Palin, Mother of the Anti-Obama Movement

Conservative America demonstrates its strength. Only time will tell whether it has the answers to the most important questions.

He had not wanted a political demonstration, said Glenn Beck, the organizer of the ”Restoring Honor” rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, the nation’s shrine of honor. In fact, the hundreds of thousands who answered the call of the cable commentator illustrated much more than just that: They presented themselves as the vanguard of a possible cultural revolution against Barack Obama’s policy of reforms. And Beck, who successfully weaseled past concrete political outlines with befuddling pathos and religious attitude, has definitely become a factor in the Republican search for candidates for 2012.

Beck and Sarah Palin, his guest speaker, are the lead voices of the opposition that no longer is synonymous with only the Republicans but also includes the multifaceted tea party.

The Rally Does Not Provide Evidence of Racism

In the past, Beck had presented himself as a veritable reactionary. In several television appearances, he defamed Obama as Marxist and racist. The tea party, on the other hand, which until recently had focused mainly on protesting economic policy and the health care reform, had to fend off the accusation that they were fighting Obama because he is African American. The rally, however, did not provide any evidence for racism. Beck — a pro in manipulating the public state of mind — preached charity and religious faith instead of hatred and defamation.

The United States would benefit from a movement that does not spread non-liberality but that gives individualism a voice during the dispute with Obama’s objective to grant each state additional competencies for health care reform, environmental protection or banking supervision. It could mitigate the polarization of society, which began under Bush and has increased even further under Obama.

The government could find compromises with an opposition that objectively expresses the traditional mistrust of a majority of Americans regarding “Big Government.” To encourage these compromises, however, Republicans, the tea party, Beck and others need specific ideas. And also an honest debate about why supposed “socialist” countries — among which Germany is often listed — and their social systems have fewer problems with unemployment and social upheaval during economic crises.