A friend of mine recently said that in 30 years the Tea Party Movement will be remembered only by political historians and trivia buffs. That got me to thinking about other political movements that have flourished for a while and then faded from the public eye even though they may have continued in existence. And I got to wondering how many people today remember, or know of, the John Birch Society. Do you?
I’m not sure that this board is the best place to get a random sample of people who are not trivia buffs. Just a feeling I have…
Howard Mott Society was similar to the Birchers.
I was always more partial to the Birch John Society.
I check “Heard of it and know what it was or is” but to be honest I’m not completely sure what it was/is.
The name is familiar, but I don’t know what it is/was off the top of my head.
For future reference, to get a more unbiased sample of responses, the titles of threads like these should be non-specific – e.g., “Have you heard of this organization?” When you put “John Birch” in the title, people who know about it and maybe have something to say on the topic are going to be more likely to click on the thread.
And, yes, of course I know about the JBS.
Not only know about them, but I know who John Birch was:American intelligence officer killed by the Chinese Communists shortly after the end of WWII. Considered by the JBS to be the first US casualty of the Cold War.
In the 80s I was out doing cold call sales, and went into what I thought was an insurance office. A whole bunch of very creepy posters convinced me to immediately turn right around and leave what turned out to be the local John Birch office.
I mainly only know it from Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics although I think it is also mentioned in some of Phillip Roth’s books.
Very good point. I’ll remember it.
I doubt that it will take 30 years for the Tea Party to be remembered only by political history buffs. They will be forgotten much sooner as they have no real organization.
What was the name of Ross Perot’s political movement when he ran for President in 1996? Do you remember? It was composed of many of the same sort of people as the Tea Party.
The Reform Party.
So, Dallas Jones, trivia buff or political nutcase?
John Birch Society as performed by the Chad Mitchell trio. One of life’s better earworms.
I know who they are, but for some reason I always get them confused with the Log Cabin Republicans. Maybe because they both have a type of wood and a type of room/building in their name.
I know what they were, but only because of the Bob Dylan song.
Just an older news junkie.
One wouldn’t assume there was a lot of overlap between the two groups, but you never know.
+1