Members of the tea party are engaged in a conspiracy to destroy the U.S. government and make Americans fearful and angry toward one another, according UC-Berkeley professor Robert Reich.
Reich was Secretary of Labor from 1993-97, under President Bill Clinton. He now teaches public policy at UC-Berkeley, which posted his thoughts about the tea party on the university’s official blog.
“Imagine a plot to undermine the government of the United States, to destroy much of its capacity to do the public’s business, and to sow distrust among the population,” wrote Reich, referring to the motivations of the tea party phenomenon.
Reich was aware that his theory sounds “far-fetched,” but in his view, it’s the best way to explain the tea party, a political movement that materialized in 2009 for the ostensible purpose of slashing government taxes and spending.
“A conspiracy theorist might think they welcome more joblessness because they want Americans to be even more fearful and angry,” he wrote.
Not only do tea partiers want to destroy the government—they have nearly succeeded, according to Reich.
“Imagine they not only paralyze the government but are on the verge of dismantling pieces of it,” he wrote.
Federal spending and debt levels have remained on the rise.
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