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| Topic: Critics of 'Extreme' Tea Partiers Showed Little Interest in | |
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Racists. Nutbags. Radicals. Extremists. The Tea Party movement has been slammed as all these and more in the mainstream media, particularly since fringe elements of the group went screaming after members of Congress in the run-up to the health care vote.
But even as Tea Party "fury" has become all the rage in popular accounts of their protests, some observers say the rallies are nothing compared to the anti-Bush frenzy at Iraq War protests in years past — outbursts that the press generally ignored. "What's interesting about the media's latest freak-out is that there were radicals aplenty under President Bush [who] protested in the streets [and] talked openly about revolution and killing," said Evan Coyne Maloney, a documentary filmmaker who has followed anti-war protests since 2003. "But oddly, the violent imagery used by people claiming to be advocates for peace never registered with the media," he wrote online. "If there is such a thing as dangerous rhetoric, then the media is at least one president too late in reporting the story." As the Huffington Post has pointed out, a few posters have popped up at Tea Party rallies calling President Obama the "new face of Hitler," a baby killer and even a slavedriver. But those appear to pale in comparison to attacks on President George W. Bush, who was hanged in effigy, burned in effigy, compared to Hitler, called the Antichrist, a human abortion, and made the subject of numerous sustained death threats for about seven years. Those attacks, while highly visible, went mostly unreported outside of scattered conservative blogs. The Tea Party movement, meanwhile, has seen no shortage of critics in the press. The New York Times has faulted it for setting off a powder keg of "mostly white" nativists, separatists, militia members and wild conspiracy theorists. Columnist Frank Rich compared Tea Partiers' "tsunami of anger" to that of Nazis and segregationists. Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said they are guilty of echoing the "paranoid ravings of the most extreme right-wing nutcases." And the beat goes on: CNN worried that the "dangerous rhetoric" of Tea Party activists may be "inciting violence" against lawmakers. And Salon columnist Joan Walsh did one better, painting the group as "disturbingly racist and reactionary, from its roots to its highest branches." That criticism has been fueled by recent outbursts at the Tea Party's "Kill the Bill" rallies on Capitol Hill. As members of Congress were heading in for key votes on health care overhaul, protesters reportedly screamed the N-word at several black congressmenm and Missouri. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said a protester spat on him. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank said the opposition has devolved into "mass hysteria," and he compared the protests to the Salem witch trials. Frank, who is gay, was called a "faggot" by someone in a crowd of Tea Party protesters outside the Capitol. But even attacks of that level are nothing new to American protest. Former Bush adviser Karl Rove was targeted last week by handcuff-toting Code Pink members who tried to carry out a citizen's arrest during a book signing in Beverly Hills. As the attempt failed, one protester shouted to Rove that "the only comfort I take is that ... you're going to rot in hell." Thousands of extreme critics weren't content to wait until Bush administration figures reached perdition — many made open death threats, though they got little press coverage. Though special attention has been paid to the Tea Party's "rage" and "fury," some media watchdogs say it's unsurprising that the worst excesses of a protest movement are what get picked up most. "I think there are always going to be people at the fringes of any movement that express themselves like this. The question is how much attention is paid to those people," said Peter Hart, activism director for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. He said threatening signs and outbursts offer "low-hanging fruit" for press attention and crowd out the humdrum activity at most rallies. The Tea Parties have been well covered, "warts and all," he added. The lack of attention to the "Bush=Hitler" signs at anti-war protests were part of a larger lack of coverage, Hart said. Entire rallies comprised of more than 200,000 people were shrugged off by the media, while smaller Tea Party demonstrations have been given full treatment, he said. "It's very difficult to compare a movement that was under-covered" — the anti-war movement — "with one that I think was overexposed," he said, referring to the Tea Parties, which have been under media surveillance for the past year. Tea Party organizers say the negative depiction of their movement is false and that some coverage, particularly on television, has been unfair. "They had almost a feeding frenzy," said Tea Party strategist Sal Russo. "They went out and found almost every crackpot that attended the rally and used them as a symbol for the entire Tea Party movement." Russo argues that Tea Party rallies "are not angry, they're patriotic. We salute veterans and active military that are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a lot of patriotic singing. It's upbeat — people believing in America." Maloney, the filmmaker, said that what is considered constructive dissent has shifted in the months since Obama took office. "Not too long ago, taking to the streets to protest your government was considered a patriotic act," he wrote in an online post with video that highlights the sometimes violent rhetoric of Iraq War protesters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused opponents of health care legislation of being "un-American" in an August 2009 op-ed she wrote with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, blasting citizens for heated exchanges with members of Congress during town hall meetings. "These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American," they wrote. But back in 2006, Pelosi thought that verbal outbursts were all for the public good, telling a San Francisco crowd laced with shouting protesters that she was a "fan of disruptions." "So I thank all of you who have spoken out for your courage, your point of view. All of it. Your advocacy is very American and very important," she said. Maloney said that timing and ideology had more to do with it than anything else. "[P]ublicly airing your grievances stopped being patriotic right around noon on January 20th, 2009," he wrote. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/05/critics-extreme-tea-parties-little-threatening-bush-bashers/?test=latestnews  Code Stink is still around? I would have paid good money to see them try to place Karl Rove under citizens arrest, being they obviously don't know how that works either and opened themselves up to being arrested.
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Racists. Nutbags. Radicals. Extremists. The Tea Party movement has been slammed as all these and more in the mainstream media, particularly since fringe elements of the group went screaming after members of Congress in the run-up to the health care vote. But even as Tea Party "fury" has become all the rage in popular accounts of their protests, some observers say the rallies are nothing compared to the anti-Bush frenzy at Iraq War protests in years past — outbursts that the press generally ignored. "What's interesting about the media's latest freak-out is that there were radicals aplenty under President Bush [who] protested in the streets [and] talked openly about revolution and killing," said Evan Coyne Maloney, a documentary filmmaker who has followed anti-war protests since 2003. "But oddly, the violent imagery used by people claiming to be advocates for peace never registered with the media," he wrote online. "If there is such a thing as dangerous rhetoric, then the media is at least one president too late in reporting the story." As the Huffington Post has pointed out, a few posters have popped up at Tea Party rallies calling President Obama the "new face of Hitler," a baby killer and even a slavedriver. But those appear to pale in comparison to attacks on President George W. Bush, who was hanged in effigy, burned in effigy, compared to Hitler, called the Antichrist, a human abortion, and made the subject of numerous sustained death threats for about seven years. Those attacks, while highly visible, went mostly unreported outside of scattered conservative blogs. The Tea Party movement, meanwhile, has seen no shortage of critics in the press. The New York Times has faulted it for setting off a powder keg of "mostly white" nativists, separatists, militia members and wild conspiracy theorists. Columnist Frank Rich compared Tea Partiers' "tsunami of anger" to that of Nazis and segregationists. Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said they are guilty of echoing the "paranoid ravings of the most extreme right-wing nutcases." And the beat goes on: CNN worried that the "dangerous rhetoric" of Tea Party activists may be "inciting violence" against lawmakers. And Salon columnist Joan Walsh did one better, painting the group as "disturbingly racist and reactionary, from its roots to its highest branches." That criticism has been fueled by recent outbursts at the Tea Party's "Kill the Bill" rallies on Capitol Hill. As members of Congress were heading in for key votes on health care overhaul, protesters reportedly screamed the N-word at several black congressmenm and Missouri. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said a protester spat on him. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank said the opposition has devolved into "mass hysteria," and he compared the protests to the Salem witch trials. Frank, who is gay, was called a "faggot" by someone in a crowd of Tea Party protesters outside the Capitol. But even attacks of that level are nothing new to American protest. Former Bush adviser Karl Rove was targeted last week by handcuff-toting Code Pink members who tried to carry out a citizen's arrest during a book signing in Beverly Hills. As the attempt failed, one protester shouted to Rove that "the only comfort I take is that ... you're going to rot in hell." Thousands of extreme critics weren't content to wait until Bush administration figures reached perdition — many made open death threats, though they got little press coverage. Though special attention has been paid to the Tea Party's "rage" and "fury," some media watchdogs say it's unsurprising that the worst excesses of a protest movement are what get picked up most. "I think there are always going to be people at the fringes of any movement that express themselves like this. The question is how much attention is paid to those people," said Peter Hart, activism director for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. He said threatening signs and outbursts offer "low-hanging fruit" for press attention and crowd out the humdrum activity at most rallies. The Tea Parties have been well covered, "warts and all," he added. The lack of attention to the "Bush=Hitler" signs at anti-war protests were part of a larger lack of coverage, Hart said. Entire rallies comprised of more than 200,000 people were shrugged off by the media, while smaller Tea Party demonstrations have been given full treatment, he said. "It's very difficult to compare a movement that was under-covered" — the anti-war movement — "with one that I think was overexposed," he said, referring to the Tea Parties, which have been under media surveillance for the past year. Tea Party organizers say the negative depiction of their movement is false and that some coverage, particularly on television, has been unfair. "They had almost a feeding frenzy," said Tea Party strategist Sal Russo. "They went out and found almost every crackpot that attended the rally and used them as a symbol for the entire Tea Party movement." Russo argues that Tea Party rallies "are not angry, they're patriotic. We salute veterans and active military that are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a lot of patriotic singing. It's upbeat — people believing in America." Maloney, the filmmaker, said that what is considered constructive dissent has shifted in the months since Obama took office. "Not too long ago, taking to the streets to protest your government was considered a patriotic act," he wrote in an online post with video that highlights the sometimes violent rhetoric of Iraq War protesters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused opponents of health care legislation of being "un-American" in an August 2009 op-ed she wrote with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, blasting citizens for heated exchanges with members of Congress during town hall meetings. "These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American," they wrote. But back in 2006, Pelosi thought that verbal outbursts were all for the public good, telling a San Francisco crowd laced with shouting protesters that she was a "fan of disruptions." "So I thank all of you who have spoken out for your courage, your point of view. All of it. Your advocacy is very American and very important," she said. Maloney said that timing and ideology had more to do with it than anything else. "[P]ublicly airing your grievances stopped being patriotic right around noon on January 20th, 2009," he wrote. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/05/critics-extreme-tea-parties-little-threatening-bush-bashers/?test=latestnews Code Stink is still around? I would have paid good money to see them try to place Karl Rove under citizens arrest, being they obviously don't know how that works either and opened themselves up to being arrested.
It is always a toss up what gets covered and what doesnt when it comes to politics. I do think that because this movement is labeling itself a 'party' of sorts it puts itself in more of the light of an organized group instead of random protestors. The PARTY wants the exposure to gain members and support of their ideas, whereas other protests are usually JUST for the sake of being heard or causing a disruption. |
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Racists. Nutbags. Radicals. Extremists. The Tea Party movement has been slammed as all these and more in the mainstream media, particularly since fringe elements of the group went screaming after members of Congress in the run-up to the health care vote. But even as Tea Party "fury" has become all the rage in popular accounts of their protests, some observers say the rallies are nothing compared to the anti-Bush frenzy at Iraq War protests in years past — outbursts that the press generally ignored. "What's interesting about the media's latest freak-out is that there were radicals aplenty under President Bush [who] protested in the streets [and] talked openly about revolution and killing," said Evan Coyne Maloney, a documentary filmmaker who has followed anti-war protests since 2003. "But oddly, the violent imagery used by people claiming to be advocates for peace never registered with the media," he wrote online. "If there is such a thing as dangerous rhetoric, then the media is at least one president too late in reporting the story." As the Huffington Post has pointed out, a few posters have popped up at Tea Party rallies calling President Obama the "new face of Hitler," a baby killer and even a slavedriver. But those appear to pale in comparison to attacks on President George W. Bush, who was hanged in effigy, burned in effigy, compared to Hitler, called the Antichrist, a human abortion, and made the subject of numerous sustained death threats for about seven years. Those attacks, while highly visible, went mostly unreported outside of scattered conservative blogs. The Tea Party movement, meanwhile, has seen no shortage of critics in the press. The New York Times has faulted it for setting off a powder keg of "mostly white" nativists, separatists, militia members and wild conspiracy theorists. Columnist Frank Rich compared Tea Partiers' "tsunami of anger" to that of Nazis and segregationists. Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said they are guilty of echoing the "paranoid ravings of the most extreme right-wing nutcases." And the beat goes on: CNN worried that the "dangerous rhetoric" of Tea Party activists may be "inciting violence" against lawmakers. And Salon columnist Joan Walsh did one better, painting the group as "disturbingly racist and reactionary, from its roots to its highest branches." That criticism has been fueled by recent outbursts at the Tea Party's "Kill the Bill" rallies on Capitol Hill. As members of Congress were heading in for key votes on health care overhaul, protesters reportedly screamed the N-word at several black congressmenm and Missouri. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said a protester spat on him. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank said the opposition has devolved into "mass hysteria," and he compared the protests to the Salem witch trials. Frank, who is gay, was called a "faggot" by someone in a crowd of Tea Party protesters outside the Capitol. But even attacks of that level are nothing new to American protest. Former Bush adviser Karl Rove was targeted last week by handcuff-toting Code Pink members who tried to carry out a citizen's arrest during a book signing in Beverly Hills. As the attempt failed, one protester shouted to Rove that "the only comfort I take is that ... you're going to rot in hell." Thousands of extreme critics weren't content to wait until Bush administration figures reached perdition — many made open death threats, though they got little press coverage. Though special attention has been paid to the Tea Party's "rage" and "fury," some media watchdogs say it's unsurprising that the worst excesses of a protest movement are what get picked up most. "I think there are always going to be people at the fringes of any movement that express themselves like this. The question is how much attention is paid to those people," said Peter Hart, activism director for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. He said threatening signs and outbursts offer "low-hanging fruit" for press attention and crowd out the humdrum activity at most rallies. The Tea Parties have been well covered, "warts and all," he added. The lack of attention to the "Bush=Hitler" signs at anti-war protests were part of a larger lack of coverage, Hart said. Entire rallies comprised of more than 200,000 people were shrugged off by the media, while smaller Tea Party demonstrations have been given full treatment, he said. "It's very difficult to compare a movement that was under-covered" — the anti-war movement — "with one that I think was overexposed," he said, referring to the Tea Parties, which have been under media surveillance for the past year. Tea Party organizers say the negative depiction of their movement is false and that some coverage, particularly on television, has been unfair. "They had almost a feeding frenzy," said Tea Party strategist Sal Russo. "They went out and found almost every crackpot that attended the rally and used them as a symbol for the entire Tea Party movement." Russo argues that Tea Party rallies "are not angry, they're patriotic. We salute veterans and active military that are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a lot of patriotic singing. It's upbeat — people believing in America." Maloney, the filmmaker, said that what is considered constructive dissent has shifted in the months since Obama took office. "Not too long ago, taking to the streets to protest your government was considered a patriotic act," he wrote in an online post with video that highlights the sometimes violent rhetoric of Iraq War protesters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused opponents of health care legislation of being "un-American" in an August 2009 op-ed she wrote with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, blasting citizens for heated exchanges with members of Congress during town hall meetings. "These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American," they wrote. But back in 2006, Pelosi thought that verbal outbursts were all for the public good, telling a San Francisco crowd laced with shouting protesters that she was a "fan of disruptions." "So I thank all of you who have spoken out for your courage, your point of view. All of it. Your advocacy is very American and very important," she said. Maloney said that timing and ideology had more to do with it than anything else. "[P]ublicly airing your grievances stopped being patriotic right around noon on January 20th, 2009," he wrote. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/05/critics-extreme-tea-parties-little-threatening-bush-bashers/?test=latestnews Code Stink is still around? I would have paid good money to see them try to place Karl Rove under citizens arrest, being they obviously don't know how that works either and opened themselves up to being arrested.
It is always a toss up what gets covered and what doesnt when it comes to politics. I do think that because this movement is labeling itself a 'party' of sorts it puts itself in more of the light of an organized group instead of random protestors. The PARTY wants the exposure to gain members and support of their ideas, whereas other protests are usually JUST for the sake of being heard or causing a disruption. It is not a toss up, it is whatever the Liberal MSM wants to put in print in favor of THEIR people. |
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Lets not forget that Canadian filmmaker who made a movie about George bush being assassinated.
I was at the tea party in Denver recently and it was nothing like the media said it would be.It was very peacefull.There wasn't the slightest sign of disrespect.A good part of the Tea party was singing songs,praying,speeches about the War,facts and figures,and joking around.The only police presence there was two bicycle cops.There was hundreds of signs and to be honest I didn't see a single one with Obamas face on them.The majority of the signs were hand written concerning the economy and the health care bill.There was many more that had the Constitution and guns rights on them.Lots of don't tread on my flags and American flags. |
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Lets not forget that Canadian filmmaker who made a movie about George bush being assassinated. I was at the tea party in Denver recently and it was nothing like the media said it would be.It was very peacefull.There wasn't the slightest sign of disrespect.A good part of the Tea party was singing songs,praying,speeches about the War,facts and figures,and joking around.The only police presence there was two bicycle cops.There was hundreds of signs and to be honest I didn't see a single one with Obamas face on them.The majority of the signs were hand written concerning the economy and the health care bill.There was many more that had the Constitution and guns rights on them.Lots of don't tread on my flags and American flags. Don't forget about the song that ICP wrote and preformed "Praying for George Bush to Die." |
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This is exactly the same thing that was happening during the run up for the Iraq war. The neocons were trashing their opposition using absurd rhetoric to quiet the dissenters.
Now the same people that were getting trashed are doing the trashing. It was fine when they were standing up to the administration. Now that they are the administration everyone else has to be quiet and take it. Both cases illustrate how easily the dumbed down masses are led. |
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And, since the Tea Party protests have been FAR too PEACEFUL for the tastes of the New Masters of the World, they're making plans to assure that the public image is MADE to look bad by putting THEIR 'playahs' in the crowd. Just like the 'spitting on the Congressman' 'incident' and 'calling him the 'N' word', this will be another instance of POLITICAL THEATER to follow the Alinsky Playbook: Marginalize, Isolate, and Ridicule. The difference this time is, their tactics are public knowledge now ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.prisonplanet.com/feds-prepare-to-use-anarchists-to-provoke-tea-party-violence.html Feds Prepare To Use Anarchists To Provoke Tea Party Violence Given the past history of how so-called “anarchist” groups are so easily infiltrated and provocateured by the authorities to commit meaningless acts of violence that only serve to discredit political causes, we should be alarmed by the possibility that anarchist plans to “crash the tea parties” will present the perfect opportunity for the establishment to create a flashpoint with which to demonize constitutionalists as unruly extremists. According to leading anarchist website Infoshop News, “On April 15th thousands of right-wingers will attend rallies in cities and towns across the United States. The organizers of this nationwide day of protest call it a tea party. This tea party movement that emerged only a year ago is a coalition of conservatives, anti-Semites, fascists, libertarians, racists, constitutionalists, militia men, gun freaks, homophobes, Ron Paul supporters, Alex Jones conspiracy types and American flag wavers.” (Emphasis added). In one paragraph, the so-called “anarchists” have regurgitated wholesale the exact same rhetoric that the corporate-owned media, their supposed adversaries, have been spewing ceaselessly for months on end – that anyone who opposes big government (which is what “anarchists” are supposed to do), is a racist and an extremist, while also lying about the origins of the Tea Party which in fact was started by Ron Paul supporters as early as 2007. The anarchists’ primary reason for wanting to crash Tea Party demonstrations, because “If the tea party movement takes over this country they will really hurt poor people by getting rid of social programs like food stamps, unemployment benefits, disability benefits, student aid, free health care, etc,” is completely at odds with the traditional anarchist political doctrine of extremely limited or no government whatsoever. ... these people are not anarchists at all, they are statists, teenage socialist punks who like to call themselves “workers” but a good portion of whom have probably never worked a day in their lif. They make for perfect puppets through which the establishment can manipulate to demonize its real political adversaries. |
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Edited by
Quietman_2009
on
Tue 04/06/10 07:23 AM
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I didn't know much about this tea party stuff and hadn't paid attention so I looked around and googled a bit
Politics and commentary, coast to coast, from the Los Angeles Times For upwards of 12 months now members of the so-called Tea Party protest movement have been stereotyped, derogated and often dismissed by some politicians and media outlets. They've been portrayed variously as angry fringe elements, often inarticulate, potentially violent and merely Republicans in sheep's clothing or disgruntled pockets of conservatives blindly lashing out... Alas for stereotypes, they're convenient, often catchy. But not necessarily true. Now, comes a pair of polls, including Gallup, that paint a revealing detailed portrait of Tea Party supporters in most ways as pretty average Americans. A Sunday poll -- actually three national phone surveys of 1,000 registered voters -- found that 17% of all polled, or more than 500, called themselves "part of the Tea Party movement." The Tea Party adherents broke down 28% independent, 17% Democrat and only 57% Republican. A new Gallup Poll out this morning of 1,033 finds nothing fringe about self-proclaimed Tea Party adherents; they are slightly more likely to be employed, male and definitely more conservative. But otherwise Gallup's Lydia Saad writes, "their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large." While the inconvenient polls may make media generalizers uncomfortable, it could also discomfit both major parties just seven months out from those crucial midterm elections. Congressional Republicans fare awfully in Tea Party minds, too, despite rhetorical efforts to catch up with the movement at times. --LA Timss http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/04/tea-party-obama.html this Tea Party movement appears to be more representative of mainstream America than either the Republicans OR the Democrats. I have the feeling that this constant effort to portray them as nut cases and racists is going to really alienate the mainstram voters and will hurt the Dmocrats in the 2012 elections |
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I have personally attended some tea party "protests" in Washington DC. I travelled with a group of 8-9 people. They are not "radical fringe elements", nor were they "violent anarchists"...
Frankly, the group of us were professionals, catholic, and very dissapointed in the direction the government is taking on health care... the men were conservative, the women were typical "soccer mom" types... The "protests" that I atteneded were peaceful, respectful, clean (no trash all over the place" and INFORMED... Don't believe everything you read... research and find out the truth for yourself. If you believe everything you see on TV - you are a fool... $.02 
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Edited by
Kings_Knight
on
Tue 04/06/10 08:46 AM
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Has anyone noticed yet that the 'powers that be' [sic] ...
the ones who, 'back in the day', used to tell us to 'Question Authority!' and 'Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty!' aren't saying those things anymore ... ? Now it's 'OBEY', and 'Respect Authority' ... and y' never hear a peep about that 'over-thirty' thing ... Ain't it funny how time changes people ... ? I'm just sayin' ... |
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I didn't know much about this tea party stuff and hadn't paid attention so I looked around and googled a bit
Politics and commentary, coast to coast, from the Los Angeles Times For upwards of 12 months now members of the so-called Tea Party protest movement have been stereotyped, derogated and often dismissed by some politicians and media outlets. They've been portrayed variously as angry fringe elements, often inarticulate, potentially violent and merely Republicans in sheep's clothing or disgruntled pockets of conservatives blindly lashing out... Alas for stereotypes, they're convenient, often catchy. But not necessarily true. Now, comes a pair of polls, including Gallup, that paint a revealing detailed portrait of Tea Party supporters in most ways as pretty average Americans. A Sunday poll -- actually three national phone surveys of 1,000 registered voters -- found that 17% of all polled, or more than 500, called themselves "part of the Tea Party movement." The Tea Party adherents broke down 28% independent, 17% Democrat and only 57% Republican. A new Gallup Poll out this morning of 1,033 finds nothing fringe about self-proclaimed Tea Party adherents; they are slightly more likely to be employed, male and definitely more conservative. But otherwise Gallup's Lydia Saad writes, "their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large." While the inconvenient polls may make media generalizers uncomfortable, it could also discomfit both major parties just seven months out from those crucial midterm elections. Congressional Republicans fare awfully in Tea Party minds, too, despite rhetorical efforts to catch up with the movement at times. --LA Timss http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/04/tea-party-obama.html this Tea Party movement appears to be more representative of mainstream America than either the Republicans OR the Democrats. I have the feeling that this constant effort to portray them as nut cases and racists is going to really alienate the mainstram voters and will hurt the Dmocrats in the 2012 elections Edited by Quietman_2009 on Tue 04/06/10 07:23 AM other than the issue of race,, I dont see how its any More or Less representative of mainstream than the other parties,,, |
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I saw the racist stuff in the tea baggers gatherings and I saw the disrespect they showed in general.
So maybe they are trying to clean it up now. But we know that the racists and the government haters like the party which takes the validity of the party away. |
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So I guess the black leaders of the Tea Party movement hate their own race and are racist too?
You have ZERO credibility. |
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I am a bit upset with myself for silently mocking the tea party movement when it started. I had been discussing with my brother, who is now in Iraq, that Americans should do a modern version of the Boston Tea Party. So I initially thought the activists were lame. there is a reason I do not get paid to share my personal opinions LOL:-). I am impressed with the strengthening voice of Americans who have read and cherish our constitution and bill of rights. Democracy is a verb not an adjective for citizens who care to maintain such a society. I am proud and grateful to be an American. Thank you to all who stand up with me and participate in this movement.
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The Tea Party is probably the flip side of the same coin on which MoveOn appeared in the Bush II years. They'll end up splitting the Republican vote, likely Ross Perot-ing the midterms.
I think the Tea Party is too 'commercial'. It's like a political get-rich-quick scheme that will pull a lot of people in-- for a while. When and if it becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sarah Palin In 2012 Inc, it will likely lose a lot of that following. -Kerry O. |
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I am a bit upset with myself for silently mocking the tea party movement when it started. I had been discussing with my brother, who is now in Iraq, that Americans should do a modern version of the Boston Tea Party. So I initially thought the activists were lame. there is a reason I do not get paid to share my personal opinions LOL:-). I am impressed with the strengthening voice of Americans who have read and cherish our constitution and bill of rights. Democracy is a verb not an adjective for citizens who care to maintain such a society. I am proud and grateful to be an American. Thank you to all who stand up with me and participate in this movement. Your brother is in Iraq? What branch? It's because of people like him people can organize Tea Party protests here in this country! |
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Edited by
msharmony
on
Tue 04/06/10 06:15 PM
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is the tea party racist? n o way to know for sure,,
are there racists IN the tea party ? certainly does that mean the whole party or everyone in it or even the majority are? certainly not its just a group of people with SOME things in common,, not all things |
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