More tea party stupidity from Jim Geraghty

Glenn Reynolds links to this further example of tea party stupidity from Jim Geraghty:

But if I may make a recommendation, try to walk away with something of a plan (after attending one of the tea parties). As (Instapundit) and I have noted, chanting and waving signs are great, but if you really want to influence the way government works, you have to put yourself in front of the folks who make the decisions. And those at the lowest levels - city and town councils, mayors, county boards, members of Congress - are rarely used to crowds of people passionately making the case for spending less money.

1. It's good that he's encouraging people to do more than just wave loopy signs, but it's not good that he considers waving loopy signs a valid endeavor.
2. The only extent to which the "partiers" give a whoop about "spending less money" is when it comes to their own pocketbooks. Remember: these are "Taxed Enough Already" parties, not "sound fiscal management" parties.
3. For an example of a "crowd of people passionately" making their case, see this example of intimidation.
4. None of the tea partiers that I've seen so far has made any sort of case, but have simply whined. Making a case involves making a valid argument, and none of the ones I've seen so far have been able to do that. All they've been able to come up with is demands, shouted or printed on loopy signs. For whatever reason, none of them have been able to rise to the level of asking politicians tough questions. And, none of their leaders - including Reynolds, Geraghty, and all the rest - are trying to help them rise to that level.
5. There are things far more important than fiscal, but that's all the partiers and their leaders are concentrating on. Massive immigration will lead to even more spending, yet those pulling the strings on their "movement" support massive immigration and in all except a few cases the partiers aren't even mentioning that. Sonia Sotomayor will affect the U.S. for decades to come, yet that's completely off the partiers' radar. Their leaders are concentrating on issues that, in the greater scheme of things, aren't nearly as important as others.

Thu, 07/02/2009 - 14:41 · · Importance: 4