Welcoming the Tea Party with Open ArmsAn angry bunch of Americans have taken to the streets to protest government spending and the direction of the nation. And judging by the massive media coverage, it's as if we have been invaded by a foreign entity, marching on state capitols and Washington, D.C., ready to lead a coup d'etat against our elected officials. The rise of the tea party is being chronicled as a threat to democracy, or a grass-roots collective unlike we have seen in many years. As Public Enemy wisely put it in their hit 1988 song, "Don't Believe the Hype!" First, let's deal with the tea party haters. Please, shut the hell up. No, seriously, I mean it. Shut up. How can any liberal, progressive, moderate or conservative be mad about a group of Americans taking to the streets to protest the actions of the country? What they are engaged in is constitutional. The freedom to assemble, march, walk, scream and yell is right there in the document we all abide by. Do I object to idiots holding up clearly racist signs, as well as the stupidity of images of President Barack Obama as Hitler? Of course. That ignorance detracts from whatever commentary they are trying to make on the status of the nation. When I debated tea party leader Mark Williams on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" a few months ago, I was appalled when he was unwilling to say that if someone came to one of his rallies with a racist sign, he would tell them to take it down. He tried to invoke the First Amendment, but he was clearly offering them comfort for such shenanigans. But it's clear that most of the folks attending tea party rallies are not flaming bigots and homophobes. There are always ignorant fools in all groups, and the tea party is no different. If anyone wants to oppose the tea party for spreading misinformation, do that. But to assert that it's wrong to be involved in civic engagement is utterly silly. The best of this country came out of the action of those in the streets. For those who oppose the tea party, you have every right to rally those who concur with your opinions and take to the streets. While they are doing their thing, you should be doing yours.
And if someone wants to counter the tea party, do so on the facts. It's laughable when a tea partier laments taxes in the United States when they are at their lowest in more than 50 years. For any of them to suggest that 95 percent of Americans didn't get a tax cut in President Obama's first year is just dead wrong. The reality is that the tea party is more aligned with Republicans. According to the CBS News/ New York Times poll released this week, 18 percent of the nation says they are members of the "party": 54 percent are Republicans and 89 percent of them are white. The data clearly suggests that the tea party is more about the GOP than the Democratic Party. Of course, Sen. John McCain received 59 million votes to Obama's 69 million votes. Those 59 million didn't move to Canada or Mexico, so they are predisposed to oppose the president's agenda. So, what we really have here is a group of people who are more likely than not to support GOP candidates nationwide and Democrats supporters who don't like them. I don't take the tea party as being some new entity that is drawing out disenfranchised voters who have long been absent from the process. They are no different in 2010 than what MoveOn.org was in 1998: A group of disgruntled Americans operating outside of the traditional two-party apparatus and expressing their own self-interests. I more than welcome the tea party folks. Protesting is America at its finest. But I'm also not fooled one bit by them. The group is a rowdy, loud and forceful bunch mainly filled with Republicans who oppose the policies of the president. Nothing wrong with that. There were a bunch of rowdy, loud and forceful liberals and progressives taking to the streets to oppose the policies of President George W. Bush. Folks, this isn't a radical transformation of the nation shaping up. It's the latest effort by citizens primarily in one party, professing one ideology, to rise up and allow their voices to be heard. And that's a good thing. Roland S. Martin is an award-winning CNN analyst and the author of the forthcoming book "The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House as originally reported by Roland S. Martin." Please visit his website at www.RolandSMartin.com. To find out more about Roland S. Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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