Friday, April 17, 2009

On Angst, Or, We Meet A Tea Party Protester --- Advice from a Fake Consultant

So if you're like me, you have been wondering just exactly what all this "tea party" stuff is about. There's going to be some sort of protest, that we know; but beyond that the whole thing seems a little...vague.

Alternatively, it's possible that you were unaware that "tea party" has recently become a word reborn in conservative political circles.

Well, whether you knew it or not, April 15th was indeed a day of protest, with citizens gathering for what were reported to be a series of grassroots events across the nation that was intended to invoke the spirit of the Boston Tea Party.

In an effort to find out exactly what is motivating these folks, and to find out what they are trying to accomplish, I took my handy recorder and captured a conversation with a "tea bag" protester.

We will review that conversation, and we will follow it up with a few thoughts about how this group of voters might impact electoral politics going forward.

Let's begin by setting the stage: the city of Issaquah, Washington (population about 17,000) is more or less 15 miles east of downtown Seattle, in eastern King County. It's a bedroom community, for the most part, with some light industrial and stores like Home Depot. The Costco corporate headquarters is located over where the old skydiving airport used to be, and I-90 bisects the city.

Seattle's eastern suburbs have been a good source of reliable Republican voters, and the Representative from the District (WA-08) is former Sheriff Dave Reichert (R-Ineffectual), who defeated Darcy Burner in one of the more closely watched Congressional races of both the '06 and '08 cycles.

Continued at Advice from a Fake Consultant.

2 comments:

fake consultant said...

just for the record, this was the only interview i conducted, and i chose this woman at random.

by the way, this interview notwithstanding, the mood of this group was rather friendly and civil.

Anonymous said...

Are you liken really going to ask 'teabaggers' stuff?