POLITICS - Not having had sisters or daughters in my life, I’m not entirely familiar with the rituals of little girls’ tea parties.
As I understand these things, though, they somewhat mirror grown-up tea parties that serve tea, finger foods, and conversations to groups of friends or other social acquaintances. One main difference between big people tea parties and little girl tea parties is that in the little girl versions, the tea, the food, and the friends don’t necessarily have to be actual tea, food, or friends. “Pretend” tea can be served to “pretend” friends like stuffed animals, along with “pretend” food.
So, imagine my surprise when I realized that the big people Tea Party folks were having their Big People Tea Party with an imaginary President.
At least, that’s how it seems. In our world, Barack Obama was elected and re-elected President of the United States by substantial margins after serving in the United States Senate and holding several state-level offices in Illinois. He goes to church, usually Protestant Christian; he holds political views that vary at times from a bit to the left to a bit to the right of an acceptable Center. He supports working class folks in his speeches and his legislation; and has done remarkably well in leading the country back from the financial abyss the previous administration hurled it into.
So, where did Barack Obama the antichrist come from? The one who was really born in Kenya to a Communist activist, who taught young Barack to hate white people because of colonialism; the Barack Obama who plans to outlaw the National Day of Prayer and has banned Christmas trees from the White House; who is scheming to take our guns away so he can finish converting America to a Socialist/Communist/Atheist country with concentration camps; who signed Executive Orders to set up Martial Law and set up Death Panels to deny emergency surgery to anybody over 70 years old; who had the US Government buy up 79% of the vehicles from GM and Chrysler to fool us into thinking that his bailout really worked; and who goes around the world apologizing to all the world leaders for America being what it is.
You know—THAT Barack Obama.
Well, as near as I can figure out, the Tea Party has a lot in common with little girl tea parties. But where little girls know that the dolls or the stuffed animals at their parties are “pretend” friends, the Tea Party folks don’t seem to understand that their President Obama, the one they hate for reasons that aren’t reasons, is only their “pretend” President Obama.
For little girls, having “pretend” friends at their tea parties is pretty normal, and something they will grow out of.
For the Tea Party—doesn’t look like they will.
(John MacMurray is a retired La Habra teacher and former Democratic candidate for State Assembly. He blogs at LAProgressive.com where this column was first posted. A must visit. LA’s most important Progressive voice.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 10
Pub: Feb 1, 2013