tea parties
The "tea party" movement: Page 2
Discussed in (click each link for the full post):
Greater Boston Tea Party is clueless, would give far-left free rein - 04/18/12
The "Greater Boston Tea Party" and their rivals in the "Mass Tea Party Coalition" are currently engaged in a Brawndo Battle in Boston. The first group wants to concentrate on fiscal matters, the second wants to include so-called social issues into the mix. Both appear to be quite a bit of work (link, [1]).
Poll: GOP obsesses over spending, downplays much more important immigration issue - 04/17/12
The chart below [1] shows that the GOP has become a party of crazed accountants, obsessing over the budget deficit. At the same time, the immigration issue has become less important to the GOP.
That's despite immigration - which determines who lives in the U.S. and who votes - being a far more vital and fundamental issue than spending. Deficits can be reduced in future years with increased economic activity and other means, but immigration is forever and ever and ever.
Tea Party poll: 50% say the more they hear, the less they like; losing young adults, seniors, women... - 04/15/12
A new Washington Post / ABC News poll conducted by Gary Langer shows the Teaparties movement continuing its downward slide in popularity (see our extensive coverage at Tea Parties).
Can Teaparty show how Annie-Rose Strasser is wrong about Derbyshire's "The Talk" column? - 04/06/12
The answer to the titular question is, of course, "no".
Questions for Marc Thiessen about Marco Rubio (Washington Post, American Enterprise Institute) - 03/26/12
Marc Thiessen of the American Enterprise Institute writes a column for the Washington Post and this week he offers "The Great Whisperer" (link) about a supposed whispering campaign against
Dodge, Barron: The GOP and Tea Party need to split up - 03/03/12
The phrase "truer words were never spoke" came to my mind several times as I was reading "The tea party and the GOP: a marriage that isn't working" [1] by Andrew Dodge (former head of the Maine Tea Party Patriots) and Christopher Barron (GOProud). I suggest all of my fellow Tea Parties patriots read it and take its message to heart:
Presente's racial campaign against Marco Rubio (No Somos Rubios) - 01/27/12
Thought experiment: let's say that a Tea Parties group from a heavily-Norwegian-American area of Minnesota had an opponent named Black. Let's say that the Teaparties group came out with a campaign called "We Aren't Black". How do you think the entire political and media class would respond to that?
Teaparty Nation: break California, Illinois into smaller states (Judson Phillips) - 01/09/12
The latest example of a harebrained, anti- and un-American idea from the Tea Parties comes via email from Judson Phillips of the Teaparty Nation group:
...Illinois and California are poised to become America’s Greece. Both have out of control spending problems. They have raised taxes and regulations to the point where businesses and the wealthy are fleeing those states as fast as they can.
...We need to break up both California and Illinois into smaller states.
Russell Pearce concedes: illegal immigration profiteers get a win (Arizona, Jerry Lewis) - 11/09/11
Arizona state senate president Russell Pearce has conceded defeat in his recall election (link), a victory for those who seek to profit from illegal immigration. Pearce has been on the front lines against illegal immigration and is the author of Arizona's SB 1070.
Herman Cain scandal revealed: corruption and incompetence (Politico, Tea Parties) - 11/01/11
In this post I'll reveal the dirty little secrets of the Herman Cain scandal. As you might have heard, that presidential candidate is accused of some form of sexual harassment of colleagues at one of his past jobs, and the latest news is that one of the alleged victims wants to step forward and tell her side of the story (link).
I Am The 53%: Tea Party continues War on The Poor (Erick Erickson, Josh Trevino, Kevin Eder) - 10/12/11
The latest sociopathic effort from the Tea Parties is "I Am The 53%" (#IAmThe53, the53.tumblr.com), a response to the Occupy Wall Street ("OWS") protests. The 53% is a reference to the fact that just 53% of Americans pay federal income tax, and it features pictures of those in the 53% holding up signs describing how they became successful (per them) on their own.
Rightwing's muted response to Brown signing unpopular, anti-American immigration law - 10/09/11
If California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that dared raise taxes on multi-billionaires by even a few pennies, you can bet that rightwing internet activists would be up in arms about it.
Occupy Wall Street or Teaparty: which is more fake? - 10/06/11
Occupy Wall Street ("OWS") as a movement appears to be about as fake as the Tea Parties as a movement. Some or many OWS members seem to support a policy that harms the lower and middle classes while it further enriches the rich. That policy lowers wages and increases costs on the lower and middle classes while enriching bankers and corrupt businesses and giving more power to corrupt politicians.
Most new Texas jobs went to immigrants, legal and illegal (Rick Perry; who to blame; what to do) - 09/22/11
A new study (link) shows that most of the new jobs created in Texas - Rick Perry's "Texas Miracle" - went to immigrants and not native-born workers. And, about half of those immigrants who got jobs are illegal aliens.
This is somewhat bad news for Rick Perry, despite the fact that he's only partly responsible. Below I'll tell you who should bear most of the responsibility and what you can do about this.
Texas Teaparty groups pressure Rick Perry on immigration (sanctuary cities) - 09/19/11
A few days ago, a coalition of tea party and conservative groups came out against an anti-illegal immigration bill. Now, for fair and balanced coverage, there's this (link):
Tea Party activists are promising to hold Rick Perry's feet to the fire over illegal immigration.
Teaparty, conservative groups oppose anti-illegal immigration bill (eVerify, HR 2885) - 09/15/11
One of the main reasons I oppose the tea parties is because they're useful idiots for loose borders hacks: libertarians, fiscal conservatives, corporate tools, and so on. A good example comes in an open letter that a group of Teaparty, conservative, and libertarian groups published in Politico opposing HR 2885, the Legal Workforce Act.
Teaparty shouts "yeah!" to just letting the uninsured die (Ron Paul, CNN, GOP debate) - 09/13/11
Last year, Teapartiers threw dollars bills at and mocked a Parkinson's victim (see the video on tea parties). Their encore was at last night's GOP debate where at least two teapartiers shouted "Yeah!" on whether to allow the uninsured to just die. Video below. Yes, it was just two or three teapartiers, but it's an illustration of the teapartier mindset and where libertarian policies lead.
Is discouraging voting by the poor and welfare recipients a good idea? (Matthew Vadum, American Thinker) - 09/03/11
Over at the completely inaccurately-named American Thinker, Matthew Vadum offers "Registering the Poor to Vote is Un-American" [1]. Promoting himself as a controversialist appears to be one of his goals [2] and the article has worked wonders in that regard for him, even if most of the attention has been negative [3].
Is Tea Party a racist group? No, and here's why. - 08/30/11
Calling the Tea Parties a racist group is false and it's counter-productive: there are much better, much healthier, and much more effective way to oppose them. In this post I'll provide very compelling evidence that they aren't racist. Obviously, even the very compelling evidence below isn't going to sway some people who will continue to oppose the teapartiers in counter-productive ways. If you aren't convinced, feel free to leave a comment with a specific, valid argument supporting your position.
The "How is Tea Party Wrong?" Video Contest - 08/25/11
What is it?
The "How is Tea Party Wrong?" video contest is seeking the best video that presents a persuasive argument against the tea parties (see our extensive coverage at that link). The video that wins the contest will be able to change the minds of at least some people about their movement. Anyone can submit a video as long as it's hosted at Youtube (see the fine print below).
How does it work?
Dick Durbin refuses to answer bad Tea Party question; "reporters" run cover for Durbin - 08/12/11
The video below shows Sen. Dick Durbin refusing to answer a question at one of his press conferences, using the fact that the questioner is just a citizen journalist as the pretext. Meanwhile, the supposed real reporters run cover for Durbin, encouraging the citizen journalist to leave. Durbin asks the non-"real" journalist "would you please leave?", refuses to answer his question, and then is asked a setup question by a "real" reporter which he happily answers.
Tea Party polls *worse* in U.S. than bin Laden in MidEast: just 58% think teapartiers aren't terrorists - 08/08/11
Consider this shocking result of a recent Rasmussen Reports poll (link):
Challenge for liberals: show how Powerline Prize winner is wrong - 08/01/11
Powerline just awarded $100,000 to the video below for winning their Powerline Prize. That alone is an argument against fiscal conservatives, but it's not enough.
Power Line Prize 3rd place winner: satire or just delusional Tea Party fantasy? - 07/28/11
In the "Power Line Prize" competition (see that link), Powerline will be redistributing $100,000 (possibly of other people's money) to the person who can best illustrate the so-called "debt crisis". Yesterday they announced that the video "Dawn of the Debt " was one of two third-place winners. The video is embedded below if you want a good laugh.
Challenge for Teaparty: can you justify cuts to literacy programs (including Reading is Fundamental)? - 07/25/11
Earlier this year, spending by the Department of Education was cut by $750 million at least temporarily by ending or cutting back literacy and other programs. One of those affected was the organization Reading Is Fundamental; all the $24.8 million they were getting from the feds was eliminated.
S.E. Cupp asks GOP candidates weak questions at Twitter "debate" (140Townhall, Rusty Humphries, Tea Party) - 07/20/11
Earlier today, SE Cupp moderated a Twitter-based tea parties "debate" with several GOP candidates for president [1]. She acted the role of the shill, asking them very weak questions and not doing a public service.
Tea Party Patriots admit immigration "isn't an issue for us" (Mark Meckler) - 07/12/11
One of my major complaints about the Tea Party is that they're ignoring immigration to concentrate on issues that are much less popular, much less important, and much less vital. See all the examples in the posts on the tea parties page, and the leader of a major Teaparty group has now explicitly confirmed that his group isn't really all that concerned about an issue that's more important than spending.
Patriots teaparty! Chicago writing test stop! Money save! Look! - 07/08/11
Patriots tea parties, look, save money, stop money spend, Chicago, Illinois!! Look:
Freedomworks uses Teaparty-approved Alinsky tactics... against Teaparty (not a learning experience) - 06/29/11
As discussed on the tea parties page, the teapartiers could have pushed their same aberrant ideology using much more effective and much more civil tactics. Instead, they chose to act like a childish caricature of the far-left: throwing tantrums at public meetings, standing on street corners waving loopy signs, engaging in cheap stunts, playing dress-up games, smearing and lying, and on and on.
Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Limbaugh, Hannity paid to promote FreedomWorks, AFP, Heritage (Koch, immigration) - 06/18/11
Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity are paid large amounts of money to promote groups like FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, and the Heritage Foundation.
Teaparty poll: What decade do you want to "take America back" to? - 06/05/11
A common refrain from the tea parties movement is that they want to "take America back". However that phrase is interpreted, it boils down to the teaparties wanting to return the U.S. to some earlier point in time. What point in time is it that they want to take us back to?
War on Electability: FreedomWorks to oppose Mitt Romney; what the GOP can do (Tea Party) - 05/25/11
Freedomworks is going to actively try to prevent Mitt Romney from getting the GOP nomination [1]. I'm not a fan, but Romney is one of the few electable current or potential candidates. So, the tea parties - controlled in large part by Freedomworks even if they don't know it - might bring their NY-26 magic to the national stage and help elect Barack Obama to four more years.
What the GOP can do about this is to declare "war" on Freedomworks right back:
1. Somehow, some way make an argument that libertarian-oriented policies (or the LibertarianLite version that teapartiers favor) just don't...
Tea Party loses another race for the GOP (Paul Ryan, upstate New York, Kathy Hochul, Jane Corwin) - 05/24/11
If you're a Republican Party partisan, the tea parties are a mixed blessing. On the one hand, their insane rantings bring a fresh piquancy to the sometimes staid GOP. On the other hand, they're putting pressure on the GOP to be crazy, extremist, and largely unappealing to moderates. And, they're splitting the vote, even when the "Tea Party" candidate appears to be a fake teapartier.
Thus it is in the case of the NY-26 special election from earlier tonight. Democrat Kathy Hochul "defied political experts [who gave] her little chance of success [and] ground out a stunning and surprisingly...
Tea Party helps me show Teapartiers are vile idiots, Part 1 of ? - 05/23/11
As can be seen on the tea parties page, I have a very, very low opinion of their movement. However, there is one good thing about them: they're dumb enough to help me show how they're vile idiots. And, they've done that many, many times.
And, I'll be compiling them into a series.
Massey Energy "profoundly reckless" in mine disaster; Tea Party as useful idiots; Soros, U.S. Chamber - 05/22/11
In April 2010, an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia claimed 40 lives. An independent investigation initiated by that state has found that the mine's operator - Massey Energy - was to blame for the tragedy and was "profoundly reckless" [1] [2].
There are also major political components to the tragedy:
1. Massey - led by their former CEO Don Blankenship - played a major role in West Virginia politics [3].
2. In September 2009, Massey sponsored the ""Friends of America Rally" which featured Ted Nugent, Hank Williams Jr, and Sean Hannity. The site friendsofamericarally.com...
Far-left Robert Erickson dumps glitter on Newt Gingrich; teaparty, ALIPAC partly to blame (Nick Espinosa) - 05/18/11
Yesterday, far-left gay rights activist Robert Erickson [1] dumped glitter confetti on Newt Gingrich as a protest.
Delusional John Hinderaker thinks only left engages in "personal intimidation" - 05/12/11
John Hinderaker of Powerline offers "The Politics of Personal Intimidation" [1] in which he's yet again delusional:
A disturbing new element has crept into our political life: organized efforts to intimidate private citizens who choose to support certain political causes or otherwise participate in civic affairs... [examples of leftists swarming houses of their opponents and much more deleted] ...Conservatives are decent people and don't engage in such repugnant tactics.
The last sentence of the excerpt [2] would only make sense if Hinderaker had never heard of the tea parties. Since he's...
Palatine Teaparty opposes Illinois DREAM Act (for completely wrong reasons) - 05/09/11
Illinois' state Senate recently passed a state version of the DREAM Act; the bill is designed to make it easier for illegal aliens to attend college (and, it's not the same as the national bill; see [1]). One Tea Parties group in that state is opposing it, but for the completely wrong reasons; see below.
Teaparty leader Dick Armey now wants Mitch Daniels for president - 04/29/11
Teaparty leader Dick Armey of FreedomWorks has announced that Mitch Daniels would be the "perfect pick" for president (link, video here). Let's review:
A list of "conservative" bloggers who are actually Communist agents of George Soros - 04/18/11
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's with a heavy heart that I bring you today's post. I didn't want to have to write this post, and I didn't want to have to think about what I'm going to reveal. However, someone has to be looking out for the United States when she's under attack by forces who will do anything - and say anything - to bring her down.
I'm sorry, I choked up a bit there. But, I will persevere. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have shocking news for you.