The Teabaggers who turned out yesterday for their histrionic protest are a bunch of hypocrites whose sole beef really lies in the fact that their side lost the presidential election.
There. That’s as plainly as I can say it. Here’s the evidence.
Where were they when W. turned a $200 billion budget surplus into a deficit 18 months into office? Where were their calls for fiscal responsibility then?
Where were their copies of the Constitution when the Patriot Act was signed? Or when it was rvealed that DHS had been wiretapping US citizens without warrants?
Where were their banners proclaiming the right to free speech when the neocons were trying to intimidate the anti-war movement by calling them traitors and unpatriotic and that they were giving comfort to the enemy?
The leaders of this event proclaimed it a non-partisan event. And, frankly, I could see many here on BMG supporting some of their platform, particularly ending corporate bailouts, and more fiscal responsibility.
But a quick look at their line-up of speakers and the signs in the crowd shows that this was anything but non-partisan. In Boston, when Chip Ford of the Citizens for Limited Taxation group is your most liberal speaker, you know which side of the populace you’re targeting.
There were no signs blaming Bush, Paulsen, or Phil Gramm. It is a 100% “Blame Barney” crowd.
This crowd wasn’t a bunch of enlightened patriots. They were Birchers and Freepers looking to restore an “American way of life” that hasn’t existed in this country for more than 150 years — and for good reason.
Sure, some of them were blaming Republicans too. But I highly doubt these protests would have taken place if John McCain was elected, even though we would have had the exact same set of problems. These protests were about wingnuts who feel disenfranchised after their leaders (Rush, Hannity, Savage) led them into a ditch and needing to blow off some steam. That’s fine. It’s their right. Let them have Tea Parties every afternoon at 4 p.m.
But this notion of a “non-partisan movement” is absurd, it’s a lie, it’s garbage.
A second grandson with both his parents laid off.
Gitmo ain’t closed.
I delight in sending messages to my NSA staff.
Unemployment runs out in June.
No luck in finding an “under the table” income source.
Oh and medical insurance also runs out in June.
Whatever did happen to Cindy Sheehan?
Her son died. That’s what happened.
You can read.
You’ve lived past 45.
You’ve been able to go to a doctor at a reasonable price.
You’ve been given a few bucks since you got laid off.
You don’t have to worry about Indian attacks.
You can get to the store in an automated wagon in about 2 minutes.
Yea, I think your life may be a bit better off.
MILLIONS of people turned out to protest the 2003 invasion of Iraq, around the world. The “liberal” mainstream media reported none of it.
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p>There were no day-to-day blow-by-blow “live updates” on CNN. No carefully-cropped “i-reporter” videos making a dozen supporters walking around look like a massive demonstration.
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p>Instead, there was … silence. The few reports that did make the media understated crowd estimates by two orders of magnitude — such as the multiple and huge demonstrations that took in place in Washington DC, San Francisco, and Chicago.
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p>Millions of anti-war demonstrators gathered in Rome on February 15, 2003. Did anybody in the US even see it?
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p>I’d upload the image at http://www.commondreams.org/he… but I can’t seem to find instructions for how to do it.
unfortunately BMG is not set up to host users’ images. You’ll have to do it at flickr or photobucket or a similar site.
Got it, thanks.
Is this the one you meant?
On the same day, President Obama announced plans to make good on his campaign promise to cut taxes for 95% of working Americans. There may be legitimate concern about spending, especially the pork and deficit variety, or if you just think taxes are too high, that is one thing. What I didn’t get was directing their ire at Obama. Then it occured to me that all those right-wing media personalities are probably making north of $250K, their taxes ARE slated to rise if Obama sticks to his plan. Why do these people just believe what they are told rather than relying on their own experience and evidence?
because the government prevented them from using non-socialist alternatives.
They paid to pave those roads.
They paid for the land to buy those parks.
They pay the salaries of those officers.
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p>And BECAUSE they have paid that money, they are entitled to say Enough is Enough. Reform before Revenue, as one prominent Democrat so pithily put it the other day.
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p>Unlike Federally appointed Democrats, they were the little people who paid their taxes, who were not mystified by TurboTax like our tax cheat Sec. of the Treasury, actions condoned by BMG on a ‘stuff happens’ basis, those hypocrites who would roast any Republican who was in the same situation.
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p>And Charley, David, Bob – the repeated use of sniggering innuendo for the Tea Parties in beneath the usual standards of your blog – you don’t usually sink to the level of Rachel Maddow, and you would not tolerat such offensive comments were they directed at any other group or cause, especially those you favor.
don’t know about the rest of the towns. The Tea Party group sold shirts etc. to defray costs. What costs? Their own or for the brunt they placed on tax payers. It will be interesting should a group complaining about taxes drained tax money that could have been used for schools, etc.
If you only you could rise to the level of Dr. Maddow.
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p>I particularly object to your typically poisonous use of downratings. Shall I downrate all your stupid comments again for you? I never agree with you. It shouldn’t be difficult. The last 3 I gave was a very long time ago.
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p>Your response is based on some kind of false equivalence here.
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p>As demonstrations, the teabag events were misnamed.
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p>They were underattended.
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p>They were poorly planned.
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p>They had no coherent demand.
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p>They included seccessionists.
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p>They had hints of violence.
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p>They showed off the ugly racism of the right.
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p>And you want no sniggering? Good luck with that.
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p>Why are Republicans not producing some kind of coherent policy other than “No”? When we laugh at you guys for doing no more than that, you complain we’re being unfair. Please earn yourselves some respect. Then, we’ll talk.
I gave you a ‘4’, which means Needs Work instead of the ‘3’ it richly deserved as I assumed you thought you were making a clever point – I’d seen it before on various blogs which disseminate the talking points which pass for original thought in progressive circles.
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p>You gleeful cry needs work because it assumes that public amenities may not be used except by liberals and Democrats, despite the fact that the Tea Party group was comprised of those who actually PAID taxes, and were concerned about the credit-card debt being generated by our new Administration.
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p>Seccessionists? If you refer to Texas, how does passing a resolution to adhere to the principles ARTICULATED (rather than inferred) in the Constitution regarding the powers of the states comprise severance?
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p>Violence? You mean the taunting and threats made by ACORN? Nobody took them seriously.
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p>Racism? I read the remarks by your ‘leader’ Garofalo, and they are silly. I don’t blame you for the anti-semites shouting for the end of Israel or the 9/11 and TriLateral commission loons at demonstrations by progresives. That would be as silly as taking philosophical advice from a second tier actress.
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p>BTW – do you know the genesis of the name? Taxed Enough Already.
This makes no sense whatever. Perhaps a voice in your head made this argument. I doubt I have ever written, “Only liberals may use public amenities.” Nor do I think that my tersely stated point rests on that.
Garofalo is my leader? I’ve never quoted her. I’m not even interested in reading her. Maybe your leaders are radio personalities. Mine aren’t.
As for the loons.
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p>First, these demonstrations were teeny, tiny compared with those the left mounted under Bush. Consequence: you guys achieved a higher percentage of loons. My congratulations to you and yours. Welcome to irrelevancy.
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p>Second, these demonstrations as Andrew Sullivan pointed out were incoherent. You guys are not advocating anything except filibusters. You know what that meant? It meant the loons dominated the message. Texas secession anyone?
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p>So sad. Maybe you guys will do better next time.
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p>By the way, have you found the WMDs yet?
Who was banishing teabags on TV, encouraging people to mail teabags to their congress folks? It was “your” crowd…we didn’t start using the word or the consept first…your side did. You all stepped into it, and now you’re whining that people are making fun of your own makings. Pathetic.
I once had to explain what ‘fisting’ was to a Representative when it came up in context with a pamphlet being distributed to high school kids in a health class after parents complained. Really, such connotations are really not universal, although Anderson Cooper et al are doing their best to cheapen public discourse.
Wow. And Bill O’Reilly and Rush are avatars of Miss Manners? Puh-leaze.
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p>Of course, you’re the person who refers to gays as sodomites, so I’ll take this with the appropriate grain of salt.
… about the “cheapening of public discourse” is like an untrained, over-fed puppy complaining that someone pooped on the floor.
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p>It’s also amusing to me that the Left takes so much guff from the Right about having “no sense of humor” and being overly sensitive, but all of a sudden Teabag jokes that belittle a faux “grassroots”, Fox News-planned conservative movement is beyond the pale. Bwahahahaha.