This whole thing began in the 1980’s with Ronald Regan.  He embraced what the pundits call the Southern Democrats.  In addition, he gave them a new name; a new and important powerful sounding name.  He called them the Moral Majority. 

The Moral Majority believed in God, country, hard work, self-reliance, family and a strong military.  They also felt under siege.  Everything they believed in was being attacked, first by their own children and then by liberal politicians who had been emboldened by the anti-establishment movement of the 1960’s and 70’s.  Laws were being passed which favored only minorities.  The Government was giving their tax dollars to atheists who submerged crucifixes in jars of urine and called it art.  Their tax dollars were going to pay for, in their view, the murder of unborn children, and welfare queens who made a living by having children out of wedlock.

So while the liberals were railing against the Military Industrial Complex at least the Moral Majority could see some benefit to the expenditure of those tax dollars.  On the other hand, they witnessed, up close and personal, the single mother with a backseat full of bastard children driving down the street in her new Cadillac.  They could see and feel the assault, whether perceived or real, by the Left on their way of life.

The Left mocked these people, called them stupid, ignorant, hayseeds, racists and ignored their concerns.  The Left shamed them for being white; blamed them for stealing land from Native Americans, enslaving Black people and subjugating women.  The Left attacked every value the Moral Majority held dear, attacked them personally and left them ripe for a champion.

One can say many things about Ronald Regan but none can say that he was not a savvy politician.  He realized that these were not just Southerners.  They inhabited most all of the nation.  From small towns and hamlets to large industrialized regions, he recognized a vast horde of disenfranchised voters waiting to be conscripted into service as conservative cannon fodder. 

Ronald Regan gave them promises of......”hope and change.”  He exclaimed that it was their values that had built this country.  He told them he “felt their pain.” He would be their mouthpiece.  He would make them proud to be Americans. He would champion their cause.

He would go on to hold the White House for eight years and his Republican successor for another four.  The longest such reign in my lifetime.

Of course, the other thing that Ronald Regan did was to never try and actually change any of the things that so troubled the Moral Majority.  Ronald Regan like so many other successful politicians before him knew that the electorate needed a cause, an enemy, a reason to become and stay mobilized.  The pot must be continually stirred to keep the ingredients from settling complacently to the bottom.

Fast forward to 2010. 

The same concerns that Ronald Regan addressed but never attempted to solve still plague much of the electorate. Most Americans still oppose unfettered abortion after the first trimester.  Most Americans still oppose same-sex marriage.  Most Americans still believe in God.  Most Americans still believe that the Government should stay the hell out of their business.

These people are no longer called the Moral Majority but the Tea Party.  And, while they may be headed by a legion of Mad Hatter’s in the form of Becks, Hannitys and Limbaughs they are many and they are motivated. 

Sarah Palin is attempting to become the face of the Tea Party; The Ronald Regan of her generation, if you will.  She may well succeed. 

The Left, once again, has taken to mocking them, ignoring them, hating them and condemning them.  I would suggest that the Left does so at its own peril.  By disenfranchising a huge segment of the population who proudly consider themselves the backbone of the greatest nation on earth, the Left may, once again, find themselves ousted from power and handing a mandate to the far right.