Fun Protester.
Not withstanding this report from the Southern Poverty Law Center finding that rage on the right is expressed as an increase in hate groups, panelists on The Chris Matthews show this weekend suggest that one big element driving the passions of the Tea Party movement is… fun!
Joe Klein:
It’s fun. I can say as a veteran of the 1960s protests I can say that it’s a lot of fun… The fact is that for people who are threatened, who feel that their government is being taken over and their country is being taken over by people of different colors and so on, to get a whole bunch of white people together and protest is a feel good moment.
Kathleen Parker replies:
I just had a thought…the reason everyone was smiling at the antiwar rallies is because they were also smoking dope so maybe we should distribute some to town hall meetings.
Parker was likely still high herself, albeit a natural high, from just having won the 2010 Pulitzer for distinguished commentary. John Heilemann brought the panel back to earth with the reminder that once the Weather Underground started blowing up buildings the fun stopped.
In other Parker news, the LGBT community perked up over her comments in a column discussing the Pulitzer. Despite her love for gay friends, relatives and a hairdresser, she has always opposed same sex marriage. Times change:
Well, it sounds pretty goofy the way you’ve summarized, but I’ll try to answer honestly. I have not favored same-sex marriage, but the reasons are complex. I care only about what kind of society we provide children; adults are on their own. But I have softened my views, partly as a result of studying this issue and having many long, open talks with my gay friends and family. For me, it has never been about rights for adults, but about the meaning and purpose of marriage as it benefits society and children. Given that perspective, however, I don’t see how we can say that one child’s family is more important or better than another’s. I think David Brooks may be right that same-sex marriage is a conservative position. I think this is possibly breaking news.
Glad to see she’s come around.
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