Actually, Steven, my suggestion does not assume any higher a turnout ratio for that 18% than for the rest of the voters - though given the intensity of the feelings of those 18% a higher turnout ratio does seem very likely.

Even if only the same percentage (a bit under 40%) of that 18% turn out, that’s still nearly 20% of the total likely vote.  Given that many races are won and lost by only a few percentage points, that constitutes a very significant bloc of voters intent on ‘cleaning house’.

If the motivation of that 18% is indeed even modestly higher than average, then their effect increases disproportionately.  For example, if a bit under 60% of that 18% turn out (a number comparable to the average turnout for a presidential election these days), that additional 20% (of the original 18%) increases their numbers to nearly 30% of the total vote count.

The faces of both houses of Congress seem likely to change even more than is usual in a mid-term election next November, in significant part due to the burgeoning “Throw the bums out!” attitude exemplified by (but hardly limited to) the Tea Partiers.

(apparently lost - resubmitted:)

Really, really sloppy ‘journalism’, E.J.

Your assertion that an energized 18% of our population - according to the NYT article which you cite, presumably http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html -  “will not determine the outcome of the 2010 elections” is completely laughable.  Since 1970 mid-term elections have seen voter turnouts of less than 40%, so an 18% bloc should have HUGE effects even if only a minority actually show up.

And the fact that mostly white Tea Partiers disproportionately think that black issues are getting more attention than they merit reflects a racist attitude toward Obama no more than does the fact that the black community almost certainly thinks the opposite (though both attitudes are racist in a less specific sense).

Those of us too far to the Left to have been willing to put up with the hypocrisy of the Democratic party during most of the past decade may see the right-wing antics as sheer buffoonery, but we also have a great deal of sympathy with the Tea Partiers’ distrust of our national government (regardless of whether Tweedledee or Tweedledum happens to be in charge) and will be joining with them in an attempt to clean house next November.

Really, really sloppy ‘journalism’, E.J.

Your assertion that an energized 18% of our population - according to the NYT article which you cite, presumably http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html -  “will not determine the outcome of the 2010 elections” is completely laughable.  Since 1970 mid-term elections have seen voter turnouts of less than 40%, so an 18% bloc should have HUGE effects even if only a minority actually show up.

And the fact that mostly white Tea Partiers disproportionately think that black issues are getting more attention than they merit reflects a racist attitude toward Obama no more than does the fact that the black community almost certainly thinks the opposite (though both attitudes are racist in a less specific sense).

Those of us too far to the Left to have been willing to put up with the hypocrisy of the Democratic party during most of the past decade may see the right-wing antics as sheer buffoonery, but we also have a great deal of sympathy with the Tea Partiers’ distrust of our national government (regardless of whether Tweedledee or Tweedledum happens to be in charge) and will be joining with them in an attempt to clean house next November.

The tea party movement is pretty overblown, driven by groups like
Freedomworks and Fox News. Locally, the media covered a protest by
teabaggers that had about 6,000 people max, in a metropolitan area of over 5
million. During the anti-war protests of the 1960’s it was pretty common to
get protests numbering in the hundreds of thousands. The core of this group is
rural and Southern and has been that way for decades. Many of them are anti-
social types who don’t accept modern society and a more diverse country. Go
to any rural part of any state and you will find these malcontents. Many of them
are retired and don’t have much better to do then listen to right wing talk radio,
call in to talk radio, and/or listen to Fox News blowhards. This is a group that
still admires George W. Bush by double the margin of most Americans. This
group would totally collapse were they not supported by right wing
reactionaries in positions of power, like Koch Industries. At its core this is a
very racist group who are still in denial that a black man could be elected
president. This is also a group that is easily scared by silly rhetoric, like “death
panels” or really dumb stuff like Obama not having his hand over his heart
while singing the national anthem or not wearing a flag pin lapel. it is pretty
hard to take these people seriously.

Taxation beyond a basic level is simply theft no matter how you try to dress it up in some kind of moralistic rant.

Voters hate extremists and the Tea Party are extremists. The problem is that they’re violent and they’re armed. Like the Pentagon, which could also never get elected but, then again, they don’t need to: the taxpayers’ money is handed over to them without them having to win a single vote.

I find the phrase “the voice of true populism” kind of interesting.  Who has the true populism?  Populism in the dictionary is any political movement carrying out the desires, interests and understandings of the people in general; egalitarianism, in short.  Certainly the leadership of neither party can be considered populist.  Many of the rank and file of both parties evidence populism, but the right-wingers are willing to make a fuss about their version of it, whereas the Left, which should have gone into the streets on account of the bank bailouts, the expanded wars in the Middle East, and many other reasons, have been silent and passive.  Maybe an authoritarian like Dionne prefers silent and passive populists.

Paul_GA, I do agree that the “old system needs to crash” but not at the expense of the entire country! Who do you think will be hurt by this? Them? No, but you and I will be! And what if that is what they want to happen? Then we are powerless and they are the ones in charge of rebuilding America along their lines. [Sans the Bill of Rights and any restrictions on them unlike today. We need to use the apparatus at hand if we can get anyone not on the corporate payroll to work for us not them. A Libertarian Capitalist paradise at our expense. But not the Libertarian social mores, no freedoms there, that will be controlled by the New Apostolic Church.] Then what? Wait again? No we need to elect people who aren’t with the corporate nucleus of both parties to win. However there are just a few left in the Democrats and none that I can see in the Republicans right now. Any third parties are cut out of the mix and will lose every time. Such is how it has been designed. Remember that.

DieDaily I am always annoyed when pseudo-commentors like yourself say generalities but give no particulars. What did he say that is wrong or in any way statist? Give details not fuzzy empty calumny. I doubt if you have the capacity or you would have already. Think debate team and you just scored a zero. Now get to work!

Raimundo has some curious affiliations of his own. He may be a Libertarian and not a Liberal for one thing. Then his attack on Rachel Maddow was slick but unconvincing in its lack of deeper analysis. (The fact that the Tea Baggers are protected by the police should tell you something that those perceived as Leftists are attacked by them.) But then I am waiting for all those Liberal militias to make an appearance and start attacking gov’t facilities then I will be less skeptical of his point of view.

I do admit that even Ayn Rand can be correct about something, in this case words that identify being replaced by approximate words is deleterious to cogent and clear communication.

Well, Anarcissie, don’t underestimate them. I think it was Gandhi who once said something to the effect that first, they ignore you; then they make fun of you; then they attack you; then you win.

Paul_GA, April 19 at 8:55 am:
‘See Justin Raimondo’s newest column at Antiwar.com for an opposing view—“Populism, Left and Right”:
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/04/18/populism-left-and-right ‘

A pretty good article, although I think seeing the Tea Parties as an ideologically or organizationally coherent movement is oversimplifying the matter considerably.  Certainly some party-goers were outraged over the bank bailouts, but others have been disturbed by the sudden marginalization of their political interests after eight (or maybe 28) years of, if not dominance, receipt of elaborate lip service.  And the nomination of McCain, after he was excoriated by the Religious Right, may have been as great a shock as the election of someone not an old White man to the presidency.

Thank’ee kindly, Balkas! I suspect we’re going to be in for a hard time as a people in the coming years; the Elites won’t give up without a knock-down drag-out fight—and they have the guns, after all, even if most of them don’t know which end goes “BANG”, having never fired one in their lives. (“Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun”, as Mao said.) But they’ll have one major disadvantage, as I see it—they stand for the dying Past, the poisonous Status Quo; and standing for the Past is like building a house on sand (Matthew 7:26-27).

The right-wing, fascist-inclined tea partiers are the usual suspects one finds in these types of movements, the petite bourgeoisie caught between big capital and the working class—and fearing themselves being pushed downward into the working class. Things done to help the working class can actually be seen by the petite bourgeoisie as a threat (unionization, universal health care, etc.). Their fear makes the petite bourgeoisie a particularly nasty class.

I took a break from the site hoping that when I came
back there would be no mindless Washington Post
propaganda. Oh well! At least the site has some actual
truth tellers like Hedges. In complete honesty I have
yet to read a single article by this marionette Dionne
that merited even a speck of my bandwidth. Sad. Money
talks, though, and I guess Truthdig can be cut some
slack for having to pay the bills somehow.

Paul_GA,
I agree! It is an old system; ab 8k yrs-old system. It is basicly inegalitarian; thus, iniquitous.
I also agree with u that that such iniquitous societies wld evanesce.
Some countries are on their way to changing iniquitous societies into much more egalitarian ones; hopefully, end the process with an idyllicly-structured society that wld not only be democratic but also ruled by timocrats.

That is to say, people who wld rule us for honor of it and with a living wage like the rest of us. thanks for ur comment. Bozh

First, Balkas, the old system needs to crash—give it time, and it’ll happen; it just won’t happen soon enough. But it won’t be my doing, to quote Saruman; I merely foretell.

forget ab dems and repubs! Count, instead warships, planes, wmd pieces,etc. Think of cia, fbi, privately owned-run ‘private’ and regular armies and just find out who runs or owns all that.
I think that the same people own ab 98% of the country.
In US, if u own the place u also run it! Of course, u’l never find out who actually owns-runs things in US.
That’s the buty of US system; it is self-sealed. How ab unsealing it or getting a new improved one? tnx

Populist outrage is about Wall Street not only crashing our economy Again- but handing US the Tab.
Its about Multinationals corps who dictate legislation and foreign policy.
It’s about Defense contractors and private mercenaries controlling the DoD.
It’s about politicians willing to sell their vote to the highest Donor (bidder).
Private corps have now been granted full citizenship,without the burden of personal responsibility or accountability. Revoke the priviledge of immunity for personal liability (civil & criminal)among top management. 
What all Americans should be mounting a Populist front for is Campaign finance Reform. No Birth Certificate or Naturalization card- No Donations to any political candidate. Collect signatures- but no money or gifts.
Lets be honest all these groups from MoveOn to Freedom Works are selling you a useless ‘service’. “Join us by donating a few bucks and we’ll be your voice in DC”.
I already have that, a few infact.
And getting in touch with them is a phone call or E-mail away.
These groups are nothing more than middlemen profitting off a exchange that is already Free.
Heres the Fact-
We hand commerce and a viable national economy long before Wall Street or the Federal Reserve.
We won monumental wars long before Halliburton or Blackwater.
We had Public Servants long before Paid Representatives or Senators, who served as a civic duty for their fellow countrymen. What do Jurors get paid a day?
And we had Free News long before paying a kings ransom for Cable propaganda. “Just the Facts Ma’am”.

See Justin Raimondo’s newest column at Antiwar.com for an opposing view—“Populism, Left and Right”:
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/04/18/populism-left-and-right

Dionne here behaves like a true, pathetic elitist. What Dionne should be asking is why our side, the Left, is not working hard to mobilize the working class instead of just marching in step with everything dictated by Obama and his corporate handlers. We are a bigger threat to ourselves if we simply laugh off right-wing populism and radicalism, as other societies have done in the past to disastrous results.