Things have come to a pretty pass
Our romance is growing flat,
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that,
Goodness knows what the end will be
Oh I don’t know where I’m at
It looks as if we two will never be one
Something must be done
(from Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off by George & Ira Gershwin)
If the Tea Party is a conservative element seeking to pull the Repubs (more) to the right, what’s your guess as to the role the Coffee Party wants to play? Is it MoveOn in disguise? Maybe…. Whatever it is, the notion of rallying people around an agenda of civil discourse makes me a little wary, not because I think screaming and yelling is a productive mode of social dialogue, but because it seems to me it’s more like using a silver spoon where a backhoe would do just as well. Is it really ok to destroy the country with a smile on your face and a “so sorry” on your lips?
This latest “grassroots” version of two-partyism isn’t the solution to what ails us. We need innovative solutions to very serious problems we’re facing, and those solutions are not coming from the two major parties, no matter how polite — or nasty — they may be. You can’t turn a corrupt partisan special-interest driven political culture into something it’s not, no matter how carefully you chose your words. That’s why 40% of the American people are independent. Politely or rowdily, we’re leaving. Here’s to an irreverent independent movement for all voices who want to help move the country forward.
-NH
TEA PARTY/ COFFEE PARTY
Tea Party Avoids Divisive Social Issues (By KATE ZERNIKE, NY Times)
Move over tea party, here comes coffee (By BRIAN MCNEILL, Charlottesville VA Daily Progress) “The tea party is fine, except they’re kind of radical about stuff,” Dick Wilz, a Louisa resident, said at the Barracks Road Shopping Center coffee shop. “This is about civility.”
Coffee Party; grass roots movement brewing nationwide (KTNV Las Vegas) “Their agenda is to restore respect, accessibility and civility to the process. It’s not demean or put fear,” said Sandra Myer, a Coffee Party follower.
Coffee or tea? Naples group holds first meeting for political dialogue (By CATHERINE HOWDEN, Naples News) In addition to his involvement with the Coffee Party, Burkett plans to run for the U.S. Senate this year as a “strategic” Democrat who describes himself as a “conservative independent hawk.”
‘Coffee party’ movement: Not far from the ‘tea party’ message? – The coffee party movement held its political kickoff Saturday at 370 locations across the US. At one Georgia meeting, the message didn’t seem that different from the rival ‘tea party’ message. (By Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor) While asserting to be independent, coffee party activists tend to back President Obama and want “obstructionists” in Congress and the media to get out of his way. To attendees like Mr. Landers, the tea party, though demanding a return to American representative ideals, seems co-opted by social conservatives such as Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and even Ralph Reed (though tea-partyers see themselves as stressing fiscal and size-of-government issues). NOTE: Salit’s Opinion: Tea party activists: Don’t confuse them with independents is linked as a related article here
Sacramentans plan political ‘coffee party’ (By Anna Tong, Sac Bee) Castro, a registered independent voter, said he will encourage people at today’s gathering to discuss politics in a respectful manner. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to mobilize like the tea party has. “I would like to see us develop a platform based on issues and not on any agenda that would be categorized as left or right,” Castro said. “I would also like to see us possibly support candidates.”
More independent talk at The Hankster
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March 15th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
For one, Nancy… you should have done better homework before you cast doubt on something like this. I went to the local Coffee Party meeting, saw the documents the founders send to organizers, and have seen reports from many of the 390 or so meetings around the country… and your concerns are mirrored in partisans who are already spinning what this movement is about, rather than reality. This is sad.
Did you even GO to a Coffee Party meeting, or are you just jealous because in the span of less than two months, this organization appears to be on track to have more independents in their ranks than any other independent organization in the country… perhaps all of them combined if this momentum continues.
Rather than cast doubt on something that mirrors many of the hopes and dreams of the independent organizations we both keep track of, you should be encouraging as many independents as possible to get involved, so the organization doesn’t get taken over by those who would like to see it become a left wing version of the Tea Party.
This article is a sad mirror of so many other articles I’ve read over the years talking about US… independents.
This movement has legs. This is a huge opportunity for independents. Lets take it.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Seems like a lame attempt at an astroturfed facsimile of the tea party to me, with appropriately second-tier libations.
I’m surprised at Solomon’s claim to be an independent. From his posting last year, he seemed quite robustly behind the Democratic train.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
This is deliciously moronic. The myth of the platonic, non-partisan solution rolls on…
March 15th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Solomon — I hope you’re right!
March 15th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
We interrupt this post for an OFF TOPIC question:
Any interest in a Donklephant March Madness Bracket Group?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Independent Scrum.
March 16th, 2010 at 12:14 am
From the get-go, “coffee party” smacks of sickly me-tooism. It reeks of co-opting independents. “Independents have to get involved so that things don’t veer too left” just sounds like a clever come-on to me. But I suspect that efforts to rein in independents will meet the same amount of success as the average cat-herder experiences.
Now, there’s no need to be wary of civil discourse itself. But to be wary of folks promising they can deliver it is just good sense. When it comes from folks towards the left, my first worry is speech policing. After that, there’s the usual problem of folks whose expectation of civility actually derives only from a sense that every should be nice and just agree with them.
I really would like to see more civil discourse, but IMo this has as much to do with good faith communication as it has to do being polite and using nice words. When it comes to good faith communication, people who get offended easily are part of the problem. For civil discourse to actually work on important issues America faces, we have to practice managing and resolving conflicts. Not avoiding conflict.
Avoiding conflict is not an option. Instead we have to become comfortable with tolerating and exploring our conflicts and developing that aforementioned good faith. There’s way more to it than “be nice.” And I doubt most folks ever really practice handling conflict in productive ways.
To have productive civil discourse between conflicting groups, you have to foster one thing in particular from which all else flows: genuine mutual respect.
Now, notice how the coffee party is crafted at its essence as the anti-tea-party. They’re a rejection of the tea party. Does the coffee party hold any promise of being genuinely respectful of any of the conservative ideals of some factions of the tea party? Because if they really want productive civil discourse, that’s exactly where they’d need to start.
March 16th, 2010 at 12:21 am
“Seems like a lame attempt at an astroturfed facsimile of the tea party to me, with appropriately second-tier libations.”
You don’t seem to understand what astroturfing is… its when you fake grassroots by paying for it. Now, I’ve seen the stuff they sent to event coordinators… these aren’t pros. They’re somewhat disorganized, and are pretty clearly unprepared for the tidal wave of support that is surging towards them. If they have tons of money, they’re certainly not showing it.
So what exactly do you mean by astroturfing, if not the above definition, which is what I thought it meant?
“I’m surprised at Solomon’s claim to be an independent. From his posting last year, he seemed quite robustly behind the Democratic train.”
You’re surprised that… hahaha… wait, so lemme get this straight. You think you can pigeonhole my place on your one dimensional political spectrum (which is absurd in the first place) because of some blogs you dug up that I wrote and commented on?
I hear a lot of that from conservatives, and the exact opposite from liberals. I don’t fit into either stereotype. If you think I’m some lefty, ask me about my views on guns, the deficit, tort reform, Afghanistan and teachers unions… among others.
Can’t stand any major candidate running for office in Nebraska this year… from either party. I’m about as vigilant as could be for some partisan organization, candidate or contingent hijacking this groundswell before it solidifies itself as a force that isn’t about one side or the other. If it devolves into that, I’ll be the first one to drop out and say so… and probably start something in the middle in response, or join in if someone else does.
March 16th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Solomon Kleinsmith Says:
Indeed, although I would clarify “pay for” with the caveat that nonmonetary consideration is also acceptable within the definition. Let me reiterate: it seems like a lame attempt at an astroturfed facsimile of the tea party. And common sense corroborates that impression: there is no market for this product. The customer base that might buy coffee party would already have bought tea party.
You bet. Most people’s political views are far less idiosyncratic than they fondly imagine. I have a number of heterodox views in GOP circles, but I can still be pigeonholed quite fairly in that party. We are not precious snowflakes. That’s a conceit, typically a youthful one, albeit that we seem to have developed into a nation of Peter Pans.
Ooh, so you’re for the war in Afghanistan (so is Obama), or you’re worried about the deficit (so is Feingold). So what? If you think I’m some righty, ask me about my views on judicial elections. Ooh, I don’t support them—how can I possibly be a Republican! Yeesh. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and a handful of heterodox positions doesn’t change the basic tenor of someone’s political position.
What do you think an election is? That’s when the discussions collapse into a single moment of choice, solidifying into a choice that is for one side… Or the other. You seem to be asking for something nonsensical: a political party that transcends politics.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
More on the coffee party sham.
March 21st, 2011 at 6:16 pm
e for the war in Afghanistan (so is Obama), or you’re worried about the deficit (so is Feingold). So what? If you think I’m some righty, ask me about my views on judicial elections. Ooh, I don’t support them—how can I possibly be a Republican! Yeesh. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and a handful of heterodox positions doesn’t change the basic tenor of someone’s political position.