Ed. Note: this is a satirical take on the Tea Party Patriots
I spoke with Victor McCoy of the Greater Illinois Chapter of the Tea Party Patriots and Sons to learn about the group from an insider.
Victor McCoy, the pro-tem Sergeant-at-Arms for the Greater Illinois Chapter of the Tea Party Patriots and Sons, offered insights on his cause and his personal motivations for getting involved.
The interview began with a discussion of whether the Tea Party might remove Senator Reid and others with whom they disagree. McCoy explained why the Tea Party would prevail:
"Here's the difference: We have God on our side; we have Christ. We have an army. We have God's army [and] we have angels. And we have wisdom and sageness."
Lest anyone imagine that he and his fellow Tea Party members are blind followers, McCoy made sure to preserve his control:
"Don't tell me what you know about what I know. I'll tell you what I know; I'll tell you what I believe. Don't tell me what I believe!"
In response to the question of whether guns were for offensive or defensive purposes, McCoy had a practical explanation:
"When you carry a gun . . . you don't go, 'Hey, I'm gonna use this for offensive or defensive purposes.' You just use it! You have it in case. You have it for either situation."
He had a similarly pragmatic response to the issue of whether military training amounted to these groups simply preparing to kill other Americans:
"You said 'kill' fellow American citizens. You said nothing about perhaps wounding. . . . Perhaps shooting in the leg first, as a warning. I can't check every single person's citizenship before I shoot them in the leg, can I? . . . I can't be expected to ask them to run back . . . to wherever they're from to get some paperwork. . . You said, 'Kill American citizens,' when perhaps I just want to wound illegal aliens."
As for the question of the courts:
"[I refuse to] respect the authority of the court. . . I don't sanction it. I don't see it. I don't recognize the authority of the court in the United States. And I put "United" in quotes and I put "States" in parentheticals."
The Party's fundamental interests seem to boil down to simple economics:
"Have I received help or compensation for the work I did for AmTrack? Yes I did. Do I continue to? Yes I do. But that doesn't negate the fact that I've been out of work, and I want the government to get me a job. Where's my job at? . . . They're spending all this money on all this crap . . how come they can't spend money on me getting a job. I want a job."
At least in McCoy's case, economic frustrations have spurred a deep resentment of American government:
"I'm furious at the government. I always have been. Well, I wasn't that angry when Bush was in office. But I was furious when that evil anti-Christ, Bill Clinton, was in office. And now they got this evil, anti-Christ Obama in office. But before Clinton I wasn't that upset, when the first Bush was in office. Or Reagan. But I was really upset when Jimmy Carter was in office with his "Lazy Fare" attitude toward the Russians and coddling up to Egyptians . . ."
At the same time, he maintains a fundamental faith in American business:
"Don't handcuff Wall Street. It's not Wall Street's fault. I believe in an America where you rise to your potential. You are allowed to succeed. You're allowed to rise to your potential. You're allowed to do whatever you need to do to achieve that. . . . A great man said, 'By any means necessary.' And that's one of my credos."
You really must listen to the whole interview to fully appreciate his points.
Ian Masters can be heard Monday to Thursday at 5 PM PST and Sundays at 11AM PST streamed live at www.kpfk.org. "Bigger and Blackerer" will hit stores in May.