Tag Archives: tea party

A Recurrent DREAM (Social movement effects)

Posted on May 12, 2011 by David S. Meyer

For the courageous young people who willingly disclosed their undocumented status last year, Congress’s failure to pass the DREAM Act was a devastating blow.   They had an overly optimistic view, as activists often do, that the justice of their cause, … Continue reading →

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Professionalizing the Tea Party

Posted on May 6, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Can you keep the grass(roots) growing when you take it inside? Judson Phillips, founder of the for-profit Tea Party Nation, has announced that he intends to take a salary out of the organization.  Tea Party Nation has produced a couple … Continue reading →

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Osama, Obama, O.J., and Hasselhoff

Posted on May 5, 2011 by David S. Meyer

When US forces killed Osama Bin Laden, they dramatically shook up domestic politics in the United States, but, really, nothing has changed. For the Tea Party, having President Obama announce Bin Laden’s death is an extraordinary stroke of bad luck.   … Continue reading →

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Where’s the Peace Movement? (Protest is a blunt instrument)

Posted on April 26, 2011 by David S. Meyer

It’s rare that social scientists studying protest get much attention from the mainstream press, opinion or otherwise.  Although the scholars may get a whiff of excitement from the attention, they’re usually frustrated by the distortions and oversimplifications that seem inevitable–almost. … Continue reading →

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Reexamining Organization/s

Posted on April 25, 2011 by David S. Meyer

From the comments, olderwoman writes: Your theoretical point is spot on, but your empirical point about Wisconsin is wrong, and wrong in a way that reflects back to a refinement of theory. Empirically, protests in Wisconsin were organized by a … Continue reading →

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Tax Day Protest

Posted on April 16, 2011 by David S. Meyer

The cheerleaders during the American revolution led the crowds in chanting, “No Taxation without Representation.”  At least the first part of that cheer has found a permanent place in American political discourse, as activists have found a way to label … Continue reading →

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Can the Tea Party Party? (Notes on the Budget Agreement)

Posted on April 14, 2011 by David S. Meyer

It certainly looked as though Speaker John Boehner did pretty well in negotiations about the past year’s budget.  At the last minute, the Speaker, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama announced that they had come to an agreement … Continue reading →

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A Smaller Tea Party

Posted on April 2, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Thursday’s Tea Party rally drew crowds described as “sparse,” with estimates clustering around 200 people.  Slate‘s David Weigel says that there were four reporters for every demonstrator, and that other journalists were poaching his interviews, trying to find someone to … Continue reading →

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Beyond Madison: Who’s Watching? Who’s Talking? Who’s Doing?

Posted on February 27, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Watch the crowd in a fight. That’s an old insight in the social sciences, stated pretty clearly by E. E. Schattschneider in The Semi-Sovereign People fifty years ago. The point: The losers in any political struggle have an interest in … Continue reading →

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Follow the money: find it first.

Posted on February 4, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Nearly 1,000 activists marched in Rancho Mirage, California this week, protesting outside an invitation-only strategy meeting of leading conservatives inside and outside government.  The demonstration, organized by labor and environmental activists, targeted the meeting’s hosts, billionaire brothers Charles and David … Continue reading →

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