Patriotism and Domestic Rebellion

At a Tea Party protest in Las Vegas, Joe Heck, a Republican running for Congress, blamed both the Democratic and Republican Parties for moving the country toward “socialistic tyranny.” [New York Times]

The foregoing paragraph is an excerpt from an article in today’s New York Times by David Barstow.

Barstow portrays a bewildering array of political groups around the nation forming and struggling to find a way to thwart what they perceive as a governmental threat to their independence, liberty and freedom.

All kinds of groups are mentioned. The Tea Party, John Birch Society, Oath Keepers, Friends for Liberty, Defenders of Liberty

Glenn Beck gets prominent mention throughout the article, along with Ayn Rand and George Orwell, and Sarah Palin.

There is talk of eliminating Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Debates about secession, tax boycotts, nullification of federal laws, forming citizen militias.

“It is a sprawling rebellion” writes Barstow, “a narrative of impending tyranny.”

Lots of talk about patriotism, the Constitution, and the Federal Reserve.

A popular T-shirt at Tea Party rallies reads, “Proud Right-Wing Extremist.”

There is fear among right wing extremists of a “cataclysmic economic collapse in the United States.”

Far too much to in the article to summarize here. You are best advised to go read the coverage in the New York Times.

So what does any of this have to do with Pahrump and Nye County? There is evidence of the existence of some of these groups right here in River City, that’s what.

Related posts:

1. Gibbons to veto Nevada Domestic Partnership Bill
2. Tea Party born in Nevada
3. Domestic Partnership Veto Override Today
4. Birthers, Health Care Hecklers and the Rise of Right-Wing Rage
5. The Republican vote on Sotomayor dilemma