Another Attack

Even though the Tea Party lacks "...much in the way of formal structure, leadership or agendas..." its impact on elections has been significant as has been the increase in attacks upon it by Democrats and liberals. Columnist Clarence Page is a prime example.

The most recent article [April 20, 2010] written by Page is just the latest in a series of "concerned" journalism authored in a manner to place doubt in the mind of the reader as to the nature and purpose and integrity of the Tea Party. Page claims that the Tea Party "is an orphan, unified by a shared sense of abandonment by Republicans and cluelessness by Democrats". While labeling some of the Tea Partiers as psychologically impaired by abandonment and others as nothing but dolts, he then ties together the existence of "the first term of the nation's first black president" with the Tea Party being born. The issue of racial basis is raised, he pretends to mute it by "polls and conversations with tea partiers tend to confirm my sense that race brings no more than a teeny cup to this tea party". Page's conclusion is that every Tea Partier must be initially looked at as a racist until that label can be discounted.

The desire by the Tea Party to have the government reduce its involvement in the lives of American citizens is also marginalized by Page. His comment is that a want of a lesser degree of Washington interference ceases when the Tea Partiers "bump up against an issue on which they can use government's help."

With yet another shot, he quotes a CBS/New York Times poll that shows "contrary to their image as a bunch of poor, ignorant whites" the Tea Party members are "above-average in income and education". The Tea Party is still, according to Page, "more male, white and conservative than the nation's political center."

Finally, Page praises the Obama Administration for not raising taxes but for some reason forgets about the pending Value Added Tax of maybe 5% on all items Americans buy.

Clarence Page clearly received that unwritten White House memo to attack the Tea Party; did so; but did so very poorly.