Matt Taibbi
Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone contributing editor
Not much has given DizzyTown reason for more excitement than the news that Rolling Stone contributing editor Matt Taibbi will be visiting Chattanooga at 4 p.m on Wednesday, Feb. 1, to present his talk, “Why the Tea Party and the Occupy Movement Are Right About the 2012 Elections.” The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place at UTC University Center Auditorium as part of “Perspectives 2012,” the Raymond and Florence Witt Lecture Series.
Those are the details, so book that time and date in your DayRunner and be there. DizzyTown will most certainly be seated front and center—not because we’re fans of Rolling Stone, (we are, but let’s face it—the Stone ain’t what it used to be), but because Taibbi has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s best political analysts. He carries water for no party or politician, despite the fact that the journals he writes for are lean left. Instead, he hits both sides hard with gloves-off, pulling no punches. His reporting on the financial crisis and Wall Street, the Occupy Movement and the nascent 2012 campaign are required reading for anyone even remotely interested in learning about the reality behind the smoke and mirrors of politics.
The title of Taibbi’s Chattanooga talk centers on the ideologically opposed Tea Party and Occupy Movement, but, as he told the Times Free Press in a brief chat last week, both were born out of frustration with their political parents.
“I think both of these movements are a reaction to a sense that they have to go take to the streets,” Taibbi said. “The legitimate avenues don’t work anymore.”
Taibbi has been on leave recently and is just taking his place on the campaign trail, but he’s been following the Republican candidates closely since the Iowa caucuses and has already issued some stinging reportage on his “Taibblog,” his blog on rollingstone.com, so expect some blunt-force commentary when he comes to UTC with his thoughts on the expected Florida primary brawl on Jan. 31, just a day before Taibbi arrives.
We can’t wait.