After all of the fuss about the Tea Party, and in the wake of its political successes in the 2010 American elections, I decided to visit and follow (to some extent) one of its Web sites, the Tea Party Nation. What I found were intelligent, thoughtful comments by many people.
However, the group also consists of way-out, over-the-top, intolerant, totally certifiable, card-carrying “wackos” and misfits. Their acceptance of anyone who does not agree with them is somewhere between zero and minus-one. They engage in personal attacks that are beyond the pale, and legally actionable; and they may be operating illegally.[3]
Former House Speaker and Georgia congressman Newt Gingrich has been their man; and if one goes to the Web site of the Tea Party Nation, one will come in contact with “Neanderthals” aplenty. Originally I thought they were a combination of Independents and moderates, like yours truly, or “disenchanted” Republicans and Democrats. But no, they are over-the-top wackos who embrace Gingrich as if he was Ronald Reagan incarnate.
Character does matter, and Gingrich is “evil” personified, and despicable. Why would any American in his or her right mind want this man as President of the United States? Ronald Reagan was and is a national hero[4], yet Gingrich had the gall to spew insulting rhetoric at Reagan when he was alive.[5] Gingrich is a pathetic, petty, raving Narcissistic demagogue.
I am an Independent and have been for almost 20 years, after being a Democrat and then a Republican. Today, Independents constitute approximately 35 percent of American voters, and they swing our elections.[6] I disagree vehemently with Barack Obama regarding just about every issue, and have been outspoken in my criticism of him, as many Independents are.[7]
I did not vote for Obama in the last presidential election, and plan to vote against him this year too. However, I would give serious thought to voting for Obama, just to make sure that Gingrich never becomes our president. If the Republicans nominate him, they run the risk of being ostracized, isolated, boycotted and marginalized nationwide.
Obama would win in a landslide and “bury” Gingrich politically—akin to George McGovern’s loss in 1972, albeit at least McGovern was an honorable man. It would be political suicide for the GOP, which would be decimated, thanks in large part to Tea Party extremists.
© 2012, Timothy D. Naegele
[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He practices law in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles with his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, which specializes in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (see www.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/naegele_resume.html). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He is a member of the District of Columbia and California bars. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g.,www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com; see also Google search:Timothy D. Naegele
[2] See, e.g., http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-28/occupy-oakland-protests/52852280/1 (“About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into [Oakland’s] City Hall and burn an American flag. . . .”)
[3] For example, after reading the gibberish about Gingrich at the Web site of the Tea Party Nation, I posted some provocative, semi-“tongue-in-cheek” comments that were purposely intended to elicit debate and arouse discusson:
Let’s hope that Gingrich “dies” politically, once and for all. His win in South Carolina is a dark day for the Republican Party and for America.
Since his election win in South Carolina, I have been pondering how best to describe him. He is a relatively “benign” version of Adolf Hitler.
I do not make that statement lightly. Gingrich is pure evil, like Hitler was. He must be driven out of American politics, before he pollutes it anymore.
As bad as Obama is, and he is terrible, Gingrich is far more sinister.
The first response was a personal attack by some woman who was trying to silence dissent and label as an “anti-Semite” anyone who disagrees with her, much less mentions Adolf Hitler:
Excuse me sir, do not use Hitler as a comparison to anyone. You are belittling the Holocaust and the memory of all those who were exterminated. You personally offensive and have very evil thoughts, sir.
Instead of being incensed by Gingrich’s treatment of his first two wives, she was taking aim at me. I have encountered similar attacks and knee-jerk reactions before—and so have many other non-Jews and Jews alike—from those who seek to silence dissent through intimidation, fear, invective, division and discrimination.
See, e.g., http://www.amazon.com/review/R2KIT50GPQDUMR/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm–
Thus, my response was as follows:
Thanks . . . for your comments.
They are totally absurd. I can say whatever I want to say. This is a free country, even though you may not realize that.
Trying to silence freedom of speech and intimidate people is Hitler-esque. Shame on you.
This was followed by messages from the “gate keeper” who runs the Tea Party Nation’s Web site, the first of which was entitled, “Hasta La Vista!”—and I was banned from the Web site:
Your comments have become offensive to many on this site. I have received dozens of complaints concerning your anti-Semitic rantings and use of invoking Adolph [sic] Hitler in comparison to Newt Gingrich. Further research shows you have a long history of inflammatory remarks similar to this.
This may be a country built on Free Speech, but this website is privately owned and we do not have to tolerate your type of nonsense.
Go crawl back in the hole in the ground that you came out of. You disgust me and most of the true patriots that participate here.
You are simply another liberal Paultard spreading your filth and hate and you are no longer welcome here.
Goodbye and good riddance!
I have never made anti-Semitic comments, much less at the Tea Party Nation or any other Web site; and in fact, I take umbrage at such comments.
See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/israels-senseless-killings-and-war-with-iran/#comment-544; see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/
Also, I am not a Liberal. However, the next personal attacks by the Tea Party Nation’s “gate keeper” were equally outrageous:
You are nothing more than a Nazi. Are you typing with your sheets on?
There was no question that this person speaks for the Tea Party Nation because I then received a series of private e-mail messages from “the attorney for [the] Tea Party Nation” in Tennessee. In the final analysis, she apologized for the last personal attacks made by the group’s “gate keeper,” but the apology was personal and the attorney made it very clear that she was not apologizing on behalf of the Tea Party Nation.
Next, I reviewed documents from the State of Tennessee, and learned:
1. The Tea Party Nation Corporation was chartered as a “For-Profit Corporation” on April 21, 2009, by Judson Phillips. Its principal officers were Judson and Sherry Phillips who were its president and secretary, respectively.
2. On October 5, 2011, “Articles of Dissolution” were filed with the State of Tennessee, which were signed by Judson and Sherry Phillips.
3. Neither the Tea Party Nation nor the Tea Party Nation Corporation is registered with the State of Tennessee today—or authorized to do business in Tennessee.
4. Tennessee requires the registration of both domestic (i.e., Tennessee-chartered) and foreign corporations (i.e., corporations chartered in other States or countries); and under the laws of Tennessee, it is illegal if they fail to do so, yet continue to operate in the State.
The issue is whether the Tea Party Nation is operating illegally today.
[4] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/ronald-reagan-and-john-f-kennedy-a-question-of-character/ (“Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy: A Question of Character”)
[5] See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/barack-obama-is-a-lame-duck-president-who-will-not-be-reelected/#comment-1965
[6] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/the-rise-of-independents/ (“The Rise Of Independents”)
[7] See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/barack-obama-is-a-lame-duck-president-who-will-not-be-reelected/ (“Barack Obama Is A Lame-Duck President Who Will Not Be Reelected”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/ (“Is Barack Obama A Racist?”) (see also the footnotes and all of the comments beneath both articles)
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