeed, you have brought the subject up in direct response to a post of mine where I described, albeit broadly, the subject matter of the speeches made, when in not one place did I mention white supremacists. This could indicate that you are prepared to take the New York Times' view as more accurate or representative than mine. That's OK, I'm not a reporter, though I do find it slightly saddening that my effort to provide a personal view of the substance of one tea party is so summarily dismissed.
I must say however that it must be nice (for those who wish to dismiss the tea parties as somehow tainted) to be able to fall back on the "infiltrated by white supremacists" argument, or the "orchestrated by Fox" argument, or the "controlled by the Christian right" argument. I'm not a racist, I rarely if ever watch Fox and I generally can't stand religious fundamentalism. But it's a damn sight easier to dismiss my views as "tainted" than it is to listen to my concerns about public spending and treat me like a lucid, reasonable and fairly intelligent adult. This seems to be the current modus operandi of both political parties - as such, this board is a perfect reflection of the real world of politics, more's the pity.
Lastly, on to your comments about the company I keep. There is a little known rhyme about that sort of thing which I've always liked, which goes:
One evening in October, when I was one-third sober,
An' taking home a load with manly pride;
My poor feet began to stutter, so I lay down in the gutter,
And a pig came up an' lay down by my side;
Then we sang: "It's all fair weather when good fellows get together",
Till a lady passing by was heard to say:
"You can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses."
And the pig got up and slowly walked away.
You are right. Generally, one can tell something about character by the associations that people form, and I considered that as I sat there yesterday wondering what the people driving past on I-94 might be thinking.
Your post above has given me a slightly better idea. They were possibly thinking I was a white supremacist. That said, I
know the company I chose, and they all seemed like pleasant people. Those driving past may have had their views on the company I chose
erroneously shaped by outside forces such as the media. Which of these best describes how you have formed your view?
you know pretty boy with the hair,, and the new guy who tried to buy his senate seat and was caught lying about it,, god some nasty nefarious characters.. and you voted for his radical azz. 
