22nd
A terrific example of the contradictions and incoherence plaguing the Tea Party movement’s platform, and the free ride they get from much of the media is epitomized by CNN’s item on radio-talk-show host Mark Williams giving up his role as the chairman of the Tea Party Express. Williams wants to focus on two activist crusades, CNN reports: opposing the construction of a mosque near the site of Ground Zero in New York and “leading a recall effort against some members of the Sacramento City Council and running for a spot on the local body himself after the council voted to boycott Arizona over its new immigration law.”
This strikes me as a very curious pair of causes for a leader of a movement dedicated to preventing government activism. If the government selectively asserts aggressive land-use regulation to prevent the construction of socially disfavored buildings, is that not a paradigmatic example of big-government market distortion? Would Williams support denying permits to an otherwise zoning-law-compliant church or synagogue near Ground Zero? And, as conservative commentator Matthew Lewis points out, shouldn’t conservatives be opposed to laws that empower the government to stop and harass citizens and legal residents?
