rssYou’re Jealous Again
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 10:33 am
- 6 Comments
The Washington Examiner makes a point that I’m seeing on a lot of conservative blogs, alleging “mean-spirited” attacks against Tea Parties due to “the failure of efforts to turn out large crowds in support of the chief executive’s $787 billion economic stimulus package and $3.6 trillion 2010 federal budget.”
The recent “New Way Forward” gathering here in D.C., for example, was heralded by organizers as the first of a wave of counter-Tea Party Protests, but barely a dozen people turned out. Similarly, much-publicized efforts to use the 13-million email addresses compiled by the Obama campaign to generate pressure on Congress barely caused a ripple, much less a wave of support for the Obama budget
But … didn’t the stimulus bill pass? And didn’t the budget blueprint pass, too? That would seem to be the barometer for Tea Party success or failure, not the relative activity of liberal activists. I think liberal protests in support of government policy are ill-advised, just as conservative pro-Bush protests were ill-advised in most circumstances during the Bush presidency, but liberal derision of the Tea Parties doesn’t at all seem to be rooted in jealousy or fear.
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6 Comments
Comment posted April 14, 2009 @ 8:03 am
The whole Tea Party project seems more like a publicity scam (by the Kochs) than a serious political effort. Anyone with an ounce of political experience knows that this street theater will not stop legislation, and probably won't help elect any Republicans in next year's midterms, either. So what's it really all about? Certainly the pointless Tea Party's distract activists from taking a cold, critical look at the GOP's own big-spending ways.
Comment posted April 14, 2009 @ 8:35 am
Wrong. The New Way Forward protests were AGAINST the bank bailouts (Bush policy continued by the Obama administration). The Oregon Green Party endorsed them, and hundreds of people turned out in Portland. Too bad the turnout was poor in Washington, but it's a brand-new organization.
I examined NWF's website very carefully; no mention of the Teabaggers (snicker). It isn't really clear yet who NWF are, but they aren't kneejerk Obama supporters.
Comment posted April 14, 2009 @ 12:42 pm
The recent spate of reich wing activism has been spoiled by the cheezy organizational trappings of the sponsoring right wing groups and by the unfortunate resemblance of their thematic elements to homoerotic and homosexual activities-teabagging, 2m4m, on and on. It is almost as if there is a gay movement waiting to come out and blossom on the right, where teabagging and group gay sex will unite the silent majority into a mighty rainbow of political organization.
Comment posted April 15, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
Why are the teapotiers getting so much coverage. You couldn't find a tv camera @ the anti war protests over the last few years and those protests were much larger. The Global Marajuana March will take place on May 6 of this year. The dimenstration will be gigantic in comparison to the tea Potiers but I bet it won't eben be mentioned on some news concerns. I say America love it or leave it. Why does fox hate our democracy.
Comment posted April 16, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
ibdshell,
You make alot of sense. I have felt so at odds with my government for the last eight years and plenty of people and the media did their best to coin me and others with similar views 'unpatriotic'. Now just 4 months into Obama's 1st term, the media has decided that it is patriotic to protest. I am so digusted by the whole thing.
Comment posted April 17, 2009 @ 5:01 am
ibdshell,
You make alot of sense. I have felt so at odds with my government for the last eight years and plenty of people and the media did their best to coin me and others with similar views 'unpatriotic'. Now just 4 months into Obama's 1st term, the media has decided that it is patriotic to protest. I am so digusted by the whole thing.
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