Tea Party vs. the GOP Establishment

[carlfense]

^^^boom.

[MidnightRider]

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

 

Fair enough. But the reason people deride the Tea Party is because it is the most despicable and destructive group of people in modern politics. Their entire philosophy--if you can call it that--is obstructionism. They have no ambition except the prevention of governance. You have an entire wing of the Republican party that thinks voter fraud is a bigger issue than gun control. They think the conservative Affordable Care Act is an existential threat to our democracy, but that climate change is a hoax best ignored. They think wearing a tri-corner hat and holding a rifle makes you Thomas Jefferson.

 

Who do we have to thank for these people? Mostly the right-wing hysterics in the media. Remember, it wasn't that long ago when Glenn Beck--yeah, that guy--had a huge following on Fox News. It's organizations like Fox and people like Beck, Hannity, Drudge, Levin, O'Reilly, Savage, etc. that feed and sustain the movement with their brand of fear mongering. Say what you want about the Tea Party, it is not a consequence-free phenomenon. Presently the Republican Party is paralyzed by its own disease. And that's unfortunate for all of us, because there are just enough of these ignoramuses that congress is essentially a vestigial organ of government. This congress is the least productive in the history of the Republic. Which is unfortunate for a depression-level economy in the aftermath of two wars.

 

So, what you're saying is that the members of the Tea Party can't think for themselves and they need to the media to do it for them. Is this correct? The very same mainstream media whom villifies the Tea Party at every turn? The same msm that coined the term Tea Bagger? Those guys?

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

 

Fair enough. But the reason people deride the Tea Party is because it is the most despicable and destructive group of people in modern politics. Their entire philosophy--if you can call it that--is obstructionism. They have no ambition except the prevention of governance. You have an entire wing of the Republican party that thinks voter fraud is a bigger issue than gun control. They think the conservative Affordable Care Act is an existential threat to our democracy, but that climate change is a hoax best ignored. They think wearing a tri-corner hat and holding a rifle makes you Thomas Jefferson.

 

Who do we have to thank for these people? Mostly the right-wing hysterics in the media. Remember, it wasn't that long ago when Glenn Beck--yeah, that guy--had a huge following on Fox News. It's organizations like Fox and people like Beck, Hannity, Drudge, Levin, O'Reilly, Savage, etc. that feed and sustain the movement with their brand of fear mongering. Say what you want about the Tea Party, it is not a consequence-free phenomenon. Presently the Republican Party is paralyzed by its own disease. And that's unfortunate for all of us, because there are just enough of these ignoramuses that congress is essentially a vestigial organ of government. This congress is the least productive in the history of the Republic. Which is unfortunate for a depression-level economy in the aftermath of two wars.

 

So, what you're saying is that the members of the Tea Party can't think for themselves and they need to the media to do it for them. Is this correct? The very same mainstream media whom villifies the Tea Party at every turn? The same msm that coined the term Tea Bagger? Those guys?

 

No....it's the media that spends millions of dollars advertising the fact that THEY are the only place to find the truth. THEY are the only ones that are "fair and balanced". THEY are the only place you can hear what is really going on.

 

Here's a hint. If someone is spending millions of dollars trying to convince you that THEY are the only ones who you can trust....RUN as fast as you can in the other direction. Problem is, there is one hell of a lot of people in this country that really do believe that these media people are the only ones who speak the truth and everyone else is a great conspiracy against them.

 

Then it's even easier to start making everyone believe that this tyrannical government is coming to get you and everything you own.

[Landlord]

And that's unfortunate for all of us, because there are just enough of these ignoramuses that congress is essentially a vestigial organ of government. This congress is the least productive in the history of the Republic. Which is unfortunate for a depression-level economy in the aftermath of two wars.

 

 

 

I (possibly ignorantly) thought that the Tea Party's 'obstructionist' approach was in response to the government's lack of productivity, not the cause of it?

 

Like the Cantor guy - didn't the Tea Party guy that beat him only run and get backed in the first place because Cantor was a career guy and one of the architects behind the lets-oppose-everything-obama-does subterfuge?

[Ulty]

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

Shortly after Obama took office, when protesters came on the scene, many of them wore tri-corner hats to hearken back to the Boston Tea Party, found a clever acronym to fit ("Taxed Enough Already") and for added effect, often hung teabags from their hats or sent them in the mail to congressmen. There were several folks on the right and in convservative media who proliferated the teabag idea as a symbol. They started it themselves. The fact that the movement took off before they realized that "teabagging" was a derogatory sexual term is a hilarious microcosm of the Tea Party's thoughtfulness. It's one of many things that they deserve mockery for.

 

 

This is from Wikipedia, I know, but someone else can check out the deeper sources, professors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests

On January 19, 2009, Graham Makohoniuk, a part-time trader and a member of Ticker Forum, posted a casual invitation on the market-ticker.org forums to "Mail a tea bag to congress and senate,"[35] a tactic that had first been attempted by the Libertarian Party in 1973.[36] The idea quickly caught on with others on the forum, some of whom reported being attracted to the inexpensive, easy way to reach "everyone that voted for the bailout."[37]

 

Forum moderator Stephanie Jasky helped organize the group and worked to "get it to go viral."[38] Jasky is also a member of FedUpUSA - a fiscally conservative, non-partisan activist group whose members describe themselves as "a group of investors" who sprung out of the market-ticker.org forums.[39] The group had previously held D.C. protests in 2008.[40][41] On January 19, 2009, Jasky had posted a formal invitation "to a commemorative tea party."[42] She suggested that supporters, in a coordinated effort, send tea bags on February 1, 2009.[38]

 

On February 11, 2009, talk radio host and Fox Business Network personality Dave Ramsey appeared on Fox and Friends, waving tea bags and saying: "It's time for a Tea Party."[34] He was on the show criticizing the newly confirmed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, who that morning had outlined his plan to use the $300 billion or so dollars remaining in the TARP funds.[49]

[StPaulHusker]

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

Shortly after Obama took office, when protesters came on the scene, many of them wore tri-corner hats to hearken back to the Boston Tea Party, found a clever acronym to fit ("Taxed Enough Already") and for added effect, often hung teabags from their hats or sent them in the mail to congressmen. There were several folks on the right and in convservative media who proliferated the teabag idea as a symbol. They started it themselves. The fact that the movement took off before they realized that "teabagging" was a derogatory sexual term is a hilarious microcosm of the Tea Party's thoughtfulness. It's one of many things that they deserve mockery for.

 

 

This is from Wikipedia, I know, but someone else can check out the deeper sources, professors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests

On January 19, 2009, Graham Makohoniuk, a part-time trader and a member of Ticker Forum, posted a casual invitation on the market-ticker.org forums to "Mail a tea bag to congress and senate,"[35] a tactic that had first been attempted by the Libertarian Party in 1973.[36] The idea quickly caught on with others on the forum, some of whom reported being attracted to the inexpensive, easy way to reach "everyone that voted for the bailout."[37]

 

Forum moderator Stephanie Jasky helped organize the group and worked to "get it to go viral."[38] Jasky is also a member of FedUpUSA - a fiscally conservative, non-partisan activist group whose members describe themselves as "a group of investors" who sprung out of the market-ticker.org forums.[39] The group had previously held D.C. protests in 2008.[40][41] On January 19, 2009, Jasky had posted a formal invitation "to a commemorative tea party."[42] She suggested that supporters, in a coordinated effort, send tea bags on February 1, 2009.[38]

 

On February 11, 2009, talk radio host and Fox Business Network personality Dave Ramsey appeared on Fox and Friends, waving tea bags and saying: "It's time for a Tea Party."[34] He was on the show criticizing the newly confirmed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, who that morning had outlined his plan to use the $300 billion or so dollars remaining in the TARP funds.[49]

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

And that's unfortunate for all of us, because there are just enough of these ignoramuses that congress is essentially a vestigial organ of government. This congress is the least productive in the history of the Republic. Which is unfortunate for a depression-level economy in the aftermath of two wars.

 

 

 

I (possibly ignorantly) thought that the Tea Party's 'obstructionist' approach was in response to the government's lack of productivity, not the cause of it?

 

Like the Cantor guy - didn't the Tea Party guy that beat him only run and get backed in the first place because Cantor was a career guy and one of the architects behind the lets-oppose-everything-obama-does subterfuge?

 

What I remember about the start of the tea party was the movement was mostly about controlling government spending, reducing our debt, reducing the size of government and trying to keep the government out of our personal lives.

 

Now, what it morphed into is the only way they thought they were going to do that is to obstruct anything this tyrannical government does because it is headed by a non-American Muslim who is only in office because he wants to become the first American dictator.

[MidnightRider]

 

 

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

 

Fair enough. But the reason people deride the Tea Party is because it is the most despicable and destructive group of people in modern politics. Their entire philosophy--if you can call it that--is obstructionism. They have no ambition except the prevention of governance. You have an entire wing of the Republican party that thinks voter fraud is a bigger issue than gun control. They think the conservative Affordable Care Act is an existential threat to our democracy, but that climate change is a hoax best ignored. They think wearing a tri-corner hat and holding a rifle makes you Thomas Jefferson.

 

Who do we have to thank for these people? Mostly the right-wing hysterics in the media. Remember, it wasn't that long ago when Glenn Beck--yeah, that guy--had a huge following on Fox News. It's organizations like Fox and people like Beck, Hannity, Drudge, Levin, O'Reilly, Savage, etc. that feed and sustain the movement with their brand of fear mongering. Say what you want about the Tea Party, it is not a consequence-free phenomenon. Presently the Republican Party is paralyzed by its own disease. And that's unfortunate for all of us, because there are just enough of these ignoramuses that congress is essentially a vestigial organ of government. This congress is the least productive in the history of the Republic. Which is unfortunate for a depression-level economy in the aftermath of two wars.

 

So, what you're saying is that the members of the Tea Party can't think for themselves and they need to the media to do it for them. Is this correct? The very same mainstream media whom villifies the Tea Party at every turn? The same msm that coined the term Tea Bagger? Those guys?

 

No....it's the media that spends millions of dollars advertising the fact that THEY are the only place to find the truth. THEY are the only ones that are "fair and balanced". THEY are the only place you can hear what is really going on.

 

Here's a hint. If someone is spending millions of dollars trying to convince you that THEY are the only ones who you can trust....RUN as fast as you can in the other direction. Problem is, there is one hell of a lot of people in this country that really do believe that these media people are the only ones who speak the truth and everyone else is a great conspiracy against them.

 

Then it's even easier to start making everyone believe that this tyrannical government is coming to get you and everything you own.

 

As opposed to the rest of the outlets who do nothing but carry Obama's water through every clusterf#ck that his admin is responsible for? Those guys?

[MidnightRider]

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

Shortly after Obama took office, when protesters came on the scene, many of them wore tri-corner hats to hearken back to the Boston Tea Party, found a clever acronym to fit ("Taxed Enough Already") and for added effect, often hung teabags from their hats or sent them in the mail to congressmen. There were several folks on the right and in convservative media who proliferated the teabag idea as a symbol. They started it themselves. The fact that the movement took off before they realized that "teabagging" was a derogatory sexual term is a hilarious microcosm of the Tea Party's thoughtfulness. It's one of many things that they deserve mockery for.

 

 

This is from Wikipedia, I know, but someone else can check out the deeper sources, professors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests

On January 19, 2009, Graham Makohoniuk, a part-time trader and a member of Ticker Forum, posted a casual invitation on the market-ticker.org forums to "Mail a tea bag to congress and senate,"[35] a tactic that had first been attempted by the Libertarian Party in 1973.[36] The idea quickly caught on with others on the forum, some of whom reported being attracted to the inexpensive, easy way to reach "everyone that voted for the bailout."[37]

 

Forum moderator Stephanie Jasky helped organize the group and worked to "get it to go viral."[38] Jasky is also a member of FedUpUSA - a fiscally conservative, non-partisan activist group whose members describe themselves as "a group of investors" who sprung out of the market-ticker.org forums.[39] The group had previously held D.C. protests in 2008.[40][41] On January 19, 2009, Jasky had posted a formal invitation "to a commemorative tea party."[42] She suggested that supporters, in a coordinated effort, send tea bags on February 1, 2009.[38]

 

On February 11, 2009, talk radio host and Fox Business Network personality Dave Ramsey appeared on Fox and Friends, waving tea bags and saying: "It's time for a Tea Party."[34] He was on the show criticizing the newly confirmed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, who that morning had outlined his plan to use the $300 billion or so dollars remaining in the TARP funds.[49]

 

The really funny part is that we ALL know exactly what you're referring to when you use the term "tea bagger" and it sure as hell isn't the bags of Lipton hanging from their funny little hats. So yeah, it really is juvenile.

[VectorVictor]

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

 

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

Shortly after Obama took office, when protesters came on the scene, many of them wore tri-corner hats to hearken back to the Boston Tea Party, found a clever acronym to fit ("Taxed Enough Already") and for added effect, often hung teabags from their hats or sent them in the mail to congressmen. There were several folks on the right and in convservative media who proliferated the teabag idea as a symbol. They started it themselves. The fact that the movement took off before they realized that "teabagging" was a derogatory sexual term is a hilarious microcosm of the Tea Party's thoughtfulness. It's one of many things that they deserve mockery for.

 

 

This is from Wikipedia, I know, but someone else can check out the deeper sources, professors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests

On January 19, 2009, Graham Makohoniuk, a part-time trader and a member of Ticker Forum, posted a casual invitation on the market-ticker.org forums to "Mail a tea bag to congress and senate,"[35] a tactic that had first been attempted by the Libertarian Party in 1973.[36] The idea quickly caught on with others on the forum, some of whom reported being attracted to the inexpensive, easy way to reach "everyone that voted for the bailout."[37]

 

Forum moderator Stephanie Jasky helped organize the group and worked to "get it to go viral."[38] Jasky is also a member of FedUpUSA - a fiscally conservative, non-partisan activist group whose members describe themselves as "a group of investors" who sprung out of the market-ticker.org forums.[39] The group had previously held D.C. protests in 2008.[40][41] On January 19, 2009, Jasky had posted a formal invitation "to a commemorative tea party."[42] She suggested that supporters, in a coordinated effort, send tea bags on February 1, 2009.[38]

 

On February 11, 2009, talk radio host and Fox Business Network personality Dave Ramsey appeared on Fox and Friends, waving tea bags and saying: "It's time for a Tea Party."[34] He was on the show criticizing the newly confirmed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, who that morning had outlined his plan to use the $300 billion or so dollars remaining in the TARP funds.[49]

 

 

Best summation of how juvenile, sophomoric, and myopic they truly are.

 

 

----

 

People don't realize that there are going to be long-term consequences for legitimizing their lunacy--yes, they have freedom of speech, and they can say what they damn well please, no matter how bats**t crazy or hypocritical their platform is. It's this big picture type of thought process that is entirely lost on their party, which is why they favor obstructionism instead of critical thought and working through issues to compromise.

 

But putting their herpaderp in the spotlight, and letting the lay person think that passive-aggressive homophobia, racism, and elitism are acceptable avenues of political and social thought is a sure fire way to set a country back a few decades or so.

[carlfense]

As opposed to the rest of the outlets who do nothing but carry Obama's water through every clusterf#ck that his admin is responsible for? Those guys?

That's one of the more popular 'bagger myths.

[MidnightRider]

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

 

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

Shortly after Obama took office, when protesters came on the scene, many of them wore tri-corner hats to hearken back to the Boston Tea Party, found a clever acronym to fit ("Taxed Enough Already") and for added effect, often hung teabags from their hats or sent them in the mail to congressmen. There were several folks on the right and in convservative media who proliferated the teabag idea as a symbol. They started it themselves. The fact that the movement took off before they realized that "teabagging" was a derogatory sexual term is a hilarious microcosm of the Tea Party's thoughtfulness. It's one of many things that they deserve mockery for.

 

 

This is from Wikipedia, I know, but someone else can check out the deeper sources, professors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests

On January 19, 2009, Graham Makohoniuk, a part-time trader and a member of Ticker Forum, posted a casual invitation on the market-ticker.org forums to "Mail a tea bag to congress and senate,"[35] a tactic that had first been attempted by the Libertarian Party in 1973.[36] The idea quickly caught on with others on the forum, some of whom reported being attracted to the inexpensive, easy way to reach "everyone that voted for the bailout."[37]

 

Forum moderator Stephanie Jasky helped organize the group and worked to "get it to go viral."[38] Jasky is also a member of FedUpUSA - a fiscally conservative, non-partisan activist group whose members describe themselves as "a group of investors" who sprung out of the market-ticker.org forums.[39] The group had previously held D.C. protests in 2008.[40][41] On January 19, 2009, Jasky had posted a formal invitation "to a commemorative tea party."[42] She suggested that supporters, in a coordinated effort, send tea bags on February 1, 2009.[38]

 

On February 11, 2009, talk radio host and Fox Business Network personality Dave Ramsey appeared on Fox and Friends, waving tea bags and saying: "It's time for a Tea Party."[34] He was on the show criticizing the newly confirmed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, who that morning had outlined his plan to use the $300 billion or so dollars remaining in the TARP funds.[49]

 

 

Best summation of how juvenile, sophomoric, and myopic they truly are.

 

 

----

 

People don't realize that there are going to be long-term consequences for legitimizing their lunacy--yes, they have freedom of speech, and they can say what they damn well please, no matter how bats**t crazy or hypocritical their platform is. It's this big picture type of thought process that is entirely lost on their party, which is why they favor obstructionism instead of critical thought and working through issues to compromise.

 

But putting their herpaderp in the spotlight, and letting the lay person think that passive-aggressive homophobia, racism, and elitism are acceptable avenues of political and social thought is a sure fire way to set a country back a few decades or so.

 

Are you saying that all members of the Tea Party are homophobic, racist elitists who are incapable of critical thinking? That pretty much sum it up for you?

[carlfense]

Are you saying that all members of the Tea Party are homophobic, racist elitists who are incapable of critical thinking? That pretty much sum it up for you?

No. Not at all.

 

But I am saying that if a person is an old, white, homophobic, racist elitist who is incapable of critical thinking they are more likely than the rest of the general public to be a member of the Tea Party.

[Husker_x]

 

 

I'm curious. Why do so many of you whom disagree with their platform/politics/whatever, think its cool to refer to the Tea Party as tea baggers? Is it some kind of code word for the cool kids club?

 

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with no political party. I vote the platform, not the party with whom the candidate is affiliated. This isn't targeted at just the libs because I see it on both sides but it is far more prevalent when it comes to the Tea Party.

 

For all the talk of bi-partisanship (on both sides) by many of you on this board, you may want to check your slip, because its showing.

 

Juvenile and sophomoric.

 

Fair enough. But the reason people deride the Tea Party is because it is the most despicable and destructive group of people in modern politics. Their entire philosophy--if you can call it that--is obstructionism. They have no ambition except the prevention of governance. You have an entire wing of the Republican party that thinks voter fraud is a bigger issue than gun control. They think the conservative Affordable Care Act is an existential threat to our democracy, but that climate change is a hoax best ignored. They think wearing a tri-corner hat and holding a rifle makes you Thomas Jefferson.

 

Who do we have to thank for these people? Mostly the right-wing hysterics in the media. Remember, it wasn't that long ago when Glenn Beck--yeah, that guy--had a huge following on Fox News. It's organizations like Fox and people like Beck, Hannity, Drudge, Levin, O'Reilly, Savage, etc. that feed and sustain the movement with their brand of fear mongering. Say what you want about the Tea Party, it is not a consequence-free phenomenon. Presently the Republican Party is paralyzed by its own disease. And that's unfortunate for all of us, because there are just enough of these ignoramuses that congress is essentially a vestigial organ of government. This congress is the least productive in the history of the Republic. Which is unfortunate for a depression-level economy in the aftermath of two wars.

 

So, what you're saying is that the members of the Tea Party can't think for themselves and they need to the media to do it for them. Is this correct? The very same mainstream media whom villifies the Tea Party at every turn? The same msm that coined the term Tea Bagger? Those guys?

 

 

I'm saying their problem principally is that they let the media do their thinking for them. If you watch Fox News on a daily basis, or God forbid, it's your only source of information, you might actually begin to believe that Barack Obama is a Kenyan Marxist Socialist with a fake birth certificate and strong Muslim leanings. You'll think that because it's a part of the "Fair and Balanced" approach to the news Fox self-proclaims at every opportunity. It's amazing the speed and efficiency with which any event in the world can be construed as a personal failure of the president. An apocalyptic failure, more typically. This thoughtless conspiratorial mindset infects almost every conservative pundit there is. It's a rage machine pumping smog 24/7.

 

And I'm assuming by mainstream media you're already including Fox, because headliner O'reilly can hardly pass a night without reminding everyone of Fox's dominance of the cable news market. It may be mostly composed of people in their 70s, but he does insist on bringing it up in between breaks filled with ads made by gold shills.

[Ulty]

The really funny part is that we ALL know exactly what you're referring to when you use the term "tea bagger" and it sure as hell isn't the bags of Lipton hanging from their funny little hats. So yeah, it really is juvenile.

Hey, I generally agree. There is no reason to use derogatory terms for someone if their actions alone paint the picture of their own ridiculousness. I don't personally call them "teabaggers," I don't make fun of John Boehner's last name, I resisted the humor of "Bush and Dick" during the last Republican regime, and I don't objectify Sarah Palin for her looks. But if you adopt the teabag as your own symbol, you better be ready for ridicule.