Puzzling Media Attention Re. One Tea Party

The New York Times and other outlets that haven’t given the enormously popular and politically potent tea party movement the time of day over the past year are suddenly quite interested in covering it.

Many political and media elites wrote the movement off as “fringe” – an irrelevant, small cadre of disgruntled right-wingers not worthy of their attention. As I told the Washington Times, know that they smell a hint of controversy, they’re suddenly quite intrigued.

Many in the media are quick to point out the missteps of this one group in TN throwing a convention with Sarah Palin as signs that the movement is in trouble.  They see one event, one organization hitting bumps in the road and conclude from there that there is a significant rift in the movement.

It is particularly curious given that these very journalists, commentators, and politicians have to date characterized the movement as directionless and leaderless.  The former has been proven untrue beyond doubt in the wake of the election of Scott Brown in my bluer than blue home state of Massachusetts.  The later is true: this isn’t a top down movement by any means, and I argue that it doesn’t need a leader.  This movement’s power comes from the millions of concerned Americans that constitute it.  The movement rejects the creepy idolatry exhibited in the past presidential campaign. It represents an important shift away from partisanship and personalities to principles.

If only there was one book out there journos could take for a spin that clearly articulates the history of and principles behind this powerful grassroots movement…

The bottom line is, if millions of people getting involved in the political process through protests, town halls, and marches over the past year weren’t newsworthy, the attention given to a couple thousand in TN is…curious.  Maybe I’m just being cynical.