A few days ago I heard the term “coffee conservative” for the first time. I didn’t get it until it was explained to me. And now, here’s the Raleigh News & Observer to explain it for the rest of us:
To join the Coffee Party in Raleigh, you can’t be a screamer, a name-caller, a loud-mouthed zealot or somebody whose idea of politics translates to jabbing a sign in the air, red in the face. All you need are some manners, a good listening ear and a caffeine jones.
Inside a month, this politeness-first political movement has jumped from one meeting at the Hillsborough Street Cup A Joe to five coffee chats scattered across the Triangle. Nationwide, the Coffee Party USA has drawn nearly 200,000 supporters, sipping java and talking turkey in 47 states.
A coffee conservative, then, is a conservative who’s not a tea partier. Someone who remains interested in actual policy and doesn’t feel the urge to rant tirelessly about decline of the west and the imminent tyranny that Barack Obama is bringing down on us. It’s your phrase of the day.
