Fears of American Decline Are Fueling the Tea Party

One of the forces motivating the hysteria of the Tea Party - other than the latent racism and hatred of anyone and everyone who the Tea Party set deems as "other" - is the fixation that America is in decline. The truth, of course, is that the nation IS in decline. The irony, however, is that it Republican policies more so than Democrat policies that have helped fuel the decline: e.g., needless wars that have blown up the deficit, lax financial markets regulation that helped set the stage for the financial market meltdown - the list goes on and on. Yet the Tea Party loons flock to support the Republicans who have overseen the last decade of accelerating decline. E. J. Dionne has a column in the Washington Post looks at the phenomenon and questions whether or not the Liar-in-Chief can turn the downward slide around. Personally, my vote is a resounding no, since leadership would be required on Obama's part and we've seen that he not only isn't a leader but also lacks any kind of spine whatsoever. Here are highlights from Dionne's column:
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The current declinist sentiment arises from a widespread sense that in the first decade of the new millennium, our country squandered its international advantages, degraded its power with a long and unnecessary engagement in Iraq, wrecked the federal government's finances - and then saw its economy devastated by the worst financial crisis in 80 years. All this happened as China especially but also India began to challenge American preeminence. Americans feel something is badly wrong, and they are fully justified in their alarm.
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[T]he rise of right-wing nationalist movements - the Tea Party is as much about an assertive nationalism as it is about liberty - speaks to the country's longing for reassurance that it can maintain its leading position in the world. So does the insistent talk of his potential Republican rivals about America as an exceptional nation.
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Obama sprinkles his rhetoric with talk about competing and winning in the 21st century, and he often suggests that China is taking initiatives (in energy, mass transit and education, for example) that we are not. What's lacking is a coherent call for reform and restoration that is unapologetically patriotic and challenging.
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Obama should be even more insistent on using the contest with China as a prod, much as John F. Kennedy used competition with the Soviet Union to get the country moving again domestically as well as overseas. There are more important priorities than preserving low tax rates for rich people, larger strategic concerns than Iraq or even Afghanistan, and more compelling political purposes than rote attacks on government or a fear of new immigrants, or Islam, or our diversity as a nation. And we will all be in this effort together only if all of our citizens know they will have an opportunity to share in a resurgent America's success. For Obama, political renewal requires a bold and persistent campaign for national renewal.