Chronicles of American Politics: The Posters of the Chamomile Tea Party, 2010-2020

Don't Let That Shadow Touch Them, 2010

"Predatory Capitalism" results when companies' profit-making policies go unchecked by government regulations meant to protect citizens from harmful money-making schemes. The lending practices that led to the economic crisis in 2008 are examples of predatory capitalism.

Economist James Galbraith's theory of economic predation holds that "in a predatory regime, nothing is done for public reasons. Indeed, the men in charge do not recognize that 'public purposes' exist. They have friends and enemies, and as for the rest—we're the prey."

Why isn't the anger of laissez-faire, "hands-off" conservatives aimed at these corporations instead of just the government? Why is their culpability dismissed and ignored?

In 2018, the Senate passed a measure to roll back some consumer protections created after the Great Recession of 2008. This poster focuses on one element of this issue: advocating for individuals to take responsibility for protecting themselves and their families from fiscal policies that may be dangerous to their well-being. Buyer beware.

Illegal and Mismanaged Foreclosures, 2011

Wall Street, the economy, government gridlock, extremism, and simple greed have led to the economic problems Americans face today. Part of the fallout has affected one of the prime tenets of the American Dream: owning one's own home. In 2011, foreclosures were at a record high, many of them because of mismanagement and lax mortgage requirements. No one was overseeing the process while unscrupulous banks and mortgage companies sold homes to people who could not afford to buy them.

As one example, watch the video below from a 60 Minutes exposé on mortgage mismanagement: The Next Housing Shock.

America's New and Improved Neighborhood Watch, 2013

"There's something uncanny about drones. Flying one is a heady experience, but being watched by one is an eerie, oppressive, somewhat annoying feeling.... They're machines with ghosts in them, and the ghost is saying, "I can see you, but you can't see me." It's roughly analogous to interacting with an anonymous commenter on a blog: you're dealing with someone who is both present and absent, who has decided that what they say or do will have consequences for you but not for them.

"Drones bring that asymmetrical dynamic out into the real world: a drone is the physical avatar of the virtual presence of a real person. They provoke a new kind of anxiety, quite unlike the nuclear terror of the 1980s or the conspiracy-theory paranoia of the 1990s. They're a swarming, persistent presence, low-level but ubiquitous and above all anonymous. They could be al-Qaeda or your government or your friends and neighbors."

Cover Story, Time, February 11, 2013

It Came from Benghazi, 2014

In the spring of 2014, the warm weather was on its way and with it the beginning of Hollywood's blockbuster summer season. Washington, DC is like Hollywood: stars with mega-egos vying for our attention.

During the summer of 2014, critics (and the GOP) were looking forward to the debut of IT CAME FROM BENGHAZI: The House of Representatives' investigation of the events at Benghazi, Libya. Fact or fiction? Was then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responsible for the deaths of three Americans, including the US Ambassador to Libya? Or were these investigations politically motivated? It was sure to be as intriguing as any episode of House of Cards. But at what cost to taxpayers? Interestingly, nothing came of the investigation.

In 2017, suddenly, the Republican-led government faced its own Benghazi: the killing of four American soldiers in the African nation of Niger. And, just as suddenly, there was silence.

Let Me Do the Talking!, 2014

The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, once again brought racial inequality and racial profiling to the surface. In addition, it renewed the debate over law enforcement's handling of these types of encounters and the militarization of local police forces.

After 9/11, the Defense Department gave excess heavy military equipment to domestic law enforcement agencies under its excess property program, also known as the 1033 program. After the media coverage in Ferguson, which looked like battle scenes from Ukraine or the Middle East, President Obama signed an Executive Order in May 2015, limiting and prohibiting the dissemination of certain types of equipment to local police. In August 2017, Donald Trump rolled back Obama's order.

Part 1: Partisanship on Overdrive
Part 2: The Electorate
Part 3: Politicians and Our Political Process
Part 4: The Issues

Next:
Part 5: Post-Truth: The Contentious 2016 Election
Part 6: Post Election: Post-Truth Reaches New Heights
Part 7: Immigration, Obstruction, Redaction, Oh My!

Download a brief bibliography of topics covered in this exhibit.