Should the Dems develop their own Tea Party?

[Dave Gray]

I personally think the Tea Party sucks.

The reason I think so is because their message is jumbled.  You have 50% small government libertarian types (no spending without finding it first, etc).  ...the other 50% are either religious fanatics, bigots, birthers, or otherwise morons who don't really understand what the politics of the movement is about.

And ultimately I think they will hurt the Republicans, in terms of getting elected nationally.  HOWEVER, I think that they will win in the end by shifting the Republican party closer to small government principles.

My question -- Do the Democrats need the same kind of thing?

There is no organized "progressive" wing of the Democratic party, looking to threaten their own party if they don't adhere to the principles.

I think that there could be a movement that focused on a few clear values that were non-negotiable:
- Equal Rights for Homosexuals
- Reduced Military Spending/Presence
- Pro Choice

Do you think something like this could work?

I feel that, in general, the Dems are a more free-thinking party than the GOP, so it's hard to pin down a set of principles that everyone can abide by.  (See our affirmative action thread.)  I also feel that it's generally a wider tent, so it might not fly and you'd end up hurting the party.

I do look at guys like Anthony Weiner though, who are straight progressive, and I think that I'd like to see more guys like him.  ...might alienate the middle, though.

[StL FinFan]

I'm with you on 2 out of 3.

[Spider-Dan]

Wouldn't work.

No one would care about the Tea Party if Fox wasn't elevating them to the standard of Real Americans Speaking Out and officially organizing Fox News Channel Tax Day Tea Parties.  Without Fox breathing life into the early rallies, the Tea Parties would have been no more relevant than Code Pink.  Relatedly, no mainstream media organization is going to give any sort of credence or airtime to a left-wing tea party; the MSM is perpetually trying to fight the perception that they are liberally-biased, which is why things like the Sherrod story or the ACORN pimp story are able to get any traction at all.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Hey that's a cool idea. 

Maybe we can start one and base it out of some really liberal hippie state....like maybe Vermont.  Next we will need an awesome name....how about "Democracy for America"  And of course it will require a leader with is very progressive and is nationally known....I wonder what Howard Dean is doing these days?

Or maybe a whole independent political party.  It should have name that expresses its dedication to environmental policy.  Maybe we should call it the "green party."  I bet with enough disenfraniced voter coupled with a failed election process in Florida a challenge from the left could in fact alter the outcome of a presidential race allowing the republicans to take control of the white house and start some unneeded wars.

Wait, I have another idea maybe we could for a PAC with over 5 million members all dedicated progress ideas.  Here is a cool name for it....”move on dot org”  Whatdaya think?

Or maybe we should have a few that are a bit more extremist, but single issue… 

Like solely concern about the environment...I say we call that one "Earth First" or maybe “Green Peace.”

Or one that just cares about animals...  We can call that one People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Hey, we can even form one just for people who care about promoting bicycling issues in urban areas.  Maybe if we are lucky that one can get cooped by folks protesting various things beyond just urban bicycling.  We can call that one “critical mass”

Or maybe an organization that focuses on video taping cops and acting as depository for other peoples tapes when cops randomly assault peaceful protesters, such as one that body slammed bike rider at a NYC “critical mass” ride. I say we call that organization, “i witness video”

Or maybe one very dedicated to GLBT issues that likes to act up…hey that would make a cool name let’s call them “Act up”   

Dave, I think you are onto something.  The liberals and progressives do no have enough alternate channels to challenge the democratic from the left and needs more of them. 

Of course for anyone of them to achieve the national attention that the “tea party” receives, as Spider has pointed out, it would require a 24 hour national cable news program to pimp them 7 by 24. 

[Dave Gray]

Those PACs that you're talking about don't have any candidates running on their behalf, openly and proudly.

Tea Party Candidates wear it as a badge of honor.  There are no moveon.org candidates.

The Green Party was somewhat close, I guess, but was an independent party that challenged dems.  The Tea Party props up the GOP and gets them more coverage.

Also, there's no need to mock me.  I'm not saying that it's a good idea.  I'm just raising the question for the sake of discussion.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Those PACs that you're talking about don't have any candidates running on their behalf, openly and proudly.

Tea Party Candidates wear it as a badge of honor.  There are no moveon.org candidates.

While moveon.org doesn't have candidates, DFA most certainly does.  I actually would say that DFA is the dems teaparty minus not having is very own TV station to pimp its events 24x7.  That is why I listed it first.