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July 28, 2010
Another teabagger bites the dust OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Republicans rejected anti-Washington sentiment on Tuesday, selecting a two-term congresswoman as their nominee for governor rather than a tea party-backed conservative who once called for the creation of a new state militia to protect state sovereignty. (more) (return to main page) Guns, divisive rhetoric to "honor" Lincoln and King? Are Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, the NRA's Wayne LaPierre, and Ted Nugent, at this place and time, the new keepers of King's dream and of Lincoln's legacy? Or do they, with this event at this place and time, in one of the boldest and most public ways imaginable, mock, and indeed, slander, everything for which these men so nobly stood, and for which they died? (more) (return to main page) Colorado Senate Candidate: “Tell those Tea Party dumbasses to stop asking about birth certificates” “Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates while I’m on the camera? God, what am I supposed to do?” Buck says on the tape, according to his campaign. (more) (return to main page) Racism at the Tea Party LET’S TURN the conversation about racism back to where it belongs — with Mark Williams, Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party. Williams wasn’t on the “fringe’’ of this populist movement. He was the force behind a nationwide Tea Party bus tour that generated extensive media coverage because it featured Palin. When Palin visited Boston last April, Williams was chief crowd warmer-upper. (more) (return to main page) July 27, 2010 Setting the record straight: The Tea Party and the Constitutional powers of the federal government A close look at the Tea Party’s version of the Constitution shows that it bears little resemblance to our actual Constitution, departs sharply from the Founders’ vision for America, and could threaten some of the constitutional values Americans cherish most. In this Issue Brief, we take on the Tea Partiers’ central claim: that our country’s Founders established a sharply limited, weak national government, incapable of addressing national problems like the health care crisis in America. This claim doesn’t stand up to the test of text and history. (more) (return to main page) Off the deep end: A teabagger tradition Teabaggers like to believe they’re a new political movement, but there’s nothing new about them. Their right wing extremism, ignorance, racism and reactionary self-righteousness are as old as humanity. There were Teabaggers in ancient Israel, they were known as the Pharisees. There were Teabaggers in Spain, they burned heretics at the stake for the Inquisition. There were Teabaggers in South Africa during the days of Apartheid, they imprisoned Nelson Mandela for 28 years. There are Teabaggers all over Afghanistan, they’re known as the Taliban. There are even Teabaggers in the animal kingdom, they’re called Parrots. (more) (return to main page) Glenn Beck's incendiary angst is dangerously close to having a body count And guess what? Everybody in America would have found out about the Tides Foundation last week if Byron Williams had had his way. He's the right-wing, government-hating, gun-toting nut who strapped on his body armor, stocked a pickup truck with guns and ammo, and set off up the California coast to San Francisco in order to start killing employees at the previously obscure Tides Foundation in hopes of sparking a political revolution. (more) (return to main page) The Tea Party mocks the Founders Perhaps the single most disturbing thing about the rise of the Tea Party as a growing force in American politics is the frequency with which the movement's most notable figures have rallied the faithful with talk of armed rebellion or revolution, often invoking the Framers in support of this call to political violence: (more) (return to main page) Sarah Palin's endorsement of Kelly Ayotte may have hurt Senate candidate's campaign The Palin endorsement may well be playing a role in this. 51% of voters in the state say they're less likely to back a Palin endorsed candidate to only 26% who say that support would make them more inclined to vote for someone. Among moderates that widens to 65% who say a Palin endorsement would turn them off to 14% who it would make more supportive. (more) (return to main page) July 23, 2010 GOP Senate candidate Angle avoids press at own event U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle invited local media to attend a press event in Reno Wednesday morning, but when members of the media tried to ask the candidate questions she didn't answer. (video) (more) (return to main page) Sharron Angle still taking cash raised by ostracized Tea Party leader? As you know, the Tea Party Express is under fire because its leader, Mark Williams, recently posted a satirical letter from "the Colored People" to President Lincoln praising slavery. The ensuing controversy got the group expelled from the Tea Party Federation, and the group continues to get pummeled by critics on all sides. (more) (return to main page) Does Fox News fuel the Tea Party? NEW YORK – Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron, in conversation at the Netroots Nation convention, said his network blew up the Shirley Sherrod story, that Senate candidate Sharron Angle “always seems confused,” and agreed that his network boosts the Tea Party. (more) (return to main page) July 21, 2010 Violent, racist haters among the Tea Partiers? NAACP gets death threats that pretty much prove their point Not only was this caller severely lacking in the logical consistency department -- first he calls the NAACP racist, then embarks on a rant about "the entire black race" (in this regard, he's a lot like the typical Fox pundit). But the reference to "kill our babies" and "kill white people" was also an obvious reference to that incendiary video Fox News ran as a way of ginning up racial hatred and resentment among its white audience. (more) (return to main page) Bachmann inflates Tea Party Caucus numbers Earlier this morning, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s office released a list of members of the newly-formed Tea Party Caucus. The list included congressmen who had supported the tea party for some time, like Reps. Joe Wilson, Mike Pence and Michele Bachmann. One problem, however: at least two members had not yet agreed to join, and several of the offices were either unaware that their congressman had joined the Tea Party caucus or were not informed that Bachman was going to release their names. (more) (return to main page) Attacking Muslims is in vogue again among Conservatives And now, Glenn Beck has decided that he cannot tolerate the thought of American Muslims riding around on rollercoasters for fun! This is what Beck bleated out to the world, via email: (more) (return to main page) Tea Party Express leader rejects message, not messenger Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer, in Anchorage Monday to support Joe Miller's campaign for U.S. Senate, would not condemn her group's spokesman, Mark Williams, after his controversial blog post satirizing what he called "colored people." Kremer said the post was wrong but the Tea Party Express isn't dumping him. (more) (return to main page) The Tea Partiers can't just paper over their innate nuttiness But it doesn't work that way. Because the Tea Party simply can't just paper over the movement's already clearly established record of condoning racism in its attacks on Obama -- not to mention its clear record of attracting and including and promoting not just racists but far-right extremists of all types, from tax nuts to religious nuts to gun nuts. A bunch of nuts all around, any way you cut it. (more) (return to main page) Palin screws up geography (Again. This woman is an moron) (Newser) – OK, so this isn’t anywhere near as bad as thinking Africa was a country, but Sarah Palin has messed up her geography once again. In a Facebook post endorsing New Hampshire Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte, Palin said she was headed to Kodiak, Alaska, “America’s largest island.” But that’s not even close to true, the AP points out: Hawaii’s Big Island is 440 square miles larger than Kodiak. (more) (return to main page) July 20, 2010 Tea party favorite loses GOP runoff in Alabama A mainstream Republican rolled past a tea party activist Tuesday in the GOP runoff for a southeast Alabama congressional seat that Republicans hope to reclaim. (more) (return to main page) Tea Party Express blasts umbrella group after split over blog Tea Party Express coordinator Joe Wierzbicki said it was "arrogant and preposterous" for the federation to expel his group. "Circular firing squads of groups within the tea party movement attacking one another accomplish nothing, and on this issue the Tea Party Federation is wrong," he said in a statement. (more) (return to main page) Mark Williams, author of letter from “coloreds,” kicked out of Tea Party I don’t happen to know any leaders of the Tea Party, but I think I can guess their reaction when Mark Williams posted his letter mocking “Coloreds”: OY. The fall-out: Williams has been booted from the National Tea Party Federation, according to spokesperson David Webb this morning on Face the Nation. (more) (return to main page) Sarah Palin compares herself to William Shakespeare By comparing herself to Shakespeare, Sarah Palin illustrates perfectly that being right-wing means never admitting you're wrong. Fundamentalism is not only dangerous, it is a completely untenable position precisely because human beings are inconsistent and imperfect beings. (more) (return to main page) Purging the Tea Party’s racist poison When the nation’s leading civil rights organization passed a resolution condemning displays of racism by tea party activists, leaders of the movement reacted with umbrage so thick you could cut it with a knife—then demonstrated that the NAACP’s allegation was entirely justified. (more) (return to main page) Strange brew: The Constitution according to the Tea Party A close look at the Tea Party's version of the Constitution shows that it bears little resemblance to our actual Constitution. Constitutional Accountability Center put to the test the Tea Party's central argument--that our country's Founders established a sharply limited, weak national government--in an Issue Brief released today entitled Setting the Record Straight: The Tea Party and the Constitutional Powers of the Federal Government. Turns out this claim doesn't stand up to the test of text and history. (more) (return to main page) July 18, 2010 To no one's surprise, crazy teabagger remains crazy When host Tamron Hall asked why not “move forward” by condemning extremism in both camps, Williams instead pointed fingers, blaming all cases of racism on agent provocateurs Crash the Tea Party. Even more absurd, Williams said it is “impossible” for the tea party movement to contain racist elements: (more) (return to main page) The tea party makes trouble with a capital T The geniuses of the North Iowa Tea Party erected a billboard in town depicting three leaders: Adolf Hitler (with swastika), Vladimir Lenin (with hammer and sickle) and Barack Obama (with 2008 campaign logo). Over Hitler were the words "National Socialism," over Lenin was "Marxist Socialism" and over Obama was "Democrat Socialism." (more) (return to main page) Tea Party's reaction to racism allegations mirrors the reaction of Ronald Reagan When Reagan promised to fight for states' rights in Philadelphia, Mississippi without ever mentioning the struggles with race in that area it said more than any statement on his racial beliefs ever could. When the Tea Party opens up their convention by calling for a return to literacy tests, or allow blatantly racist signs to be displayed at protests, it says more than any Facebook post from Sarah Palin ever could. (more) (return to main page) The Tea Party wants you to call them racist The Tea Party always tries to generate this sort of image for its followers because it fits so perfectly into their victim mentality. As tempting as it is to call the Tea Party racist, they don't deserve to have their horrible, infantile ideas shielded from scrutiny by that linguistic gift. (more) (return to main page) July 16, 2010 The top 5 Republicans who think the tea partiers are bad news Maybe it's just sour grapes, but sure seems like a lot of Republicans are hating on the tea party these days. Spurned GOPers ousted in primaries have been the most vocal, but even candidates who tried to court the tea party are criticizing the approach of the populist movement. (more) (return to main page) NAACP is right to call out racists within Tea Party movement It’s the racists who have compelled the NAACP to vote unanimously on a resolution calling on leaders in the Tea Party movement to disavow them. As E.J. Dionne brilliantly points out today, the venerable civil rights organization isn’t asking Tea Party leaders to do anything less than what conservatives have consistently called on liberals to do. (more) (return to main page) Official party upsets tea partyers DETROIT — Leaders of tea-party organizations around Michigan, along with state Republicans, denounced Wednesday the creation of an official Tea Party political party, calling it a Democratic Party attempt to confuse and deceive voters and dilute the movement's influence. (more) (return to main page) Quaint little tea party full of contradictions The Tea-Party’s fatal flaw is their incessant use of terminally false dichotomies. Blatant counterfeit knowledge used to distance Tea-Party followers from discovering common ground with “the enemy” of its leaders. (more) (return to main page) July 14, 2010 Tempest in a Tea Party Luckily, the teabaggers are such a self-parodying lot that all one really needs to do, a la Tina Fey, is let their own words do the talking. Of course, as we've seen in Arizona's hate-filled legislative spate of late, the results can be damaging and disheartening, and yet the basic sense of inanity and self-defeatism that is the hallmark of the TP is strongly in evidence there as well. (more) (return to main page) Another teabagger bites the dust Rick Barber -- the man who cut three of the most dizzingly amusing YouTube ads of the cycle -- will not be heading to Congress. He badly lost last night's runoff in his Alabama district, falling by 22 points to Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby, who pitted the support of the Republican establishment against Barber's aggressive courting of tea parties. (more) (return to main page) Iowa tea party group’s billboard linking Obama to Hitler, Lenin removed DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa tea party group today replaced a billboard comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin, calling the sign a bad decision that reflected poorly on the organization. (more) (return to main page) Rand Paul flip flops on bank bailout vow, seeks fundraising help from GOP Senators who voted for it LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)— Kentucky Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul is seeking fundraising help from GOP lawmakers who voted for the massive 2008 financial bailout, flip-flopping on a campaign promise to shun those lawmakers. (more) (return to main page) July 13, 2010 Tea Party is racist, NAACP says KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will propose a resolution this week condemning racism within the Tea Party movement. (more) (return to main page) SarahPAC FEC filing shows Palin contributions, spending JUNEAU, Alaska — Sarah Palin's political action committee contributed at least $87,500 to candidates she's endorsed in the last few months, according to a report filed Sunday with the Federal Elections Commission. (more) (return to main page) July 10, 2010 Tea Party darling Sharron Angle struggles to persuade some Nevada Republicans Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle may be the darling of the Tea Party movement, but within the Nevada GOP community, the conservative hopeful has been criticized as "a very difficult person," "an ultra-right winger" and someone the state "can't rely on" to be their representative in Washington. (more) (return to main page) July 9, 2010 Striking similarities between the new Black Panther Party and the Tea Party How the Tea Party and the New Black Panther Party are are similar. They both have members who do not consider where they are or the make-up of their audience when they speak. They speak as if they are speaking for the all of America, whether Black or White, when they are not. Their ideas about how things should be do not reflect those of the majority but the minority. (more) (return to main page) Homeless Man unwittingly learns secret to earning ‘Teabagger Bucks’ Gustav Bozarth is a homeless man who lives in El Paso, a city in the Holy Sovereign Nation of Texas. Every day, he probably has to deal with people telling him to “git a jawwwwwwb” or calling him a “buhhhmmm,” or maybe just ignoring him. (more) (return to main page) July 8, 2010 Why the right-wingers of the Tea Party movement will always be war mongers! Teabaggers are just old-fashioned angry, resentment-driven right-wingers; in America, for at least half a century, angry, resentment-driven right-wingers have been defined by their contempt for educated coastal elitists, nonwhites who won’t stay in “their place” (the back of the bus a few decades ago, Mexico today), and whatever enemy is being sold by mainstream-right-wing jingoists as the Hitler du jour. (more) (return to main page) Yup, I'm a racist! Not only do the vendors use the twisted logic that they're selling the shirts proclaiming that they're racist because they're not racist, they do the world's worst job of repeating Tea Party talking points so discredited even Sarah "Death Panels" Palin wouldn't repeat them. (more) (return to main page) You've got (hate) mail: 'When tea baggers attack' edition The current, popular media meme is that the Tea Party are just "average folks who care about overreaching, over-spending government." Tea Party goddess Sarah Palin always scoffs at claims of racism or homophobia in the movement, despite signs with crazy racist rants or anti-gays slurs hurled out of crowds. (more) (return to main page) Sharron Angle's advice for rape victims considering abortion: Turn lemons into lemonade The interview, which took place on the conservative Alan Stock Show, was captured and sent to the Huffington Post by a source in Nevada. It is noteworthy primarily to the extent that it shows how doctrinaire Angle's views on abortion really are. The Nevada Republican earlier discussed her beliefs on the topic during an interview with the Bill Manders in which she called pregnancy in cases of rape and incest, "God's plan." (more) (return to main page) Tea Partiers' concerns are virtually identical to those of Republicans, poll shows The Tea Party movement gets a disproportionate share of media attention because of all the funny costumes, Hitler references, and fantasizing about armed revolution. But it's hard to see what's distinctive about the Tea Partiers' actual political views and priorities. (more) (return to main page) July 5, 2010 Obama road-rage driver takes plea deal A Nashville man who gained national attention by allegedly ramming the car in front of him because it had a bumper sticker supporting Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign pleaded guilty yesterday to criminal charges. (more) (return to main page) Sharron Angle opposes abortion even with rape, incest: 'God has a plan' In an segment that has gone unnoticed since it first aired, the Tea Party-backed candidate told the Bill Manders show -- a favorable platform for Republican candidates -- that she opposed abortion even in cases of rape and incest. A pregnancy under those circumstances, she said, was "God's plan." (more) (return to main page) Dangerous brew: Dismiss extreme right-wing Tea Party ideas at your peril The Tea Partiers' long-term goals are nothing short of dismantling our government, privatizing and reducing fundamental programs like Social Security and Medicare, and putting the corporations in charge -- a frightening prospect in this day and age (think BP). (more) (return to main page) Lindsey Graham: The Tea Party movement 'Will die out' "The problem with the Tea Party, I think it's just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country. It will die out," said Graham, who has come under fire from the right for being excessively moderate and compromising with Democrats. (more) (return to main page) Tea Party Jews: Betraying the U.S. and Israel at the same time That distinctive brew of left-baiting, Obama-hating, poorly veiled racism, clergy-driven jingoism, clergy-fanned derision of the Supreme Court, the Luddite insertion of anti-government bile where an ideology should go, a majority which feels victimized and discriminated against and threatened by minorities of indeterminate legal status - it's all here. (more) (return to main page) Haslam, Ramsey claim Tea Party support Haslam today listed 20 Tea Party members endorsing his candidacy. Ramsey last week listed 50 Tea Party activists endorsing him. The third major Republican candidate, Zach Wamp, has also actively courted Tea Party support but hasn't released a list yet. (more) (return to main page) Tea Party has highly suspect roots Tea Party leaders also condemn the government for making BP pay for the Gulf Coast cleanup, and for regulating the banks and Wall Street. They are frauds and need to have the light of day shown on them so that all can see their true philosophy: oppression, regression and yes, racism. (more) (return to main page) Conspiracy, confusion all part of the Tea Party war Well, some of you may have to do something you haven't in a long time — get off your proverbial duff and actually do some research about the candidates asking for your vote... In fact, if there's one upside to all of this mess, it's that voters may be forced to do what they should have done all along — become an educated part of the electorate. (more) (return to main page) Dean Cannon, his Tea Party opponent, ballot trickery & more Elections have real consequences, and it’s unfortunate that the authentic Tea Party movement supporters may be deceived into supporting candidates who don’t share their values, who have no ties to these districts, and no understanding of the implications associated with running for public office or the responsibilities required of our elected officials. (more) (return to main page) On the fringes, but not alone The campaign video is such a transparent ploy, the temptation is to ignore it. After all, tea party candidate Rick Barber is a long shot in his July runoff race for the Republican nomination for an Alabama congressional seat. (more) (return to main page) 'Tea party' rebranded Republican Party Sixty-two percent of tea-party supporters surveyed over three separate Gallup polls say they are a "conservative Republican." Another 17 percent say they are "moderate/liberal Republican." All told, 79 percent of tea-party supporters say they are Republicans. (more) (return to main page) Lindsey Graham spits out tea party " 'Everything I'm doing now in terms of talking about climate, talking about immigration, talking about Gitmo is completely opposite of where the Tea Party movement's at,' Graham said. . . . (more) (return to main page) Sharron Angle does not want to murder Harry Reid with guns Ha ha, remember when Sharron Angle was some nobody teabagger that people voted for because, well, she’s nuts and all, but at least she doesn’t believe that people should pay for health care with live poultry? (more) (return to main page) Archives June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 |