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Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

The Tea Party (II)

Andrew: Yes, they are, for the most part, emphasizing economic and fiscal issues, which is wonderful, even though they have no actual realistic plans to cut spending by the amount they would have to if taxes are not to rise. But that does not mean they have in any way forsaken the social issues substantively. […]

Andrew:

Yes, they are, for the most part, emphasizing economic and fiscal issues, which is wonderful, even though they have no actual realistic plans to cut spending by the amount they would have to if taxes are not to rise. But that does not mean they have in any way forsaken the social issues substantively. Name a tea-party candidate who is pro-choice. Name one who backs marriage equality. Name one who wants to withdraw from Afghanistan beginning next year. Name one who has opposed torture. Name one who has the slightest qualms about police powers. Name one who would end the military ban on gays serving openly, and take even the slightest political risk on any of these subjects.

This sets things up in such a way that very few Tea Partiers or their sympathizers would ever be considered acceptable. Of course, Rand Paul opposes torture, and for that matter he opposes the PATRIOT Act, which suggests that he probably has more than “qualms” about police powers. I don’t know for certain, but it is probable that a lot of Tea Partiers are more likely to welcome such a withdrawal than most of the mainstream and establishment Republicans they are opposing. Does B.J. Lawson in North Carolina count as a Tea Party candidate? He has certainly spoken to Tea Party gatherings, and he has received the endorsement of Ron Paul. Rep. Paul said in his endorsement:

B.J. will be a stalwart defender of the constitution and individual liberties. In 2008 I supported his campaign because he was talking about the Constitution, limited government and reducing our global police force [bold mine-DL], I encourage everyone to stand with me in supporting him again in 2010. We need more people of Dr. Lawson’s caliber in Washington D.C.

We certainly do, and it appears that Lawson may have a chance of upsetting Rep. David Price in NC-04. That is a very Democratic district, so he has his work cut out for him, but as Sean Scallon noted on the main blog Lawson is competing by providing a credible Campaign for Liberty alternative. If you look at Lawson’s website, you will find that he is also pro-life and opposed to immigration amnesty, which makes him more or less exactly like Ron Paul on these questions. By the standard Andrew sets up here, Lawson wouldn’t be acceptable. I have many reservations about the direction of the Tea Partiers, and I don’t assume that all or most of them are always going to advance an agenda that I want, but we shouldn’t dismiss all of them or all of their candidates simply because many of them have had the bad judgment to associate with Palin and Beck.

Rather like Brink Lindsey’s denunciation of contemporary conservatives over the summer, all Tea Partiers are taken to task here not just for their acceptance of the security state and jingoism (which ignores the substantial number of them that really are firmly anti-Bush, civil libertarian and antiwar), but also for being social and cultural conservatives. They aren’t going to pass a test that shows they are suitably “moderate” or liberal on immigration, abortion or homosexuality, which Lindsey insisted was a deal-breaker for libertarians. Alliances of left and right against the warfare state always seem to founder on these cultural differences, because when it comes down to it most people prefer tribalism and shallow identity politics to their stated political goals, which is one of the most important reasons why there isn’t ever any meaningful resistance to the warfare state.

P.S. Check out B.J. Lawson’s candidate questionnaire from his previous run in 2008:

Our founding documents established a government of, by, and for the people, specifically designed to protect the individual’s unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This premise means protecting the individual’s opportunity to prosper and create value for one’s community through free enterprise and exchange, not smothering it with the rapid accumulation of debt and doling out special privileges to corporations. It also means protecting fundamental civil liberties enshrined in the Constitution, not ignoring them in the name of “security.” It means defending our people when attacked, not launching costly and unjust aggressive wars. Finally, it means having a government that, at all levels and in all branches, respects the bounds of its Constitutional authority and obligations, not a government that ignores and delegates them.

The most pressing issues facing our district and our nation are our government’s departure from its founding principles. This departure threatens our future with $53 trillion in unfunded liabilities, an unstable financial system that relentlessly increases the separation between rich and poor, and the increasing domination of corporate power and interests at the expense of individuals facing increasing pressure to make ends meet. This departure endangers our national security with a belligerent and unwise foreign policy. Finally, it threatens the right of the individual to live and act as one pleases without injuring others, and to be afforded protections and due process under the law.

This part was also quite good:

I’ll caucus with Dennis Kucinich to preserve civil liberties, Ron Paul to reform the monetary and banking system, Marcy Kaptur to fight exploitative corporatism, Walter Jones to bring the troops home, Barney Frank to reform unconstitutional drug policy, and Roscoe Bartlett to address peak oil and long-term sustainability.

Finally, Andrew should like this one:

I will also confront the deplorable use of torture in interrogations, which I believe is a blatant violation of both the Fifth and Eighth Amendments.

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