A movement born of identity politics (at least in part) must mature philosophically if it wishes to become serious in its limited-government desires. Beck’s rally actually caused me to question the Tea Party’s seriousness. The further embrace of identity politics — which is exactly what Beck’s rally was — is a step in the wrong direction precisely because it’s a throwback to the same old partisanship that has historically comforted conservatives while government continues to grow. This writer has never had a problem with an influential pundit like Beck being all over the place politically so long as he always generally ended up in the right place — but unfortunately, with his “Restoring Honor” rally, Glenn Beck was closer to taking the Tea Party back to the George W. Bush years than any constitutional revival.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
God’s Tea Party
A movement born of identity politics (at least in part) must mature philosophically if it wishes to become serious in its limited-government desires. Beck’s rally actually caused me to question the Tea Party’s seriousness. The further embrace of identity politics — which is exactly what Beck’s rally was — is a step in the wrong direction precisely because it’s a throwback to the same old partisanship that has historically comforted conservatives while government continues to grow. This writer has never had a problem with an influential pundit like Beck being all over the place politically so long as he always generally ended up in the right place — but unfortunately, with his “Restoring Honor” rally, Glenn Beck was closer to taking the Tea Party back to the George W. Bush years than any constitutional revival.
