It's late, but I finally got around to reading Jim Webb's "Born Fighting".

I disagree with some of his comments and conclusions, but I think he does offer some insight in to American politics. I think his premise of a large white ethnic/cultural group that he labels Scots-Irish is a valid one. I also think right now a lot of these people are attracted to the Tea Party. If we can learn to speak to these people in a language they understand, we'll get the votes we need to push forward real change.

I think the members of the Tea Party are being exploited by the same people who dominated the South up until the Civil Rights Era. As long as poor whites could look down on blacks, they didn't look up to see who was keeping them down.

We have to decide what we want more - to continue to feel superior to Te Party supporters, or to convince them of where their real best interests lie.

From what I've seen of the teabagger set, they cannot deal with anything that is requires even a minimum of logical thought. Instead, they appear to accept whatever single-stage argument that appears to make some sort of sense. Sloganism is the new political strategy.

No Tax Hikes! - No logic. Even if increases in taxes don't affect them directly, that's not the issue, and it's never discussed. A slogan that hints that someone is going to raise THEIR taxes is all that's needed. They aren't interested in the details.

Obama's a Socialist! - Socialism has been bashed for decades until it has become synonymous with EVIL. So, no need to explain to people who insist on simplicity that they're already benefiting from socialism. The slogan is all they need to make their decision.

And on and on it goes. The GOP has perfected the concept of government by slogan. That's the true story of the novel 1984. By reducing everything to a slogan and reducing the logical processes language offers, they create a society that is no longer capable of reasoning.

The GOP is Sloganism, and Sloganism appeals to a lot of people, apparently.