Political Anger in America, Part 1: Prisoner Zero

There is a lot of talk about the lack of civility by the tea party protesters and the Congressional Republicans against President Obama. All of a sudden anger is the topic du jour of the day.

However, if you have been reading the Valley since it's inception, lack of civility by the Left has been one of the talking points here. Last week, MSNBC's Danny Deutsch started the idea of "Anger in America," but because Keith Olbermann cannot take criticism, it was cancelled. Consider these posts in the Valley what MSNBC could not do.

Political Anger in America did not start on 1/20/09 (most things in politics did not start on that date either), in fact it hearkens back to the attacks on Nixon. The Clinton Impeachment was about history cycling out (the same thing with Election 2000 as the close Republican win to Election 1960 with a close Democratic win). And note in both examples, Republicans did not protest or attack the Left, we soldiered on. When the left were on the losing side, they freaked.

Conservatives see history as a thing to build upon, Liberals see history, not as prelude, but as poultry, something to be improved upon.

That differences of views shows why Conservatives (and tea partiers) who have never protested before, are now active.

So who or what is Prisoner Zero? From the BBC show, Doctor Who, it was the first creature that Matt Smith dealt with. Because it had a perception filter, it could not be seen unless you were looking for it.

The media and the Left are looking for it now. But did they look at it during the last Administration? No. Break through your perception filter and look at Political Anger circa 2003 -2008 (h/t Zombietime).

Now using that same perception filter, look at what Charles Blow wrote:

I found the imagery surreal and a bit sad: the minorities trying desperately to prove that they were “one of the good ones”; the organizers trying desperately to resolve any racial guilt among the crowd. The message was clear: How could we be intolerant if these multicolored faces feel the same way we do?

It was a farce. This Tea Party wanted to project a mainstream image of a group that is anything but. A New York Times/CBS News poll released on Wednesday found that only 1 percent of Tea Party supporters are black and only 1 percent are Hispanic. It’s almost all white.

Without interviewing anyone, Mr. Blow left. He stereotyped the tea partiers (whose sole issue is Government spending) as RAAAAACISTS!

Now read Liberal Columnist Joe Klein:

Questioning an Administration's policies isn't sedition. But questioning an Administration's legitimacy in a manner intended to undermine or overthrow it certainly is. A rally like this yesterday in South Carolina is a good example of seditious speech. It's not illegal--unless actions are taken to overthrow the government in question--but it is disgraceful and the precise opposite of patriotism in a democracy.

Where was Klein and Blow when the target was Bush and Palin?

The anger is not from the loss of 08; Speak to any Conservative or Republican activist, we knew it was a goner election. In fact, most people I know in the Blogosphere and in realtime (at the LAGOP and SFVRC) are proud that America elected it's first African American president.

For the millionth time: We don't like Obama's policies.

But when you have a media that is blind to understand one party in a Two party system, and when those people (tea partiers and Republican activists) feel silenced, well explosions can occur.

Liberals always justify their need for an Emmanuel Goldstein by seeing "Conservatives are evil," not once has anyone apologized for their attacks on Bush and Palin. Again, a lack of perception filter means they don't understand the Right's anger.

Part two is about closed-mindedness, Right and Left.

My question: Which political writers have broken through their own "Perception filter?"