The "Tea Party" is not real

[scheming daemons]

It's a front... just like the mob would use a laundromat or take-out restaurant.


The "Tea Party" was started by FreedomWorks... a far-right Washington think tank headed by Dick Armey.


There's nothing real or "grassroots" about them. Rightwing radio and TV pumps them up, advertises their events, and a handful of rightwing crazies who are looking for a place to focus their racist rage at all things Obama soak it up and buy into it.


Their events are very sparsely attended, for the most part. There are 600 total people attending the Tea Party convention in Nashville.

600.

But the rightwing media trumps it up like it is some major event.

It's a cover group created to be a place where Republicans can allow racist hatred of Obama to build and fester without having the GOP's fingerprints on it.

It's funding is not coming from grass roots individuals.. it is coming from big players behind the scenes.





There is no massive or growing "Tea Party" movement. It is a sham. It's the same freepers that were giving Bush 30% approval ratings at the end of his term.

It's the GOP base. It's not a "new" movement of independents. It's just Republicans SAYING they're independent.

Teabaggers aren't swing voters. They're not "former Obama voters". These are the people who will NEVER vote Democratic... ever.

Remember the "Brooks Brothers riots" in Florida following the 2000 election? Same thing. Fake grass roots.

Otherwise known as astroturfing.


Anybody who shouts "vote all the incumbents out!" is not an independent... they know darn well that voting all the incumbents out would LITERALLY swap the Democratic majority for a Republican one. They're hoping you're not good at math.

Democrats running for office would be well advised to turn this thing back on the GOP. Force your opponent to either denounce them (thus pissing off their base) or embrace them (thus pissing off the REAL independent swing voters).

Don't let your opponent run from them. Play the clip of Tancredo calling for a return of the poll test. Show pictures of the racist Teabagger signs. Put your opponent on the defensive.... make him accept or denounce them on the record.


Don't let these freepers continue to pretend to be "independents" that are disenchanted with "both parties".

The teabaggers aren't voters that Democrats could EVER get.... so exploit the neanderthal fuckers.

[AlinPA]

1. Amen (especially to your last sentence ).nt

[stopbush]

62. WHERE ARE THE BLACK PEOPLE at the Tea Party convention???

Have you seen a minority outside of the staff at the convention center?

The Tea Party is a bunch of middle- and senior-aged white guys and their dumpy wives. The guys are there in hopes of getting a boner when Sara Palin walks onstage. The wives are only there because they live in the tenement-on-wheels that their hubbie drove up to Nashville, and it was go to the convention or sleep under a tree.

[Tx4obama]

120. MSNBC said...

I read an article last night on MSNBC or maybe it was CNN but I think it was MSNBC and the reporter said that he/she saw ONE African-American there and he was a pastor that was asked to come to the convention by another pastor (white) to lead a prayer. So, I guess he could be considered 'part of the event' and not really a teabagger. But I betcha the teaparty people will be sure to get him into as many photos as they can.

[kmac3]

67. Totally Nuts!

I 2nd your statement, especially the last line.

[yorgatron]

2. K&R

:kick:

[Hannah Bell]

3. +100

[annabanana]

4. Ah yes. . The *backwash". .

The dirty 30..

Stephen Colbert called them out during his magnificent Press Corp Dinner speech..

[stlsaxman]

Have you been watching Rachel Maddow again...?

:hi:

on edit- great and true post! thanks! k&r.

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. Is there any doubt?

All progressives and Democrats should point out to the media that millions protested the wars and got barely a mention a few years back while the Teabaggers get non-stop coverage for getting SIX HUNDRED assholes in one location. Hell, there are bars around Indy where they get six hundred dumbasses to gather every weekend.

[glinda]

6. Need some infiltrators to inform the (not as crazy) poor people who actually are being lied to.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. 'not real' and 'manufactured' are not equivalent.

What we have observed since the summer of 2008 is the deliberate creation of a manufactured hard right political movement with lots of money and media access. To think that just because this movement was manufactured it is not 'real' is a serious error.

Your next error is down at the bottom:

"The teabaggers aren't voters that Democrats could EVER get.... so exploit the neanderthal fuckers."

This manufactured political movement that is 'not real' kicked over Ted Kennedy's seat. The teanuts won't ever vote Democratic, but their movement is drawing independents in its wake who do.

[customerserviceguy]

57. Well said

We ignore this at our own peril. Behind the goofy speeches and the high price tags for attending is the real story, these people at this convention are learning how to organize to get what they want. The aim is to take the 600, teach them how to find more people, and balloon their movement up to full strength by 2012.

On the other hand, people on our side are becoming dispirited. I'm not saying that there are not good reasons for feeling that way, but the baggers out-organized us on HCR, they'll do the same thing on every other thing that the President tries to get done in the next couple of years. We need to come up with our own organizing strategies.

[The Hitman]

60. Amen

Well said.

[Selena Harris]

63. Big $$$ from Council for National Policy and Pionneer Fund

Sarah Palin, Eugenics, the CNP and The Pioneer Fund - The ...The CNP connects to the eugenics movement through deceased Senator Jesse Helms. .... "Council for National Policy: Selected Member Biographies. ...
educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=14320 - Cached

Check out the roster of people associated with the manufacturing of this movement-and how far back it goes.

The teabaggers will be discarded once they have been brewed enough discord to suit their master's tastes-then they will be discarded.

[Selena Harris]

76. "Christian" Mafiosi

Secretive Right-Wing Group Vetted PalinSep 1, 2008 ... CNP members have included Tony Perkins, James Dobson, ... This year, thanks to Sarah Palin's selection, the movement may have finally ...
www.thenation.com/.../secretive_right_wing_group_vetted_palin - Cached - Similar

[Beartracks]

95. That's a very good and important distinction. n/t

[Mithreal]

115. 100%

:thumbsup:

[Arkana]

117. This is untrue--partly.

That movement didn't kick over Ted Kennedy's seat. In fact, if the Democrat had made as big a stink about the Tea Party retards (YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, I SAID IT, SARAH! COME GET SOME!) propping up Scott Brown as she should have, Martha Coakley would be the new Senator from Massachusetts.

I'm not saying to say that it doesn't exist, because it does--but to think of it as some kind of force that could threaten Democrats is just silly. They're already being forced to integrate into the Republican Party, and since they don't play well with others the rifts will only grow.

Democrats had no one to blame but themselves in Massachusetts, and they will have no one to blame but themselves in November if things don't go well.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. I am watching it, off and on.

About 5 minutes is all I can take.

" birth certificate"

" literacy test to vote"
They had the CEO of WorldNet Daily on a bit ago, he opened with an offensive birther joke.

VERY KKK....for real.

[ThomThom]

55. George Bush might not have been elected if there was a literacy test

for voting
his 30% base would flunk spelling


on edit sorry that was poor taste

[glitch]

9. They had a convention and only 600 showed up? Ok, that actually is

:rofl:

[KonaKane]

17. Who the fuck is going to plunk down $349 to hear

that failed Alaskan Wassila dumbshit talk? Come on, have more respect for your fellow citizen.

[louis-t]

59. I think it was $549. Suckers.

[jmowreader]

108. The $549 is for the whole weekend

If you want only to listen to Sarah Palin, a woman who fails the flashlight test for intelligence (turn on your flashlight and put it to her right ear. If you can read a newspaper by the light coming out of her left ear, she fails.) you get in for the discount rate.

[nxylas]

109. They priced most of their supporters out

How many trailer park dwellers can afford $600 tickets?

[ThomThom]

53. and they had to pay to be there

too bad just too bad
if they were really informed people they would be standing with us against the corporate oppressors
instead they are just tools
exactly who delegated them?

[Edweird]

10. Yes, it is astro turf.

[KingFlorez]

11. It has been inflated a lot

The Tea Party is still the radical minority, but they want to give the illusion that they are the majority.

[aquart]

12. And wouldn't it be nice if CNN would say so.

They did a horrid report on them yesterday, carefully edited shots for the purpose of making it seem grassroots and never mentioning astroturf. It was enraging.

[olegramps]

43. What can you expect from a station that features Wolf Blitzer?

The media in our nation has been bought by the right-wing. They now have the means to control the propaganda. Forget it. Its a lost cause.

[eShirl]

13. Absolutely 100% correct.

Newt and his friends were all exited about it long before it appeared on MSM radar.

[SecularMotion]

14. K&R

[northofdenali]

15. Excellent.

I hope you don't mind that I forwarded this to everyone on my email list. Put simply, effectively and VERY well-done, thank you! :applause:

[Blue Owl]

16. as fake as

George W. Bu$h's ranch.

[Grand Taurean]

18. This is clear attempt by the corporate world/GOP

to get back into power using a very deceptive trojan horse.

[XemaSab]

19. How are there 300 people attending the meetings in Redding then?

You discount them at your peril.

[Kablooie]

20. Just wait till Captain Lipton speaks. THEN you'll think differently.

And old man Earl Grey is waiting in the wings to make a big splash.

[tomm2thumbs]

21. they are trying to re-label used shirts as new - because the old brand was so bad

same ol ideas, same ol rhetoric, same ol faces - bright new label

same ol smell

[NJCher]

48. Bingo

You got it.

They are desperate after eight years of bush, so here we are--"born again."



Cher

[Jackpine Radical]

51. Used BROWN shirts at that.

[JNelson6563]

22. I agree, demand Rethugs endorse or renounce them!

Well done.

[W T F]

23. We should be infiltrating this group and carry signs that say........

"Stop Socialism Dismantle Social Security and Public Schools!"

[NJCher]

49. that would be an excellent strategy

I will do it at the next tea party gathering in the NYC area.



Cher

[teknomanzer]

121. What you are suggesting is known as "media jamming."

I suggest we all explore this tactic much further. It could be our best weapon.

[liberalhistorian]

24. (self-delete; posted under wife;s username)

[Enthusiast]

25. Most talk of disgruntled liberals

joining forces with Tea Baggers is being generated by the forces behind the Tea Baggers.

These people do not think for themselves. They have been primed by Glenn Beck's insane talking points. Their entire focus is how President Obama is a socialist, fascist, stealth Muslim terrorist sympathizer out to destroy the country.

How could any thinking person consider joining forces with such gullible misguided idiots?

[peekaloo]

26. Just this a.m. in the local litter box liner there's an AP story

on how this really truly is a grass roots/internets movement. Of course it's about the convention and how the group is comprised of both D's & R's who are just really really pissed off. My favorite part was the interview with the two 80 year olds and how this bowel, er, grassroots movement will strengthen the Republican party. :rofl:

[kpominville]

27. TAKE OVER the "Tea party"

Show up at their rallies with signs denouncing corporatism, corporate person hood, conservatism, and trickle down economics. Lead these clueless lemmings away from the clutches of Fixed News.

[nxylas]

110. Or better yet, help them set up an actual Tea Party

You know, a political party that contests elections against Republicans and Democrats. It would split what's left of the Republican vote in two and pretty much ensure a Dem victory at the next election.

[Bosso 63]

28. The Tea party is just a giant circle jerk.

And the media wants to be "in the loop".

[The Wizard]

30. And the media wants to be "in the loop".

No, the media chooses to be in the pivot position of the mass circle jerk.

[Jennicut]

29. The loyal Bush 30%...pretty much sums it up.

Though I think there are some Ron Paul libertarian crazies in there too.

[Froward69]

31. Intentionally Ignorant, neanderthal, mouth breathing,

knuckle dragging, racist, Viagra needing to even be fucks. And Tom Tancredo too goddamn dago!!! yeah I said it!!! Tancredo needs to learn what and how his grand parents were discriminated with/by and against too. (Tancredo earned the title the other day.)

I have a difficult time tolerating these creations to begin with... much less keeping myself from puking on them to exploit them... but I will try.

It just occurred to me that the tea baggers need to be handed a "civics test" just to see how many of them would fail...

...and another thing, arent these the same "Morans" that cant spell on protest signs?

[olegramps]

44. Tancredo used illegals to remodel his home for a new entertainment center that cost thousands.

[Alcibiades]

46. Yes, it is the same group of spelling-impaired morans

They are particularly vulnerable to phonetic misspelling, a key indicator that they simply do not read. My favorite, because it neatly encapsulates their bigotry, racism and ignorance all at once:

[Alcibiades]

47. Oh, it is the same group of illiterate morans

They are particularly vulnerable to phonetic misspelling, a key indicator that they simply do not read. My favorite, because it neatly encapsulates their bigotry, racism and ignorance all at once:

[RainDog]

32. it's the Dick Armey tea baggers

led by a Dick for dicks. who picked a name that indicates they are also partial to scrotums and not just dicks.

what's fake about that?

:)

[GinaMaria]

33. Thank You!

Wish we could hear this from the media. It drives me nuts. Tea Party web sites were set up months before we knew the election results in November 2008. They didn't just crop up over issues that inspired them to act. They need to be exposed.

[janet118]

34. On Bill Moyers' Journal last night . . .

the Libertarian spokesperson from "Reason" magazine Nick Gillespie claimed that the recent United v. FEC decision was fine with him because "the people" would rise up against any corporate message that they disagreed with, like the tea baggers did against health care reform. Pullleeeeze!!! I wanted to scream - they are sponsored by corporations, you moron!!!! They were demonstrating FOR the corporate message. No one, neither Moyers or his other guest Lawrence Lessig, rebutted Gillespie. Look for more outrage and thuggery by fake groups sponsored by corporate funding in the future. If those who were abused by insurance companies or wanted single payer health care were able to organize and fund similar demonstrations, would the corporate media even cover them? Money doesn't talk, it screams.

[malaise]

39. Spot on

:hi:

[HughMoran]

35. Yes, I'm sick of people treating this as if it was a real grass roots organization

I now scream at anybody who treats this group as if they are saying anything that isn't just "my side hates your side". I almost ripped my coworkers heads off for treating these idiots as a legitimate group. He'll never bring up these trolls again - besides, I made him actually fact check and he realized that they were indeed telling nothing but lies.

[Fire1]

36. K&R n/t

[JustAnotherGen]

37. Actually

Freedom Works hijacked it. There was a 'Tea Party' in Boston in 2007. The guy who 'called' for it? A 9/11 Truth guy. And he is none too pleased that is: Fight the Power movement has been reduced to bubble gum, lollipops, and Fox News is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

It makes me laugh to know that these folks came into being from the "George Bush fired a missile at the Pentagon" movement. But those dumb dumbs are just too stoooopid to take a look at where they have been. :rofl:

[malaise]

38. Great post

100% correct

[fan of the arts]

40. The sad thing is someone had to post it

There are so many duped propaganda responders wandering around like zombies that it actually has to be said.

[Skidmore]

41. I posted this several days ago...

hoping that someone who has the appropriate access could research connections a little better. Dick Armey was being more smarmy than usual, and I suspect lying through his teeth.

[Reform]

42. 911 Truth Not Dick.....

The original tea parties were started by 911 truth for the Ron Paul money bombs, at the same time Fox was doing everything they could to bring Paul down.
After the elections the GOP swooped in and high jacked the whole thing and you see what you see today, a GOP Tea Party.
It started out grass roots but has turned out to be a new mask for the reactionary Repugs.
There are some well meaning people involved who don't know any of this but it is all true.

[JustAnotherGen]

56. Amen Reform!

And yet - the media doesn't seem to be too keen on telling the 'truth' behind the history of the movement.

[anachro1]

45. And what's more

They're not "former Obama voters". These are the people who will NEVER vote Democratic... ever.

And they will NEVER vote for an African American.

[spanone]

50. it's as real as the media presents it....therefore it is real

[NJCher]

52. trying to unseat Dem NJ Senator Menendez

Those rascally tea-baggers!

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/tea_party_activitists_look_to.html

In the tradition of the birthers, the lawsuit has no merit.

These people are such a waste of time.



Cher

[BumRushDaShow]

54. K&R

:applause:

[varelse]

58. K&R

Such an apt comparison in your opening statement. Well said.

[geckosfeet]

61. But the haters just eat up their bullshit. They love the hate. This reminds me

of nothing so much as the rise of the third reich in post WWI Germany. Popular disillusionment fueling hate and mass hysteria. It is quite intriguing to watch them walk this path.

[subterranean]

64. Did you ever notice...

that these teabaggers almost never specify just what government policies they're against? They rail against "big government" programs, "socialism," and government intrusion into their lives, but they rarely if ever say exactly WHAT programs they are against, what Obama has done that is socialist, or ways in which government intrudes on them. I doubt they could even if you asked them.

Also, they protest against our outrageous taxes even though income tax rates have never been lower in their lifetimes.

[invisible]

65. They are definitely all Bush supporters.

They are definitely all Bush supporters. “It's the same freepers that were giving Bush 30% approval ratings at the end of his term.” The teabag crowd is the same crowd who screwed over America to begin with. The Tea Party is nothing more than Republicans rebranding themselves for the purpose of deception—like rebranding Blackwater to Xe or rebranding any other failed product hoping consumers will not notice it is really that same old failed product.

Tea Party conservatives whine about wanting an unregulated free market and then they turn around and whine that they have lead in their child’s toys and poison in their pet’s food. Well caveat emptor teabaggers--buyer beware; you asked for it, you bought it, now you can live with it. But don’t you dare drag the rest of America down with you (again). The very best notions of America are fundamentally liberal. The concept that “all men are created equal” is quintessentially liberal. America’s worst failures have been inextricably tied to conservative ideologies.

By the way, I think it may have been Anderson Cooper who quipped, “It would take a Dick Armey for all of that teabagging.” That is still one of my favorite lines.

[newspeak]

66. What disturbs me the most, is the media gives them so much exposure

MSM is endorsing this group---and I remember how much play was given when hundreds of thousands marched against the Iraqi preemptive attack. Also I remember when candlelight visuals were held ALL OVER THE WORLD against the aggression in Iraq. We are living in a time of uber propaganda, and the corporate networks, especially Faux, decide what we can see (or as * stated they're "catapulting the propaganda").

I don't care what people say about comparing them to Germany circa 1930. The same propaganda was implemented over and over again on the German people-to the point of treating certain groups of people lower than animals--then, it was the jews, it was the gays, it was the liberals, it was the unionists. Oh wait, it is the same today, but add in the Muslims and any person of color. And those brown shirts who did Hitler's bidding, found themselves eventually betrayed--for they were expendable after his rise to power. Some of these teabaggers, I see as useful idiots for those with their own agenda--a corporate agenda. That reminds me also, that Hitler was vetted by big time industrialists in this country (some who believed in his ideological shite-not just for the bucks). Most go against their own interest, unless they're for big business interest.

The media has helped further the cause, and I remember seeing on the news in Vegas--the talking heads talking about the teabaggers being out demonstrating and where you could go. Now, let me know if you heard the news advertising where you could join an anti-war demonstrations. This movement is fully vetted by corporate sponsors.

[Raine]

68. EXACTLY

on point!

[krabigirl]

69. Well, to be fair them, there was one, and it stemmed from the ROn Paul campaign.

But was quickly co-opted by this group now and is just the extreme far right of the GOP.

[lollybaby]

70. These are 'Real Americans' expressing their sentiments...

.. at what they see as the wrong direction 'their country' is headed. Until folks here and around the country also decide to get off their butts and the internet and publicly express your collective sentiments against the antics you decry here, NEWS FLASH - these 600 'delegates' will continue to represent the 'Real Americans'.
So quit complaining and let the world and the corporate media know there are more of you and less of them in this country! I am just saying...

[malaise]

71. WTF is 'Real America'?

Who are 'Real Americans'?

[spanone]

73. there are 'real fucked up americans'.....why don't you get off the internet and get to work

[lollybaby]

83. You make the same assumptions about everybody, don't you?

You assume that everybody is equally invested in whatever your cause is, don't you? What makes you think that this is my work to do as a non American? But as a friend of the American people I can whisper my concerns, the work my dear sir, is yours to do! I am just saying...

[EmeraldCityGrl]

74. News Flash to you...

The real American's have been on the front lines fighting for years.

Teabaggers woke up in middle age after contributing nothing to the
political system their entire lives and wondered what happened.

They elected Bush twice and after eight years finally realized he had
destroyed our republic. But hell, let's blame the new black guy.

Don't you dare call them the "real" Americans.

[malaise]

78. Perfect n/t

[lollybaby]

81. Thanks for your thoughtful response...

... Maybe if the 'Real Americans' realize that the fight does not stop after winning an election, we will not be here talking about 600 individuals. The safe-guard to having the government you want starts with safe-guarding the ones you have managed to elect into office from those who would like to return things to the state they would prefer. Remember as you complain about the attention these 600 individuals are getting, that they are fighting to return things to the way they prefer it to be and it is a right they have, the right and duty the rest of Americans have is to also publicly show your willingness not to allow these individuals (tea-baggers) intentions to happen since this is what the majority of Americans want. Until this starts to happen in America, these 600 individuals will continue to represent the 'Real Americans' to the media and the world. I am just saying...

[Name removed]

86. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lollybaby]

102. Your anger, my friend, is misdirected...

..Get away from the blind emotions and re-read my comments and decided if there is nothing you can take away from them. My comments, if I need to break them down for your benefit, are about you taking the messaging and agenda-setting away from the tea-bagger bunch and how until you do that this bunch no matter what you decide to call them, will keep getting labeled the 'Real Americans' by your media. I am just saying!

[gtar100]

89. Except, that they haven't realized the destruction left by *ush.

I've gotten as far as "*ush did some bad things" but not a full-blown realization of everything he did, let alone a confession on what damage the conservatives have done since Nixon. Like immature children, they deny their own responsibility and blame it on "the new black guy" without missing a beat; no matter how nonsensical it is.

But hey, we're all "real" Americans. The realness is that we are a people divided by ideologies.

[newspeak]

82. yeah, so if these are "real Americans"

you mean those Americans proudly flying tattered flags made in china on their vehicles to show the world what real patriots do? Now tell me how many of those "real americans" protested the Iraq preemptive assault? How many of those real Americans protested against torturing-the same torture that we tried the Germans and Japanese for? How many of those real americans even cared that they were lied into a bogus war and that not just Wilson, but a CIA network which monitors nuclear WMDs was outed, just so some war and oil profiteering greedheads could make a buck. How many of those real americans protested the * administration for doing away with habeas corpus and posse commitatus. How many of those real americans protested * when the patriot act was passed-shatting on the Constitution (it was so bad that some parts were declared illegal by the right wing supremes. How many of those real americans said a word about illegal wiretapping by the administration before 9/11 or that the administration went to Ashcroft's bedside to get his signature for it because they knew it was illegal? Yeah, all those real americans still have their guns, big whoop--apparently the rest of the Constitution and Bill of Rights can go the way of the DODO.

[newspeak]

93. it was REAL americans who protested

in Washington DC--against *'s faux war. Thousands and thousands showed up-C-span covered some of it and the MSM downplayed it. The WTO meeting in Seattle, thousands were in the street for labor rights and fair trade, unions, nuns, families. It was peaceful until some dudes in the black hoods started damaging things, giving the police the motive to start firing rubbers bullets and (supposedly) tear gas-at peaceful protesters. I knew some people who went there and it took weeks to recover from the shite they were spraying. Now, the MSM barely covered it, except for the hooligans or provocateurs who threw rocks in some windows, which allowed the police to do atrocious things. One man's jaw was broke with the rubber bullets-they were firing at nuns for God sake!!! Thousands and thousands of people, and our great MSM wanted to report on the very few hooligans-not why people were protesting or those who were hurt. Afterward, I believe the chief of police stepped down. Canada they had a large protest for the same thing, but those black hooded provocateurs all had the same boots on. Nice and shiny police boots. The MSM are corporate owned, so their interest is maintaining the status quo, and those BRAVE teabaggers are preserving their status quo. That's why those who are fighting for single payer are arrested, those at economic summits fighting for fair trade and labor rights are arrested, those who demonstrated at the repuke convention arrested--but very, very few teabaggers, even teabaggers with guns. It's those evil people who believe in peace, in social justice, in labor rights--now those are very, very dangerous people.

[lollybaby]

99. Finally someone is getting the message...

... that is exactly my point, you do not stop protesting just because you finally won, REAL Americans need to be out there reminding both the government and this tea-bagger bunch, the hard earned victories won during the elections will be safe-guarded for the sake of the American people. It was this drive during the Bush era that won you the elections and it is the continued pressure of this drive by REAL Americans that will ensure the tea-baggers' bunch are exposed for what they are... I am just saying.

[bc3000]

72. Real or not, get ready for 12 years of republican rule, just like after Carter.

Our democrats refuse to fight for us. We need better democrats.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

87. Please , enlighten us...

What is it that "our" democrats are not fighting for?
And be specific. We're all waiting with baited breath.

[alp227]

75. You're damn right. This is all a silly, expensive event with a bunch of knuckleheads and has-beens

I mean, Tom Tancredo, Roy Moore, and Sarah Palin all have been out of their offices for quite a while. Joseph Farah sucks as a "journalist". I don't know about the rest of the speakers and think I'd get sick just reading their bios.

[dixiegrrrrl]

77. One of n2doc's toons illustrates your point exactly.

[Cha]

79. Notthing is real with repucons..especially not

the ignorant teabags.

Thanks for your OP, scheming daemons~

[Screwball]

80. Picture from convention

Above is a link to a screen shot of the convention ROOM during one of the speeches. Yes, one room and it was on CSpan.

[euphoria12leo]

91. I had to click my zoom level

to see the crowd :sarcasm: of assholes.

[NorthCarolina]

84. Maybe it's time to hold some "Liberal" movement Tea Parties. nt

[gtar100]

85. The new repug meme is "TEA PARTY" - the latest and greatest rw talking point

Because somebody finally figured out that TEA BAGGER was a pejorative. (Note the increased use of the words "tea party" in mainstream media - the repug propaganda machine at work.)

Mark my word! They can call themselves what they want, but if the shoe fits, wear it! They are still a bunch of TEA BAGGERS!

[Selena Harris]

88. Didn't Alice attend a Teaparty

in Wonderland? Now, who is the Mad Hatter? Tancredo?

No doubt that the Red Queen is Sarah Palin.

Yes, things get curiouser and curiouser in Teapot Wonderland-where down is up,and up is down.

[gtar100]

90. If they want to play with words, that is a *great* direction to take it - Alice's Tea Party.

Good one!

[EmeraldCityGrl]

92. Jabberwocky-Sarah Palin's speech...

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.



"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.



`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

-Lewis Carrol-

[billybob537]

101. I refuse to go galumphing back

I will not!!!

[butterfly77]

94. It is time to...

Kick :kick: It is also time to put the bluedogs on the defensive,they seem to be more afraid of the so called conservative Dems/repubs more than they are of us...

[KrazyinKS]

96. I think they really are racist-

My sister-in-law who lives in a small town in western Kansas, called up and wanted directions to Lawrence-Dumont stadium because that is where a tea party was being held in town. I stopped dead in my tracks. I said "she is going to a what?". I gave my husband the directions and he relayed it to her. He told me all the things she said. She wants to impeach him, and he was not born here. He just laughs because it is so STUPID!!!She really is VERY RACIST, It is the land of the rednecks out there. They prey upon their fears, and these people are not rich, many are on government subsidies themselves, but they want less government intruding into their lives! Sheer stupidy.

[lollybaby]

98. Finally someone is getting the message...

You do not allow the other side to take the message and run with it. If the majority of Americans do not agree with this bunch, it is more than time for that majority to stand up and let it be known at all times or else the loud few will set the agenda... That is all I am saying!

[EmeraldCityGrl]

118. Sometimes if you give them enough rope...

But, I understand what you are saying.

[Strelnikov_]

97. Considering the Reichpublican Party has managed this country like a bust-out

it only seems fitting.

A "bust out" is a common tactic in the organized crime world where a business's assets and lines of credit are exploited and exhausted to the point of bankruptcy.


How is:

1) Running up the debt, funneling said debt to connected contractors (Blackwater, Halliburton, etc.);

and

2) Deregulating Wall Street, resulting in enormous profits for connected firms until a call is made on the 'assets';

Any different than Tony Soprano's crew taking control of Scatino's Sporting Goods or Paulie's crew taking over the Bamboo Lounge.

Now the guy's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with a bill, he can go to Paulie. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie. But now the guy's got to come up with Paulie's money every week. No matter what. Business bad? F--k you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? F--k you, pay me. The place got hit by lightning, huh? F--k you, pay me. Also, Paulie could do anything. Especially run up bills on the joint's credit. And why not? Nobody's gonna pay for it anyway. And as soon as the deliveries are made in the front door, you move the stuff out the back and sell it at a discount. You take a two hundred dollar case of booze and you sell it for a hundred. It doesn't matter. It's all profit. And then finally, when there's nothing left, when you can't borrow another buck from the bank or buy another case of booze, you bust the joint out. You light a match.

[KrazyinKS]

100. It does look intentional-

I just asked that question on another blog. When the stock market crashed all of Wall Street was running around saying "I didn't know that was going to happen!" I can't see how that is possible. I read an article by the guy who owns Overstock dot.com about hedge funds and how they imperiled our economy a year before the economy crashed. How could they be so naive? I'm not buying it. I think it was intentional. These guys have been trying to gut social security since the 30's. Remember the letter from Eisenhower to his brother mentioning people who want to stop social security. He mentioned the Hunt brothers, a few Texas oil millionaires, and a few others. I remember that line.

[Mad_Dem_X]

103. AMEN, AMEN!

The Plant Manager where I work was going on and on about the Tea Baggers this past week, repeating the lie that they were a "grass roots" movement, and how they have no leader, and how they are made up of people mostly from the center and not far-right. I really had to fight to keep from rolling my eyes and laughing. I should have asked him, "Where were these 'patriots' during the eight years George W. Bush was in office?"

[truedelphi]

104. Please, would someone answer one or two questions here...

If the Tea Baggers Party is not for real, then why is it that Sen. Barbara Boxer's home page was set to implore us Democrats to spend our time and energy (and yes,our money) helping her defeat them next November?

If they are not for real, why did Barack Obama spend last summer flying around the nation, attending the town meetings where the local (and not so local) Tea Baggers were in attendance.

I agree - the numbers of these TB people are finite. And very paltry numbers if compared, for instance, to the large numbers of people that were in the streets of cities across the USA in February 2003 to oppose Bush's war.

But our national Power Holders, be they elected officials, or the media, need the Tea Baggers.

Without the Tea Baggers, how would those holding elected office in Washington have any excuse for not using the 62% mandate carried by the Dems in November of 2008 to bring about sweeping, Pro Average Person reform?

The only way that Universal Single Payer HCR could be defeated was by the Big Muckity Mucks, from Obama on down, to officially respond to the Tea Baggers.

The only way that the Average Person's cries for election reform, both election machinery and campaign finance reform, could be ignored was by the manufactured chaos of the Tea Baggers.

And of course, our media, always complicit in all thing Corporate, stands behind the Tea Baggers one hundred percent.

[Salmonslayer]

107. Nice post

My question too. for something that is not real it seems to be garner a lot of attention and influence. Perhaps undue, but, real.

I would also like the original poster to back up his accusations and statement by linking to his sources. As it stands now without references, it just reads like a bunch of baseless accusations/assumptions.

[Mithreal]

114. +1

[leftstreet]

116. [phone]

:applause:

[Mithreal]

105. Agreed. Both sides have astroturf though, just saying.

[Tx4obama]

106. And the ppl at the TeaParty Convention are NOT delegates

It irks the hell out of me that the media is now calling the people at the Teaparty Convention 'delegates'.
They are NOT delegates.
For the most part they are only 600 various people that decided to dish out the money to see Palin.
They were not sent there by the majority of people in their 'states'.
Some of the people there flew in from OUT OF THE COUNTRY in order to see Palin and are not even Americans.
Three of the major TeaParty organizations did not even attend the Convention in protest to the event being 'for profit'.
The TeaParty Convention is not even a real representation of the TeaParty'ers.
AND THEY ARE NOT DELEGATES!

[Mithreal]

112. Agreed, that is priceless humor.

[truedelphi]

124. As testament to what you are saying -

It was reported on all the networks some time ago that only 27% of all the Republicans support Sarah Palin.

And since the Repugs account for only 28% of all voters, this indicates that only seven and a half percent of all voters are supporting Palin!

[humbled_opinion]

111. So Your Advise To Progressives is

To ignore these people?

That advise is ignorant and potentially detrimental.

You see the Facts have a strange way of countering your arguments of What is real!

If this movement is not real and powerful then explain why a very popular articulate and Progressive President has found that his policies, which were all about helping People and the Planet are not being embraced by the electorate that gave him a mandate for CHANGE?

Explain how Democrat candidates lost the NJ and VA Governorships and by all means tell me how it was even possible for a REPUBLICAN of any flavor to win Kennedy's Senate seat?

Explain to me how Democrats who took the majority in Congress starting in Jan 2007 and won a super majority in the 2008 elections have failed to adequately pass any progressive legislation?

Explain to me how many of the Republican candidates seem to be leading in Polls when the Republican Party has not offerred any real solutions to the country's problems and in fact we just got finished with 8 years of the most unpopular President in our history?

The Movement is real and it is powerful and Yes I do agree the Far Right Wing is trying to corrupt that movement so it can use it to promote their agenda but for now it is still a populist uprising that doesn't want Big government control, Doesn't want higher taxes, Doesnt want higher Defecits and deeper debt for the country.

The trick for Obama is to try and find a way to tap the energy of this movement but still get Progressive things accomplished. If the Republicans get control of it then it is going to make for a very rough election cycle.

Its kind of hard to sell an obsrutionist angle when the country is fully aware that Democrats have full control of Congress and the Presidency.

but you keep right on burying your head in the sand.

[Mithreal]

113. Both you and the op writer make really good points

[Political Heretic]

119. the people are real.

[Reterr]

122. They are mostly astroturf but even the ones that are "real"...

the thing about people like this, is that whether there are some "real" people (i.e. not straight up bought by GOP fakes), so what if they are "real"?
They still don't represent any values that I believe in?

There is more to real democracy and real change than just general, ignorant anger at just about everything. One of the things I have always found so obnoxious about the talk of "values" among the Bible bangers is this idea that only anti-science, anti-education, bigoted zealots have "values".
I have values too: respect for science, education, enlightenment in general and just because someone is "real" does not mean I share their values and I don't share the values of what real people there are in this movement. I think they tend to be racist, religious bigots and the real political correctness imposed in this country is the fact that we cannot call out these so-called red-state values as the sort of dark ages nonsense they really are...

[Hatalles]

123. K/R. It's ridiculous. The 2/13/03 Anti-War Protests didn't even get this much attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15,_2003_anti-war_protest

[Spazito]

125. Well said and very true!

After reading this thread and the Chomsky one, I find it fascinating that many of the same posters who rail against President Obama's call for bipartisanship with regard to working with the repubs in Congress are all for 'bipartisanship' with the extreme wing of the repubs. The wing that is racist, homophobic, xenophobic, anti-government, anti anything that leans even the least bit left. It smacks of hypocrisy to me.

The teabaggers are a contrived group of people, funded by the very corporations that, again, many of the same posters wanting to join them, rail against.

I believe those who advocate 'joining with them' are most likely also third party advocates who wish to destroy the Democratic Party in some delusional belief that a third party will rise from the ashes and govern as the 'far left' demands. It is, as I said, quite fascinating to watch.

[Blue_Tires]

126. kick -- this is what I've been saying since the beginning