Government workers

Women (unless they are supporting patriarchy)

Blacks (AfricanAmericans as well as African and Caribbean immigrants)

Latinos (especially those who are not Cuban-American anti-Fidelistias)

Asians and Asian-Pacific Islanders

Native Americans

LBGT’s (Log Cabin Republicans beware)

Union members

Immigrants (documented and undocumented, who are visibly non-white)

Jews

Muslims

Sikhs and Hindus (because from a hater's perspective they are no different from Muslims)

Atheists

The elderly

The disabled

Children in Head Start

Moms, infants and children on WIC

People with pre-existing health conditions

People who need food and food stamps (America's hungry)

People living from paycheck to paycheck

Farmers

Scientists

Active duty military, vets and their families

People who believe in climate change

People who believe in evolution

Environmentalists

People whose income depends on tourism to national parks

Teachers/educators

Librarians and students (book bannings are being called for)

The media (unless it is FAUX-news or hate radio personalities)

Democrats—liberal, centrist or conservative

The incarcerated (all two million of them) and correction officers

In other words—the vast majority of folks in the U.S seem to fall into some group Teapublicans are taking out their ire upon.

It’s amazing to me when I add up the numbers.



My first face-to-face encounter with Teapublicans was back in 2010, in my neighboring town of Kingston, New York, which I wrote about in a piece called " Social Justice is Tyranny ," the title taken from one of the many signs held up by people with hate-filled faces.

Trying to talk to them was futile. They were opposed to paying taxes, yet wanted the government to keep its dirty hands off their Medicare. They had been fed on a steady diet of anti-government sentiment and conspiracy theories from Faux News. Their heroes are the Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaughs of the world.

I had a strong feeling then that we were going to be in trouble as a nation if these people, and people like them, were going to elect representatives who held their views. Yes, they didn't win the presidency (twice), but their elected cabal in Congress could care less. They don't recognize him as legitimate.

These people are not rich. They depend on government services. Yet their hate, deeply rooted in fear, keeps them from voting in their own interest.

Democracy Corps' "Republican Party Project" has recently issued a report from focus groups conducted with the three main factions that currently comprise a majority of the Republican Party, which helps to illuminate the forces behind the Teapublican shutdown:



Evangelicals. Social issues are central for Evangelicals and they feel a deep sense of cultural and political loss. They believe their towns, communities, and schools are suffering from a deep “culture rot” that has invaded from the outside. The central focus here is homosexuality, but also the decline of homogenous small towns. They like the Tea Party because they stand up to the Democrats. Tea Party. Big government, Obama, the loss of liberty, and decline of responsibility are central to the Tea Party worldview. Obama’s America is an unmitigated evil based on big government, regulations, and dependency. They are not focused on social issues at all. They like the Tea Party because it is getting “back to basics” and believe it has the potential to reshape the GOP. Moderates. Moderates are deeply concerned with the direction of the country and believe Obama has taken it down the wrong path economically. They are centrally focused on market-based economics, small government, and eliminating waste and inefficiency. They are largely open to progressive social policies, including on gay marriage and immigration. They disdain the Tea Party and have a hard time taking Fox News seriously.

And while few explicitly talk about Obama in racial terms, the base supporters are very conscious of being white in a country with growing minorities. Their party is losing to a Democratic Party of big government whose goal is to expand programs that mainly benefit minorities. Race remains very much alive in the politics of the Republican Party.

In the analysis of the focus group results (PDF) they point out:The first two groups are holding any elected moderate Republicans (a minority) hostage, just as they hold all of us hostage to their obsessions, paranoia, and hate.

The most important thing we each can do is fight this in every district currently controlled by Teapublicans.

MoveOn/PPP has identified seats that could be vulnerable:



Twenty-four new surveys in GOP-held House districts, commissioned by MoveOn.org and conducted in the wake of the government shutdown, make clear that Republicans could easily lose control of the House if the next election were held today. The surveys challenge conventional wisdom that gerrymandering has put the House out of reach for Democrats and indicate the shutdown has significant electoral implications.

Yes, 2014 elections are a year away.

We have to put in the footwork now, registering new voters, fighting voter disenfranchisement efforts and making plans to get voters to the polls.