I was a fellow traveler of the Tea Party, and I consider the quoted line to say something accurate. It's also a widely held sentiment in the US. One might debate the issue (even granting that the *origins* of the Tea Party are relevant to its *effects*), but it is not so off-base as to invite such antagonism.
Also, I and a few friends were there, and we all had much the same personal experience. People were fed up with Obama's authoritarianism and expansive government and wanted to fight back against it. It was unfortunate that so many mainstream republicans joined and brought in so many of the party's clap-trap ideas to some of the groups, eventually killing the movement. Still, none were populist or authoritarian, which is where the author of this piece demonstrates a profound ignorance of the Tea Party, and anyone who would do so little research on that topic to make such a statement, I do not trust to do enough research to provide any other valid information.
I was a fellow traveler of the Tea Party, and I consider the quoted line to say something accurate. It's also a widely held sentiment in the US. One might debate the issue (even granting that the *roots* of the Tea Party are relevant to its *effects*), but it is not so off-base as to invite such dismissal.
“…the Tea Party and then Donald Trump fundamentally reshaped the GOP along populist-authoritarian lines. “
You obviously know nothing of the Tea Party nor its libertarian origins. Kind of makes me think you don’t know much about anything.
I was a fellow traveler of the Tea Party, and I consider the quoted line to say something accurate. It's also a widely held sentiment in the US. One might debate the issue (even granting that the *origins* of the Tea Party are relevant to its *effects*), but it is not so off-base as to invite such antagonism.
Jacob Huebert argues that the Tea Party was never actually libertarian in practice: https://www.lewrockwell.com/2011/05/jacob-huebert/2-hopes-for-liberty-in-our-time/
Better authors say differently: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/libertarian-roots-tea-party#
Also, I and a few friends were there, and we all had much the same personal experience. People were fed up with Obama's authoritarianism and expansive government and wanted to fight back against it. It was unfortunate that so many mainstream republicans joined and brought in so many of the party's clap-trap ideas to some of the groups, eventually killing the movement. Still, none were populist or authoritarian, which is where the author of this piece demonstrates a profound ignorance of the Tea Party, and anyone who would do so little research on that topic to make such a statement, I do not trust to do enough research to provide any other valid information.
As I similarly wrote in response to Phil:
I was a fellow traveler of the Tea Party, and I consider the quoted line to say something accurate. It's also a widely held sentiment in the US. One might debate the issue (even granting that the *roots* of the Tea Party are relevant to its *effects*), but it is not so off-base as to invite such dismissal.