We now have INSIDER proof that today's Tea & Libertarian Parties are just a repackaging of the John Birch Society. Here's a must read book written by Claire Connor (one brave woman I might add) that connects the dots from 1934 to the present of right wing extremism:
Wrapped in the Flag: A Personal History of America's Radical Right
I learned of this book from a tweet connecting to this The Nation article:
Growing Up in the John Birch Society
Quite frankly, the article isn't that well-written, however, it did inspire me to look into the book.
This is where it gets REALLY interesting.
The book is listed with Amazon.com and, based on the comments, is a must read for anyone wanting to better understand both the Tea Party and todays so-called Libertarian movement.
However, when I went to the Amazon link, the customer reviews are what really grabbed my attention. (click on the "5 Star link on the left to view the entire text of each review)
Apparently, the author, Claire Connor, is the first to write an insider account of being raised by John Birch Society devotees. Her father was a national JBS operative.
Many of the commenters are also recovering adult children raised within the JBS culture and they clearly state and warn us that todays Tea & Libertarian Parties resemble the John Birch Society teachings they were bullied as children to believe.
Here's what they have to say. I searched the customer reviews for "Tea Party" and found 7 references. The following are just these excerpts:
(from a recovering adult child of JBS parents)
The tea party extremists are the modern shoots of the JBS, and, in fact, some of the big private money that fueled the early JBS now underwrites the fiery extremism of the modern tea party. Fred Koch - father of David and Charles - was a founding member and funder of the JBS. Like the JBS, the tea party and many parts of the libertarian movement there is a nasty authoritarian streak running right up the spine of the modern right wing movement. It is a rigid authoritarian rule that can be scaled up from the family, to a business or school, projected further to a political party (as it has) and onward to an entire nation, as is happening.
(from another recovering adult child of JBS parents)
There are many reasons, after reading the book, to see very similar ugliness in the Tea Party of today. Some of the same Birch members are fanning their flames of utter fear of some conspiratorial world domination by communists, Islam and whatever else is the fear of the day.
From her conservative upbringing to her current political views, the story she tells is riveting and helped me to understand today's Tea Party movement and the influence the John Birch Society had on our society. I highly recommend Wrapped In The Flag to anyone who is interested in the real motivations behind today's extreme right wing conservatives.
The author skillfully connected the dots starting back with the American Liberty League despising the efforts of FDR, through the Birchers and Posse Comitatus and the connections to the ultra-scary Koch Brothers' father, Fred. ..... When the Republicans maintained radio silence in the days immediately following Obama's election in '08, an updated version of the JBS was conceived and born - the Tea Party.
Just in case the reviews are not convincing enough to connect JBS with the Tea Party, here's an excerpt from the Preface, page
x, that helps explain how think tanks and foundations have taken over legislators:
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, while the politicians and pundits declared the Birchers dead and buried, the moneyed Birch leadership went to Plan B
redirecting their cash and their influence into THINK TANKS and FOUNDATIONS.
Fred Koch, on of the original Birch founding members..
invested a small fortune on his pet projects, including the so-called RIGHT-TO-WORK laws, designed to hamper union organizing.
As luck would have it, brave Claire has generously produced a series of youtube videos which you will find
here.
This video sums up "WHO ARE THE BIRCHERS TODAY" (both old and new embeds provided)
Because Claire's childhood home was a gathering place for the John Birch Society leaders, Claire knows their catch phrases very well.
Claire is hearing them again and is trying to warn us.
FROM THE VIDEO, KEY PHRASES TO HELP RECOGNIZE JOHN BIRCH IDEAS.:
Dismantle safety net
Needy/umemployed called lazy
Boehner: Taxes on rich and regulation stiffle the economy
Ryan: The Culture of Dependencey
Romney: 47% who are on the gov dole
Healthy poverty
FDR New Deal are evil, must be dismantled
Rand Paul opine about some nefarious plot remember, his father, Ron Paul, gave the speech at the JBS 50th birthday party. Both have argued that they don't back the Civil Rights Act, because "Property Rights trump Personal Rights"
Ted Cruz: Communists at Harvard Law School "The Secret Communists"
GOP Gives stage to radicals like Bachman, Perry, Palin, Gomert, to excust RW violence
Justify vile positions like "There was no holocaust" "The Hollow Hoax"
Scalia: Voting Rights Act perpetuation of racial entitlement, JBS stand "not everyone can have the right to vote"
I just ordered my copy from Barnes & Noble which should be her in about a week.
You know, it's nice to get some validation from an insider. Many here, myself included, have been trying to warn people of this DANGEROUS decades-old plan for a theocratic, authoritarian take over for a few years now.
There is a ton of back up research in these two articles that back everything that Clair Connor is revealing in her real life hell as a child of JBS radicals.
80 Years of Planning: The Kochs + The Family + Birchers = No Democracy
And recently
Where do Rand Paul, Ralph Reed, and David Koch Connect?
THANK YOU! Claire Connor for an INSIDERS confirmation that my research is true.
I wonder and Claire must worry about
How many Tea & Libertarian kids are living Claire's childhood nightmare today?