Extreme Tea Party sentiments have reach

The reaction to my last post on Tea Party America (article is below thus one)was predictable. There were three comments that caught my eye that highlight why President Obama's rallying cry to the spirit of America fall's on deaf ears among many in the Tea Party movement. More frightening, their deep mistrust of him is more widely shared than you'd imagine.

"His aspiration is to socialize the U.S., though he'd probably settle for remaking it in Europe's image in the short term," wrote stratman1. "That's why he doesn't resonate with many of us."

"Obama is a Marxist and he wants the US to be a Marxist state just like his real home Kenya is becoming. He is a Manchurian candidate," scribbled stephenlubinsbcglobalnet. "No-one knows where he was born, who his parents are, or anything else about him. But we do know he is a Marxist who is destroying this coutnry.[sic]"

"NoBama hates this country and everything for which it stands," noted PhanMan69. "He is ashamed and apologizes for the leadership that the US has provided the world. He does not believe that America is exceptional and is doing his best to grind what's left into the ground...No President of mine takes the oath of office and then shreds the Constitution that he swore to defend."

Vitriol is not wholly owned by the right. There are extremists on the left who have called former president George W. Bush a war criminal, a fascist and worse. But their thunder against the Republican president never had the edgy tinge that we're seeing from the extremes of the Tea Party movement. Their boisterous displays of anger during the health-care votes at the Capitol last weekend -- egged on by irresponsible lawmakers -- is a worrisome escalation.

John Avlon, one-time speechwriter to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a latter-day Paul Revere, has been warning one and all about the far-right extremists who are taking over the Republican Party and polluting political discourse. His latest piece for The Daily Beast, "Scary New GOP Poll," puts numbers behind the concern and shows how wide the mistrust of Obama is.
* 67 percent of Republicans (and 40 percent of Americans overall) believe that Obama is a socialist.
* 57 percent of Republicans (32 percent overall) believe that Obama is a Muslim
* 45 percent of Republicans (25 percent overall) agree with the Birthers in their belief that Obama was "not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president"
* 38 percent of Republicans (20 percent overall) say that Obama is "doing many of the things that Hitler did"
* 24 percent of Republicans (14 percent overall) say that Obama "may be the Antichrist."
That last data point would be hilarious were the implications not so scary. And rather than speak out against those who foment these corrosive views, "leaders" in the Republican Party are content to feed and ride the wave of discontent for short-term political gain. As David Frum wrote in his Waterloo blog posting on Sunday, by mobilizing supporters "with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead." This is too high a price to pay for a nation that desperately needs leadership from both sides of the aisle to solve problems that can no longer be ignored.

A message from President Obama to Tea Party America

It irks me to no end that there are some sinister folks out there who so mistrust President Obama that they openly -- and without shame -- wonder whether he is some Manchurian Candidate sent here to destroy the United States. That's why I found the following section of Obama's East Room oration particularly gratifying. He speaks to the true character of this nation in only the way a president can.
"But today, we are affirming that essential truth -– a truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself –- that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. (Applause.) We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. We don't fall prey to fear. We are not a nation that does what’s easy. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we got here.

We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities. We are a nation that does what is hard. What is necessary. What is right. Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny. That is what we do. That is who we are. That is what makes us the United States of America."
Tea Partiers love this country. For far too many of them, it's a twisted, exclusionary kind of love. But it's love all the same. So, what part of what the president said does not resonate with them? I can't wait for the response.