Tweet
When it was important, as in where the rubber meets the road in Wisconsin, 100, 000 people turned out. In the snow and cold. People put their comfort aside for something they believed in day after day after day.
Today the Tea Party called for a rally to push Congress to go for the draconian and regressive cuts that the House has passed. They were sure there was going to be a huge outpouring of support from their fellow conservatives. After all they had all the darlings of the Teahadists there; Rep Bachman, Sen. Paul, Rep. Pence and other luminaries of the unhinged movement.
They were so sure this was going to be a seminal event that they even got their cooperate media propaganda arm, Fox “News” to cover the event live! It was going to be glorious and it was going to show just how strong the support for job immolating cuts in Federal spending are.
In fact it did exactly that. About, at a gross over estimate by Sen. Rand Paul (Douche – KY) there were 200 people out at this “rally” today. Not to be overly mean, but in my family if you have only 200 people at your wedding, you have really pissed off some of the Aunts something chronic.
Sure they got their coverage. They had the sign, saying something I couldn’t see, behind the speakers with the duffus who dresses up like Capt. America, they had their roster of crazed and constitutionally challenged speakers, but what they did not have a was a fired up crowd.
In fact this seems to be the SOP for Teahadist rallies lately. They had a bunch of folks (though not in one place to be sure) when Fox “News” first used its news spokes-models to promote the idea of a Tea Party. And yeah, they had a bunch of folks at whatever the hell it was the Glenn Beck did on the Mall last summer. And they did manage to get some folks to come and spite on Civil Rights heroes during the voting for the ACA.
The thing is that they seem less and less able to get folks to really turn out in support of their agenda anymore. It is not like the Teahadists were ever anything other than Republicans being rebranded, but it seems like they don’t have the staying power that a real force is politics is supposed to have.
By one account, Dave Weigel of all folks, there were not even as many attendees as there were media and members of Congress. When you can’t draw a crowd for your signature issues, then you don’t have a movement. I don’t know what you have, but a sham comes to mind, and not a Sham Wow either.
What is on your minds tonight Firedogs? The floor is yours.
12 Comments
and PBS dumb ass Judy Woodhead…gave them gravitas
I guess the Tea party must have gone home and the movement is dried up. No need to mention it again.
On a side note; you sound pretty angry Bill.
Bill, thanks for the diary and update.
I have not followed WI as close as I was, unless FDL has a diary on it.
Nice to see less n 200 or so turned out with the TOP batshit crazed wingnut leaders there.
I guess with out Failin Palin there’s no show.
Thanks for all yer work.
Rcc’d.
Is there an FDL email addy I can send a question to you at? An FDL related question . . . thanks.
The unhinged crowd comment I found intriguing. Rand and Ron Paul are the only members of congress taller than 5ft 3 who are dead set against this insane war and the rest of our bloody adventures, sorry about the height shot Dennis. Our progressive suppposedly liberal answer to any unpleasantry is to kill, maim, and butcher. Yet Fienstien, Boxer, Pelosi, Hoyer, Schumer, Nadler, Weiner, Hillary Clinton, the entire Black Caucas, all these folks are on the Obama Abrams tank band wagon, yet you consider the Pauls crazy and them sane. I am 66.5 years of age. In that span of time we have been killing somebody somewhere for over 40% of it. The 21st century is awash in blood because of our imperialistic policies and meddling in the affairs of others. Yet the Pauls are unhinged, well I guess I am also. ” From war and battle and violent death, Lord God deliver us.” English Book of Common Prayer.
Zenostoa
Shit, 200? For what, two hours? Just long enough to get on TV?
That’s how many people were camping out on the Capitol lawn every night in Madison in February and March. Not in the Rotunda, but on the lawn. In winter. In Wisconsin.
Teabaggers are lightweights.
Yet Most Media love to give the Tea Party enormous credit and pretend they are popular. The American people have always been on to them for the morons that they are. We have now whats known as momentum on our side. If only Obama and the democrats would stop taking these thugs seriously. WE ARE NOT BROKE! Join the anti-austerity movement. The poor are paying for the rich. Where is Robin Hood when we need him.
From what I can tell, this looks precisely what is needed to jar the dominant narratives out there. Not just in cognitive dissonance with the numbers comparing teapods in DC with the human occupation of the capitol in Madison, but the conventional wisdom that falls on it’s face with this story.
Republicans going way back like to say that the right always fight FOR something and that the left can’t win because it is always fighting AGAINST something. This may be too broad a brush but works both ways.
Left called “Against family values”, or “against strong defense/authority”, or “against white-christian trad. values”.
At last people could see that left has always been the ones FOR the people and AGAINST parasitic, super-secret, authoritarian bigboy cronyism.
FOR the people and AGAINST the assholes.
it’s pretty simple really, ;-)
thanx!
now to force Obama to get on board5.
Not a chance?
We have to make it so he has no choice otherwise.
Why I think Bill’s article here should go on FOX and CNN and blared to the millions!
I really enjoyed this post, and especially loved the photo of the little girl’s tea party, indicating the level of gravitas the tea party has. Last night when I was watching the news coverage of their pathetic turnout, I also thought of Wisconsin–100,000 vs. 100-200–it really paints a vivid picture of who has a movement and who doesn’t. One reason for the media’s lopsided coverage is false equivalency; the MSM persist in this notion that every story must be covered as if it has two sides of equal importance and intelligence. We must debate whether or not global warming is real. Really? Okay, then let’s debate whether or not the earth is flat. Of course, another reason for the MSM lopsided coverage of Wisconsin is that it makes their corporate owners nervous.
I’ve been lurking on FDL since last year and not really commented until this week. I got burned out after the election, I needed a break. I came back to check on some old acquaintances and find the place is turning into Daily Kos. There’s Maryscott O’Connor going off on people when they bring up third parties, cussing them out and getting away with it. When i try to look up certain people’s posts I find pages saying they’ve been flagged as spam, their accounts aren’t there anymore. What’s going on at FDL?
Some of the better writers with strong opinions have been purged for site violations. They challenged the good old boy club and lost.
I did not know that. Who were they and what rules did they break? I only know of a couple that are MIA like missling.