Can the Liberals Create a Tea Party?
In politics, power and perception are everything. The Tea Party movement of the last few years has certainly garnered the attention of elected officials and politicos by proving they are a source to be reckoned with after huge wins in the 2010 elections. Many new members in Congress and state legislatures owe their political success to the movement.
While today’s Tea Party leans to the right and has similar characteristics to the libertarian movement, it finds its roots in the Republican Party. The question is, can liberals start their own Tea Party movement and will the Democratic Party encourage their formation?
Van Jones thinks the answer is yes.
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Jones, a former White House environmental official wants to energize the liberal base by starting “The American Dream Movement.”
“We think we can do what the Tea Party did,” Jones said in an interview with The Fix. “They stepped forward under a common banner, and everybody took them seriously. Polls suggest there are more people out there who have a different view of the economy, but who have not stepped forward yet under a common banner.”
Jones’ “Dream” initiative launched Thursday night with a rally in New York City. MoveOn.org, a liberal advocacy group primarily funded by billionaire George Solos, helped sponsor the rally.
What is known today as the “Tea Party movement,” began in August of 2008. Rick Santelli first mentioned the phrase “Tea Party” on CNBC in February of 2009. Various umbrella groups held a series of rallies throughout the country protesting increased taxes and spending – issues important to fiscal conservatives.
Jones’ strategy is a bit different. After his initial rally, he plans to hold house meetings around the country, asking for input and ideas and hoping these groups will formally organize. He envisions the group being comprised of seniors who are opposed to cuts, veterans and disenfranchised home owners who cannot afford their house payments.
But Jones is not without controversy himself.
In September of 2009, Jones resigned his White House position after a simmering controversy over past statements and activism drew the fire of Republican leaders.
Then White House spokesman Robert Gibbs explained Jones’ resignation on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” saying, “Van Jones decided the president’s agenda was bigger than any one individual.” Gibbs went on the say the president did not endorse Jones’ past statements and actions, “but he thanks him for his service.”
Another White House official speaking anonymously, told The Washington Post that Jones was a relatively “low ranking” official whose position did not require Senate confirmation. It appears Jones’ controversial past caught the administration off-guard.
“He was not as thoroughly vetted as other administration officials,” the official said. “It’s fair to say there were unknowns.”
Jones’ one-time involvement in a San Francisco area group, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), which was known to have Marxist leanings, had become a huge issue. Additionally, his support on behalf of Mumia-Abu-Jamal, a death-row inmate convicted of shooting a Philadelphia police officer in 1981, was starting to present another set of problems for the Obama administration.
The success of Jones and the “Dream” movement will largely hinge on voter frustration with Republicans and Tea Party calls for cuts to entitlement spending and efforts to end union collective bargaining. So far, these issues have seen success and been passed into law in a number of states with new Republican majorities.
The question everyone will want to see answered is can the “American Dream Movement” gain the momentum and success the Tea Party has seen over the last three years?
That answer to that question will be clear after the November elections in 2012.
