Terry Gross had a guest on today — clearly not part of the Tea Party movement, and came across as sympathetic to the left — who was fielding questions about the Tea Party movement. Of course the movement is heterogeneous, and not completely ideologically sound, but there are some very strong trends nonetheless. Terry’s guest made two particular points that were unbelievable in their inaccuracy — both dealing with the economic leanings of the movement.
When asked who the Partiers blame for the financial crisis, this guy somehow managed to not mention Greenspan, Bernanke, or the Federal Reserve at all! Maybe not all Partiers are anti-Fed, but a significant portion is and, among the rest, there is surely some serious criticism of the Fed Chairmen.
Then her guest went on to say that the financial crisis prescription offered by the Partiers is to do nothing and return to the vision of Alexander Hamilton (and George Washington). Although most Partiers haven’t read Hamilton’s Curse, this guy showed his complete ignorance of American banking history with that statement.
3:56 pm on February 23, 2010
