Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Tea Party is a Minority of the Minority

We have two dominant political parties. Each of those parties is built upon two of the four primary waves of migration from Britain that defined America in its earliest years. Historian David Hackett Fischer, in his book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, identifies these waves as:

  • Puritans, who settled in New England;
  • Cavaliers, who settled in Virginia;
  • Quakers, who settled in the Delaware River Valley; and
  • Borderers, who settled in the "backcountry" (as Appalachia and the Highland South were termed back then.)

The Republican Party is the party of the South, in culture if not in literal geography. It represents the descendants of the Borderers and the Cavaliers -- but the only vestige of Cavalier influence is the whiff of aristocracy surrounding the party's coddling of the financial industry. In other respects, the Borderers are running the show, and they won't yield an inch to anyone, even their own allies.

The Democratic Party is the party of the North and the Southwest. Latin American migration (which, unlike earlier migrations, has not assimilated into preexisting English cultures) appears to be tipping the scales in favor of the party that represents the descendants of Quakers and Puritans. The Democratic Party is also the party of African-Americans, both Northern and Southern.

"We surround them!" crows Glenn Beck. He's bluffing of course, and he knows it. It's the Borderers who are surrounded, even though they've migrated to nearly every corner of the nation.

So why do the media persist in attributing so much influence to conservatives and strength to the Republican Party? It's simple: The media only sees two dominant parties and three political categories (liberal, moderate, conservative, Democrat, independent, Republican) and assume that they must be of equivalent strength. Therefore, if a Republican makes a statement on a show, or if a "conservative" event takes place, they must represent between one-third and one-half of the country.

Nice logic, but it's wrong. Here's the real situation...

Full story here --> Yo, pundits! Here’s what’s up with the Republicans (by Geenius at Wrok at the Daily Kos) --- Interesting hypothesis -- read the comments as well.

1 comment: