Tea Parties, Town Halls, & Right-Wing Populism

White Nationalism, Economic Fears, & Gender Anxiety
Using Social Movement Theory with a Race, Gender, & Class Lens

Note: Please be patient, these pages are under construction!

Tea Parties, Town Halll Protests, what's going on here? Robert Reich explained the roots of the political upset in Massachusetts many months ago:

Make no mistake: Angry right-wing populism lurks just below the surface of the terrible American economy, ready to be launched not only at Obama but also at liberals, intellectuals, gays, blacks, Jews, the mainstream media, coastal elites, crypto-socialists, and any other potential target of paranoid opportunity.

About the Tea Party Movement & Right-Wing Populism

Pick up the February Progressive Magazine for PRA Senior Analyst Chip Berlet's Cover Story on the Tea Partiers.

Significant Recent Critical Essays

• Middle American Radicals Come of Age in Texas Attack by Eric Ward
• Texas Suicide Flyer Had Real Populist Grievances by Rich Benjamin
• Watch Out for GOP Populism by Thomas Frank
• Is Obama Responsible for Wall Street's Meltdown? Where Populist Rage is Heading by Robert Reich

Chip Berlet's Series on the Tea Bag Movement & Right-Wing Populism

• Roots of Right-Wing Populist Rage: The Christian Right
• Roots of Right-Wing Populist Rage: Political Realignment
• Roots of Right-Wing Populist Rage: From Reds to Bed
• Why Right-Wing Demagogues Are Tying to Peddle Ludicrous Conspiracy Theories
• Where is there a Potential for Organized Violence? (Chart)
• Right-Wing Populism and Neofascism v. "Liberal Fascism"
• Angry Voters, Right-Wing Populism, & Racial Violence: People of Faith Can Help Break the Linkages, on Religion Dispatches

Video & Audio Resources

• Democracy Now! - Militias, Right-Wing Populism, & White Nationalism
• Terry Gross Fresh Air program: Toxic to Democracy - PRA study of conspiracy theories.
• Democracy Now! - Tea Parties, Town Halls, & Healthcare
• Wanted: Barack Obama Swiss TV Documentary (In French)

Related Pages:

• Demographics & Internal Dynamics
• Interesting Material from the Tea Party Movement

How Should Progressives Challenge the Tea Party Movement?

• Read an interview with progressive activists Suzanne Pharr, Loretta Ross, and Chip Berlet
• Blowing off Tea Baggers as Racist Misses the Point, by Earl Ofari Hutchinson, American Chronicle
• To Combat the Tea Bag Populists, Reject the ‘Producerist’ Frame! by Chip Berlet, Z Magazine
• It's Time for the Left to Get Serious: The need to stand up against Right-Wing Populism, by Bill Fletcher, Jr. (DSA Newsletter PDF-See page 7)
• Understanding Coded Racist & Antisemitic Rhetoric
• The Tea Party Flourishes, Progressives Flounder, Wall Street Wins by Les Leopold
• An Invitation to the Tea Parties to Join the Fight by Cenk Uygur

Basic Introduction to Populism & Producerism

• What is Populism?
• What is Right-Wing Populism?
• What is Producerism? (includes slide shows)
• Basic Chart on Producerist Populism

Activists Resource Guide

• Who is Paying a Price During this Right-Wing Populist Backlash?
  • Immigrants & Immigrant Rights Activists
  • People of Color & Racial Justice Activists
  • Muslims & Arabs
  • Jews & Jewish Institutions
  • The LGBTQ Communities & Gay Rights Activists
  • Reproductive Justice Activists
  • Civil Rights Activists
  • Peace & Antiwar Activists
  • Environmental Justice Activists
  • Economic Justice and Labor Rights Activists
• Who is Targeted for Recruitment by Right-Wing Populist Organizers?
  • Youth/Students
  • Activists Opposing Globalization on behalf of Corporate Interests
  • Ecology & Global Warming Activists
  • Activists for Peace in the Middle East

How Should We Respond to Right-Wing Populism?

• Overview: Responding to Right-Wing Populism
• Ground Rules and Tips for Challenging the Right
• Why Trivializing Right-Wing Populism Backfires
• Why Demonization and Dismissive Labels Don't Work
• Why "Extremism" is a Counterproductive Term
• What's Wrong with Centrist/Extremist Theory?

Background Research

How does Right-Wing Populism Work?

• Basic Chart on Producerist Populism {as pdf handout} {view as jpg}
• Where Does Right-Wing Populism Fit in the Political Scene?{slide show}
• How Does Right-Wing Populist Producerism Facilitate Scapegoating? {slide show}
• What are the Main Sectors of the Political Right in the US?

Right-Wing Populist Movements in the U.S.

Tea Bag & Town Hall Protestors

• Elite Framing, Corporate Astroturfing & Grassroots Movements

Economic Libertarians

• Public Healthcare = Socialism = Fascism
  • Hayek
  • von Mises
• Ron Paul, Racism, and Conspiracy Theories
• Astroturfing
• Corporate Propaganda

Patriot and Armed Militia Movements

• What is the Patriot Movement?
• What is the Armed Citizens Militia Movement?
• Who are the Consitutionalists, Freeman, Sovereign Citizens, etc.?

Christian Dominionism

• What is Christian Theocracy and Dominionism?
• What is Apocalyptic Aggression?
• What is Christian Reconstruction?
• What is the Army of God?
• What is Christian Identity?

Nebulous Conspiracy Theorists

• Timeline of Conspiracy Theories
• How Conspiracy Theory Stories Overlap
• Scholary Article on North American Union Conspiracy Theories
• Hucksterism and Conspiracism
• Power Structure Research v. Conspiracism
• Conspiracism & Antisemitism
• Conspiracism & Islamophobia

Wanted : Barack Obama

A video documentary on the Tea Party movement made by Swiss Television.

Related Pages

Demographics & Internal Dynamics

Interesting Material from the Tea Party Movement

Background

• Report: Toxic to Democacy: Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, & Scapegoating

• Patriots & Militias
• The Murder of Dr. George Tiller
• The Tools of Fear
  • Dualism
  • Demonization
  • Scapegoating
  • Apocalyptic Aggression
• Conspiracism
• What's Wrong with Centrist/Extremist Theory?