Liberals & Libertarians

from one of my favorite sources (the author, not the paper!):

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What do the tea partiers really want? The title of a recent book by two of the movement's leaders offers an answer: "Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto." The authors, Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe, write that "We just want to be free. Free to lead our lives as we please, so long as we do not infringe on the same freedom of others."

This claim should cause liberals to do a double-take. Isn't it straight out of John Stuart Mill, the patron saint of liberalism? Last year my colleagues and I placed a nearly identical statement on our research site, YourMorals.org: "Everyone should be free to do as they choose, so long as they don't infringe upon the equal freedom of others." Responses from 3,600 Americans showed that self-described libertarians agreed with the statement most strongly, but liberals were right behind them. Social conservatives, who, according to national polls, make up the bulk of the tea party, were more tepid in their endorsement.
Because a generalized love of liberty doesn't distinguish tea partiers from other Americans, liberals have been free to speculate on the "real" motives behind the movement. Explanations so far have spanned a rather narrow range, from racism (they're all white!) to greed (they just don't want to pay taxes!) to gullibility (Glenn Beck has hypnotized them!). Such explanations allow liberals to disregard the moral claims of tea partiers. But the passion of the tea-party movement is, in fact, a moral passion. It can be summarized in one word: not liberty, but karma.

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for the rest of it: click here

(I have edited this post)

This demonstrates that Tea Party ideology is a lie.

The Tea Party is against same-sex marriage (this has been reflected in polls where only 14% of self-identified Tea Party respondents stated that they support same-sex marriage). The Tea Party's position against same-sex marriage (or that of their supporters) contradicts the stated philosophy of the Tea Party in the fascinating literature you provided in your post.

The Tea Party's definitions of freedom and liberty are counterfeit. If Tea Party supporters and activists could enjoy exercising their full definition of "freedom" and "liberty," they would make homosexuality illegal again, impose prayer in public schools, criminalize abortion, and probably burn African-Americans, Communists, and witches at the stake while still alive.

Edward

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Posted in reply to the post by podfish:

from one of my favorite sources (the author, not the paper!):

for the rest of it: click here

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