In the age of Trump, the Right has been divided into two sides.
On one side, we have the alt-right and alt-lite which seeks to defend Western Civilization by any means necessary. While I generally agree with these folks that Western principles should be preserved, I disagree strongly with their very tactics, such as play disruption and embracing racism. I personally feel that the best way to spread ideas is to actually hold discussions, not brawls. As seen in the aftermath of Charlottesville, these extremist forces have not succeeded in building sympathy for their cause as their stunt only incited more hatred against themselves.
As for the other side, we have the “Never Trump” group that seems to be the main ideology of those serving at publications such as the National Review, Weekly Standard and Daily Wire. Although I mostly agree with their strategies at putting forth an ideology, I wish Never Trumpers had the same conviction as the alt-right to preserve the Western values that we all care about. The people who align themselves with this group tend to vehemently oppose the alt-right even though they may share common interests.
As a result of these two warring factions, a division was created amongst the American right. Unfortunately, the two sides always throw insults at each other while the Democrats and the regressive left unite under the banner of the Resistance. But when I see this rift among the Right, I remember that there was once a time when we were all united against the common enemy of liberalism–the days of the Tea Party Movement.
The Tea Party was the very movement that made many gains that were beneficial to the right wing and to America as well. Despite the fact that the Tea Party had an intense, sometimes irrational disdain of Obama and his treachery, it didn’t diminish the fact that the Right was united by common principles: the Constitution, free markets, and Christian values.
When I think of the movement, I also think about the many victories that we celebrated. The Tea Party was perhaps the only reason why Republican majorities were sustained in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In addition, we held our elected officials to such a high standard that we shaped many principled candidates. If it weren’t for the Tea Party’s extreme vetting and rabble-rousing, we wouldn’t have principled conservatives such as Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, or even the House Freedom Caucus. Generally, the Tea Party was a time when the Right was largely united and made huge gains while preserving our principles.
That being said, it is high time for a revival of the Tea Party.
Conservatives, libertarians, and alt-righters once again must unite under the same tent. During the time the Tea Party was in its heyday, rallies were held frequently and featured thousands of people disappointed with the Washington establishment. Now we no longer have rallies, we have bloodbaths due to the violent tendencies of the infamous ANTIFA group. This is what must change, and the support of Ben Shapiro and other constitutional right-wing news figures need to swallow their pride, unite the various factions within the GOP, and come together behind a rebooted Tea Party.
This must happen before the 2018 midterm elections for conservatives to maximize their impact. Next year, we have principled conservatives up for re-election. On the other side of the aisle, we have Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders, Joe Manchin, and Dianne Feinstein all up for re-election. Evidently, this is the opportunity of a lifetime to rid Capitol Hill of many of the worst regressive Democrats who stand in unfaltering opposition to the Right. If we can actually unify once more around tea party principles, we can keep our politicians principled while defending Western Civilization. Should this task be accomplished, we can disappoint the Democrats and clean house in 2018.
Diane Rufino, I suspect you will enjoy this site.
Unfortunately, the Tea Party’s reputation has been so smeared by the left for so long, I don’t think it can be revived. So I think they should OFFICIALLY change their name to the CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATIVE PARTY.
I think the constitution party would be sufficient..:)
There already is a Constitution PARTY. It was listed last time I checked voter registration. Hasn’t gotten recognition. But many TEAPARTIERS like Thomas Massie seem to like the description of CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATIVE.
See what I mean ? He just liked the above comment !
“As seen in the aftermath of Charlottesville, these extremist forces have
not succeeded in building sympathy for their cause as their stunt only
incited more hatred against themselves.”
What incited hatred was not the “stunt” as you label the peaceful political rally, but the media’s lies about it. And I maintain that the Unite The Right rally was a success overall at gaining more attention and support for the Alt-Right. We need more such rallies (in cities where the authorities are less incline to abet leftist terrorism). Everyone on the right is welcome to participate.
It’s the “moderates” who have sown division by disavowing and denouncing their allies. Recall that the Charlottesville rally was held after cuckservatives had refused to participate in the Rally for Free Speech in June, precisely because the Alt-Right would be there: “Once broadly praised by many on the right, the rally became the center
of controversy when Richard Spencer was invited to speak. This prompted
several speakers and guests to drop out including Lucian Wintrich, Jack
Posobiec, Cassandra Fairbanks, and Laura Loomer. The dropouts objected
to sharing a stage with explicitly pro-White speakers and attempted to
hold their own ‘Rally Against Political Violence’.” (https://altright.com/2017/06/27/alt-right-rally-success-alt-lite-movement-a-complete-failure/)
Only if and when the more “moderate” rightists can stop crawling around on the ground abasing themselves before the left, will the right be able to unify. But if (as I suspect) that never happens, then the Establishment-authorized neocon right will collapse and the Alt-Right will become mainstream.