Today, I listened to a segment on National Public Radio's (NPR) “Talk Of The Nation,” hosted by Neal Conan.
The topic: Tea Party To Hold Its First National Convention.
Conan's guests were Mark Skoda, the founder of the Memphis Tea Party, and Ron Elving, NPR's senior Washington editor.
Mr. Skoda was the first guest, and after giving a brief rundown of his own “conservative Republican” background, he trotted out “the politicians aren't listening to the people!” meme.
Skoda went on to say that the Tea Party (while not a “party per se”) differed from the two major political parties because they want to “hold both parties accountable for fiscal responsibility,” etc. etc. etc., of course very quickly glossing over the fact that the it was his pals, the “conservative” Republicans, under the leadership of “conservative” George W. Bush, that spent us into the hole we're in today.
Skoda was followed by Mr. Elving, who waxed eloquent about How Very Very Important™ the Tea Party Movement is, and for fun, Elving threw in a few derogatory innuendos about the Tea Party anger against “the establishment” and “the elite” (smart people = elitists = bad).
Long story short: The segment was a half-hour commercial for the “we're mad as hell, and we're not gonna take it anymore” Tea Baggers.
Obviously pre-screened, there wasn't a single caller who was not part of the Tea Party movement.
Yeah, I know the show was about their “convention,” but what the hell? Not one person who might have a differing view was allowed to participate.
Neil Conan did not once ask a caller if they had a suggestion, idea, or proposal.
Not ONCE.
I'm guessing that it's because if he's nothing else, Neal Conan is always polite. If he'd asked for a specific, the callers would have sounded like even bigger idiots.
One of the callers DID catch my attention: “Mike” from Wausau IN, a Tea Party member who said “we're tired of not being listened to."
There you have it. That's it. That's pretty much the Tea Party's platform, in a nutshell. "We're mad 'as hell cause no one's listening!"
Their solution to that problem? Shout real loud. Swarm town hall meetings and shout at your elected representatives. Let loudness drown out logic and lucidity.
Civility is for pussies!
Here's a suggestion for you, Mike in Wausau:
Come up with something that's worth listening to.
Stop going to town hall meetings and screaming incoherently at people.
Maybe learn to spell, even.
To Neal Conan and NPR:
I'm disappointed.
Your network was the last bastion of responsible journalism out there, and you've now become like the rest of the mainstream media, encouraging and cheering on stupidity from all walks of life.
Dang. Why didn't you have the “convention's” keynote speaker, Sarah Palin on air to talk? Her incoherent word salad of “common-sense solutions, you betcha” would have capped the half hour off perfectly.
Oh, wait.
You would have had to clear that with Fox News, and Mara Liasson wouldn't want you cutting in on her action... since she still works for both NPR and Fox, doesn't she?
