We began reporting back in July that the Tea Party movement was rapidly becoming overwhelmed by the influx of far-right extremists, particularly at the leadership level, and that it was becoming a major nexus for mainstreaming far-right extremism.
Well, now Jonathan Kay at Newsweek -- a self-identified mainstream conservative -- is reporting essentially the same thing after spending a week in Nashville with the folks:
After I spent the weekend at the Tea Party National Convention in Nashville, Tenn., it has become clear to me that the movement is dominated by people whose vision of the government is conspiratorial and dangerously detached from reality. It's more John Birch than John Adams.
...
I consider myself a conservative and arrived at this conference as a paid-up, rank-and-file attendee, not one of the bemused New York Times types with a media pass. But I also happen to be writing a book for HarperCollins that focuses on 9/11 conspiracy theories, so I have a pretty good idea where the various screws and nuts can be found in the great toolbox of American political life.
Within a few hours in Nashville, I could tell that what I was hearing wasn't just random rhetorical mortar fire being launched at Obama and his political allies: the salvos followed the established script of New World Order conspiracy theories, which have suffused the dubious right-wing fringes of American politics since the days of the John Birch Society.
And as Kay notes, most journalists who covered the convention paid scarcely any attention to the wingnuttery that surrounded them and instead focused on Sarah Palin:
Perhaps the most distressing part of all is that few media observers bothered to catalog these bizarre, conspiracist outbursts, and instead fixated on Sarah Palin's Saturday night keynote address. It is as if, in the current overheated political atmosphere, we all simply have come to expect that radicalized conservatives will behave like unhinged paranoiacs when they collect in the same room.
That doesn't say much for the state of the right in America. The tea partiers' tricornered hat is supposed to be a symbol of patriotism and constitutional first principles. But when you take a closer look, all you find is a helmet made of tin foil.
No doubt Kay's piece will provoke a storm of outrage and denial, which has become the Tea Partiers' (and that now includes Fox) stock in trade -- even though the gig was up when people started packing heat at Tea Party gatherings, wasn't it?
This all brings to mind that ADL report on "Rage in America: Anti-Government Conspiracies" -- the one that called out Glenn Beck as the "Fearmonger in Chief." It contained a section on the Tea Parties:
Although a few events similar to the Tea Parties occurred late in the Bush administration, they took on a new tone and tenor after the election of President Obama.
While most people attending Tea Party events claim they harbor no extreme views, many of the ideas they promote fall outside the mainstream, especially the more conspiratorial ones. Angry protesters have frequently made claims ranging from proclaiming Obama’s “socialist” intentions to making explicit Nazi comparisons to suggesting that the President is defying or even subverting the Constitution.
As the study's overview observed:
What characterizes this anti-government hostility is a shared belief that Obama and his administration actually pose a threat to the future of the United States. Some accuse Obama of plotting to bring socialism to the United States, while others claim he will bring about Nazism or fascism. All believe that Obama and his administration will trample on individual freedoms and civil liberties, due to some sinister agenda, and they see his economic and social policies as manifestations of this agenda. In particular anti-government activists used the issue of health care reform as a rallying point, accusing Obama and his administration of dark designs ranging from “socialized medicine” to “death panels,” even when the Obama administration had not come out with a specific health care reform plan. Some even compared the Obama administration’s intentions to Nazi eugenics programs.
Some of these assertions are motivated by prejudice, but more common is an intense strain of anti-government distrust and anger, colored by a streak of paranoia and belief in conspiracies. These sentiments are present both in mainstream and “grass-roots” movements as well as in extreme anti-government movements such as a resurgent militia movement. Ultimately, this anti-government anger, if it continues to grow in intensity and scope, may result in an increase in anti-government extremists and the potential for a rise of violent anti-government acts.
But if you listen to Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck, these folks are just an insignificant presence in the Tea Parties. And lollipops grow on trees.
it's always been!
is mostly what your (joined site less than 10 mins ago) post is.
News flash: There are plenty of videos from tea parties proving our point. I've watched them. Seriously dude, is your pathetic "don't believe your lying eyes" rant that the best you right-wingers can come up with?
The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a Lunatic Asylum. -Havelock Ellis
wombat perfect name.
*
I've never seen change without a fire
Am sure the FBI is following every move!
GOP smearfest to commence in 3...2...1...
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
Thank you David for posting this. On the previous thread I linked to a similar post that I read over at Kos this morning. I have to stick to my original feelings about these people, they are what most people would call crazy. Crazy people on the edge of being dangerous. Paranoia is not good when people are carrying guns.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
...that is affecting everyone that is middle income or lower, it is a dangerous cocktail indeed.
Sorry.... lady, get a life and take your meds, that is if you can afford any now.
Go away and eat babies under your bridge.
Because being a 56-year old grandmother gives you clairvoyant powers huh?
Your'e ignorant no matter what age you are. You're angry like us but you're so damned uneducated you can't connect the dots to realize who's really fucking you.
Go to another tea party. Waste your time listening to incoherent wack-jobs. Let me know how that works for you.
The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a Lunatic Asylum. -Havelock Ellis
We have different ones to keep you distracted. You won't know how far we've come until we're ringing your doorbell with a death panel in tow in the form of a Prius. You will be forced to drive it around until you cave to our way of thinking. Food, clothing, medical care, shelter, and education for all.
Homosexual Agenda?
Have you managed to get copies of both yet?
Oh and did you really meet Andrew Brietbart? Is volunteer trolling now something he suggests? It would promote more drama for him to report upon.
And why would you do this: (?!?!?!?)
"Sitting here naked in front of my computer looking up the latest news on Obama the Socialist."
well at least you bragged about it on your twitter. Heh, at least I have a robe on.
/dry sense of humor warning applies
you apparently haven't grasped that concept, sensible people aren't exactly going to be falling on their knees to defer to your "judgement."
And I find it terribly amusing that teabaggers say they will stop our agenda yet have no clue what that agenda is, save for the one agenda attributed to us in the teabagger alternate reality.
I've never seen change without a fire
Mom4America. aren't you the twitterer known as @moms4glennbeck? the account that tweets from a [Glenn Beck] feed? and never responds to to anything?
Thought so
yourself out as a "wombat..." or "womb at..." So apparently this is one of Becky's minions, huh? How pathetic. And predictable.
The more mainstream these teabagger become, the further to the right the Dems can move while still appearing "liberal," which serves to even further marginalize actual liberals like Kucinich, Grayson, et al. Case in point: The Daily Beast had Grayson on its list of the top ten wingnuts in Congress.
Bingo.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
No kiddin!
"It's more John Birch than John Adams."
I've been hearing a new meme from the left. That there are serious and thoughtful teabaggers and democrats who joined them? WTF?
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... serious and thoughtful people in search of fiscal responsibility and sensible government, that's one thing.
But if you think you're going to get 'sensible' out of a movement spurred on by the likes of Glenn Beck, well ....
...because the President is black. This psycho-racist crap has never occurred before and even though the haters would have been relentlessly out if Hillary had won, this paranoid shit is on a new unprecedented level.
The thumpers believe the anti-Christ is the being who attempts to bring Israel & Islam together?
It's in here somewhere... (Thanks, Max Blumenthal) --(9:57)
Around 4:15
Study the symptoms not the virus...
... I would strongly warn about thinking of the 'anti-Christ' as being 'against' Christ, and raise the question of whether or not it means 'not Christ-like'.
So when we raise our hands against our brothers and sisters, seek to make war upon other nations for the sake of profit, and rail against another faith (recall that God told Abraham to leave Hagar and return to Sarah; Islam is believed to have come from the descendants of Hagar's son, Ishmael) ... we are straying, if not totally abandoning, the principles which Christ espoused.
OK
Study the symptoms not the virus...
"the principles which Christ espoused"
Have any evidence that this particular "christ" of yours ever lived? And if so, have any evidence that it ever wrote anything or "expoused" anything?
Right. These KKK Christianic loons are utilizing the Christanic death cult as they always have. They are *exactly* what Christianity was created for.
If you're a regular, and I know you are, then you should also know that I am fairly critical about evangelical Christianity, and my comment is only meant as food for thought, not to engender an argument about whether 'my' Jesus existed or not. (I mean, does 'do unto others as ye would have done unto you' become less valid if Christ wasn't real?)
To that end, I highly recommend 'The Political Teachings of Jesus' by Tod Lindbergh, 'You Don't Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right,' by Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, and 'Praying Like Jesus' and 'If Grace Is True' by Rev. James Mullholland. (Mullholland's books are rebuttals against prosperity theology and God-will-only-save-a-select-few thinking.)
I was raised Catholic, received a Catholic education through high school, and am hardly a devout Catholic (I have, in fact, been insulted as not being a 'real' Christian on several occasions).
Actually these new KKKers are upset that the United States is browning and white skin hue is quickly becoming the minority. That and they are frothingly insane Christian cultists lends the insanity which they vent.
Learn from it. And take your meds. They do give trolls prescriptions, right?
His fifteen minutes of shame expire about...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
It claims it is a grandmother (like that has to do with anything at all). But one should never trust the trolls, anyway.
Ya never know? Age matters-IMO
Study the symptoms not the virus...
is what does being a grandmother have to do with anything on this topic? Age matters when it's relevant.
I just see a distinction between age and racism, that's all. IMO
Not to mention the bible and slavery... OK, I mentioned it ;)
Study the symptoms not the virus...
really knows no age. There are young ones and old ones. It's taught. Some overcome it with education, some choose to live in ignorance, like said "grandmother".
... another kind of response about Christianity with my own.
At the very least, I'm just a wordy bastard. Or have better epistlemology skills to hand.
"2 of the nieces are BLACK"... Okaaaay
Study the symptoms not the virus...
overly defensive troll is overly defensive.
troll. Your blathering is tiresome. And chock full of Sh*t.
Pure and simple.
The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a Lunatic Asylum. -Havelock Ellis
Methinks the wingnut doth protest too much.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
So you're a grandma at 56? Did you start young or did your children? By the way grandma, your ignorance is nothing to be proud of, nor is your hatred. And yes, I agree you probably are a racist, because there is no other reason for the intense Obama hatred. He is nothing more than Bush lite, which means you should love him.
nephews?
if you had any hand in your having Black nieces. A very poor attempt to deflect seriously looking into teabagger racist tendencies.
I've never seen change without a fire
Valkenvania?
The music quality reminds me of that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-1B67MfDYM
...in the Constitution." Where the fuck have these crazy assholes been the last ten years?
You know where they were every bit as well as I do. They were watching FOX News and declaring their support for George W. Bush even when he violated the Constitution and tried to claim that he and the members of his administration were above the law.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
.
To me, anyone questioning where the president was born is simply saying that they are a racist. Has any President's birth certificate ever been questioned like this before? Surely not in my lifetime.
There is no valid reason to question his birth, but it serves as a means to say a black man couldn't and shouldn't be president.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Yes, many of them are quite loony, especially the religious folk who believe our country is based on biblical law, but some of the things they complain about really do reflect the mood of many of us.
We believe our government doesn't listen to us.
We believe there is too much wasteful spending.
We fear the use of martial law or other forms of federal government "peacekeeping" at a local level.
We believe a natural disaster is no excuse to violate our rights.
We fear our two-party system is broken and corrupt.
We have many basic principles in common with these people. If they kept religion or partisanship out of this "movement", if might attract a larger following. But they're letting extremists like birthers, religious zealots, anti-taxers, anti-government, and other right wingnuts spoil the message.
It does seem like there are many one-issue folks here, and the issues are too numerous to find any cohesion. What results is a schizophrenic right-wing mob, or even a cult.
I disagree. I think we share a few common objectives, but principles? No, not even close.
Principles and objectives? Not so much.
We? Do you have a frog in your pocket?
I was just about to write, there is no me in we.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Whiskey - Tango - Foxtrot?
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... an evangelical wingnut is still a birther.
If that's the benchmark for your intellectual depth, you're never going to get out of the kiddie pool.
they had the one and only black person present at the rally onstage to hold an umbrella over that guy?
LOL.
.
5, 4, 3, 2....
Barack Obama: Change we can only imagine
that put forth the notion that Faux News is not am arm of the rethugs, but that rethugs are the political arm and butt cheek of Faux news.
Bingo.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0...
The entire language of this 'grassroots' movement is sanitized racism. The subtext of their language is flagrant: White makes right. One can only hope that the movement becomes a true lightning rod for all the crazies out there because it will expedite the discrediting of this ridiculous and dangerous phenomenon. Hopefully the weight of their bigotry and insanity will up-end the keel and send the hole ship careening to the bottom.
The "tea party' has devolved into a combination of the John Birch Society of old and the modern Ku Klux Klan joining hands. beck and sister are vying for the leadership roles with dick armey leading the financial wing...
Anyone that was around in the south in the 60's and early 70's recognizes this for EXACTLY what it is - pure and blatant racism - with a touch revolution and violence. This no different from the raw hate that got the three civil rights workers killed in Mississippi and the rise of George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Ross Barnett, et. al...Their modern day replacements are already in place - Shelby in Alabama, Haley Barbour in Mississippi, Saxby in Georgia, Perry in texas..... ALL haters of the third order and ready to 'strike' at the smallest provocation...
AND semi-rational people in Washington DC and other places of alleged clear thought are letting this happen and grow... scary. So be prepared....
"Anyone that was around in the south in the 60's and early 70's recognizes this for EXACTLY what it is - pure and blatant racism - with a touch revolution and violence."
No doubt. That is why they sound so pointless and revert to nonsense language. They can't say what they really feel and think that would sound . . . RACIST!
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
...lapel pins, saluting the flag, Michelle's pride, Gods and guns, apologizing for America, bowing to leaders, etc. are all just covert meaningless rationalizations because their afraid to just come out and say that it's killing them that their President is a n****r.
And an uppity one at that! He thinks he is the boss of the country or something.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
husband's nomination being the first thing to make her proud of this country. My 77 year old uncle, a veteran of Korea, was quite upset by her remark. It occurred to me that in Michelle's lifetime, there was nothing I could think of that would make her proud. My uncle's brothers fought in WWII, and one participated in emancipating the concentration camps in Europe. My uncle has something to be proud of. Younger people? Well, what do those born since Reagan have to crow about? It's all relative, isn't it?
inauguration, I'm going to have to concur with Mrs. Obama. Her husband's nomination and election, Justice Sotomayor's confirmation, etc. is a sign that we are making some positive changes... The rest of the last 28 years are pretty bleak.
I've never seen change without a fire
> Anyone that was around in the south
> in the 60's and early 70's recognizes
> this for EXACTLY what it is
Also anyone who has studied the rise of the Third Reich also recognizes this for what it is, as would students of the rise of the modern Klu Klux Klan.
Glenn Beck hasn't found a conspiracy theory that he doesn't like and won't promote. All Beck needs to start a theory rolling is a blackboard, a dictionary and a creative use of the letters in any given word of the day.
Scientists haven't found a unit of measure small enough to measure the sub-atomic thin string that Beck uses to connect the various dots in his head.
"You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you."
Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Only with a Television show, like the 700 Club et al
Lately beck has been saying the progressive movement has alwasy been around and they have been in hiding until recently. Sounds like he is describing the racist movement instead.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
They know they are projecting. They think of it as a preemptive defence.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
is detached from reality.
Faux Noise.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Rather than the racism and insanity coming from speaker after speaker but it's hardly surprising. Media not so "liberal" after all, is it Jonathan? Look who woke up...
Barack Obama: Change we can only imagine
... relatively safe topic.
Identifying a popular/populist political movement and denouncing them as unabashed racists with Christian frosting endangers their market share.
"with Christian frosting"
lol
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... tastes nice, but mostly hides the 'Devil's Food' cake lurking beneath, which is snack-sized and easy to consume.
as much to do with nostalgia for a-time-that-never-was as much as anything.
The complex future world that their ignorance holds them back from participating in scares the hell out of them. They gotta keep things the same--or, even better, try to get things back to the way they never really were. Good luck w/that!
My co-worker still is a birther. I think holding onto the idea means solidarity for the 'Baggers. They've got something to unite against. He's a racist, I know that.
true feelings. Like-minded people now getting much media attention allow them to fly their racism flags. Too bad they just hid their venom instead of getting rid of it. Another instance of divide and conquer.
Understanding the people behind the Tea Party is what drove my employer, Media Matters, to send me to the first Tea Party Convention. Instead of attending as a member of the media, I was to experience the convention as a member, a Tea Partier, a conservative.
Study the symptoms not the virus...
Nature will take care of this problem for us: most of those nutcases are well into their 60's, dangerously obese and out of shape. In only a few years they will all be dead.
Remember: revolutions are initiated and won by YOUNG people, not fat, old farts.
"The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom."
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
- Stupid people breed faster than smart people.
- Education takes time and work; being ignorant is easy.
Seriously ... I've seen 'young people' on videogame forums that espouse the conservative standard talking points about science, global warming, and terrorism. We have a whole generation of stupid behind the current batch.
The good news is that p1. they're still young, and p2. stupidity is learned, not inherited.
First rule of war. Learn it.
Second Rule of war: When the lion is stalking you, don't worry too much about the fleas.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
I'm 25 and I support Ron Paul and Debrah Medina! And take note: Sarah Palin endorses the establishment Republican governor Rick Perry over Medina for the Texas primary - so I KNOW where her loyalties lie. Hell she was McCain's pick for Christ's sake! People need to WAKE UP and see they are being manipulated by BOTH parties!
"Hell she was McCain's pick for Christ's sake!" ;)
Well, she(Sarah Palin)... did endorse Rand Paul, no?
It's my opinion, she did that "for Christ's sake" as well. :P
Study the symptoms not the virus...
Jonathan Kay's article reinforces my belief that the Teabaggers are essentially the same rednecks that showed up at Sarah Palin rallies during the 2008 campaign. Gullible, racist and usually white trash.
The dangerous thing is, they want to return the country to the colonial days. When blacks knew their place and had no hope being a full citizen, much less President. What they forget is that during that Colonial time and for most of the 19th century, wealthy landowners and capitalist businessmen had more rights that the average white working man or woman.
Is that the America they want back? No thanks, teabaggers, birthers and other other right-wing idiots. I like what the New Deal and other Democratic administrations have done to make our country better. I don't want to go back to your so-called "good old days".
Democratic Party progressive, Vietnam veteran and proud Union member for 41 years
stems from the defeat of the republican party at last presidential election. During the Bush administration, the 911 truthers/Alex Jones/conspiracy theorists were basically saying the same thing they're saying now, that the government was trying to control the population's birthrate/microchip the population/fema camps etc. And they continued their honored tradition of distrusting any kind of governemental figure placed in front of them.
What changed is, the bunch of white aging republicans which couldn't despise them enough when they were in power, now found their analysis of the new black president really insightful.
And then the republican propaganda channel decided to air some of the more 'palatable' theories. Since they don't care about anything long term, they don't see a problem with the empowerment of a movement which contains people who believe Satan is behind the move to world government and that at some point, armed resistance is the only logical reaction a true 'patriot' will have left.
government..." I thought Businessman Jesus and The Family were behind that movement?
This is just the old KKK rising again, last time as the National Rifle Association, this time as Tea Baggers. They're the same core ideologies, the same people, the same Christanic churches, it's just a re-emergent KKK.
Someone call the dogma catcher, cuz we got some rabid fundies on the loose.
I believe the noted decrease in religiosity in this Nation is unfolding before your eyes.
That's where their country went... and they want it back!
Especially the ones who profit from it. :-/
Study the symptoms not the virus...
yet one more post that supports this fallacious idea that the tea bagger party was at some point, in a glorious moment, legitimate.
they just got 'co-opted'!
not their fault!
what a load of horseshit.
how reassuring to see this meme spread over the ever willing 'liberal' blogosphere.
reminds me so much of how you all jumped to embrace the Downing Street Minutes as the Downing Street Memo...
... IS legitimate. I'd gladly entertain a rational discussion about fiscal responsibility and sensible government, but when the 'movement' brings birtherism, socialism, marxism, liberal fascism, and Islamic boogeymanism to the table, then it's entirely fair to say it's been co-opted by SOMETHING.
please.
of course I would also gladly entertain a rational discussion.
that has never been the case with the teabaggers.
not now.
not in the beginning.
not in the future.
so you argue a moot point.
you've got that right! And methinks the Something stinks!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Are you saying the Downing Street Memo was fake or something?
I am saying it wasn't a memo.
It was the minutes of the meeting.
The blogosphere fell all over itself adopting the rightwing meme that it was a memo (remember this happened right after the ludicrous 'memo-gate'...)
how mis-identifying the minutes of a meeting as a memo relates to the tea party movement. Whether you call them "minutes" or "a memo," the fact remains that the Bush administration had its sights set on Iraq regardless of the evidence (or lack thereof) of WMDs.
Likewise, there's no denying the fact that operatives of the health insurance industry, among others, are trying to make political hay from the tea party movement. I don't think anyone is identifying a "glorious moment" in the tea party movement, but rather they are simply acknowledging how certain elements have succeeded in throwing gasoline on an already existing fire.
wow.
how do you not understand my point?
It's all about framing.
why accept the rightwingnut frames?
The Downing Street Minutes came out right after the supposed 'memo-gate'.
the water in the 'memo' well had already been poisoned (regardless of the accuracy of the information within the memo).
So... the Downing Street Minutes came out
(minutes being the actual, official notes of a meeting)
and the rightwing renamed them the Downing Street Memo - and the blogosphere accepted and reinforced this meme.
The same thing is happening now with the whole 'yeah, but when we started out, the 'tea party' was legitimate.
Bullshit, no it wasn't.
They were never a grass roots movement, they started out as a carpet bagging, fox sponsored group, and a carpet bagging, fox sponsored group they remain.
Accepting and reinforcing the meme that they were something they never were plays into the rightwing's meme.
How do you not understand this?
The tea party movement goes back to the early 80s.
It gathered momentum in the 90s as an annual tax protest.
It went largely dormant during the Bush era, but was resurrected by Ron Paul during his presidential campaign. From there, it got picked up by Glenn Beck, et al.
It didn't start out as a Fox thing; it's been around for at least 25 years.
Now please stop being so condescending as if you are the only one who understands what's going on, k?
wow.
whatever, man.
Pete, but this right-wing nonsense pre-dates Fox "News" by over a decade. They simply threw gas on the fire.
I'm sorry, but your examples are ridiculous.
People at various times clumsily and inaccurately trying to re-enact a historical event do not a movement make.
All you are citing is Nordquistisms, using some silly examples pulled from newspapers.
The 'tea bag party' that we are discussing, as a 'movement' I would agree was loosely brought together under Ron Paul... however, that 'movement' and the actual 'wow, fox news brought us together and gave us a name!' group, the one that all of us unfortunately know as the teabaggers - is not the same group.
Conflating the two, and even more ludicrously, attempting to add legitimacy through completely unrelated events in the last several decades is disingenuous at best.
But go ahead, continue to work against yourself, it's no sweat off my back.
All I'm citing is some silly ol' newspapers. What do you cite when doing research?
Conservatism didn't start with Fox. Dave Niewert did a good piece not long ago comparing Glenn Beck with Father Coughlin. The right wing loonies have been with us since before this nation was founded; every so often someone whips them into a frenzy, which is what Palin & Beck are doing now.
I'm sorry, I can't help it, but these frothing loons remind me of the movie "Blazing Saddles." The only thing lacking is some clown up on the bell tower yelling down, "The new President is a n1gg3r!"
these are the people timothy mcvay would hang with.
.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
a teabag website somewhere directing idiots to come here and spout lies?
They got mad that Mommy was attacked, and now their precious tea parties are. Massive panty bunching going on today. Lots of hits for C&L though...thanks trolls! ;)
And while their rhetoric might be scary to some and a convenient scapegoat to others, they still haven't demonstrated that they have the numbers to be either the bogeyman or the goat.
Maybe we should focus on those who fervently believe in Bigfoot. The numbers are roughly equivalent, and they're probably far more interesting.
Or we could focus on those who actually hold power . . . .
Corruption favors the wealthy.
... I'm more afraid that these morans will 'elect' another intellectual FAIL like Palin than I am of some hopped-up wannabe terrorist lighting his testicles aflame.
The latter is less likely to happen than the former.
"Or we could focus on those who actually hold power . . . ."
[And Why they hold that Power]√
Study the symptoms not the virus...
Start there. Grover Norquist is not the Sesame Street character, is he? Please feel free to add to my list.
... THE FAMILY... But you knew that.√
Study the symptoms not the virus...
.
... doesn't want to drown you in the bathtub.
Although, it's very easy to forget about them. Take Goldman's CEO Lloyd Blankfein (or is it Floyd Blankface? Roy Blankenfield?) for example.
Try to describe him; it's not easy. He is the epitome of nondescript. He can be in a room for hours, then, without anyone noticing, he can simply disappear - with everyone's money.
How many billions have the teabaggers stolen?
Corruption favors the wealthy.
in public?
are almost all racists; don't let their denials fool you. I'm in my fifties and have lived all my life in the south and I've met many a racist but never one that was proud of it, in fact none ever even admitted to it. I've actually heard them say "I hate n---ers" and deny being a racist in the next breath. Same with liars and thieves; none are proud of it and very few admit to it.
I live up here in the Northwest , was sent to Memphis one time ( work /long story ) , granted these weren't bona fied white collar guys ... whether that would make any difference I don't know but first day , first coffee break one of them had to make sure that I knew that I was a Yankee , that I had an accent and that they did not like blacks , " how many blacks does it take to pave a drive way ? One if you spread him real thin " , I was border line shocked , caught off guard , the rest of them thought it was hilarious . This wasn't the only incident in regards to their being racists and making sure that I knew it . They were quite proud of their culture / racism . That was my one experience in the south , I don't care to go back .
The Banking industry... who enables them? Is it the free market/capitalism concept?
The concept might work if we were all honest?
Study the symptoms not the virus...
If only they knew how they are being manipulated by the conservative elites. Their "convention" was hardly a grassroots affair, despite the low turnout.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
Not the usual toothless gits. The Dick Army? Glen Feckless? Sarah Payless?
Great article on HuffPo regarding the whole "smaller government" bullshit.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janine-r-wedel/...
I associate this with Bush I. Is it actually a Bircher concept?
David,
I find it funny that you complain about conspiracism and extremism in the tea parties (which I am no fan of), when your website links to white supremacist VDARE columnist Paul Craig Roberts two posts down from you.
Explain yourself
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he's referring to a link in Mike's Blog Roundup.
No, YOU are ironic.
me-oww!
but seeing that link was the impetus for me signing up for an account. I think its a fair question. I take it you disagree.
... offers a selection of both liberal and (occasionally) conservative blogs, so readers can investigate/read what's out there, including blogs they may not be familiar with.
And, sometimes, the best repellent for hate is sunshine. If you don't know it's out there, how can you fight it?
You couldn't discern I took issue with your imperious tone? You read that I think your question is not a fair one based on my comment?
Your crystal ball is broken, swami.
me-oww!
Most people here are not afraid that exposure to the ideas of others will corrupt those who think like we do. The operative word here is "think." Like, able to think for themselves. Capable of critical thinking. Not breaking out in a sweat when required to think. What are you implying, anyway?
it's been a member for almost a whole hour! Everyone should listen and do what it says!
But I will confess I have only had the account for like 30 minutes now. You caught me.
associations of Paul Craig Roberts, it would probably warrant a post here about how Beck was giving airtime to racists and extremists.
This is actually one of my favorite sites, which is why i'm so disappointed.
I'm not familiar with Paul Craig Roberts, and nothing in Mike's link seemed in any way "white supremacist."
Corruption favors the wealthy.
was an economist in the Reagan administration who made news recently by questioning the official explanation of the Sept. 11th attacks, thereby gaining the support of the "truth movement," and the scorn of anti-conspiracy theorists.
Abborg evidently views this as hypocrisy, since this post is scornful of teabagger conspiracy theories.
website VDARE.com.
Thanks for the info.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
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