Pajamas Media

44 Comments

1. Delia:

Excellent summation. I must admit I cried a little bit when I read your article, especially towards the end.

“Our rank and file are a patriotic bunch who appreciate the country’s history. These gatherings were a part of America’s historical continuum. The tea parties are not the beginning of the end but they certainly are the end of the beginning.”

I better hit submit now before I bawl my guts out. God bless you and all of us who are terrified that our country is going to hell in a hand basket.

Apr 19, 2009 - 1:41 am 2. Delia:

What a truly heart-felt and honest PJM post, Mr. Chapin.

“what is the line between being a proponent of right-wing ideas and being a right-wing extremist? I guess it’s up to conservatives to determine that on their own.”
~

Indeedy do. I love my guns, my cats and red meat. I don’t attend a church [I believe GOD exists in my heart and mind and therefore I don't need no stinkin' church]. I’m about as extremist as a person who eats raw Goji berries, raw cocoa nibs and raw honey etc.

We are all here on this leetle blue planet together. Politics shmolitics.

My neighbors are all Libs and I would feed them no question should something dire happen.

We are ANGRY and SCARED but not at our fellow human beings, we are angry at the f*cktards in control.

Bush won a war with our money. I’m okay with that.

Our white-American president spending out of control to the point of generational theft? Not happy camperin’.

Apr 19, 2009 - 2:09 am 3. DaveinPhoenix:

Bravo ! This is the second article I’ve seen in the past 6 months (where is everyone else?) which cites real numbers: real numbers which include the promised costs of social programs for retiring baby boomers. I think if I hear the phony $12 trillion number one more time from otherwise reputable news sources, I’ll puke.

And people question and ridicule tea party attendees ? How ignorant can a person be to blandly accept a $53 Trillion national debt and cheer skyrocketing spending ? Doesn’t anyone stop to think for just one minute that the buyers of all this debt are those with nuclear weapons pointed at us ? Isn’t our debt now a national security concern ?

So Conservatives and Liberals blame each other endlessly while the truth remains: a $53 Trillion negative net worth of our federal government created by politicians of both major parties. Six of ten Americans aged 16-25 functionally illiterate despite despite state and local spending of literally trillions on an obviously failed public education system in the past 10 years. So much for caring for our children, just words used to gain yet another re-election.

And the answer to another phony goal of American energy independence for the past 30 years has been to do absolutely nothing. We stop building refineries, we stop nuclear power, we thwart new technologies and ban new drilling for oil.

And people really have gall to question and ridicule tea party attendees ? Sure, no problem. Obviously we’re headed down the right path. Good.

Apr 19, 2009 - 2:12 am 4. Marc Malone:

Tea-party on, Wayne! Tea-party on, Garth!

Apr 19, 2009 - 2:34 am 5. elvis:

Knowing that the tea party I attended had been scheduled 2 hours before it started is great proof that this is a grass roots movement!

Apr 19, 2009 - 3:28 am 6. Gary Ogletree:

We have elaborate social safety nets, our justice system is under constant scrutiny for rights violations and reform. The moderate left has to invent problems to pretend they are relevant. The marxist left, along with the race hustler industry, can never admit to progress. That’s why they have a fit when they see a genuine grassroots movement they can never match, even if the “voluntary” tax payer funded Obama Brown Shirts take to the streets. We have the Declaration and the Constitution. They have nothing of value. We are witnessing the high water mark of the American Left.

Apr 19, 2009 - 4:10 am 7. vivo:

Bernard Chapin:

“Allow me to pose an unanswerable question: what is the line between being a proponent of right-wing ideas and being a right-wing extremist? ”

Easily answerable: The Extremist will act like an Islamic maniac.

Apr 19, 2009 - 4:31 am 8. Class Clown:

Note: I posted a version of this on another Pajamas Media comment thread.

In addition what is revealed by her general contempt and ridicule, Susan Roesgen makes a very revealing statement in her diatribe. I quote:

“I think you get the general tenor of this, it’s anti-government, anti-CNN since this is highly promoted by the right-wing, conservative network FOX, and since I can’t really hear much more, and I think this is not really family viewing…”

So, let me see here… in her phrasing, the government and CNN are clearly associated with eachother (anti-one, anti-the other) Is this in effect a statement in first person plural? We and us? Are their interests synonomous? Are they partners?

As she states that it is logical for the “right-wing” to oppose CNN, isn’t that a tacit admission that CNN is, in fact, the left-wing? After all, she herself that positions them as opposites. FOX tilts to the right, and their conservative commentators admit it. However, CNN tries to pretend that it is unbiased, and people fall for it.

CNN needs to finally admit that it is a propaganda organ of the Left.

Apr 19, 2009 - 4:38 am 9. winston:

It’s wonderful to see so many taxpaying citizens protesting peacefully and coming together at a genuine grass-roots level.
I hope the enthusiasm will continue through the next election and many more elections to come.
Because unless we make some meaningful changes in the voting booths, all of the protesting and rallying will just keep falling on the deaf ears of our politicians.

Apr 19, 2009 - 5:57 am 10. Meryl:

Bernard Chapin:

“‘Allow me to pose an unanswerable question: what is the line between being a proponent of right-wing ideas and being a right-wing extremist? ‘

“Easily answerable: The Extremist will act like an Islamic maniac.”

Oh, come on. Then you will have, at the most, 1 or 2 extremist mental-case individuals in the entire country over a period of 20 years. The whole “right wing extremist” crap is based on BIG BUNCHES of us becoming dangerous.

Of all the right wing extremists I know and love and am related to, not a single one of them would ever

1. cut your head off (even yours, vivo)
2. prevent their daughters from attending school
3. rape their wives (especially their 9 year old wives)
4. kill their son for leaving one church and joining another (or ceasing to attend altogether)
5. strap a bomb to their nephew’s back and send him off to a bloody death, in order to kill others

The only posters I have seen over the months in these columns who, in print, wish death on other individuals are the leftists wishing death, specifically and generally, on the conservatives.

By the way, we should be at all surprised at the danger signs of “right wing extremists” now being applied to thought. This was all put in motion years ago when hate crimes legislation got started. My skin was crawling then, as I kept yelling inside, “I THOUGHT WE WERE PUNISHING MURDERERS FOR WHAT THEY DID, NOT FOR WHAT THEY WERE THINKING WHILE THEY DID IT.”

Once the punishment of the crime got linked to the thoughts of the criminal, it was only a matter of time until other kinds of thinking could be criminalized. We’re looking at it.

Apr 19, 2009 - 6:55 am 11. Meryl:

We should NOT be at all surprised…..of course.

Apr 19, 2009 - 6:57 am 12. GMB:

I attended the TEA party held on the town square in Medina Ohio. I wasn’t sure what to expect on a cold and rainy afternoon. I got there about 20 minutes early to find an already sizable crowd assembled. At its peak, I would estimate that over 1000 people gathered to participate in the activities.

The crowd was generally pleasant and committed to participating enthusiastically. There were hundreds of signs; most of them were entertaining and many were clever. A few might have made the ultra politically correct uncomfortable, but none were in bad taste. It had the air of a county fair. Several organizations that had joined to sponsor the event had tables setup to collect names from attendees. Quite a few people brought their children (babies to teens) with them and several included their dogs in the festivities. As far as demographics go; seniors seemed to make up the largest segment of the crowd. I was surprised to see that women whom I estimated to be between the ages of 25 to 50 were present in conspicuously large numbers. My impression more generally was that women slightly outnumbered men. While everyone seemed in good spirits, there was definitely a very serious and concerned demeanor on display.

While opposition to inevitable higher taxes may have been the lightning rod for many of the gatherings around the country, the frustration of those in Medina ran much deeper. The prominent subjects addressed by signs and in conversations were the following in order of their prominence: politicians abandoning the founding principles of our country, erosion of individual liberty due to expanding government, government attacks on free markets, growing disgust with professional politicians who seem motivated only by self-interest, and the feeling that the media has become biased towards a socialist agenda. Thomas Jefferson was by far the most quoted historical figure. His skepticism regarding power centralized in the government was shared by many if not all attendees. Another strong sentiment on display was that our country’s religious heritage is being marginalized by our elected officials and the mainstream media.

While it might seem that Republicans would be the beneficiary of these sentiments; I sensed an undercurrent of bitter disappointment with those who give lip service to the attendee’s values while pursuing strategies that foster the growth of government. A particularly popular rallying cry issued by one of the speakers was that every incumbent politician should be thrown out of office.

I was impressed by the speakers that I heard during the hour and a half that I attended. They were “average” people who with varying degrees of oratorical skill tapped into the sentiments of the gathered throng. Their comments were heart felt and moving. The only politician to speak while I was there was a county commissioner who respected the agenda and did not declare her party affiliation. Other speakers included: a realtor sharing perspectives on the housing decline, a University of Akron accounting major who shared his alarm at “anti-capitalistic” details of federal stimulus legislation, and a member of the community who gave a moving statement about his personal dismay over the radical changes taking place in our society.

The people I met were moved by personal concerns and convictions. If there were any forces behind the scenes with covert agendas, it’s hard to see what they accomplished. This was not a crowd that was buying any agenda other than their own as concerned citizens.

The highly partisan treatment given to these rallies by most of the main stream media and the “progressive” politicians in Washington betray a disdain for participatory democracy that validates the concerns of those who attended. With a few notable exceptions suppression of objective coverage and polemic attacks on the character of participants was the order of the day. The newsprint and broadcast media that covered orchestrated demonstrations by illegal aliens in gushing terms last year went out of their way to disparage this larger and more spontaneous expression of citizen activism. I am convinced that anyone who allows the media to mold their interpretation of current events will ultimately rue their assumption of good faith on the media’s part.

Our country will be well served if the ongoing efforts of citizens, like those I met in Medina, lead to greater awareness of country’s uniqueness and a renewal of the Spirit of 1776.

Apr 19, 2009 - 8:20 am 13. jimpres:

And not one ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, or MSNBC said one work about J Garafalo’s statement it is about a black president and all the TEA supporters are racist. She has no clue…… We can’t afford the Admin’s spending.
I hope someone see this and can contact the 24 TV series and have her sanctioned on the show.

Apr 19, 2009 - 8:38 am 14. Войска ПВО:

13. jimpres:

“And not one ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, or MSNBC said one work [sic] about J Garafalo’s statement it is about a black president and all the TEA supporters are racist. She has no clue…”

Jim, none of them do and it is, ironically, our strength. They have mis-underestimated us and our motivations. That’s fine, for as Chuck[le] — a career infantry officer — will tell you that when the enemy takes the feint and commits its resources, then an assault is a lot easier. Their hollow rebuttals will not ring true with good, common American citizens who weary of an unresponsive government succored by a sympathetic and in-the-tank MSM. And TOTUS’s perennial campaign mode will get older and older by the month.

A huge vacuum building; it is the yawning gulf between the common folk’s desires and expectations and the performance of those in power. If we can find someone who can articulate our concerns, then when he (or she) steps into that vacuum, he (or she) will head a pretty powerful army against a bewildered opponent.

Apr 19, 2009 - 10:02 am 15. Kathy L.:

We had over 1,000 attendees at our local Tax Day Tea Party. Next time, there will be more. Power To The People !!

Apr 19, 2009 - 10:39 am 16. bobbcat:

Wonderfully written piece. Especially enjoyed the bit on that snarky little trollop Roesgen. She makes Cruella look tame by comparison.

Apr 19, 2009 - 11:01 am 17. jimpres:

Voyska PVO , are you a private in the military?

Your right a leader will step up and we will have a voice in the democratic system. Yes, a self inflated enemy is easy to defeat. However it is a shame they can have a voice and we must be silent for now.

We have some trying times ahead of us.

Apr 19, 2009 - 11:17 am 18. Joshua:

So, I guess what I’m wondering — and I can’t be the first person to bring this up, so I may be wasting my time — but I have some questions about the thesis here.

1) Why are people on the right protesting now? I mean, Obama’s been in office for three months. Bush was in office for eight years. Bush supported the bailout. We’re still floating on a Bush budget; the federal programs that are in place right now are the ones that Bush left in place for eight years. So is there some reason besides naked partisanship that motivates these protest tactics now?

2) The Republicans had control of both houses of Congress, the White House, and a majority on the Supreme Court for six years. If the Republicans couldn’t do the things you want done in six years of absolute control of the entire federal government, what exactly are you protesting? I mean, if you’re protesting Democratic control of the White House and Congress, one assumes the solution you’d like to see is Republican control — but you had that, and it evidently didn’t give you any of the things you wanted. So what exactly are you hoping is going to happen here?

3) With regard to:

Times are dire … unless you work for the government. The nation’s unemployment rate is 8.5 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the public sector thrives at the expense of the private sector. Further, “according to the BLS, the private sector lost an estimated 3.65 million jobs in 2008, but government jobs increased by nearly 150,000 in the same time period.”

So… again, I’m wondering what you would like to see as an alternative. Everyone who’s collecting unemployment, welfare, farm subsidies, disaster relief, veteran’s benefits — all those people who need more help when things get bad require more government workers to serve them. Even assuming that we used the old Republican formula of cutting all services for poor people, we still have more wounded vets every year, more people collecting unemployment insurance on legitimate claims, more people making use of public transportation and so on. And as poverty goes up, so does crime, so we need more cops and firefighters and all that. Do you honestly think it would be cost-effective to cut back on services that mitigate the effects of economic collapse?

Apr 19, 2009 - 12:55 pm 19. Delia:

18. Joshua,

Mister ‘Zero’ the fake ‘HERO’ is outspending all of our past presidents combined. We [the tax-PAYING people] are rising up and we WILL collectively DO something about the bloated government.

VOTE, people, VOTE. Get the libtards OUT and douche the RINOS out too.

The worker bees are waking up and buzzing. The Libs are going to get STUNG.

Apr 19, 2009 - 2:10 pm 20. mudboss:

Joshua

Many of us who were at the Tea Parties were also protesting the spending of President Bush. Much of his spending occurred under a democratic House and Senate. Most of us also rejected the 1st bailout that he and McCain supported.

In less than 90 days, Obama has spent 3-4 times as much as Bush.

Our complaint is with both of them.

As the government gets bigger, I am getting poorer. But I am not looking for a bailout. I will work it out on my own, thank you!

Apr 19, 2009 - 2:59 pm 21. poisonspring:

This is not the end of the beginning. This is the beginning of the beginning, and there is a long road to travel ahead. There has been 70 odd years of the socialist creep in this country, and to defeat it will be a long and terrible battle. hopefully the people will remain conscious of the threat.

Apr 19, 2009 - 4:10 pm 22. steveg:

Congress is back in session and what they do in the coming weeks will have a huge impact on the taxed enough already movement. If Congress proceeds with new programs (socialized medicine, cap and trade,etc.) that will only add to our indebtedness the movement will only grow stronger.

The last count for the April 15th protest was approximately 650,000. It will take this many protesters and more on the Washington Mall on July 4th to really have an impact. You can expect San Fran Nan to call it the million millionaire march.

Apr 19, 2009 - 4:48 pm 23. venividivici:

18. Joshua:

So, I guess what I’m wondering — and I can’t be the first person to bring this up, so I may be wasting my time — but I have some questions about the thesis here.

1) Why are people on the right protesting now? I mean, Obama’s been in office for three months. Bush was in office for eight years. Bush supported the bailout. We’re still floating on a Bush budget; the federal programs that are in place right now are the ones that Bush left in place for eight years. So is there some reason besides naked partisanship that motivates these protest tactics now?

Not only aren’t you the first person to raise it, you’re not even in the first million.

Dude, do you even read the newspaper? Obama’s going to double the amount of debt (outside of entitlement program debt, which is a whole other issue) accumulated over nearly two centuries in the next 8-10 years. That seems like a pretty significant new development that wasn’t true during the Bush administration, don’t you think? If your landlord (or bank holding your mortgage) came up to you and said, “Hey, we’ve decided that we’re going to double your rent/mortgage payment”, would you just sit there and take it because your payment last month was only half of what next month’s would be? No, of course not, so your questions is either disingenuous or you’re not really thinking things through.

Very few people are taking the “liquidationist” perspective on what the government’s response to the financial crisis should be, but from a macroeconomic perspective it is pretty clear that the “stimulus” is fatally flawed. See why here:

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/93473/The_selfdefeating_stimulus

One final point and you need to take this to heart:

You do not get to tell me when I can and can’t “take to the streets”.

Read that again, slowly, sounding out all the words, and make sure to memorize it, because that fact is not going to change.

Apr 19, 2009 - 4:58 pm 24. Will:

Hey vivo,”None so blind as those who will not see”

Apr 19, 2009 - 5:37 pm 25. Tonya:

“Roesgen signed off by saying it was not “family viewing.” Ah, but there she’s wrong because the character of Cruella de Vil has been appreciated by children for decades.”

Thank You Mr. Simon. I cannot add one thing, except, the man she yelled at was holding a baby and that was probably like holding a cross up to vampire. She is working for Cynical News Network/CNN/SIN News, and she does not want to see any babies.

I always love to read you Mr. Simon and I plan to buy your book.

Apr 19, 2009 - 6:16 pm 26. Tonya:

I was wrong about the author, but I loved it. I do not love CNN, and we do not turn them on here, so I watched her here. CNN would not be playing in our household.

Apr 19, 2009 - 6:22 pm 27. Praetorian:

Death rattles from a dying movement. It’s all about the numbers and you guys ain’t got em. You can’t even win a special election, usually good for Republicans because of low turnout, in a district (NY 20) with a 70,000 Republican registration advantage. The Democrat (a nobody, really) started out 21 points behind and went on to win. Even the military ballots trended Democratic! I’m not making this up. So for all the prattling on about big government and socialism, yada, yada, yada, you guys shouldn’t be thinking about Democrats right now but about all the many Republicans and conservatives voting Democratic and jumping your own sinking ship. Tea parties do, I suppose, serve a worthy purpose in that they allow the like minded to cry on each others shoulder. You certainly aren’t changing minds preaching to the choir.

Apr 19, 2009 - 6:49 pm 28. Praetorian:

# 14 Войска ПВО: “A huge vacuum building; it is the yawning gulf between the common folk’s desires and expectations and the performance of those in power. If we can find someone who can articulate our concerns, then when he (or she) steps into that vacuum, he (or she) will head a pretty powerful army against a bewildered opponent.”

It’s most certainly a she! It’s Sarah Palin, the one who’s gonna give it to Putin “when he rears his head.” The Sarah who can see Russia from her house. The Sarah who preaches abstinence but whose own daughter got knocked up after getting drunk and high (or methed out). the one who claims to speak for the little guy but spends 200 grand at Neimans for a few things to wear. We all hope she is your nominee for 2012. Not only will Tina Fey have a year or two entertaining us(although she may not like it) but it will be fun to watch Palin the Pied Piper lead the remains of her pernicious pachyderm pack over the cliff once and for all.

Apr 19, 2009 - 7:02 pm 29. venividivici:

Death rattles from a dying movement.

Number of protesters last year on April 15th: 0

Number of protesters this year on April 15th: 700K+

Yeah, the movement’s really dying off. Another year of “dying” and it’ll be over a million strong.

Do you trolls even read what you post or are you given the text straight from headquarters?

Apr 19, 2009 - 7:18 pm 30. Delia:

Open letter to libtard trolls:

Thank you for the encouragement and giving us hard-working people the ammo to spew right back in your mentally challenged faces. Thank you for proving we are doing something right and YOU are running scared. Thank you for the cowardly ad hominem attacks that you voraciously spew whilst trying to claim innocence and ‘caring’ for the ‘common’ good.

The ‘thing’ you probably will never get is that the more you attack people the more WE grow angrier and stronger against your pathetic bullsh*t. Let me wax pedantic for a hot minute…

What is YOUR utopia? Has it [your utopian dream] ever worked? Are the fuzz bumpers and back door reamers having tough times because nobody wants to know their sexual preference? Are the crack whores and lazy pimps worthy of welfare checks signed by the hard working class of people who…gasp…WORK? Are the illegal aliens sucking off the teat of medical care because god forbid our Doctors and Nurses can’t turn the turds of society away? Have you ever met an ER doctor? Pretty effing ROUGH to say the least and many of the emergency victims are illegal aliens or black-on-black violence tribal war mongers.

Lefties, your pathetic, childish, brain-draining propaganda is getting so stale I can smell the mold from your fundies. It’s time you learned that people who work and toil and actually labor and sweat are sick and tired of the lot of you. People who PRODUCE are getting tired of people who bitch and moan with their college ‘edumacation-indoctrinmacation’ and produce NOTHING but megabytes of pure st00pid.

Your white-American president sucks rotten eggs. He stinks. He’s a joke and a moron to boot. I didn’t like Bush much either…but, at least he handles 9/11 like a Hero instead of a Zero. Your panty waist apologist-in-chief is a fraidy cat pissant to the umpteenth degree.

Let the racist piece of dung for a ‘special Olympian’ in office burn in hell along with his tax dodging, porno skanking, slime-bags he calls his ‘cabinet’ …more like the ‘crypt keeper’ if ya ask me.

In closing…

I would just like to say, thank you for making me angrier and stronger and more stubborn, leetle trolls. You lefty tardos give me reason to post MORE when you spout your nonsense. How’s that workin’ out for ya? Eh?

Apr 19, 2009 - 7:55 pm 31. PM:

Praetorian,

Be careful that you arn’t under the pachyderm. They hurt.

Apr 19, 2009 - 10:01 pm 32. terlizzi999:

“The Sarah who can see Russia from her house.”

News flash Praetorian, Sarah Palin never said that, Tina Fay did on SNL…if your gona troll please use facts not the ramblings from the DailyKos.

Intresting when we compare the Tea Parties to say Anti-War rallies….Tea Parties were peaceful with only one (1) arrest out of 700,000+ attending…Anti-War rallies tend to have arrests in the hundreds or thousands(when they try their nation wide days).
An overwhelming number of the Tea Protesters were attending their first foray into the realm of organised protest whereas the Anti-War protesters tend to be professional protesters with a significant amount being paid to be there.

Ever see the end result of an Anti-War rally (the amount of litter and trash on the ground is truely alarming)considering how many attend them consider themselves enviromentalists whereas organisers and members of the Tea parties went out of their way to request attendees to please pickup their trash before leaving.

Finally, the extremists in any protest (they always attend regardless) who compared the President to hitler with slogans/shouts at the Tea Parties were the extremly rare cases and were marginalised or asked to leave…by comparison nearly every third (3) sign, banner or shout at an Anti-war rally had a picture of the president morphed into a Hitlerlike being.

I met as many independants and blue-dog democrats as I did conservatives (not republicans) and the MSM elites and hyper left ignore this slowly begining movement at their own risk as we plan on throwing all out of office come next election cycle and that includeds both democrat and republicans.

Apr 19, 2009 - 10:54 pm 33. Meryl:

“Death rattles from a dying movement.”

If that were the case….if you actually believed that…I don’t think you’d be wasting your time on this site.

I think the everyday folks getting mad and taking to the streets is your worst nightmare come true. Enjoy. It’s just beginning.

Apr 19, 2009 - 11:20 pm 34. Praetorian:

# 29 venividivici: “Yeah, the movement’s really dying off. Another year of “dying” and it’ll be over a million strong.”

Uh, huh. Most sources both conservative and liberal put attendance it between 250,000- 300,000. The main point is whether or not you can outnumber us at the polls when there is an election and that won’t be happening anytime soon. Do you ditto head trolls ever read what you post or are you given the text straight from the Limbaugh Letter? Have fun on your journey over the cliff!

Apr 20, 2009 - 12:02 am 35. vivo:

10. Meryl:

Easily answerable: The Extremist will act like an Islamic maniac.

“Oh, come on. Then you will have, at the most, 1 or 2 extremist mental-case individuals in the entire country over a period of 20 years.”

Sorry for my confusion, I should have said

The Extremist will act like a beatific nun in the Vatican.

Apr 20, 2009 - 4:42 am 36. kim:

34. Praetorian
…”Do you ditto head trolls ever read what you post or are you given the text straight from the Limbaugh Letter? Have fun on your journey over the cliff!…”

Yep..you sound just like the others who are actually scared to death about what is starting to go on.

Speaking of have we listened to ourselves, yes, we have, FINALLY, which is why this is all starting up! The question is, have you on the other side listened to yourselves? I highly doubt it, or you’d all be embarassed beyond belief!

You can all keep on with your childish responses and remain with your heads burried…well…we won’t go there. None of us need to step down to the level of those of you who mock, curse and belittle the tea parties and what is to come next.

Apr 20, 2009 - 11:33 am 37. The Historian:

TAX PROTESTS AND CIVIL DISSENT UNHEALTHY?
Only if you are a rock star member of team Obama.

http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/team-obama-rock-stars-are-not-leaders.html

Apr 20, 2009 - 2:35 pm 38. noreen:

I am proud to have attended the second tea party in the country. It was in Cincinnati Ohio. What a gratifying thing it is to seee this small rag tag band of patriots swell to the point that it did on tax day. It has the left freaking out. The CNN reporter sounded almost panicked and desperate in her quest to brand the protest as anti Obama and government. We are on to something big here folks and we have to keep the momentum going. Washington DC on the fourth anybody?

Apr 20, 2009 - 4:20 pm 39. Beohun:

The article itself was entitled “Most Americans OK with Big Government, at Least for Now,” yet those “comfortable with big government” represented only 37 percent of the sample results. The 52 percent majority figure was derived by the journalist taking the 37 percent and throwing it in with 15 percent who approved “of current actions but view big government as a long-term threat.”

So basically USA Today borrowed from the great showman P.T. Barnum and took a 37% monkey torso and grafted it to a 15% fish tail and came up with a 52% Fiji mermaid.

Apr 20, 2009 - 11:06 pm 40. Clarion_Caller:

People don’t seem to realize what would be the immediate impact of a financial failure of the dollar in the US.Think of the millions of americans who absolutly depend on that next social security check to buy groceries.Their medicare that allows them to get perscription drugs that keep them alive..or the surgery thats needed to repair part of their body.If our financial system fails,due to the BO administration placing unsustainable stresses on it, with the debt that has to be repaid.You don’t want to immagine the devistation in the 365 days after our financial systems collapses.Then there’s the complete submersion of our constitution and our capitalist system that we witness every day.How can one NOT do all they can to save America?

Apr 21, 2009 - 7:08 pm 41. G Alston:

#27 — Death rattles from a dying movement. It’s all about the numbers and you guys ain’t got em.

Actually, we/they do. If the republican party wises up and drops the abortion and gay stuff, some 65% of the country doesn’t vote YOUR way overnight. The left gets a lot of anti-science and other “anti” mileage from the social conservatove crap. If the GOP gets smart enough to drop these things, you won’t be able to get a leftist elected as dogcatcher.

Re the CNN twat’s anti-government bit… apparently she thinks the 2nd amendment is intended for quail hunters and those who want to protect their kin from werewolves. Doesn’t seem to occur to her that the founders intended us to be suspicious of government and be armed and ready. Anti-government… no kidding; it’s a constitutional mandate to be wary of it!

Apr 21, 2009 - 10:38 pm 42. SteveB/Colorado:

Delia: your comments (#19, #30) referencing “lib-tards” are highly offensive. I have a younger brother who is profoundly developmentally disabled with an estimated IQ of 20. He didn’t ask for that in life. And your put-downs of people you disagree politically with, by using attacks on the mentally retarded, are more than just offensive. I hope you don’t consider yourself a Christian. Or maybe you do, since that is the type of hatred regularly peddled by the self-proclaimed christians of the religious right.

G. Alston (#41) has good comments. The hijacking of the GOP by the far right religious personalities; plus entertainers like Rush Limbaugh & Ann Coulter; is a reason why our party is in the political wilderness. Since 1994, our party has been greatly absent on the real issues while being focused on gays, school prayer (written of course by the religious right; and attempts to control elements of citizens’ personal & private lives (abortion, birth control, erosion of separation between church & state).

Maybe the tea party is something to build on, altho I do wonder where all the protesters were during 8 years of Bush/Cheney fiscal irresponsibility. We need fresh ideas and fresh leaders; of which Sarah Palin ain’t one.

Apr 22, 2009 - 5:06 pm 43. Delia:

42. SteveB/Colorado,

I see the ‘PC’ police are always lurking in full-force.

Libarals have ‘retarded’ their emotional/mental capacity by the brain-washing of the Left.

If you want to accuse someone of actually making fun of literally ‘retarded people by birth defects’…look no further than America’s current idiot-in-chief.

Guilt-trip someone else because I ain’t packin’ my bags any time soon.

Apr 23, 2009 - 1:17 pm 44. SteveB/Colorado:

Delia: maybe you need to spend some time volunteering at a local sheltered workshop. There’s nothing at all “PC” about showing respect for those truly less fortunate than you. I’m not talking about your basic welfare recipients. I’m talking about citizens who are unable to care for themselves because they don’t have the mental capacity to do so. It’s really sad that you are so insensitive.

As for the current “idiot in chief” and your diatribes; tough luck. Live with it. I voted for McCain, so I too am living with it. At least I have enough civility to refer to the current president in a respectful manner. And he did apologize profoundly for his gaffe about Special Olympics. More so than you are doing.

Apr 24, 2009 - 4:22 pm

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