Not Their Cup of Tea
Walter Rodgers suggests the vocalized concerns of tea partiers about big government mask a fear among aging, white Americans of their own diminishing political power.
“The tea party movement’s issues are somewhat more complex than 30-second TV news clips suggest,” writes Walter Rodgers, who suggests the vocalized concerns of tea partiers about big government mask a fear among aging, white Americans of their own diminishing political power. “Today’s tea party may represent the loud wing of the so-called silent majority that twice elected Republican Richard Nixon at a time when liberals were ascendant,” writes Rodgers. “If Obama doesn’t address the anxieties of Middle America—from taxes to immigration—he may find that the rest of the silent majority is shouting by Election Day.”
