Analysis: Mr. Balson takes his tea
Dave Balson
Opinion Editor
The strangest thing about the Northern Illinois Patriot’s April Meetup was that its attendees were sincerely upset and angry over things that just aren’t true.
In every speech and nearly every interview, people expressed deep concerns that the Obama administration had imposed debilitating tax increases.
In fact, the very stimulus bill tea partiers revile contained tax cuts for 95 percent of working families. Most people said that as middle-class workers, they couldn’t afford more taxes. Yet 70 percent of those tax cuts went to the middle 60 percent of American workers.
The three most common words emblazoned on shirts, stickers and fliers at tea parties across the country are, “Taxed Enough Already.” It is the motto and mantra of the movement. If taxes are a central grievance of the Tea Party, why did the movement flourish after the vast majority of its members received tax cuts?
Another big concern at the tea party was that the Obama administration was eagerly working to deprive Americans of their right to keep and bear arms. This is a widely held belief among tea partiers and conservatives throughout the nation. The gun and ammunition industry is still enjoying the boom in sales sparked by Obama’s election.
In fact, the president has shown no desire to fight for stricter gun control. The only gun-related laws passed in his presidency have been pro-gun rights.
Thanks to two laws signed by the president, gun-toting tea partiers can now tote their guns into national parks and onto Amtrak trains. Meanwhile, the gun control advocacy group, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave Obama an “F” on each of its issues.
Why were so many of the people at the meeting convinced that the president is coming to take their guns?
Some of the objections shared by the tea partiers are familiar conservative sentiments, particularly anger toward illegal immigrants and welfare recipients. But those are mostly philosophical or cultural positions, not directly related to actual events or policies occurring in the last 15 months.
The people at the meeting were outraged over things they believed were absolute fact. Public education is government indoctrination. The government is going to ration health care via death panels. Taxation is un-American. Barack Obama is a foreign-born socialist. The list goes on.
The tea partiers were not uninformed—surely they pay more attention to politics than the majority of Americans. They were well-misinformed.
The conspiracies, even the words and phrases used to describe them, sounded familiar. I asked each person I interviewed where they had heard about, say, the future of death panels or the impending communist takeover of Washington. Each one said Fox News, Glenn Beck in particular. I also asked where they went for news and information on current events. Again, Fox News, Glenn Beck in particular.
Beck is the hero of the Tea Party. The Northern Illinois Patriots say on their Web site, “We stand for the principles and values espoused by the National 9/12 Project.” The 9/12 Project is Beck’s ultra-right vision for America. Through his conspiracy-laden, terror-inducing TV show, Beck has created his own pernicious brand of entertainment.
These were good people. They believe their country is in trouble, that America is hurtling toward self-destruction, and they believe it is their duty to fight for their country’s future. They were, in some sense, incredibly patriotic.
Night after night, most of the tea partiers turn on Fox News believing that makes them well-informed citizens. But they aren’t getting news, or facts, or analysis from a journalist. They are getting a compelling story from a talented storyteller.
The couple I talked to, Louise and Kevin Stolarik, love Beck’s TV show because they believe he gives the facts to them straight.
“He digs into everything and it’s just amazing, the facts that he comes up with,” Louise said. She meant it as a compliment.
After explaining that communism was “taking root” in America, Kevin said he gets most of his news from Beck.
“Hopefully I’m getting well-informed,” he said.
Of course, Beck isn’t the only one misinforming the masses. Many pundits and politicians live to tell lies to lots of people. Sarah Palin brought the “death panel” myth to the national stage. Palin was also very popular with the tea partiers.
Beck makes a lot of money for Fox News and takes home a hefty paycheck. ABC News reported April 13 that Palin has made around $12 million since she quit being governor of Alaska.
There is a word for those who make money by deceiving people, by appealing to their emotions to convince them of things that aren’t true and aren’t in their best interest. We call them conmen.
Opinion Editor
The strangest thing about the Northern Illinois Patriot’s April Meetup was that its attendees were sincerely upset and angry over things that just aren’t true.
In every speech and nearly every interview, people expressed deep concerns that the Obama administration had imposed debilitating tax increases.
In fact, the very stimulus bill tea partiers revile contained tax cuts for 95 percent of working families. Most people said that as middle-class workers, they couldn’t afford more taxes. Yet 70 percent of those tax cuts went to the middle 60 percent of American workers.
The three most common words emblazoned on shirts, stickers and fliers at tea parties across the country are, “Taxed Enough Already.” It is the motto and mantra of the movement. If taxes are a central grievance of the Tea Party, why did the movement flourish after the vast majority of its members received tax cuts?
Another big concern at the tea party was that the Obama administration was eagerly working to deprive Americans of their right to keep and bear arms. This is a widely held belief among tea partiers and conservatives throughout the nation. The gun and ammunition industry is still enjoying the boom in sales sparked by Obama’s election.
In fact, the president has shown no desire to fight for stricter gun control. The only gun-related laws passed in his presidency have been pro-gun rights.
Thanks to two laws signed by the president, gun-toting tea partiers can now tote their guns into national parks and onto Amtrak trains. Meanwhile, the gun control advocacy group, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave Obama an “F” on each of its issues.
Why were so many of the people at the meeting convinced that the president is coming to take their guns?
Some of the objections shared by the tea partiers are familiar conservative sentiments, particularly anger toward illegal immigrants and welfare recipients. But those are mostly philosophical or cultural positions, not directly related to actual events or policies occurring in the last 15 months.
The people at the meeting were outraged over things they believed were absolute fact. Public education is government indoctrination. The government is going to ration health care via death panels. Taxation is un-American. Barack Obama is a foreign-born socialist. The list goes on.
The tea partiers were not uninformed—surely they pay more attention to politics than the majority of Americans. They were well-misinformed.
The conspiracies, even the words and phrases used to describe them, sounded familiar. I asked each person I interviewed where they had heard about, say, the future of death panels or the impending communist takeover of Washington. Each one said Fox News, Glenn Beck in particular. I also asked where they went for news and information on current events. Again, Fox News, Glenn Beck in particular.
Beck is the hero of the Tea Party. The Northern Illinois Patriots say on their Web site, “We stand for the principles and values espoused by the National 9/12 Project.” The 9/12 Project is Beck’s ultra-right vision for America. Through his conspiracy-laden, terror-inducing TV show, Beck has created his own pernicious brand of entertainment.
These were good people. They believe their country is in trouble, that America is hurtling toward self-destruction, and they believe it is their duty to fight for their country’s future. They were, in some sense, incredibly patriotic.
Night after night, most of the tea partiers turn on Fox News believing that makes them well-informed citizens. But they aren’t getting news, or facts, or analysis from a journalist. They are getting a compelling story from a talented storyteller.
The couple I talked to, Louise and Kevin Stolarik, love Beck’s TV show because they believe he gives the facts to them straight.
“He digs into everything and it’s just amazing, the facts that he comes up with,” Louise said. She meant it as a compliment.
After explaining that communism was “taking root” in America, Kevin said he gets most of his news from Beck.
“Hopefully I’m getting well-informed,” he said.
Of course, Beck isn’t the only one misinforming the masses. Many pundits and politicians live to tell lies to lots of people. Sarah Palin brought the “death panel” myth to the national stage. Palin was also very popular with the tea partiers.
Beck makes a lot of money for Fox News and takes home a hefty paycheck. ABC News reported April 13 that Palin has made around $12 million since she quit being governor of Alaska.
There is a word for those who make money by deceiving people, by appealing to their emotions to convince them of things that aren’t true and aren’t in their best interest. We call them conmen.
Very well said, Mr. Balson. Very well said.
Thank God for decent journalists like yourself. It brings unspoken amounts misery to my life to know that people actually take fox news, especially that swine Glen Beck, seriously. He and his network top even Nancy Grace when it comes to the biggest farce in American media. Reading this your article was a wonderful thing after reading the report of the tragic events in the previous one. thank you sir.