The Tea Party movement

[Shadyacres]

And they hate puppies!

http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/ ... uppy-mills

[Froderik]

The Tea Party Movement was created and is supported by the ultra rich, most notoriously the Koch brothers.  Do we ever hear the Tea Party advocate a higher minimum wage?  Unionization?  It seems to me that a  "grassroots" movement would be more concerned about the plight of common Americans.  

http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/ ... ch-royalty

Ah well. Thanks for the contributions from everyone. I was hoping for a bit more from the Tea Party. I am somewhat dismayed to learn some of these truths about them. I maintain that there needs to be, now more than ever, a viable alternative to the 'beast with two heads.'

[heretik]

The Tea Party Movement was created and is supported by the ultra rich, most notoriously the Koch brothers.  Do we ever hear the Tea Party advocate a higher minimum wage?  Unionization?  It seems to me that a  "grassroots" movement would be more concerned about the plight of common Americans.  

http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/ ... ch-royalty

I think the Republican Party took another look at what happened to the first Bush in 1992, only it was one of their own that did them in, Ross Perot. Perot hijacked precious votes Bush needed to beat Clinton. If we all remember Perot was talking fiscal responsibility and small gov't.
Well why not this time let it work for you. Make up this factitious Party, "Tea Party" say were Libertarians/Independents (in fact were 98% Republican with their conservative values) and preach small Gov't, smart spending, no taxes, no health care, big business should not be taxed nor there leaders and so on.    
This way you hedge your bet, get all the votes.
Fine this is good. Just remember in 2 years when were voting for a President again you had better had accomplished what you said you were in the House of Representatives (you will now control).
I doubt it.
The Koch bros. saw their brethren and themselves being reined in and could not have any of this.
If you actually look at what O'Bama has done since being in office you will note it is hardly anything. Wall Street was not reined in as promised, health care reforms will not happened for another few years if at all, stimulus package was a great way for companies to get billions and put it in the financial institution of their choosing to collect on the favorable interest rates to run their companies, then in a year or so give back the billions and say look at me, I paid it back early.
We are screwed from both sides of the aisle.

[Anne Bonney]

The Tea Party Movement was created and is supported by the ultra rich, most notoriously the Koch brothers.  Do we ever hear the Tea Party advocate a higher minimum wage?  Unionization?  It seems to me that a  "grassroots" movement would be more concerned about the plight of common Americans.  

http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/ ... ch-royalty

Yup, I tried talking about that a couple of times on the first page of this thread.  

The Koch bros. saw their brethren and themselves being reined in and could not have any of this.

That's pretty much it.  We saw what deregulation of Wall St. did (Enron, Madoff, Golden Parachutes etc.) and the Koch's and the rest of the uber-rich started getting scared that they'd have to start answering for their actions so they started this "grass roots"    movement, played to their real base (neocons) and played off the fears of people.  They talk a big game about small government, but really only want it to apply to their financial interests. They could give a shit about the average American and they're completely happy to send the government into our personal lives.

Grass roots my ass! It's nothing but Astroturfing  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

Astroturfing denotes political, advertising, or public relations campaigns that are formally planned by an organization, but are disguised as spontaneous, popular "grassroots" behavior. The term refers to AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass.

The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service or event. Astroturfers attempt to orchestrate the actions of apparently diverse and geographically distributed individuals, by both overt ("outreach", "awareness", etc.) and covert (disinformation) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by an individual promoting a personal agenda, or highly organized professional groups with money from large corporations, unions, non-profits, or activist organizations. Very often, the efforts are conducted by political consultants who also specialize in opposition research. Beneficiaries are not "grass root" campaigners but distant organizations that orchestrate such campaigns.

[heretik]

The Tea Party Movement was created and is supported by the ultra rich, most notoriously the Koch brothers.  Do we ever hear the Tea Party advocate a higher minimum wage?  Unionization?  It seems to me that a  "grassroots" movement would be more concerned about the plight of common Americans.  

http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/ ... ch-royalty

Yup, I tried talking about that a couple of times on the first page of this thread.  

The Koch bros. saw their brethren and themselves being reined in and could not have any of this.

That's pretty much it.  We saw what deregulation of Wall St. did (Enron, Madoff, Golden Parachutes etc.) and the Koch's and the rest of the uber-rich started getting scared that they'd have to start answering for their actions so they started this "grass roots"    movement, played to their real base (neocons) and played off the fears of people.  They talk a big game about small government, but really only want it to apply to their financial interests. They could give a shit about the average American and they're completely happy to send the government into our personal lives.

Grass roots my ass! It's nothing but Astroturfing  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

Astroturfing denotes political, advertising, or public relations campaigns that are formally planned by an organization, but are disguised as spontaneous, popular "grassroots" behavior. The term refers to AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass.

The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service or event. Astroturfers attempt to orchestrate the actions of apparently diverse and geographically distributed individuals, by both overt ("outreach", "awareness", etc.) and covert (disinformation) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by an individual promoting a personal agenda, or highly organized professional groups with money from large corporations, unions, non-profits, or activist organizations. Very often, the efforts are conducted by political consultants who also specialize in opposition research. Beneficiaries are not "grass root" campaigners but distant organizations that orchestrate such campaigns.

:tup:

[Froderik]

Source: State Dems scrambling to deploy tea party ‘crashers’ UPDATE:: Sullivan denies:
http://www.nowhampshire.com/2010/04/14/ ... s%E2%80%99

Sabotaging the Tea Party:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpa ... party.html

[seamus]

I got and Idea for a "GRASS ROOTS " movement........gasoline and matches. Start with the media, thengo for the ..ah goddamn ill wind up doin time....if I even say any more...it sjust well....fuck it yknow what I mean :flame:

[seamus]

I got and Idea for a "GRASS ROOTS " movement........gasoline and matches. Start with the media, thengo for the ..ah goddamn ill wind up doin time....if I even say any more...it sjust well....fuck it yknow what I mean :flame:

So I just opened my MSN window,saw where some politico and other folks got shot in arizona ,and allready somebodys tryin to balme Sarah Palin? wtf. not that I got big love for her,but jesus mammylappin christ allready. This is what im talkin about...fuckin monkey with a typewriter got the spin goin already.....the media is every bit as fucked as the government, half truths,adulterated statistics, mis-information, out right lies, all spun in an un-realistic and Irrational direction.Next will come some dipshits conspiracy theory, geraldo will do a "special report" then Glen Beck,CNN, Pat Robertson will comment.......some dickhead will write a half baked book,and oprah windbag will put it on her book list for limosine liberals. mean while the truth just evaporated......poof....point being the media itself is a s big a waste of time as anything else. After all  why let the truth get in the way of a good story, huh?

[none-ya]

[attachment=0:2lbez4ia]palins-new-job.jpg[/attachment:2lbez4ia]

[none-ya]

Here's your godamn grass roots, tea party movement in action

political rhetoric
By Holly Bailey
           Buzz up!11 votes Share
retweet
EmailPrint..By Holly Bailey holly Bailey – 1 hr 7 mins ago
Has the country's increasingly heated political rhetoric gotten dangerously out of control?

That's the debate in the aftermath of Saturday's shooting rampage in Arizona, that left 6 dead and 14 others wounded, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The Arizona congresswoman remains in a medically induced coma after being shot at point-blank range in the head by 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner.

While Loughner's exact motives remain unknown, the shooting quickly set off a back and forth about the toxic tone of the nation's political discourse and whether it may have played a role in the attack.

On Saturday, Arizona authorities suggested that's a theory they are pursuing.

"There's reason to believe that this individual may have a mental issue. And I think people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol," Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said in a news conference Saturday. "People tend to pooh-pooh this business about all the vitriol we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. That may be free speech, but it's not without consequences."

The sheriff's comments echoed remarks Giffords herself made last year during the height of the 2010 midterm elections. In an interview with MSNBC last March, the Democratic lawmaker, who had been the target of threats over her vote on health care reform, noted her inclusion on list of lawmakers Sarah Palin was targeting for defeat that featured gun-related imagery. "The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district," Giffords said at the time. "When people do that, they have got to realize there are consequences to that action."

On Sunday, politicians from both sides of the aisle cautioned against inflamed rhetoric, but that didn't stop the finger-pointing.

On CNN's State of the Union, Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, referred to the Palin map that listed Giffords as a target as a sign of "toxic rhetoric" that had gone too far—though he insisted he wasn't making a "direct connection" between Palin and Saturday's shootings.

"Don't we have an obligation, those of us in public life and those who cover us to say, 'This is beyond the bounds?'" Durbin told CNN. "We owe it to our own in both political parties to have at least the good sense and common decency when people say these outrageous things to say, 'Wait a minute, that just goes too far,' whether it comes from the right or from the left."

In GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander said he agreed with Durbin that people should "cool it" and "tone it down." Still, he warned that people should be "very careful about imputing the motives" of the shooter—though he went out of his way to note that Loughner didn't appear to be a member of the tea party, which some have implied.

"What we know about this individual is that he read Karl Marx; he read Hitler. We know he was burning the American flag," Alexander said. "That's not the profile of a typical tea party member."

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Rep. James Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat in the House, reminded viewers of former Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle's call for supporters last year to take "Second Amendment remedies"

"What does that mean? That is a very vitriolic statement, and I think that somebody is responsible for speaking up and denouncing that kind of stuff," Clyburn said. "When you don't denounce it, people keep ratcheting it up and people get to a point where you cross the line. And I think that in this instance, this issue has crossed the line."

Still, the debate is likely to rage over the use of gun imagery in campaigns. As Politics Daily's Jill Lawrence writes, Palin is hardly the first politician to use gun imagery in politics. It's something that everybody--Democrats, Republicans and media--has done.

For her part, Palin offered her "sincere condolences" to the victims in a statement on Saturday. At the same time staffers removed the map from the ex-Alaska governor's political site, though it remained available on her Facebook page. Rebecca Mansour, a Palin aide, told a GOP radio host that the graphics on the map was not a gun sight but a "surveyor's symbol." (Palin, herself, referred to the graphic as a "bullseye.")

Per the Alaska Dispatch, Mansour said attempts to link Palin to the shooting were "obscene" and "appalling." She insisted that there is "nothing irresponsible about our graphic."

Briefing reporters Sunday, FBI Director Robert Mueller reiterated that it was still "premature" to say why Loughner targeted Giffords. But he acknowledged the vast amount of  inflammatory rhetoric on the internet had made it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify and track potential threats.

"The ubiquitous nature of the internet means that not only threats, but hate speech and other inciteful speech is much more readily available to individuals than quite clearly it was eight or ten or fifteen years ago," Mueller said. "That absolutely presents a challenge for us, particularly when it results in what would be lone wolves or lone offenders undertaking attacks."
..

[Froderik]

In a shocking development, people who knew the shooter are saying he was a liberal.

In 1995, Clinton then tried to blame conservative talk radio, especially Rush Limbaugh, for the terrorist bombing.  The tactic worked then, backing conservatives off and possibly helping to ensure a second Clinton term. The line we will see for the next few weeks is going to be that rhetoric and tone of the message from the Tea Party is responsible for this attack.  Let’s ignore the fact that this guy was not only nuts, but also a card carrying liberal.

http://www.businessinsider.com/woman-wh ... 007-2011-1

The hard left is going to try and silence the Tea Party movement by blaming them for this.

The activist old media will work overtime to lay the blame for the tragic shooting in Arizona at the feet of conservatives because that is the only template they have. They will ignore the facts of the case and they will pull out their Oklahoma City Bombing playbook.

The blood had not been wiped up from the scene before Keith Olbermann and others began blasting conservatives. It’s both predictable and reprehensible for Olbermann to try to make political hay out of this, and do it before we know so few of the facts in the case:
 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 1#40983401

Immediately after Congressman Gabrielle Giffords was shot, the left wing went into over drive to try and blame the Tea Party for the shooting.  There was one minor problem -- there was no evidence.

In fact, in the hours after the shooting, the evidence began to pile up that Jared Loughner was in fact a liberal. Former classmates tweeted about his beliefs.  He was a pot head who was kicked out of community college because he was such a disturbed individual. After twenty-four hours of ripping the Internet apart, the liberals are beside themselves with anger because they cannot tie Loughner to the Tea Party movement.

But have no fear, when the liberals really need help, they can count on the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS has magically come up with a report that says he has “ties” to an anti Semitic, anti-government group that has ads for tea party groups on its front page.  WOW! There is a legal term for this kind of stuff.  It is MSU.  That stands for makin’ stuff up!

The leftist Politico.com reported that the Department of Homeland Security had a memo that said Loughner is “possibly linked” to a group called American Renaissance.

This is the same Department of Homeland Security that issued the infamous report on April 14, 2009, a day before the great Tax Day tea parties, warning of an upswing in “right wing extremism.”  This is the same Department of Homeland Security, who’s Secretary, Janet Napolitano, claimed the border is secure and the system worked, after the underwear bomber tried to blow up a flight on Christmas day, 2009.  

The group, American Renaissance, says they have no record of Loughner ever being associated or involved with them.

The obvious question that should be asked is, how about at least some evidence?  

All that is there is some, at best, speculation.  Of course, the liberal media and the blogosphere are quite happy to run with the story that fits their story line.  

The liberal hate group, the Southern Poverty Law Center went through convolutions to try and claim that Jared Loughner was some kind of conservative.  The Huffington Post ate that up and immediately posted the story online.  

This is liberal thought and liberal journalism at its best.  Facts and the truth are ignored in favor of speculation that supports the story they want to believe.

When this nightmare first began, Tea Party Nation decided to get out early and fight because we knew this is what would happen. Regardless of the facts, the left would try to tie this to the Tea Party movement. They are pushing back now and we need everyone in this movement to help fight the smear the liberals are trying to put out.  

Remember, the shooter was a 'liberal' lunatic.

One more tidbit:  The shooter evidently held a grudge against the congresswoman since 2007 (before anyone ever heard of Sarah Palin).  It was then that he attended one of her  meetings and asked her a goofy question (roughly: "If words have no meaning, what is government?")  When she didn't answer him because she didn't know what he meant, it infuriated him & he has been obsessing about it ever since, and despising her because he thinks she's stupid.  So exactly how does Palin figure into this?  And why does she evoke such a vehement reaction from leftists?  (Ironically, they are doing just what they accuse her and other conservatives of doing.)

[Whooter]

It amazes me how scared people are of Sarah Palin.  She would had been last years news if the Democrats had left her alone.  But they put her in the spot light, go figure.  I hope that they do continue to try to blame the Tea Party for the shooting because it really makes them look foolish and desperate.  Even the Democrats have given in to the realization that Obama is a one term president and we need some real change in the White House.  Someone who can get us back on track and kick start the economy with jobs instead of taxation and get us out of Afghanistan.

Cant wait for 2012.

[seamus]

See what I mean? I can see umpteen directions for how this will get spun.And by a cast of several! Somebodys gonna whine about gun control....somebody will rebuke that....on and on, and the more opinion being played as fact there is the more of the truth will get lost.It never fails to amaze/disgust me. ::deadhorse::

[Froderik]

See what I mean? I can see umpteen directions for how this will get spun.And by a cast of several! Somebodys gonna whine about gun control....somebody will rebuke that....

Yup, A NY Rep. is already introducing a gun control bill in Congress.
I guess she wants to take advantage of the situation, but I bet she will not be criticized for it....  :flame:  :fuckoff:  ::unhappy::

And on a somewhat relative note:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/29/palin.noose/

[Anne Bonney]

It amazes me how scared people are of Sarah Palin.

I think you're mistaking ridicule for fear.

She would had been last years news if the Democrats had left her alone.    But they put her in the spot light, go figure.

Uh huh....quit her job MIDTERM so she could make tons of $$ giving speeches (way to take care of your constituents there babe), then stars in her own reality show (which is almost physically painful to watch).  But it's the Dems that have kept her in the media spotlight.  Ok.

I hope that they do continue to try to blame the Tea Party for the shooting because it really makes them look foolish and desperate.

I don't know if there's anyone to blame, save for the psycho that actually shot.  I've heard that people that went to college with him about 3 years ago before he was kicked out said he was a stoner and an atheist but I've heard other comments about how his views had morphed into some white separatist movement.  No confirmation either way so, who knows. However, it doesn't excuse the extreme rhetoric coming out of the Tea Party candidates.....there's a difference between some random left-wing blogger saying stupid stuff and people who actually speak for a party.  We have a former candidate for Vice President putting up crosshairs on specific district representatives, then when asked about it says "don't retreat, reload" & the fact that they didn't take it down until this last Saturday AND now they're trying to say they were "survey marks", not crosshairs -  says something.  And don't forget, Gifford had her office vandalized shortly after Palin's crosshairs pic went up and has received a stream of death threats, as did many other of Palin's crosshairs targets.





Then there's Sharron Angle (R-NV) talking about "taking Harry Reid out" with "second amendment remedies"....

“You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. And in fact, Thomas Jefferson said it’s good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years.”

“I hope that’s not where we’re going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying, ‘my goodness what can we do to turn this country around?’ I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.”


Continue reading on Examiner.com: Sharron Angle: "second amendment remedies" - Las Vegas Democrat | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/democrat-in-las ... z1Af2zPlDc

Those people actually speak for the Republican party (Tea Party) and, IMHO, need to be a tad more careful with the words they choose to use.  Note.....this does NOT mean I'm advocating for censorship of ANY kind.  Just that dolts like Palin & Angle need to think before they speak.  A difficult task for Saint Sarah, I know, but still.

 Someone who can get us back on track and kick start the economy with jobs

I'm disappointed in a lot of things he's done (or rather, hasn't done), but ya gotta give credit where credit is due.



 

get us out of Afghanistan.

 :nods:


On another note.....way to go Grandma!!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162- ... 04083.html



TUCSON, Ariz. (CBS/KPHO/AP) Four people are being hailed as heroes after Saturday's mass shooting in Tucson that left six dead and 14 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

PICTURES: Arizona Shooting Victims

Daniel Hernandez used his hands to stop the bleeding from congresswoman's head. Roger Salzgeber and Joseph Zamudio tackled the suspect, Jared Loughner. But it was a 61-year-old woman who grabbed the magazine and handgun from the gunman that witnesses said helped prevent further tragedy.

"It was one shot, and then a moment with nothing, and then a series of shots," Patricia Maisch, of Tucson, told CBS affiliate KPHO. "I saw him coming down the line of chairs there, in front of the Safeway, just shooting people."

Two men tackled the gunman, but he could have done more damage. He still had the gun in his hand as he laid face-to-face with Maisch, she said.

"I was waiting to be shot, I was wondering how it was gonna feel to be shot," she told the station.

Maisch said she didn't stop to think of her own safety, she didn't hesitate for a second.

"I immediately knelt up over him, because he was right there almost on top of me, and the gun was in his right hand," she said.

She said she grabbed the 9mm handgun and the fully loaded magazine he took out of his pocket, disarming him before he could inflict more damage.

Even after all she's done, Maisch remained humble. She credits the two men who took the shooter down, rather than patting herself on the back. Witnesses said Maisch was screaming, "give me the gun" as she knelt over the gunman.

She said she doesn't remember what she said, but that she'll never forget that tragic day.

A federal judge, a congressional aide and a young girl were among the six people killed, while Giffords and 13 others were injured in the bursts of gunfire outside a Tucson supermarket.

Suspect Jared Loughner, 22, will face a federal court hearing Monday afternoon. Loughner is charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. More charges are expected.