I have long been obsessed with the idea of the “Trailor Park Patriot”: the poor person who opposes taxing the rich on the off chance that he might one day become rich himself. The Tea Party, the ultimate expression of this mentality, is the target of my latest animated cartoon with David Essman.
NEW ANIMATION: The Tea Party Made Simple
Ted Rall
http://rall.comTed Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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51 Comments.
Odd calling them “Trailor Park Patriot” considering the demographics show Tea Party supportersto be higher earners and higher educated.
The reason Tea Party supporters support lower taxes is because someone’s resources do not belong to the government.
US 395, I don’t think Ted is trying to say that there aren’t any wealthy individuals who support the Tea Party. I believe it is a matter of public record that the Tea Party is largely funded by a handful of billionaires. That said, these people exist and are absolutely fascinating.
I recall footage of one woman at an anti-Obamacare rally being asked if her family had health insurance. She explained that she did not. The interviewer asked her what she would do if someone in her family was diagnosed with cancer. When she became slightly aggitated and explained that responsible families use their savings to cover such emergencies, the interviewer asked her if her family had any money saved away for that sort of scenario. At this point she became very angry and incoherent.
This is a phenomenon that exists, US 395. We all know it. You may have a different interpretation than we do – this wouldn’t surprise me, as I find the phenomenon so baffling that I don’t quite know how to interpret it! – but to try to deny that the Tea Party is at least partially fueled by citizens who fit this general description (struggling lower or lower-middle class citizens) is just childish, and you know it.
This kind of poor person supporting rich people policies is nothing new. For centuries, the poor have been treated like shit by the rich and they did nothing about it. Occassionally they would rise up, but that was an exception to the rule. The Civil War was fought by poor people fighting for the handful of rich slave owners. I think they do this out of ideology, religion, patriotism, and fear of change if the rich structure collapses.
It has only been a recent phenomenon that the poor have deluded themselves into thinking that they will become rich themselves someday. Now they support the policies that help the rich even though they will harm them instead, they don’t want to “burn bridges” in case that dream comes true.
Why are the female character voices never credited in the credits in these videos? Who plays the pregnant woman who kills herself?
Route is correct here, Rall, I was going to say the same thing. Your assumptions about who makes up the base of the tea party are inaccurate. In fact, the people you are thinking about are not at all engaged in politics for the most part. It’s misunderstimations like this that feed the trolls….
I have long been obsessed with the idea of the “Trailor Park Patriot”: the poor person who opposes taxing the rich on the off chance that he might one day become rich himself.
That is not nearly as entertaining as the limousine-liberal born into wealth, or the equally iconic leftist celebrity who want to over-tax productive activity, but do not bother to part with their own riches. Of course, all commie revolutions were led by bourgeois or aristocratic “intellectuals” instead of the hailed proletariat vanguard the Old Man foretold. And that generally turns out not to be entertaining at all.
I think to be fair to Ted, the study that shows that the teabaggers as smarter and wealthier sounds a hell lot like the inaccurate Heritage Foundation study that said the same thing about the troops a few years ago. Okay, the teabaggers might not be dirt poor like the video implies, but I don’t see many middle to upper class people showing up to these events. As for being higher educated, I think the teabaggers refute that when they show up to their rallies in the first place and wave their signs.
I believe it is a matter of public record that the Tea Party is largely funded by a handful of billionaires. A) I don’t know that’s true. I do know that’s what Soros funded Media Matters says. I can say the Tea Party is not being funded by a former Nazi sympathyzer who destroyed several currencies to make his billions like Soros.
And if some billionaires are funding the Tea Party movement, so what?
Al, someone who took five years to get an associate’s degree should not be discussing anyone intelligence.
Oh, of course, when you’re broke, normal people will tighten their belts, but that’s not something you’ll ever hear from both wings of the War Party, and apparently, neither from the loony Left.
@US 395 Sorros is of Jewish decent. I am afraid I am not particularly well versed in the large contingency of Jewish Nazi sympathizers. I take it there might be a good video somewhere of “Glen Beck Teaches Revisionist History Part 74947302” that you could direct me to to set me “strait”?
If you actually look at the raw statistics in the study (I can link you if you would like) all the positive traits of the average Tea Party member, save one, were within the statistical sampling error. Which is to say, if they have any positive traits (save one) above the average American, they are statistically insignificant. The one trait in their favor was higher degrees (BS through PhD) which was higher then the American Average by a single point above the statistical error bar (just barely registers as a statistically meaningful though largely insignificant.) But then one realizes that a large contingency of average American’s includes illegal emigrants and people with similar socioeconomic backgrounds who are both apolitical and cannot access higher education due to socioeconomic constraints. Removing these individuals and look at the non-tea party voting block’s educational background and one realizes that the Tea Party is now statistically below average by this more relevant comparison.
someone,
A) It’s Glenn not Glen. And where exactly has he revised history?
B) In his autobiography, entitled “Soros on Soros,” he blithely describes how as a teenager he helped cart off the possessions of Hungarian Jews after they were sent to concentration camps. Soros wrote that this never bothered him, even though his father was Jewish and he grew up in a Jewish home. He says he has no regrets for his actions. “Somebody would have done it,” he wrote.
If you actually look at the raw statistics in the study Yes
And if you are telling me illegal aliens are scewing the results, doesn’t that tell you something about the number of people here illegally?
someone,
A final thought, there were plenty of Jews who were traitors to their people. They thought they would be left alone if they turned on their own people.
Let’s just take the estate tax, for example.
It would have never applied to 98% (and shrinking) of American families, yet more than half of voters favored estate tax repeal. Why?
Well, here are the reasons they gave in a 2003 Kaiser Foundation poll:
62% said “it affects too many people”
69% said “it may affect ME someday”
Comparing that with National Election Study survey from the previous year, numerous studies found that more informed voters were even more likely to favor repeal.
These results have all been replicated many times over.
The Economist put it best:
“American’s do not go in for envy. The gap between rich and poor is bigger than in any other advanced country, but most people are unconcerned. WHereas Europeans fret about the way the economic pie is divided, Americans want to join the rich, not soak them. Eight out of ten, more than enywhere else, believe that though you may start out poor, if you work hard, you can make pots of money. It is a central part of the American Dream”
pathetic.
Oleg,
Which tax year are you referring? The estate was different last year from this year, and will be greater next year.
Whatever, and however many or few people it impacts, it is not the government’s money. It is immoral and I oppose it.
US395, hi buddy. Listen. the Toronto Sun has corrected that story and issued an apology to Soros. Having plagiarized that particular article, you should probably follow suit.
Anyways, who cares? George Soros spent a lot of money defeating communism. Now, he is woefully outspent by countless other organizations. 99% of all of these dollars are going to support your kind of stuff.
“Whatever, and however many or few people it impacts, it is not the government’s money. It is immoral and I oppose it.”
Who cares about what either you or I think? I’m just telling you what the facts say about the vast majority of people who support repealing the estate tax:
They oppose it because they believe that they will be rich one day.
“And if you are telling me illegal aliens are scewing the results, doesn’t that tell you something about the number of people here illegally?”
Absolutely, I think that is one point you and I might agree upon.
“And where exactly has he revised history?”
1) http://themoderatevoice.com/85788/revisionist-history-part-n1/
2) http://mediamatters.org/blog/200911040025
3) http://www.newshounds.us/2010/10/03/glenn_becks_revisionist_history_helps_him_repeat_his_nazis_are_coming_back_scare_tactics.php
4) http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/06/08/radical-right-glenn-becks-revisionist-history/
5) http://ynative77.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/glenn-becks-revisionist-history/
and it goes on and on and on… but there is no point really because even if you read them they won’t convince you so I shouldn’t waste any time on this beyond what I can pull off the top of my head, and even that is too much wasted time as you run on faith without knowledge and are therefore impervious to the later.
“Al, someone who took five years to get an associate’s degree should not be discussing anyone intelligence.”
Crap, can you please shut up about that? The fact that you took the time to stalk me and look up that information IMHO should prevent you from talking about anything. Is that fair? You don’t know my situation, so shut up about it, but I’m 100% sure that you are a stalker. And yes, I will judge the lack of intelligence of the teabaggers all I want.
And here is a valuable lesson folks, don’t post personal information you don’t want anonymous people to know because they will stalk you, find it, and make you pay for it.
oleg,
Yes I am guilty of assuming what I read about Soros as a Nazi collaborator as true. I stand corrected.
And what about Soros helping defeat communism in Eastern Europe, or the fact that he is outspent by people far, far to his right?
Nothing? So, basically, you are here to cut-n-paste smears from the internet, and you are not interested in having a discussion about the issues?
Angelo,
“Those people” you’re talking about, I assume are the Koch Bros., a.k.a the Kochtopus. I don’t think the money they lavish on semi-libertarians venues outweighs the amounts Soros gives to various “liberal” organizations.
It’s not Koch on the right and Soros on the left. That narrative is bullshit. Both are but gnats compared to what is being brought to bear by corporate interests.
Oleg,
You mean the 6$0.8 million spent by SEIU on Obama?
BTW Oleg Reagan defeated communism in Easter Europe.
SEIU?? might wan’t to give this a read. Since you wont, I’ll just tell you. SEIU donated 100,000 to the republican governors association. (btw, do check out the link..great online pub). All of the money being donated is going to conservative democrats, and conservative republicans. BTW, Citizens United is having its intended effect…there is about 7 times more money being spent this midterm compared to last, and it is mostly going to republicans. For the week ending October 17, groups spent a total of $68,198,122, with $40,017,880 on behalf of Republicans and $28,180,243 on behalf of Democrats.
ps.
According to Gorbachev, it was the Pope that defeated communism in Eastern Europe.
To Mister US 395,
Fuck you. Absolute fuck you.
Wow. Thank you so much cutting down Albert Cirrus because of his extended schooling. It’s comments like that that let me know how much of the real world you live in. Which is none. Because if you lived in the fucking real world, you would know that sometimes things happen to students that make them leave their classes, such as job loss or illness. Extended schooling has no relationship to Albert’s actual intelligence.
Say, highway, how about I make a summation of your life? You say you’re an independent businessman. Naw, I don’t think so. You don’t live in the real world enough to be in business for yourself. How about the government dole? Yes, that’s it. You’re on the dole, and too ashamed to admit it, so you call yourself an independent businessman. Not that there’s anything wrong with being on the dole in my looney-left philosophy of life, but it certainly would be a problem with yours.
Now I realize that whether or not you are actually on the dole is just speculation on my part, but one that I’m willing to put into text because of the hurtful assumption that you made about Albert Cirrus. The lesson is, don’t assume intelligence or stupidity based upon someone’s struggles through college. Especially since you never went to college.
Oops, pardon me.
Thank you for that Susan.
i wanted to make a comment about this video and be part of the conversation but when i scrolled down and read some of the posts by US 395, my interest vanished. i don’t waste time talking politics with pathological liars and retarded people.
whoever is in charge of this website, do your job and remove the trolls. they add nothing and ruin the community for everyone else.
I second Susan on this one. Teasing Albert about the time he took to get a degree is irrelevantly personal, nasty and demonstrates Route’s true character as a cruel jerk who lacks compassion or thoughtfulness.
The reality is that when someone disagrees with him, they simply become the enemy, and the enemy is sub-human. It’s a foul state that American culture has sunk to that this is largely viewed as acceptable behavior to engage in.
I don’t know whether to be disgusted with this conversation – for its nastiness and resistance on the part of some to listen and learn – or to be encouraged by it – because, unlike most of these sort of ‘discussions’ – at least a few of you stuck with it, moved your points forward, admitted errors, and reached some sort of balance. Of course, who cares what I think?
On the other hand, this sort of behavior by the economically disenfranchised has a long and well documented history. The right takes advantage of these tendencies all around the world – its not just a US phenom. This behavior is easy to observe, easy to ridicule, but hard to understand. An ’04 article in Harper’s dug deep into this and offers some insight and empathy. Rall’s piece is amusing in his typically sick way, but it hardly helps to open any understanding or to move things forward. The Harper’s article can be found here:
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2004/04/0079996
Lie down for America:
How the Republican Party sows ruin on the Great Plains
by Thomas Frank
Ease up on poor Route. It’s not easy being named after a socialist work program.
Ha ha!
The poor and stupid on the right don’t expect to be rich some day. The poor and stupid people who expect to be rich are usually on the left, but that’s another topic.
The poor and stupid on the right are being sold something that can be best described as economic Calvanism. They buy into an economic orthodoxy with productive heroes and parasitic villains. These people aren’t rich and I doubt many of them are even productive. They believe they can prove they’re on the good guys’ side is by supporting right wing economic policies. Lacking any genuine talent or opportunity, its the only option they have to save face. Its just like people who may be predestined to be damned living as good Christians to prove they’re saved.
Its really a brilliant strategy on the part of the right. The Democrats have to throw the poor a bone every once in a while to keep their support. Welfare has a finite cost, pretense is free.
Aggie, Susan, you’re right about Route’s behavior towards Albert, but he’s not one to talk about it, since he’s often very uncivil himself.
I was only being uncivil to “Route” for obvious reasons.
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/chris_hedges_on_the_death_of_the_liberal_class_20101018/ This is a pretty decent analysis, although fraught with the usual self serving academic drivel (i.e. “We liberals are so important that it is entirely our fault the corporate elite won, and our defeat is the end of humanity”). It’s also too 19th/20th Century classic social movement dialectic to be entirely accurate.
However, watching it is a far better use of time than bickering over tit for tat.
Bucephalus…funny the swagger with which people preach personal responsibility until it’s their turn, then they simply blame everyone else for why they chose to act a certain way.
I specifically picked out the 5 year associate degree brain trust because he deserves it. And so does the dumpster diver. You want to comment on the intelligence of people associating themselves with the tea party based on knowing nothing about them, then you open yourself up based on what I know about you. Grow a set, liberals have been dishing it out for years: http://goo.gl/JwuB
You’ve been uncivil to me for the sole reason of disagreeing with your political views, Albert.
What part of “Fuck You” don’t you understand? The “Fuck” part or the “You” part? I know I’m 100 times smarter than these fascist larpers who pretend they are 18th century patriots dumping tea off ships. Of course like I said to a stupid person, a smart person is stupid, so I would never for a second believe your insults, asshole.
Al, Route, do you two need to go have a beer with Obama in the white house?
I’d rather have a Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
Hmm, doesn’t like beer. It all makes sense now.
People, please. Calm. Down. Spirited discussion: good. Namecalling: dumb.
I was wondering when Rall would make an appearance, he only steps in when his beloved trolls are getting ganged up on. He doesn’t defend anyone else.
Route hasn’t shown up since Friday, so maybe he has left so we can all be happy.
Most people who wait tables for a living work the weekends Albert.