America’s Angry Right Feels Betrayed

If almighty God decided he wanted to live on earth, where would he settle down?

In Virginia, naturally. The state on America’s Atlantic coast is “God’s Own Country.” Virginians believe as strongly in that as they do in God himself. Virginian churches are named “Jerusalem,” “Holy Land,” and “Galilee.” Quotations from the prophets are proclaimed on billboards, and when you check into your motel, you’re likely to be met with a heartfelt “God bless you!”

With a population of 8 million and an area of 43,000 square miles, Virginia ranks as one of the smaller but most heavily populated of the U.S. states. Virginians are, by nature, conservative and therefore more likely to be Republicans rather than Democrats. And, they have a well-defined sense of law and order.

They read the “Crime Times” at the lunch counters

In the cafes and shops that dot the back roads, you’ll find neither New Yorker magazines nor Rolling Stone. You’ll find Crime Times, a weekly newspaper that is 90 percent composed of “wanted” posters of men and women sought by county sheriffs for driving without a license, driving while under the influence, failing to appear in court, beating family members, resisting arrest or generally disturbing the peace.

In Germany, data privacy laws would be immediately invoked to prevent such a thing, but for anyone living in Virginia, this is business as usual. As 60-something Arthur Carver found out. Arthur worked for years at Coca-Cola and had never been active in politics during all those years. Now, he’s getting caught up.

“Congress is out to destroy America”

Arthur drives a Chevy van that he has converted into a rolling billboard. The quotes in the van’s windows hold nothing back: “Congress is a band of thieves that is out to destroy America!” Arthur is on his way to a Tea Party function and I ask if perhaps I might come along to see the real America?

The “tea party” takes place in the Lively, VA fire department bingo hall. Lively has a filling station, a tavern, a mini-market, a restaurant and two antique shops.

When we arrive, the party has already begun. Judging by the average age of the guests, this could be happy hour at the old folks’ home. If you multiplied the average age by the number attending, you would get approximately 2,800 years.

They all agree on one thing: “Obama must go!”

If Jon Mendelez left the hall, the average age would be even higher, because Jon is just 26. He served in the U.S. Marines, works for a government agency he doesn’t wish to identify and would like the opportunity to be a delegate to the Republican convention this August in Tampa, FL, where the Republicans will select their nominee for the presidency.

So Jon drives from one Tea Party gathering to another, introducing himself to other movement followers and asking what Obama has done for them. Of course it’s a rhetorical question, and the answer is already in the air: “More taxes, more regulation and less freedom!”

Jon says that’s not only immoral, it’s unconstitutional, and he wants to help ensure Barack Obama isn’t re-elected, saying he owes that much to his generation. It’s a short speech that draws brief applause, because everyone there is in agreement: “Obama must go!”

The Republican Party is failing its base constituency

Following Jon is Nancy Smith, who taught at a school for handicapped children for more than 30 years before she quit and decided on a career in politics. Her grandfather was a tobacco farmer and her father fought in the Korean conflict. She has been a conservative since birth and didn’t want to sit idly by watching how Virginia was being overrun by Democrats.

Smith says it’s high time to stop the bloodshed and wants to get the Republican Party in Virginia back on its feet. She says the Democrats are far better organized and know how to run a campaign and get voters to the polls.

Smith says Obama will spend over a million dollars in Virginia alone in his re-election effort. She also adds that they can’t depend on the Republican Party, calls many of their members disgusting enough to make one sick and concludes that it’s up to the base to get the job done.

The problem, however, is that compared to the Democrats, Republicans have no base constituency. Their spokespersons seem to prefer to go on talk shows rather than get their hands dirty going house to house ringing doorbells.

“Obama’s giving our money away by the bucketful”

Don (65) and Rita (75) Johnson like neither the Democrats nor the Republicans. They would prefer to elect an independent candidate — if there were such a thing. Four years ago, they gritted their teeth and voted for John McCain and this year, equally unenthusiastic, they will vote for Mitt Romney as the lesser of two evils.

Don and Rita have it good. He worked for IBM, she for Hewlett-Packard. They saved enough and invested wisely. Nonetheless, they have the uneasy feeling that they may someday be dispossessed or become disabled. They say Obama is giving their money away by the bucketful.

They feel the federal government is too large and too powerful and should restrict itself to its basic purposes, foreign policy and defense, with the rest left to the individual states.

Angry citizens made in the USA

But resentment also lurks behind their understandable arguments. “Obama isn’t American,” says Sherry Pitts (67), adding, “He doesn’t behave like an American and doesn’t share our American values.” She says he popped up from nowhere with a forged birth certificate.

Sherry says America is going downhill. Could she picture herself voting for a Democrat? She says she did once but can’t recall who the candidate was. She adds that she recalls regretting it later.

Jon, Nancy, Don, Rita, Sherry and their Tea Party friends are all angry citizens — made in the USA. They were raised with the belief that it’s every man for himself and that the government has no business getting involved in private concerns. Whether it’s children’s education or health insurance, they feel betrayed by government policies — even those of Republican administrations.

Political pros bear the brunt of the base’s outrage

And they vented their anger on the lone professional politician present in the hall, William F. Blocher, 71 years of age, a Republican for over 40 years and currently vice chairman of the Republican Committee of Lancaster County.

Blocher’s ancestors immigrated from Germany’s Baden Württemberg area in the mid 19th century. His great grandfather was a Pietist Lutheran preacher named Johann Georg Blocher. One of his many grandchildren, other than DJ Bobo, is one of the few Swiss people known outside Switzerland, namely Christoph Blocher, a billionaire and conservative politician.

William F. Blocher says he would like to meet him. Like Christoph, William also started from scratch, working as a printer. Today, his software company employs 50 people.

We make an appointment to meet the following morning for breakfast at the Kilmarnock Inn, an exclusive 19th century bed and breakfast hotel.

Everybody knows everybody

Compared with Lively, Kilmarnock almost seems like a metropolis, even though only 1,400 people live along its Main Street. Founded in the latter half of the 18th century by a Scottish businessman, it’s a picture-book village typical of rural America: manicured, friendly and easygoing.

Everybody knows everybody, and even strangers on the street are greeted with the ubiquitous “How’re you doing today?” People here have time for one another, even in the midst of election season: Three of the six seats in the town council are up for grabs this year.

“Washington is wasting our money”

Betty, Marilyn, Susan and Gladys couldn’t care less. They meet every Wednesday in Kilmarnock for a bridge party that begins at 10 a.m. and goes until 8 p.m. Politics and making money are things they leave to their husbands. While the ladies are shuffling and dealing their cards, William F. Blocher is conferring with the mayor of Kilmarnock, Raymond Booth, Jr. The subject is how best to get Lancaster County Republicans actively involved in politics.

Booth, 51, was appointed head of the planning commission in 2007 and did such an outstanding job that the citizens of Kilmarnock elected him mayor in 2010. It’s essentially an honorary title since he is only paid $2,600 annually for his services.

He’s certainly not dependent on the mayor’s salary, since he owns a large landscaping and nursery business. He has never attended a Tea Party function — “I don’t have time for that,” he says — but he does want the government in Washington to quit wasting their money.

“We do what we think is right”

Booth does understand something about economics. Kilmarnock’s annual budget amounts to $3 million and runs no deficits. Its reserves total $8 to $9 million. Theoretically, the city could suspend revenue collections for three years before the surpluses were exhausted. But no one even considers such a thing, because that would be “irresponsible.” Booth notes that if every municipality in America were run as well as their own, the nation would be in far better shape.

Of course Booth also hopes Obama is defeated in November, saying he’s not especially popular in Kilmarnock. He’s unwilling to put money on that, however. He adds that whoever takes the White House in November, the citizens of Kilmarnock will continue doing what they think is right.

The next Tea Party function takes place in Montross, but William F. Blocher won’t attend. The grumbling from the base seems to be the same everywhere.