Tea Party Takes Over the Maine GOP
One of the continuing stories/themes these days is just what effect, short-term and long-term, the Tea Party movement will have on American politics in general, and the Republican Party specifically. Mock it all you want (please, mock it…it’s fun!), but the Tea Party is a real force right now. For proof, look no farther (further?) than the great state of Maine. I don’t mean to needle the Pine Tree State, but what’s going on with their Republican Party? Monday night, the Maine Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to adopt their new platform:
An overwhelming majority of delegates to the Maine Republican convention tonight voted to scrap the the proposed party platform and replace it with a document created by a group of Tea Party activists.
The official platform for the Republican Party of Maine is now a mix of right-wing fringe policies, libertarian buzzwords and outright conspiracy theories.
The document calls for the elimination of the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve, demands an investigation of “collusion between government and industry in the global warming myth,” suggests the adoption of “Austrian Economics,” declares that “‘Freedom of Religion’ does not mean ‘freedom from religion'” (which I guess makes atheism illegal), insists that “healthcare is not a right,” calls for the abrogation of the “UN Treaty on Rights of the Child” and the “Law Of The Sea Treaty” and declares that we must resist “efforts to create a one world government.”
If you want to read the whole thing in all its Teapublican goodness, the link is here. I really do suggest that you read it — it’s quite amusing. The bolded section is not at all an exaggeration, either. It truly is just a mishmash of fringe ideas, paranoid rantings, and meaningless buzzwords. In other words, exactly what you would expect from a Tea Party document. However, this Tea Party document is now the official platform of the Republican Party of Maine.
This wouldn’t surprise me as much if we were talking about Virginia, Texas, Georgia, or any of the other states of the Confederatea. But Maine is a state where Democrats have a solid majority, not to mention being the home of two of the most (only?) moderate Republicans in the Senate. As Jonathan Chait points out, “Obviously it would be pure suicide for Maine Republicans to challenge Snowe in a primary in 2012. Are they that crazy? I doubt it, but at this point nothing can be ruled out.” Indeed. I think “at this point nothing can be ruled out” is becoming the new GOP motto.
Tags: Maine, Republican Party, Tea Party
“I don’t mean to needle the Pine Tree State”
so i haven’t gotten to read the whole post, scott….. but THAT is the best pun i have ever seen. Bravo.
Yay! The Maine GOP wants to outlaw atheism, fight black helicopters and bring back child labor.
The strangest part about this is that the Republicans seem to have no idea thier becoming so radically conservative that they’ll alienate independents as well as moderate Republicans(yes, they still exist).
It is very tempting to believe that the Republicans are running off a cliff, but then I remember this country elected George W. Bush to a second term. A lot of our fellow citizens like this stuff.
Liberals are and always have been the minority here in the U.S. We cannot become complacent or let down even a tiny bit. Thanks to all the DL contributors for keeping up the good fight.
Here is why we can’t let up. Science has produced proof that these teabagger idiots are too stupid to ever wise up and grasp reality.
Confident dumb people
DAVID PESCOVITZ AT 1:38 PM WED • 37 COMMENTS
Have you ever noticed how incompetent people are often incredibly confident? Meanwhile, highly-skilled folks underestimate their ability to perform. That’s called the Dunning-Kruger Effect named for Justin Kruger and David Dunning of Cornell University who published their study of the cognitive bias in a 1999 scientific paper. ABC Radio National’s The Science Show recently explored the Dunning-Kruger Effect. According to the scientists, “Overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it.” ABC Radio National’s The Science Show recently explored the Dunning-Kruger Effect:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1995. A local man, McArthur Wheeler, walks into two banks in the middle of the day and robs them both at gunpoint. Making away with the cash, he is arrested later that evening. Back at the station police sit him down and show him footage from the banks’ security cameras. Wheeler can’t believe it, the cameras had somehow seen through his disguise. He was seen mumbling to himself, ‘But I wore the juice.’ His was no ordinary disguise; no balaclava, mask or elaborate makeup, just lemon juice, liberally applied to the face. He was certain that the squirt of citrus would render him invisible to security cameras.
Charles Darwin once said, ‘Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than knowledge,’ and Dunning and Kruger seem to have proven this point. In light of this, it suddenly becomes clear why public debate can be so excruciating. Debates on climate change, the age of the Earth or intelligent design are perfect real-life examples of the Dunning-Kruger effect. It beautifully explains the utter confidence of those who, with no expertise, remain stubborn in their views regardless of overwhelming evidence. It makes you want to shake them by the collar and scream about how stupid they are. But evidence shows that’s not the best strategy.
“The Dunning-Kruger effect” (ABC Radio National)
“The research paper that first documented the Dunning-Kruger effect”
These Maine republicans vandalized amiddle school classroom that they were caucusing in because that said it contained anti-American propaganda. The offensive items? A student poster dealing with the labor movement and some copies of the Constitution donated to the schoolby the ACLU.