Friday, November 4, 2011

The New Republic- The Tea Party


15 Non-negotiable Core Beliefs

1. Illegal aliens are here illegally.

2. Pro-domestic employment is indispensable.

3. A strong military is essential.

4. Special interests must be eliminated.

5. Gun ownership is sacred.

6. Government must be downsized.

7. The national budget must be balanced.

8. Deficit spending must end.

9. Bailout and stimulus plans are illegal.

10. Reducing personal income taxes is a must.

11. Reducing business income taxes is mandatory.

12. Political offices must be available to average citizens.

13. Intrusive government must be stopped.

14. English as our core language is required.

15. Traditional family values are encouraged.
The tea party comes across from this website as quite an aggressive organisation. They seem to be very pro violence for example guns, a large military force. The use of words such as “Gun ownership is sacred” is very intimidating to those reading about their views. From this I myself would not feel welcome to join their organisation if I wanted to. They demonstrate a very pro people controlled system and anti-government which seems a little radical. A lot of the website is dedicated to recruiting people, you can easily join through their website. They also encourage you to use “fax-blasting” which I’d never heard of, to express your views. However this again seems aggressive stating that this is the best method due to the fact that it cannot be deleted or ignored. They excuse their aggressive manner by quoting the 1st Amendment "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The most prominent issue on the website is its use of adverts or articles to reiterate the idea of their beliefs. They focus on how “God” would want them to live and use this as an excuse as to why government policies are wrong, for example the troops serving abroad. The website also offers the option to donate to their organisation claiming that:
“we can only accomplish the task of Restoring America with your help.”
They also state:
“Help the Tea Party
Give until it feels real good!”
which is a very false statement to make. They also give you the options of how much to send starting with $25 which doesn’t really encourage people to donate as we should be given the option to decide how much we want to donate if we do rather than be forced into a minimum donation.

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