On the drive home from the gym tonight, I turned on the radio. Much to my dismay it was still on the station that carries the broadcasts of my beloved Phils -- The Big Talker 1210. During the season, I'd often come out to the car in the morning and be receive a little shock therapy from the rantings of Glen Beck (is that dude nuts or what?) or the shilling of Dom Diorgano. One of these days we need to get the Phils onto more wholesome broadcast turf, but that's for another day.
I digress, (this is a diary about Alice . . .) tonight I turned on the radio and a voice I rarely hear (not being on the morning after Phils games) was on: Chris Stigall. Chris has beautiful pipes -- a deep tenor -- remeniscent of a young, not so fat, not so vocally over_the_top Rush.
So I listen for a call or two and the first caller -- a young man, intuitively smart but not smoothly spoken -- begins by stating his view that the federal reserve has caused the nations financial woes.
Stigal listens politiely for a monent a few: uh huhs thrown in -- and then he interupts to say "well I agree it is people like Tim Geitner and the other Obama folks" who are causing these problems.
The caller goes on to say: you know I am not an Obama guy but it is a lot deeper than that -- it goes through many administrations and Obama couldn't have gotten us in this mess by himself. IF ONLY THE PEOPLE AT THE OCCUPY RALLIES COULD REALIZE WHAT THE FED IS DOING TO US ALL -- THEY ARE SO CLOSE -- you kknow which side I am on BUT THESE PEOPLE (#OWS) ARE TRYING TO FIX THE COUNTRY TOO.
Stigal then quickly cut the guy off and steered away to BS attacks on the #OWS folks not having jobs and the like.
Next caller -- same thing: general sympathy for the #OWS movement. Criticisms of aspects of it -- absolutely (but I have those too) but it resonates. Stigal: same response: spin off as quickly as possible.
My point is simply this: from day one, I saw the tea party constituency as a populist movement that gravitated to the tea party message in large part because of a lack of leadership on the left. Did the tea party leadership exploit them -- of course. But what was true then is true now: the vast majority of americans are being screwed by the social contract and they are not being represented by either party.
Corporate money in politics is killing us all. The powers behind the corruption (on both sides) are doing everything in their power to keep us devided.
Treat the masses of the tea party as your neighbors -- that is who and what they are.
Make campaign finance reform your #1 priority.
This is a good and honorable fight -- don't forget that. It allows you to be generous and patient -- to listen and respond.
Better days are ahead.