Abstract
In the past decade the U.S. public has expressed varying degrees of skepticism about certain factual claims, and of “expertise” more broadly. Ideological and partisan belief polarization seems to have elevated public anxiety about topics ranging from climate change and vaccines to immigration and healthcare policy. Furthermore, polarized narratives about scientific, medical, and political topics have encouraged “directionally motivated cognition”, leading to a decline in institutional trust among some fractions of the U.S. political spectrum. Our case study of the Tea Party Patriots (TPP) (i.e. a political organization that promotes the Tea Party goals) uses data from 45 interviews, 80 hours of participant observation, and content analysis of movement literature, to examine the nature and nuance of health narratives employed by the Tea Party. Specifically, we explain a central narrative in TPP organizing that features “a villainous Left covertly seeking to harm U.S. citizens” as the root of three key TPP health care narratives: (1) Democratic health initiatives enslaving youth; (2) the political left profiting from covertly making Americans dependent on state's health care programs; and (3) the left clandestinely seeking to violate the constitution as represented by their efforts to “kill grandma”. These narratives reflect the increased polarization of attitudes towards healthcare, as well as a broader distrust of the political left who, activists believe, are advancing a political agenda of social control. Ultimately, we argue that culturally driven healthcare narratives of the Tea Party have had a significant impact on right-wing public opinion and Republican politics regarding U.S. healthcare policy. Many Tea Party concerns are reflected in the Republican policy positions, including those related to the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
Highlights
In a widely-viewed 2009 appearance, CNBC news reporter Rick Santelli chose to criticize President Barack Obama, arguing, ―...President New Administration, why don‘t you put up a website to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers‘ mortgages, or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to prosper down the road, and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water...‖ [1].Right-wing social movement scholars have often pointed to this moment as the beginning of the U.S Tea Party movement
We explain a central narrative in Tea Party Patriots (TPP) organizing that features ―a villainous Left covertly seeking to harm U.S citizens‖ as the root of three key TPP health care narratives: (1) Democratic health initiatives enslaving youth; (2) the political left profiting from covertly making Americans dependent on state‘s health care programs; and (3) the left clandestinely seeking to violate the constitution as represented by their efforts to ―kill grandma‖
We argue that the Tea Party Patriots (TPP)—a major political organization that promotes the Tea Party goals—provides an avenue where scholars can examine how ideological and partisan divisions, as reflections of deep culture, drive belief polarization through political narratives, which may carry implications for policy making in U.S politics
Summary
In a widely-viewed 2009 appearance, CNBC news reporter Rick Santelli chose to criticize President Barack Obama, arguing, ―...President New Administration, why don‘t you put up a website to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers‘ mortgages, or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to prosper down the road, and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water...‖ [1].Right-wing social movement scholars have often pointed to this moment as the beginning of the U.S Tea Party movement. The Tea Party has exerted its influence to shape the Republican party platform and its politics [5,6], tempting some scholars to point to the Tea Party as the mainstream right [7,8,9]. Evidence of this assertion includes the influence of the Tea Party on Mitt Romney‘s 2012 presidential campaign [10], the success of Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin in curbing the strength of labor unions [11], and cultural support for these initiatives
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
