The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

An Article So Excellent You Use A Blog Post As A Sort Of Bookmark For It

Posted on | November 24, 2011 | 3 Comments

by Smitty

Yuval Levin at the National Review Online:

But the Tea Party has been very unusual for an American populist movement. It has not been focused on soaking the rich, as left-wing populists always have been. It has not even been primarily focused on reducing the tax burden on the middle class, as right-wing populists usually are. Rather, the Tea Party has focused on restraining government. It originated in outrage about federal bailouts, and has directed its energies toward pulling back the cost and reach of the state. It has asked for fewer government giveaways, not more. It has even given voice to a tight-money populism, criticizing the Federal Reserve for inviting inflation — a far cry from populists of old. And the Tea Party has also been intensely focused on recovering the U.S. Constitution, and especially its limits on government power (and therefore on the public’s power) — another very unusual goal for a populist movement.

Read the whole thing, contrasting the Left’s flailing for the last three years with the Tea Parties and the Founders in a scholarly way, with a number of historical references I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t read yet.

Thank you very much for this, Mr. Levin.

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Category: Tea Party

Comments

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  • Anonymous

    Whoa.  Awesome essay.  Thanks!

  • http://thecampofthesaints.org Bob Belvedere

    This is why I dislike using the term ‘populist’ to describe the TEA Party Movement.  It’s a non-ideological thing that subscribes to no ‘ist’ or ‘ism’.

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