First, you might need to clarify what you’re arguing about. The person you’re arguing with might call himself a Tea Party supporter, but “Tea Party” seems to mean different things depending upon who you’re talking to. This is one example (listen to the audio, it’s comedy gold). Once you know what your favorite Tea Partier believes in, you can better learn how to talk with them by looking up their pet issues.
1. If they’re saying it’s a diverse movement with people from all over the spectrum, you might bring this up to deny that.
2. If they’re against things like stimulus and TARP spending, you can mention this (written by a conservative – one of GWB’s old speech writers). In fact, the TARP program is basically paid off and made a profit, but many Tea Partiers still believe it was all money down the toilet.
3. If they’re arguing FOR keeping the Bush-era tax cuts, you can point to these results about how they were not the boom-causing wonder that people thought they’d be, and were a net loss for the economy. In fact, they’ve increased the divide between the haves and have-nots.
4. If they are against expensive bank bailouts, this is a good thing to mention. When credit dries up (as it did when the mortgage crisis caused a freeze in lending), it can cause the economy to go into a death spiral. Getting money flowing again had to be one of our top priorities.
5. If your Tea Partier is a Republican under a new label, you might explain how this Reagan insider says that the GOP has ruined the economy. Not will ruin – ruined. In fact, the current Right wing makes Reagan look a bit like a bleeding heart liberal. (Good article here, too.)
6. If your Tea Partier is afraid of “rampant inflation around the corner!!!”, you might point out that even the American Enterprise Institute (a Conservative think tank) is finally talking out loud about the even likelier spectre of deflation – something “liberal” economists have been calling for a while.
7. If they’re comparing the current financial situation in the U.S. with that of Greece, this will help you explain why we’re not at all like Greece.
8. Interestingly, the original Tea Party (we’re talking 1773) was all about a protest against a tax cut – that ought to shake them up a bit. And if you just want to poke a little fun, ask them about Teabonics.
9. Tea Partiers, in general, believe we are Taxed Enough Already. But most of them seem to think we pay more in taxes than we really do. Here’s a breakdown.
10. If they’re upset about “big government,” then here’s a good point to drive home that this anger is an illusion as well.
11. So, you know how self-described Conservatives have been objecting to the government’s expansion of the money supply as part of keeping us out of a replay of the Great Depression? It turns out that the most prominent economist who agreed with them was Karl Marx. Spring that one on them!
12. They’re often misled about health care reform, too.
13. If Glenn Beck is their hero, here’s a piece about how he distorts stuff.
14. Do you live in a “Donor” or a “Recipient” state? Your Tea Party pals might not realize that they’re on the receiving end of OMG! Socialism!
Essentially, if you know the issues that your opponent is ranting about, that would be where to start looking for facts to present in your next debate. However, be aware that presenting facts can backfire and cause your pet Tea Partier to cling even more strongly to his position. Good luck!