We have allowed these people to have the stage alone for far too long. I know for a fact that if we put together counter events that Keith Olbermann, and Rachel Maddow, would promote them.
Progressives made a HUGE mistake allowing these people to get their nonsense over the airwaves unchallenged. We should have been at every single town meeting shouting these people down. They were loud and effective and caused the Democrats to retreat on health care.
For those of us who were around in 1993-1994 this is a total replay of how the right defeated health care back then. I just can not believe the White house was so unprepared for this.
The Tea Party and the right is also going to target the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" next. Right now public opinion favors lifting it. Just like with healthcare reform, when these people and their right wing media starts yelling loud enough, public opinions shifts. They are masters of playing the fear card. Their next move on DADT will be "We just can not take this chance while we are at war."
Non right wing folks, Democrat, Republican, Independent, need to stand up to those people. We laughed at them at first. Look what they helped pull off with Scott Brown?
They laughed at Hitler and the NAZI's in Germany in the late 1920's. Hitler was seen as a cartoon character to many. There is nothing more effective in the world of propaganda than white anger being exploited by propagandists like Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity.
Goodness
I don't know where to start. I am so tired of folks deciding that I am a nazi, racist, bigot, uneducated, stupid, uninformed, retarded, etc. because I don't agree with every word that comes out of their mouths.
I would most likely be called a conservative by some on this site and a progressive my some on the TP site. Unfortunately there are people who are so threatened by those that disagree that they resort to the only tactic they have and that is name calling. It's like trying to debate with a third grader. "Are too" "Am not" just isn't my idea of intelligent debate.
I agree with many of the principles of the TP and find myself agreeing with many of the ideas put forth on this site. But you can't discuss anything with people who are so quick to label. What is wrong with an open mind? What is it you fear?
I don't worry about countering either group. I read posts to get an understanding of what it is that people are interested in and what they feel needs to be done to fix some of the problems we face. If you can't do that without resorting to the old "nazi" or "socialist" tagging then perhaps you should take a package of crackers and a bottle of water to the old bomb shelter and lock yourself in.
Who are TP members?
The findings of the New York Times/CBS News poll on TP member characteristics published locally April 15 fit nicely with the many conservatives and TP supporters I know personally. Specifically, they are "wealthier and more well-educated than the general public." Also, "Tea Party supporters are more likely than the general public to say their personal financial situation is good or very good."
Are these descriptions accepted as accurate by both TP supporters who visit here and by CP supporters?
Compilation of articles about
Compilation of articles about the real tea party movement
Tea Partiers Are Fairly Mainstream in Their Demographics - April 5, 2010
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Tea Party supporters skew right politically; but demographically, they are generally representative of the public at large. That's the finding of a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted March 26-28, in which 28% of U.S. adults call themselves supporters of the Tea Party movement.
Tea Party supporters are decidedly Republican and conservative in their leanings. Also, compared with average Americans, supporters are slightly more likely to be male and less likely to be lower-income.
In several other respects, however -- their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/127181/Tea-Partiers-Fairly-Mainstream-Demogra...
------------------------
Tea Party 48% Obama 44% - April 05, 2010
On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% hold the opposite view and believe the president’s views are closer to their own.
Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 50% say they’re closer to the Tea Party while 38% side with the President.
Sixty-three percent (63%) of Mainstream Americans say their views are closer to the Tea Party.
Last week, Rasmussen Reports released data showing that 47% of voters felt closer to the views of Tea Party members than to Congress. Only 26% felt closer to Congress.
In a head-to-head comparison, 45% felt closer to the average Tea Party Member while 35% felt closer to the average union member.
Earlier polling found that just 16% of voters nationwide consider themselves part of the Tea Party Movement. However, views of the Tea Party remain more positive than negative among voters. Just 11% believe Congress is doing a good or an excellent job.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics...
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Behind the Headlines: What’s driving the Tea Party Movement? 04/01/10
by David Winston
New polling data examines the demographics and political philosophy behind the Tea Party Movement
WASHINGTON DC (April 1, 2010) — Tea Party activists may be ardent supporters of economic conservatism but are similar to the overall electorate when it comes to economic priorities, according to the findings of a new report released by The Winston Group today on the political movement.
In one of the most extensive looks to date at just who Tea Party activists are, how they think, and the ideas that matter to them, the report found that 17% of the people polled considered themselves “part of the Tea Party movement” and more than four in ten Tea Party members said they were either Independents or Democrats.
In three national surveys, done for New Models from December 2009 through February 2010, 57% of Tea Party members called themselves Republicans, another 28% said they were Independents, and 13% were Democrats. Two-thirds of Tea Party members identify as conservatives but 26% say they are moderate and 8% described themselves as liberal
The study also found Tea Party members are more likely to be male by a 56-44% margin, slightly older than the electorate as a whole and middle income earners. When it comes to issues, the research found that Tea Party activists espouse a strong economic conservatism.
According to David Winston, president of The Winston Group,
“Our research shows that Tea Party activists’ top concern – economy and jobs — mirrors the majority of voters in the country.”
In the February 2010 New Models study, 36% of Tea Party members name the economy and jobs as their top issue with national deficit and spending close behind at 21% — over twice as high as the overall electorate. However, when given the choice in the January survey, Tea Party members favored “reducing unemployment to 5%” over balancing the budget 63-32%, which closely reflects the overall electorate (64-32%).
While Tea Party members prioritize job creation over deficit spending and tax issues, they value economically conservative policies because they view them as a means to reducing unemployment and improving the economy. Over 4 out of 5 Tea Party members (85%) say tax cuts for small business will create more jobs than increased government spending on infrastructure while the overall electorate prefers tax cuts by a more modest 61-31% margin.
Topline results [PDF] http://newmodelsusa.org/polldocs/new_models/pdf/Feb2010TeaPartyToplines.pdf
Full analysis [PDF] http://winstongroup.net/polldocs/new_models/pdf/TeaPartyMemoApril2010.pdf
http://winstongroup.net/2010/04/01/behind-the-headlines-whats-driving-th...
----------------------------
Reporter's notebook: What really happens at Tea Party rallies
By Shannon Travis, CNN Political Producer
(CNN) -- When it comes to the Tea Party movement, the stereotypes don't tell the whole story.
Here's what you often see in the coverage of Tea Party rallies: offensive posters blasting President Obama and Democratic leaders; racist rhetoric spewed from what seems to be a largely white, male audience; and angry protesters rallying around the Constitution.
Case in point: During the health care debate last month, opponents shouted racial slurs at civil rights icon Georgia Rep. John Lewis and one person spit on Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The incidents made national headlines, and they provided Tea Party opponents with fodder to question the movement.
But here's what you don't often see in the coverage of Tea Party rallies: Patriotic signs professing a love for country; mothers and fathers with their children; African-Americans proudly participating; and senior citizens bopping to a hip-hop rapper.
Last week, I saw all of this during a five-city Western swing as the Tea Party Express national tour made its way across the country. CNN was along for the ride, and I was charged with planning CNN's coverage for five stops in two states: St. George, Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah; and Grand Junction and Denver, Colorado.
This latest Tea Party caravan kicked off on March 27 in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight, Nevada. It is scheduled to make 45 stops before rolling into Washington on April 15, not so coincidentally on "Tax Day."
CNN was the only national news outlet on this Western leg of the tour. We had a full team on the ground: myself, correspondent Ed Lavandera, producers Tracy Sabo and Jim Spellman and the crew of the CNN Express bus. For Spellman, it was his third Tea Party Express tour.
Together, we beamed out images of the anger and the optimism, profiled African-Americans who are proud to be in the Tea Party's minority and showed activists stirred by "God Bless America" or amused by a young rapper who strung together rhymes against the president and Democrats.
The CNN Express traveled with the Tea Party Express buses for hundreds of miles, from rally to rally to rally.
Being at a Tea Party rally is not quite like seeing it on TV, in newspapers or online. That's the reason CNN is covering this political movement -- and doing so in ways few others can or choose to do.
It is important to show the colorful anger Americans might have against elected leaders and Washington. But people should also see the orange-vested Tea Party hospitality handlers who welcome you with colorful smiles.
There were a few signs that could be seen as offensive to African-Americans. But by and large, no one I spoke with or I heard from on stage said anything that was approaching racist.
Almost everyone I met was welcoming to this African-American television news producer.
And though speakers railed against the "lame-stream media," activists and their leaders praised CNN, especially for being the only national media outlet riding along for the post-weekend stops. Some of them e-mailed me after my trip, thanking our crew for fairly giving them a voice.
Speaking of stereotypes, I did get a few curious stares as I pulled up to the rallies. But not because of my skin color. It was because of my car rental: a Volvo.
I hadn't intended to rent a Volvo, a car stereotyped as the favorite of liberal elites. But upon arriving at the Las Vegas airport, the rental company was out of American-made cars with a GPS system and satellite radio. I had nearly a thousand miles of driving ahead, through desert, mountains and cities. Since it had GPS and satellite radio, the Volvo fit the bill.
Outside of the occasional stare, none of the real cowboys at the rallies came up to the Volvo and asked me, "Hey buddy -- where's your cashmere sweater and arugula?" If they had, I might have pointed out that until just recently, Volvo was owned by Ford Motor Co., an American icon.
Jokes aside, stereotypes can loom large when they're magnified through a television lens, on the radio, the pages of a newspaper or in the vastness of the Internet.
So, it's important that with a newsworthy, growing phenomenon like the Tea Party movement, viewers and readers fully understand what they see and what they don't.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/07/tea.party.rallies/?hpt=Sbin
------------------
Disgruntled Democrats join the Tea Party
By Shannon Travis, CNN Political Producer
April 2, 2010
Grand Junction, Colorado (CNN) -- They are not typical Tea Party activists: A woman who voted for President Obama and believes he's a "phenomenal speaker." Another who said she was a "knee-jerk, bleeding heart liberal."
These two women are not alone.
Some Americans who say they have been sympathetic to Democratic causes in the past -- some even voted for Democratic candidates -- are angry with President Obama and his party. They say they are now supporting the Tea Party -- a movement that champions less government, lower taxes and the defeat of Democrats even though it's not formally aligned with the Republican Party.
To be sure, the number of Democrats in the Tea Party movement is small. A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that while 96 percent of Tea Party activists identify themselves as either Republican or Independent, only 4 percent say they are Democrats. [New poll shows 14%]
Some of these disgruntled voters are taking part in the current Tea Party Express tour. The tour began in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight, Nevada, on March 28 and is making 44 stops across the nation. It ends in Washington on tax day -- April 15.
Ann Ducket attended the Tea Party rally in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Wednesday.
A lawyer and lifelong Democrat, Ducket made her political leanings clear: She said she was a campus community organizer for Democratic Sen. George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, voted for Jimmy Carter and Al Gore, and previously ran for elective office in Colorado as a Democrat.
"I was a card-carrying member of the ACLU, and I probably did inhale in college," Ducket said.
Ducket, who is now an independent and did not vote for Obama, said the president has "carried things to an extreme."
Video: How diverse is the Tea Party?
"I think we've gone too far on the side of government doing too much," Ducket said. "The Democratic Party is wanting to take care of everyone, instead of helping everybody stand on their own two feet."
Roxanne Lewis expressed a similar point of view. A small business owner in Grand Junction, Lewis described herself as a lifelong Democrat and called the president a "phenomenal speaker." She voted for him because she "believed in what he was saying: change."
But, Lewis added, "I should've listened a lot closer when he talked about 'spreading the wealth.' "
Asked how she feels about having voted for the president, Lewis said "I feel lied to, cheated and raped."
Lewis criticized the taxpayer-funded bailouts of financial institutions, which began under former President George W. Bush, and the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler.
"These are not the Democrats that I have been brought up with," Lewis said. However, she said she will continue to be a Democrat.
"We hear from folks, probably at every rally, who say, 'I was a Democrat,' " Levi Russell, communications director for the Tea Party express tour, said.
"Having more Democrats join the movement shows that it is more representative of the American people than the antics of the Obama, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, Reid leadership," Russell said.
The Democratic National Committee declined to comment.
David Saucedo is a rapper and community activist who frequently appears at Tea Party rallies. Using the stage name "Polatik," he performs rap songs that slam President Obama and the Democrats.
Though he eventually voted for GOP Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, he said he was initially impressed with the president.
Now Saucedo has turned into an Obama critic. "A lot of the things he says sound good, until you look at the consequences of what they will do on the long term."
Saucedo also said that most of his family voted for the president but now support the Tea Party. He said his sister in law's views sum up the family sentiment.
"She regrets voting for Barack Obama," he said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/02/democrats.tea.party/index.html
RE: Forget ENGAGING the Tea Party or anyone else ...
Thom Hartmann even believes the coffee party is countering the Tea Party and has said so on his show. Obviously he hasnt had time to check into what CP is really about. Which seems to be a lot to do about nothing.
Punch- Counter punch is Lose/Lose
Counter-demonstrations are a game no one can win and pollutes the entire culture. It is absolutely the sort of action that would violate the Key value of the Coffee Party: Civil Discourse.
If the Tea Party continue their shrill tactics and to over-emphasize their lower taxes, smaller government, etc., demands, and totally neglect of a balanced view, they will not only lose what they cry out for, they will end up with what they fear most: higher taxes, larger government and the rest.
Ignore them and relentlessly pursue our main process: Civil Discourse.
skot4trust
Another disappointed Coffee Partier here
I was hoping that the Coffee Party would provide a means of expression for those of us who are totally opposed to everything the Tea Party stands for. While I support the Coffee Party goal of civility in public discourse, I think that the anti-Tea Partiers need to take a much stronger, united, public stance.
I don't think I'm being paranoid when I see parallels between today's Tea Partiers and the rise of the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s.
Like the Nazis? Seriously?
Like the Nazis? Seriously? If that's what you're thinking, you are paranoid.
Forget ENGAGING the Tea Party or anyone else ...
The Coffee Party has gone out of their way to find the most passive, centrist, fence riding "low information" voters this country has to offer. These folks not only don't want to engage anyone, they wouldn't know how if they tried. Furthermore, the "Coffee Party" has a lot of Tea Party people in it ... so they'd rather support the Tea Party instead of countering it at all.
Now, if ANY Coffee Party person says I'm wrong about this ... realize you'll be contradicting about 98% of what other CPM'rs state all the time.
"The CPM stands for nothing (though it might stand for something, someday)"
"The CPM will NEVER stand AGAINST anything" <--- There goes your COUNTER demonstrations
Tea Party
Why would the CPM not take a stand? If there are tea party members, I don't want to engage conversation with those demented people. They are embarassing.
Disappointed
I am a new member who joined Coffee Party Movement. Yet, I have not found any common ground and any direction to take except civil debates.
Civil debates for what?
Without defining its own identity and common goals to pursue, it is not a MOVEMENT. The more I read in this website, the more it seems like one of the many blog sites.
not a Tp site
From the comments come the causes we want to support . Unlike the tp , the Coffee party does not have Dick Army and the rich corporations telling us what to say and how to disrupt town hall meetings . If you need that sort of thing , this is not the place . The Coffee party reaches to any one and everyone . You don't have to be just White . This country belongs to all Americans and now ALL Americans have a place to meet . The tbs are trying to take this site over and we see who they are . Now the Dems have a voice . The tb sites are ALWAYS for the R"S .
not a tp site
From the comments come the causes we want to support . Unlike the tp , the Coffee party does not have Dick Army and the rich corporations telling us what to say and how to disrupt town hall meetings . If you need that sort of thing , this is not the place . The Coffee party reaches to any one and everyone . You don't have to be just White . This country belongs to all Americans and now ALL Americans have a place to meet . The tbs are trying to take this site over and we see who they are . Now the Dems have a voice . The tp sites are ALWAYS for the R"S .
The Coffee Party is an EXTENSION of the Tea Party
This website and the "Coffee Party" is heavily funded by right wing interests. The right wing is trying to capture the "less violent" right-leaning Americans with the Coffee Party. This is why they have NO stated platform and are routinely "trolled" by teabaggers.
This forum , as with ALL Coffee Party FB groups are intensely CENSORED. However, you'll find that only a fraction of the right wing posts are censored.
Coffee Party = Fox News
Possibilities
Yes it is and isn't that good . This is not the Tea bag forum and thats OK . We support our President and we think we can help bring about a more peaceful and inclusive US > What's wrong with that ? The Coffee Party has many stated platforms and one is certain , Peaceful representation to the goverment of issues that are agreed upon as needed and possible and present these issues as possibilities . It is possible to change Health care , " we just did " , so things are possible . Just imagine what this country could look like if we all respected each other and worked for the best goverment ever . By the people , for the people . GO Coffee Party .
R3477y . . .
I haven't been censored . . .yet . . .
Tea Party Is A Terrorist Group
Verifiable proof and what happened in this artical is no different than the way Al Queda operates or Hamas. Had this happened during the Bush era the entire Tea Party and it's leaders would find them selves in guantanomo.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36020850/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
Let's just call the Tea Party what it is at this point.
A Terrorist Organization.
StuntLiberal - not your enemy.
DEALING WITH PROVACATEURS & CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR:
Follow on from: http://www.believeinamerica.com/funeral-protest-fight-against-westboro-b...
There are lessons in this story that are generally applicable whenever anyone tries to intentionally disrupt a group and provoke violence. One of those little video cameras is your best weapon. AND Immediately call police. Take a video of the provocation. Have someone of substance, perhaps a grandmotherly school teacher type, ask the offenders, in a friendly tone of voice, "Hey neighbor, what's your name? I am ______ ." All while the video is running.
If the humanity+ approach does not quench hostilities immediately, state the date time and place and the camera person’s name on video, while withdrawing in formation. If the police do not personally witness the 'disorderly conduct' immediately show them the video while the offenders are in view of the police. then ask that the offenders be arrested for your states equivalent of:
“Code of Virginia §18.2-415. Disorderly conduct in public places.
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if, with the intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he:
A. In any street, highway, public building, or while in or on a public conveyance, or public place engages in conduct having a direct tendency to cause acts of violence by the person or persons at whom, individually, such conduct is directed; or
B. Willfully or being intoxicated, whether willfully or not, and whether such intoxication results from self-administered alcohol or other drug of whatever nature, disrupts any funeral, memorial service, or meeting of the governing body of any political subdivision of this Commonwealth or a division or agency thereof, or of any school, literary society or place of religious worship, if the disruption (i) prevents or interferes with the orderly conduct of the funeral, memorial service, or meeting or (ii) has a direct tendency to cause acts of violence by the person or persons at whom, individually, the disruption is directed; or “ . . .
Conviction should be straight forward and conducted at state expense. Any civil remedy thereafter is on much stronger ground as the defendant’s culpability is already established by the court's record.
Also a bit of humanity+ can sometimes heals even the most sorry perps - No problem and a possible friend is better that a court conviction and judgment of liability most of the time.
Note that, at least in Virginia, if your organization is defined as having ANY educational purpose its articles of incorporation, bylaws or resolutions should specifically identify the organization as a “literary society”.
Also have a non-violence training for all that will accompany your group. All should explicitly sign on to a rules-of-conduct covenant with each other. The video camera routine is useful if any provocateur enters your midst by this route. Internal misconduct remedy should be declared in the covenant. It will avoid problems.
Also, for your own protection and the security of your objectives, require that all other groups with which you associate and coalition be diligent in adopting and implementing a like covenant. Thoroughness in this regard will encourage participation and strength in both numbers and unity.
With respect to DC events DC law should be known. At least see DC ST § 22-1307, DC ST § 22-1301, & DC ST § 5-115.05; Be aware that particular policemen may have a partisan agenda, so do not rely too much on any fallible human’s honor. In addition to any required permits (§ 5-331.03) It would not hurt to establish rapport, in advance, with the DC police person who is your contact referred to you by higher authority. Reveal your diligence as good citizens, ask for advice, do it in writing.
Russell Patton Davis designer of “The US CONSTITUTION APPLIED: Tools for getting it done TODAY” with draft at http://TeaPartyConstitutionalists.ning.com/
Non-Violence, Provocateurs, “Disorderly Conduct”
LOOK AT ALL OF THIS HATE!!!!
http://www.zombietime.com/hall_of_shame/
signs, videos, movies, etc.
http://www.binscorner.com/pages/d/death-threats-against-bush-at-protests...
You Betcha
I betcha, they have more F B I agents at their rallies than wing nuts. Anytime you speak violence on the President or Congress, I guarantee you they are infiltrated.
I don't argue with fools.
tea party
The Tea Party is a righ wing group that promotes very conservative causes....thay have every right to do so. Unfortunately for all of us, they have provided cover for some extremely reactionary people; racists, fascists, bitter malcontents, etc. The anti-war movement of the 60s lost credibility because of some of the outlandish actions of some members of the counterculture. Extremes will diminish a perfectly good movement.
We have to be sure that our side is heard. Countering Tea Party rallies, continue our own rallies, stay in constant touch with our representatives to demonstrate our support. We are stronger together than we are individually, ask any lobby or special interest group. Let's keep communicating, calling and writing our congress people and get together as often as possinle.
OMG you're right, they are
OMG you're right, they are just like Al Queda, and Hamas. The Taxed Enough Already Party are the warriors of Allah's Will and want to destroy The Great Satan known as the United States of America. In fact we should ensure they don't get on any planes, lest they fly them into buildings to kill as many Americans as possible in protest of the further expansion of government control of our lives. They must also want the nuclear annihilation of Israel, there not AstroTurf, they're ASTROSAND!!! Thank you for your hyperbole, it really helps to know that if you read the word "constitution" in a mirror it actually spells "Koran". Back away from the TV StuntLiberal, read a book, yes a comic book will do, and take a couple deep breaths.
how silly
How silly , Revolution . You know what he ment . Do you think that Revolution and Terrorism are two different things ? Not in this country . To the Coffee Party I say " When you go for Moby Dick , bring the Tarter sauce ". Obama did . The Americans who want to work for a more civil union will find one . The hate movement can only destroy it self . America voted and said " Enough ". The sore loosers have to grow up .
These people?
http://www.zombietime.com/hall_of_shame/
signs, videos, movies, etc.
http://www.binscorner.com/pages/d/death-threats-against-bush-at-protests...
Perhaps . . .
Perhaps we don't need to say anything at all. Perhaps all we need to do is band together, and let the organizers behind the astroturf campaign know we know who they are,
that we are watching,
and that our patience is not without limit.
ZenDog
There are groups and individuals that have been stockpiling weapons, ammunition, food, medical supplies, body armor, and stuff beyond your imagination just waiting for a thread of moral justification to go from zero to stupid. So I would tread lightly and engage all in polite civil discourse, and do your part to keep the peace. People are angry and afraid, poking them with false bravado is plain stupid. There were 168 americans who died because of one individuals fear and anger.
Those people have been around
Those people have been around for decades, and they are not part of the Tea Party movement.
False?
Did you say false bravado?
http://zendogblog.net
You'll find my pic. My poetry. A short story - which some people find terrifying.
But it's all me. Some people actually think I'm quite insane and should simply shut my mouth.
But false bravado? ME?
Ha-ha BWAHa Ha aHa! That's funny.
Patience now.....Zendog
Zendog , prehaps . I would love to see a meeting where Tea people and Coffee people come together and a Dem is speaking .We might sit there with our hands on our lap and listen until question time comes and then one by one wait until we are called on . What do you think the Tea people will do ? You are right . They will sit there with their hands in their lap and wait to be called on . Yea right ? twenty five percent of Rebuplicians believe Obama is the anti-Christ and forty five percent of them believe that he is not American . Start from there .
Really? 25% of Republicans
Really? 25% of Republicans belief the President to be the Anti-Christ, and 45% of them believe he is not an American? Was that a scientific poll conducted by your bong water? Does everyone on this forum want to believe the worst about anyone who disagrees with their political ideology so as to justify their own flavor of bigotry? How about we load up the short bus with the MoonBats from the left, and the WingNuts from the right, drive them to a playground without any sharp corners, and let them all dry hump every door knob they can reach while they shout insults and make faces at each other. That way the rest of us adults can shake hands, find what we agree on, and build from there.
Well said RevolutionOne
Apparently the left forgets the shouting down at colleges when conservatives try to express their opinions, the mimes blowing whistles non-stop in the head of Numbers USA when he's peacefully checking out protests from Illegal aliens and their supporters. The left likes to tell us all how to live but don't practice what they preach, and hate it when anyone disagrees with them. That's why we now have the Coffee Party, the left couldn't stand the success of the Tea Party growing so they resort to made up stuff and name calling, and not solving anything. There is also the other extreme but the Tea Party is mostly common middle-right people that do not like how our government is steamrolling along spending at a reckless pace and becoming to powerful and controlling.
I'll tell you what I haven't
I'll tell you what I haven't -
What I will not -
forget . . .
Dr. George Tiller - May 31, 2009 - slain in church
Bill Gwatney - August 13, 2008 - a super delegate slain in his own office
Officer Paul Sciullo II, - April 4, 2009 - Pittburgh
Officer Eric G. Kelly - April 4, 2009 - Pittburgh
Officer Stephen J. Mayhle - April 4, 2009 - Pittburgh
What do these people have to
What do these people have to do with anything? Are you insinuating they were killed for political reasons?
So angry Revolution , so
So angry Revolution , so bitter , so nasty so junior high . Calm down . That poll was on Fox News and every other station and every news paper . How did you miss it ?
So angry Revolution , so
So angry Revolution , so bitter , so nasty so junior high . Calm down . That poll was on Fox News and every other station and every news paper . How did you miss it ?
So angry Revolution , so
So angry Revolution , so bitter , so nasty so junior high . Calm down . That poll was on Fox News and every other station and every news paper . How did you miss it ?
It was actually a Harris
It was actually a Harris interactive poll - they are notoriously unreliable because they can skew the polls any way they choose simply by inviting the "right" people to vote. No reputable poll has ever given any figures like that.
Because Bitter Nasty Junior
Because Bitter Nasty Junior High seems to be the only language people want to speak anymore. I dont base any of my beliefs on polls, and actual truth has never been spoken by any news organization. They have become the "new" religious dogma for the masses that choose not to think for themselves. So yes I missed the poll you have anchored your perception to. But what I have done is placed my wife's laptop next to mine with this forum on mine, and a tea party one on hers, and you know what we found? NO DIFFERENCE. Those with open minds willing to work together from common ground are getting drowned out by the rabid idealogs that cant see their own ego's reflected back to them by the childishness of those the perceive as "The Enemy" So my challenge to both you and ZenDog is to be the change you want to see in the world, and reach out beyond you comfort zone and offer to take a tea partier to coffee. Make an actual effort to find common ground and build from there. If that is to difficult, then at least make an effort to refrain from calling them "TeaBaggers"
Apples and Oranges
You are now talking apples and oranges - totally different species of mammals altogether. Rank and file teabaggers will vary widely in their behavior by region, demographics, economics, and some other considerations I won't go into.
Most of them, catch them individually, and they will bluster - probably few will resort to actual violence, but there are those who will.
In a group, you have a whole new dynamic, and part of the underlying psychological considerations include that of belonging - being part of, or identification with, the group - the urge to prove oneself, the activity of one upmanship verbally that leads one into a corner, where the result is put up or shut up - itemized are mostly personal to group interactions.
There is also the mob mentality thing - where the sum of the group stimulus leads itself over a cliff.
In my previous post I was not referring to the rank and file at all. I was referring to those who engineer the rank and file in an attempt to astroturf, or to intimidate elected officials, using the cover of a public forum and even public assembly in an attempt to do just that.
If a few of these organizers were to have a few car accidents - it is uncertain how such a message might be received. It would be better to go higher, beyond the organizers there are I assume, others, who sit in the privacy of their clubs, drinking scotch, and smiling at the disarray of our political system. Car accidents among this group will go largely unnoticed - except by their peers.
By letting them know that we know who they are, without saying anything, we let them know that anything may be possible.
In mingling with the rank and file, I suggest that you simply walk softly, and carry a concealed club.
Please post some proof of
Please post some proof of actual violence by a Tea Partier. The story about calling Rep. Lewis a N-word have not been substantiated, even though there were cameras filming him. The story about someone spitting on Rep. Cleaver turned out to be a man using his hands as a megaphone and yelling "kill the bill" as Cleaver walked by. Cleaver admitted that the man "allowed" saliva to touch his face. The police talked to the man and let him go, because he had done nothing wrong. There are videos of it all over the web. Barney Frank told someone to "f-off" and they then called him a fag.
So, please tell me what Tea Party people have been violent, because I have yet to see one person actually being violent.
I have no doubt
No doubt at all, given the level of rhetoric and behavior already prevalent, that it will only be a matter of time before we have the very proof you desire . . .
I never want to see it, but
I never want to see it, but you sound like you'd love it.
The Tea Party movement has been going now for 1 1/2 years. Millions of people have gotten together all over the country, many times. The worst thing I have heard of read about any one is several people being removed from town hall meetings last summer. I have heard of no arrests, no physical harm being done by them, nothing.
Yeah?
I try not to pay too much attention to the tea party, simply because the fact is I'm really not wrapped too tight.
Let me be clear - as a general rule I don't care for violence.
That said - any of those clowns carrying weapons to protest - were they tea partiers?
I only ask because honestly, there are days . . .
Because . . . I think it would be very educational, in a national sense. Just imagine what a single wingnut might accomplish . . . with only a handgun, and a few friends with m-80s . . .
Bring 'em up. I'll show ya . . .
. . . and I'll even play the wingnut
I notice that the original poster ...
... calls for shouting people down. How very civil of you.
I have been to three Tea Party demonstrations. I have not raised my voice except to cheer for the speakers when they made a good point. I have talked to several people at these events who oppose the Tea Party movement, but in every case, we had polite conversations - no one had any need to shout down anyone else.
Try engaging people in civil discourse - you might learn something. I certainly have.
there you have it
Think you for this information . Most of us would never attend a Tea party rally for the same reason those Democratic Represenatives who were called the N word and nasty Mexican names , and others called Gay names , would never attend a Tea Party rally . If you are not one of these men than you probably would not care . The Tea Baggers spit on them and clogged the halls of Congress lead my Republican leaders who draw their pay check from all , all ,all of the American people . You are telling us that Tea party people do not attack their own or yell and scream at their own ? Why is that ? The rest of us cannot have a civil conversation with a Tea bagger at church . Did you happen to see what the Tea bag people did to Democratic head quarters all over the place . They threw rocks and bricks and bags of nasty things at these head quarters . Millions of dollars of damage . Bullies and fear mongerers, not to mention bullies and sore loosers . They lost , they lost , and they lost and they will loose again because their product is fear and hate and America has had enough of it . It seems , " You lie , you loose ". They and Fox news lied and lied and lied and lost . Would you follow these people and be part of this mass mental illness . I do not know what else to call it . No one designed them selves before coming to earth . To be against someone because of the way God made them has to be mental illness . To yell and scream and spit on someone because God did not make them the way the Tea aprty people want them to look , makes no sense . Dems never and would never behave this way . Bush stole the Presidency twice and still the Dems showed class and restraint . No one was happy with Bush but you never saw the Dems make news for spiting on some law maker . The Coffee Party has a higher conscience . Good things can and will be done by good people who want the best for all Americans .
here is a 'civil' idea
from Coffee Party founder, Annabel Park
"we need to re-engage the grassroots movement that got obama elected. we need to get busy. cannot give it away to teabaggers."
re-engage
OK, Let's get started.
here here koolaid
Good one . So right . Sign me up .
here here koolaid
Good one . So right . Sign me up .
Counter-Tea Party, but your a little far off.
The idea isn't to use scare-tactics. It's calm, democratic discussion. Mass-hysteria is a Tea-Party tactic. Drink some decaf.
calm discussion
All the name calling simply polarizes the discussion and detracts from the credibility of the "name callers." One of the big attractions of the Coffee Party is rational discussion. Threats, cat calls and red herrings simply prove your argument lame to begin with.