Bacon's Rebellion

TEA LEAVES IN THE WIND

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by

James A. Bacon
in

At about this time in just seven days the polls will start closing.

This evening strong front is blowing in from the heartland.

Which way are the tea leaves blowing?

Today a CNN.com poll (all-be-it a ‘non scientific’ one) has a stunning 84 percent saying it is time to scrap the two party system.

If the Donkey Clan and the Elephant Clan split the 16 percent who are satisfied with the current canted playing field and a number equal to either of the ‘major’ parties is divided among anarchist, tea partyers and libertarians, one could hope that it still leaves over three quarters of the 90,000 who registered an opinion in favor of something REALLY NEW.

AntiPartisanism?

Also on CNN.com, John P. Avlon asks: “Sick of Dems?, GOP?” and suggests “There is Hope.” Avlon provides a nice overview of who is running for what OUTSIDE the two clan monopoly game.

Even the current president is not endorsing all those running under the Donkey Clan flag.

Charlie Cook suggests that ‘the wave has crested,” the tide has turned. Could all that money dredged up by the supremes and turned into endless ads just make citizens mad at the status quo?

The Sunday WaPo story on Page 1 A(“A Movement Without a Compass’) provides, data and graphics on ‘the tea party.’ The WaPo Sunday Magazine profiles a bus of tea partyers from Dayton, Ohio to Glen Beck’s rally and back. Both document that the tea party is not a ‘party’ at all.

The title: The Anger of Ignorance fits like a glove.

Today, Tom Toles has voters trapped in a car between walls labeled ‘Democrats’ and ‘Republicans.’

Even C-Dog is advising against voting for incumbents.

There is hope.

In the context of instant communication, there is no reason that the wind – and the tide – cannot change as quickly as the weather.

Perhaps, citizens are not as dumb as pandering politicians have been counting on them to be.

EMR

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7 responses to “TEA LEAVES IN THE WIND”

  1. Hydra Avatar
    Hydra

    I don't think there is much hope for antipartisan. Too many people let strong feelings get in the way of thinking. They may want smaller groups of people who think more like themselves. It takes strong intellect to find common ground between those who disagree.

    My way is the only way doesn't make one antipartisan, only stubborn. To be antpartsan one must be dedicated to breaking up "conspiracys". Opposed to other groups getting anything accomplished. An indiscriminate conservationist.

    Besides, how do you get power as a party of antipartisan's. It is like a family or a church of celibates. Even if you get a convert, you are bound to shun them.

    Not much of a future.

  2. Larry G Avatar
    Larry G

    You'd have to start dismantling the institutional preferences for the two party system which has a stranglehold on our political system.

    I don't think it is impossible but I do't think it will succeed if the goal of the individuals is to pursue a right wing or left wing form of governance.

    They'd have to join arms at east temporarily to dismantle the institutional bias towards the two parties and then after that was accomplished – go back to left/right politics as usual.

    Anyone who thinks Pelosi/Reid are any different than McConnell/Boehner is smoking some powerful stuff.

    Neither party gives a rat's behind about how average Americans feel and you can throw out Pelosi/Reid but then you're just going to get the Republican version of the same thing..

    Remember Tom Delay and Newt Gingrich?

  3. Darrell Avatar
    Darrell

    Funny thing about tea leaves. When they are harvested, the workers leave behind a bush full of six inch long punji sticks hidden in the remaining leaves. This is to entice new growth that develops the best tea the following season.

    I can personally attest that falling into a tea bush leaves you with the appearance of having wrestled with a porcupine.

    If I were either party in 2012, I would tread warily through the political plantation. Especially if I ignored the tea leaves this November.

  4. Hydra Avatar
    Hydra

    Tea leaf harvesters in Africa are striking over being replaced with mechanical harvesters.

    If Africans cannot compete, how cheap will you have to work to get a job?

    This is a trick question.

    Your job is to guess the trick.

  5. Larry G Avatar
    Larry G

    Well if we believe "the world is one market" folks – some of the tea leave harvesters will become tea-leave machine operators while others will lose their jobs but new jobs will be created making tea leave machine harvesters.

    but with the US – tell me how many jobs the Republicans created in the 8 years they had a majority in Congress – 2 under Clinton and 6 under Bush.

    My count is that we LOST JOBS even as we had tax cuts.

    The tax cuts did not bring in additional tax revenues and instead – added to the deficit.

    and we would have known that had tax cuts been passed as permanent because the CBO would have scored it.

    Then if that was not enough, they killed PAYGO and proceeded to fight two wars off budget…. saying that "deficits don't matter", then as a final coup-de-grace, the passed a taxpayer-subsidized prescription drug giveaway to big Pharma – and do you know where the subsidy comes from?

    That's right – Medicare.

    The same Medicare that Republicans say is "broke" and not run efficiently.

    So what did they do? They made it worse.

    And THESE are the same guys that people think are going to come into Congress in November and fix the deficit?

    Name ONE THING they did in their 8 years to reduce the deficit.

    Name ONE THING right now that they say they will cut to reduce the deficit.

    What they say right now – either through really GROSS IGNORANCE or Lying out their butts is that the way to fix the ANNUAL DEFICIT is to CUT ENTITLEMENTS.

    Never mind that the annual deficit is dependent on the Income TAx and entitlements are funded from FICA.

    That's their solution. Cut Deficits and not one word about what govt they'd cut to align non-entitlement govt expenditures with the current level of taxes being collected.

    The only thing more worthless than the Republicans on this issue is the people who are unable to see the truth and will vote for them.

    Jim Bacon knows the truth.

    Groveton has not yet learned it and actually believes the Tea Pots are going to change things – NOT!

    Accurate does not care apparently… as long as the hated Democrats are outed even if it returns the totally ineffectual Republicans to power.

  6. Hydra Avatar
    Hydra

    Partial credit.

    Obviously it takes fewer people (and more capital) to build operate and repair tea leave machines than it does to pick tea leaves, otherwise we would just pick the tea leaves.

    The first mistake is thinking that the opportunities lost and created are a zeros sum game. Overall the new rocess will make more money and therfore use less resources (per dollar, more resources overall – efficiency increases resource use) and create more opportunities.

    The second mistake is thinking that people are infinitely flexible as to how they avail themselves of these opportunities. this is usually heard as the "everyone has choices" argument, which isn't actually true.

    The third mistake is in thinking that an American life or job is somehow worth more than a foreign one. That kind of craziness leads to all kinds of problems.

  7. Larry G Avatar
    Larry G

    machines could make it easier and cheaper to grow and sell even more tea and expand the markets for it… no?

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