WILL JOHN MCCAIN need Sarah Palin to save him in Arizona? J.D. Hayworth is polling well against him, and would likely enjoy Tea Party support in the primary . . .
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TEA PARTY FISTICUFFS: I don’t think that this CSM piece descends into blaming the victim, but you’d have to read it closely to figure out who was at fault. Hint: Not the Tea Party people.
THESE MUST HAVE BEEN THE ONES WITHOUT GUNS: Video: Tea Party Protesters Attacked, Beaten by ANSWER Thugs. From the comments: “I am sure that Eric Holder will act swiftly – just like he has in St. Louis.”
UPDATE: Power Line: “We conservatives have long talked about our willingness to fight for freedom. In a sense, that’s generally been metaphorical, especially when talking about domestic rather than foreign enemies. With the far left now on the march, however, it isn’t metaphorical any more. It’s just one more sign of the Age of Obama–fighting in the streets, as the extreme Left has been empowered as never before.” Cram the video down their throats. Figuratively, this time.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Joe Barnes: “Of course, this would be a racist hate crime if the situation in Ft. Lauderdale had been reversed. It would be all over the MSM nonstop. Olbermann’s head would explode. The violence and the resort to foul name calling (’teabaggers’) demonstrates the complete moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the left. I expect more of this, particularly since there will be no prosecution of these thugs.” You know, the Fred Phelps gang seems to manage to file a lot of lucrative lawsuits over the violent reactions of those they protest against, with the help of on-the-scene video. That’s their real business, by some accounts. Perhaps the Tea Party movement ought to try the same. It shouldn’t be all that hard to identify the folks involved and sue them, and the organizations they’re affiliated with. It would be nice if some friendly public interest lawyers would help out.
IN ST. LOUIS, WHERE STUFF IS ALWAYS HAPPENING, they had a “rolling Tea Party” this weekend.
A TEA PARTY PROTEST IN SALT LAKE CITY: Reader David Kirkham emails:
Saturday we had the most important Tea Party in Utah to date! We have a delegate system here in Utah. If a candidate wins 60% of the delegate votes at the convention they become the party nominee and there is NO PRIMARY election–the winner immediately advances to the general election. This delegate process levels the playing field and allows for challengers with relative little money to take on an entrenched incumbent like Senator Bennett.
We (Tea Party and 912ers) decided it was time to put down our protest signs and start to organize for the convention. Notice there are no signs in the pictures. This was strictly business. We got all our email lists together and put out a call to action for a Tea Party/912 event to train people how to become delegates. During the event, I asked how many people were currently delegates…no more than 8-10 people raised their hands. There were all NEW people to the political process.
We had the Utah State Capitol people (GREAT guys) set up 500 chairs and it was standing room only. There must have been 600 people at the event–they all drove through a snow storm to be there. Everyone one of them wants to be a delegate. There are only 3,300 delegates in the state. We gathered names and emails and are currently breaking them down into the precincts. We are setting up precinct captains for further training mobilization. A State Representative told me he simply could not believe the turn out. The most telling comment of the day came from another State Representative, “Bennett’s toast.”
No media–oh well. We’ll do it without them.
I guess I’m a community organizer now LOL.
Those are springing up everywhere lately. Pic below.
A TEA PARTY PROTEST IN HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA:
The Pennsylvania Tea Party took its message of limited government to this capital city Saturday.
Hundreds of protesters from regional groups that came from as far as the Ohio and New Jersey borders gathered at Harrisburg’s City Island early yesterday afternoon for a march through the city to the Capitol.
Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” blared over a loud speaker as the protesters, a mixed bag of blue jean-clad participants sprinkled with some activists in camouflage and colonial garb, signed petitions and waved flags while they waited to march. A handful of people wore holstered handguns.
“Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?” they chanted in response to organizer Diana Reimer as she called the group to action with a bullhorn.
The Tax Enough Already Party — TEA — that grew out of a series of April 15 Tax Day rallies, joined forces with more than three-dozen like-minded regional groups, for its first march on Harrisburg. Capitol police estimated that 1,500 to 2,000 protesters ultimately massed on the Capitol steps where the march ended.
This stuff just keeps going on, underneath the national-media radar.
MARY KATHARINE HAM: Who I Met At The Tea Party: A Veterans’ Day Tribute.
VIDEO: SCENES FROM THE TUCSON TEA PARTY. “Once again, what’s remarkable about this protest is how absolutely ordinary it is. No one is foaming at the mouth; they’re mostly laughing at Giffords’ hypocritical attempts to cast herself as some sort of moderate while mindlessly following Pelosi and her radical agenda. They’re not an angry mob, as the media has cast the Tea Party movement — they’re a motivated group of voters who are sending a message that will only get louder in the coming year.”
READER JOHN MARCOUX sends these pictures from the Tea Party in Beaufort, South Carolina today.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DROP THE BALL: “While DHS was busy putting tea parties and anyone who dares fly the official military Gadsen flag on the domestic terrorist watch list, a real terrorist was spouting off online, glorifying suicide bombings and our mission in Iraq. I mean, I’m sure if I drink enough I might be able to understand the perception that a bunch of middle-class people peacefully dissenting with certain Washington policies are way more dangerous than a dude who talked about terrorist stuff on social sites and had gotten authorities’ attention six months ago.”
Yeah, Napolitano, et al. seem to have had their priorities misplaced. Here’s more on what they missed. And don’t forget what NPR reported.
UPDATE: Reader C.J. Burch emails: “Ah, but those middle class protesters are a threat to politicians’ power. Terrorists are just a threat to their constituents’ lives. See the difference?” Such a cynic.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Washington Post: Officials may not have heeded warning signs. “Law enforcement officials also faced questions about whether they had missed possible warning signs. Six months ago, investigators came across Internet postings, allegedly by Hasan, that indicated sympathy for suicide bombers and empathized with the plight of Muslim civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a federal official briefed on the situation. The official, and another source, said investigators never confirmed whether Hasan was the author of the postings and did not pursue the matter.” Too busy worrying about Glenn Beck viewers, military veterans, and Tea Party organizers, I guess.
YOU CAN FIGHT CITY HALL: An election victory for the Tucson Tea Party. Next week they’re dropping by Rep. Gabriell Giffords’ office. . . .
ANOTHER REPORT FROM THE ASHEVILLE TEA PARTY’S “House Call” On Heath Shuler. With photos.
FOR CERTAIN VALUES OF THE WORD “WE,” ANYWAY: Chris Matthews: We may never know if religion was a factor at Fort Hood.
Plus this: “You’ll know it’s okay to start speculating about Hasan’s motives when cops find a Glenn Beck book on his bookshelf. In fact, if the same ‘PTSD by proxy’ elements had been present in Hasan’s bio but it turned out he’d attended a tea party or two, we’d already be well into hour 30 of a full-on media speculation orgy.”
DANIEL HENNINGER: The Permanent Tea Party. “What was learned Tuesday is that the American voter is absolutely, totally, unremittingly disgusted with both political parties. More than anything, the American voter is desperate for political leadership.”
GATEWAY PUNDIT: Team Obama Opens New Organizing for America St. Louis Office… Tea Party Breaks Out. That keeps happening.
HOUSTON TEA PARTY RALLY draws more than 10,000.
I heard Tim Cox, author of Get Out Of Our House! a book about a campaign for replacing the entire Congress, on local talk-radio today and there were a lot of enthusiastic calls. Everybody’s focusing on today’s special elections, but there’s a lot of other stuff bubbling under the surface all over.
SALENA ZITO: Mood Sours Toward Both Parties. “A sour mood exists among people, with close-to-10-percent unemployment, decreasing health-care benefits and rising taxes – and a view that the well-heeled get bailed-out but John and Joan Q. Citizen do not. . . . Has the anti-establishment ‘tea party’ movement had an impact on these races? Absolutely.”
THOUSANDS TURN OUT for Tea Party rally in San Diego.
SOME REAL TEA PARTY ACTIVISM IN CINCINNATI: Justin Binik-Thomas emails:
The Cincinnati Tea Party organized a four day demonstration to urge local congressman Steve Driehaus to vote against the Healthcare bill in the House. He is the only local representative who has not committed to a “ney” vote. We organized an unprecedented four-day “We Surround Him” demonstration to show our commitment to liberty and resolve on the issue.
The first three days of the demonstration were surrounding his district. We had members stationed at all busy exits around I-275 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. These members passed out educational materials to vehicles and pedestrians. The finale was yesterday, Saturday, when we surrounded him. Members surrounded the Carew Tower in Cincinnati where his local office is located. We invited Congressman Driehaus and his 2010 opponent Steve Chabot to speak about Healthcare after the rally. The Congressman declined our invitation. Speakers offered solutions to the “crisis” such as allowing for the sale of insurance across state lines and tort reform.
Here’s a report, and here’s another. And, courtesy of Binik-Thomas, here’s a pic.
ST. LOUIS TEA PARTY to throw document parties.
UPDATE: Reader J.R. Ott writes: “What is so absolutely fascinating to me as a teacher is that adults are learning how to keep government in check even as the public school system stifles any civics education.”
INSTAVISION: I talk with Dana Loesch and Bill Whittle about NY-23, the Tea Party, and Third Parties. How big’s the GOP’s problem? Big enough that Tea Party stalwart and talk radio star Dana Loesch had to open by making clear that “I don’t hate the GOP and I don’t want to dump everyone in there.”
ZOMBIETIME: The 20 Best Signs At The San Francisco Tea Party. I like “Don’t Tell Obama What’s After a Trillion.”
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Tea Party “Insurgency” Marches Into Key States.
Begun as a loosely affiliated groundswell of Constitution-waving protesters in tri-cornered hats, the Tea Party movement is now starting to rock the political establishment in key arenas.
The growing numbers of Americans coming out to the Tax Day Tea Party, the Fourth of July Tea Parties, and then the 9/12 Tea Party march on Washington are going back to their home districts and keeping up — even intensifying — the fight for smaller government and more transparency on spending and taxation.
In places like New York, Florida, California, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, local, state, congressional, and gubernatorial seats are suddenly being tugged to-and-fro by the new and unruly political force.
The upshot?
The street energy is welcome for an otherwise moribund Republican party looking for new moorings amid a tumultuous electorate.
The downside is that early examples shows that, in the short run, Tea Party-sponsored candidates could make it more difficult for Republicans as they — Ross Perot-like — split races as they target both “tax and spend” Democrats and those they like to call RINOs, or “Republicans-in-name-only.”
For the Republicans, the obvious solution is to run candidates who are less RINO-ish. For the Tea Party folks, the obvious solution is to push hard for their guys in primaries, then vote for whoever wins even if they have to hold their noses a bit sometimes. That’s politics. Though even RINO-ish candidates will be less so if they have to worry about primary challenges. (Via NewsAlert).
UPDATE: Michael Greenspan emails: “You’re exactly right, though if either the Republicans or the Tea Partiers learn their lesson before the 2010 elections I’ll be amazed.” Hey, I just blog this stuff. Whether people listen is up to them.
ANOTHER UPDATE: On the NY-23 race, reader Michael Kennedy writes:
Glenn, the Republicans are upset at the tea partiers in NY 23 for backing Hoffman but that will be a nice test. The election is only for one year so little is lost if the Democrat wins a split race. But, if Hoffman wins, they will have to start to take the movement seriously instead of trying to co-opt them. First, I think the tea parties are libertarian, not “right wing.” That’s what I’ve seen in Mission Viejo, where we have turned out 500+ on each occasion.
This will be a very important race, more so than Virginia or New Jersey which are old line pols running on both sides.
I do wish Hoffman’s donation software was better. I tried to give him money and couldn’t.
Stay tuned.
GAY PATRIOT: The (Unexpected) Integrity of Many Gay Left Bloggers. My advice to the Gay Left is the same as my advice to the Tea Party Right — if you don’t like what “your” politicians are doing, quit donating to ‘em and run somebody against them in the primary. They’ll notice. And the Gay Left and Tea Party Right might even want to talk to each other; they may find they’ve got more in common than they realize. . . .
WHITE HOUSE: Gay rights marchers? Where? “He knows this march is happening, and he can’t even acknowledge it?” Hey, that’s the same way he treated the 9/12 Tea Party protesters . . . .
UPDATE: White House official calls gays part of “Internet left fringe.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Orin Kerr seems to think my linking of John Aravosis’ headline above is misleading. Well, follow the link and watch the video and make up your own mind. I think the White House is clearly trying to marginalize the gay-rights protesters which — as noted above — is their standard response to protest.
And hey, I was the one who was too quick to praise Obama for his gay-rights speech. So I could be wrong . . .
MORE: White House Retreats. Greenwald, Aravosis, not impressed.
TUCSON TEA PARTY UPDATE: “About 6,000 people descended Saturday on Tucson Electric Park for the Tucson Tea Party event, billed as Tucson’s Last Stand. The event kicked off with Tucson Tea Party organizer Trent Humphries expressing his own brand of hope for the future: ‘I love the smell of freedom in the morning.’ By 8:07 a.m., nearly two hours before the speeches began, the main parking lot of the Tucson Electric Park was filling up.”
A READER SENDS THIS IPHONE PHOTO FROM today’s Tucson Tea Party rally.
SO I’VE WRITTEN IN THE PAST ABOUT “OUT-OF-DOORS POLITICAL ACTIVITY,” and that’s led to some reader questions about what it might involve today.
As I’ve suggested, I think an early phase is internet satire. Tea Party protests are another. Or pranks. But what if you’re in the Hugo Chavez world — not quite outright military government, but not exactly democracy, either? Or just afraid you’re moving that way? One step going beyond mere protests and mockery, but well short of violence, is something like the U.K. fuel protests. Or what would happen if a lot of people showed up at banks and started withdrawing a lot of cash all at once? (Most banks couldn’t deal with much in the way of cash withdrawals — a few dozen people withdrawing a few thousand each at once would overload many, no doubt panicking the powers-that-be). Heck just a bunch of people driving at exactly the speed limit might have a drastic effect on some areas . . . .
I don’t have any answers, and we’re pretty clearly not at that point yet. At any rate, I’d encourage those interested in this to read Pauline Maier’s book. We’re not in colonial times any more, but while the specifics might change the principles are evergreen.
THE TUCSON TEA PARTY FOLKS are planning a big event for tomorrow.
AT BLOGCRITICS, an interview with Kevin Jackson, author of The Big Black Lie. He talks about the Tea Party movement, health care “reform,” and more.
THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND:
My Washington Examiner column on Roman Polanski’s Hollywood defenders. “Technologically and market-wise, Hollywood is in the weakest position it’s ever been, and yet it is also more arrogant than it was in its Golden Age.”
World Bank running out of money?
John Holdren worries about an Ice Age.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Jewish roots.
What they promised versus what they delivered with the stimulus.
A roundup of Olympic recriminations.
Pocket video cameras for Tea Party coverage and more.
Frank Rich on hubris.
Unemployment from small businesses Going Galt?
THE TUCSON TEA PARTY FOLKS WON’T BACK DOWN:
The group has already proven to be a thorn in the side of the dominant local Democratic Party. Chairman Jeff Rogers sent out a scathing press release last week, his second in recent months on the topic, saying the Republican Party has been taken over by radical “tea partiers.” Robert Mayer, the UA marketing student who formed the Tucson Tea Party group with Trent Humphries, quickly turned the attack into motivational fodder for the upcoming rally and for campaigning in favor of the Republican candidates for City Council.
“Jeff Rogers says that he is going to ‘call us out,’ ” Mayer said in an Internet message “I think it’s about time that we call him out, along with Nina Trasoff, Karin Uhlich, and their new candidate, Richard Fimbres.”
The “we” Mayer referred to is a collection of residents who say they were mostly politically quiet in the past but were prodded from their living rooms by federal bailouts and stimulus bills of the last two years.
Read the whole thing.
FROM ED MORRISSEY, A STRONG REVIEW for the Flip Ultra HD camcorder. Those are good. I just got my Kodak Zi8 in the mail and I’ve played with it a little — it seems very good so far, with surprisingly good video quality from something so small.. Advantages: Removable SD card, and jack for external microphone (importance of good audio is often underappreciated, but it’s huge), plus 5MP stills. These days, the more people out there who have some sort of camera, the better.
UPDATE: And not just for Tea Party coverage. J.D. Johannes emails:
On my last trip to Afghanistan I shot what was essentially a TV news package on a Flip Ultra HD.
I had hit Afghanistan expecting to spend the month with Soldiers and not turn any products until I got back to the US so I only had a net book instead of my large editing lap top. I shoot my video with a Canon XL-H which requires a fire-wire and/or a 1394 card bus and lots of processing power to handle the full quality HD video.
A friend of mine asked if I could turn a report for them in Afghanistan. By chance I bought a Flip to take snap shots and record other little clips with right before I flew to Afghanistan.
I double filmed everything on the Canon and the Flip. When it became obvious I would not be able to find a proper lap top, firewire and card bus in Afghanistan I had to use the Flip. I downloaded some inexpensive editing software from Pinnacle, transferred the video from the Flip to a lap top with slightly more horse power than a netbook and edited the package.
We even recorded all the narration tracks on the Flip.
The video held together very well when we played it through a projector onto a 60 inch screen. I knew the audio quality would not be great, so made sure I got right on my subjects during interviews.
The end product turned out better than I had anticipated. It also helped that I used the Flip like I would a real camera so I had all my shots and enough material to turn a package with.
The Flip was perfect for the ultra-low-profile work I did out on the streets. It fit in my pocket so I remained fairly anonymous while doing man-on-the-street style interviews. It also looks enough like a cell phone that you can record things without drawing any attention.
Everything in this blog post was done with a Flip Ultra HD.
The only thing it lacks is a plug for an external mic. If it had a plug for a lav or small shot gun mic, the Flip would be the perfect on-the-fly news gathering tool.
Well, the Kodak has an external mic jack. But this is pretty impressive stuff for a small consumer-grade gadget.
TIGERHAWK ON THE MEDIA’S VARIABLE TREATMENT OF PROTESTS AND VIOLENCE:
A few clowns shout at a “tea party” and the media starts worrying about the resurgent Klan, but the left literally attacks the police at the G20 protests and nobody says anything.
There are two possible explanations for this different approach of the media to edgy demonstrators of the left and right.
First, the mainstream media are completely in the tank for the Democrats, and want to help them push the talking point that the tea-partiers are both extremists and typical Republicans (neither of which is generally true).
Second, the left benefits from the soft bigotry of low expectations: People expect leftists to act like thugs at these gatherings as they have for 40 years, so when they do again it is the same-old same-old.
Sorry, I’m going with number one here.
UPDATE: Related thoughts from Jesse Walker.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Not condemning G20 violence at The Huffington Post.
MORE: Moe Lane chimes in.
REMEMBER HOW WE HEARD ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE ENTIRELY NONVIOLENT TEA PARTY PROTESTS? But will we hear the same clucking-of-tongues about the G20 riots?
The marchers included small groups of self-described anarchists, some wearing dark clothes and bandanas and carrying black flags. Others wore helmets and safety goggles.
One banner read, “No borders, no thanks,” another, “No hope in capitalism.” A few minutes into the march, protesters unfurled a large banner reading “NO BAILOUT NO CAPITALISM” with an encircled “A,” a recognized sign of anarchists.
The marchers did not have a permit and, after a few blocks, police declared it an unlawful assembly. They played an announcement over a loudspeaker telling people to leave or face arrest and then police in riot gear moved in to break it up.
Protesters split into smaller groups. Some rolled large metal trash bins toward police, and a man in a black hooded sweat shirt threw rocks at a police car, breaking the front windshield. Protesters broke windows in a few businesses, including a bank branch and a Boston Market restaurant.
Nothing like this at the Tea Parties.
More here: “The peaceful protesters started throwing rocks at police and police cars, and dragging trash containers into the middle of the street to block traffic. No surprise, the police fired canisters of pepper spray, white smoke and some rubber bullets into the crowds. . . . The folks that organized Thursday’s unauthorized march, the G-20 Resistance Group, is encouraging members to spend the morning, before the march, to take unspecified actions against local offices of corporations deemed evil.”
No arrests like these at the Tea Parties, either. Until we see scenes like this, I don’t want to hear yammering about the violence inherent in the Tea Party movement.
DAN RIEHL: “Get ready for a round of stories debating whether it is the Tea Party movement, Glenn Beck, or a color blind racist that led to this alleged homicide.”
INSTAVISION: I talk with Mark Levin about Liberty and Tyranny, the Tea Party movement, Obama’s speech, and whether conservatives and libertarians need a “leader.” Plus, I offer an apology to Talk Radio.
SMART GIRL POLITICS: The Insta-Wife talks with Michelle Malkin about women, tea parties, the Culture of Corruption, and who’s fighting it. “Go to any Tea Party and you see an increasing number of young women in the movement.” Plus, the power of Twitter.
TEA PARTY OR THIRD PARTY? I talk to Roger Stone about whether the Tea Party movement will lead to a third party.
THOUSANDS RALLY at Milwaukee Tea Party.
Plus, Nearly 10,000 gather for ‘Tea Party’ along Milwaukee’s lakefront.
PJTV: The first of my interviews from the Quincy Tea Party is up.
PHOTO: On board the Tucson Tea Party Bus. The blonde woman is Morgana Gallaway, author of The Nightingale.
TEA PARTY UPDATE: Okay, I was busy this weekend in Quincy and didn’t have time to cover all the tea parties going on outside of Washington, DC and, of course, Quincy. But there were a lot. Here’s a picture from El Cajon, California, sent by reader Josh Swanson:
Reader Thom Stratton writes from Boise, Idaho: “I decided at the last minute today to take my kids to the Tea Party rally here in Boise. We were a little late, but joined the crowd marching down Capital Blvd. toward the park across from the capital bldg. I’m not good with guesses, but I’d estimate at least 1-2,000 people there. My kids, aged 4, 6, and 8 thought the “parade” was great fun, but got bored quickly when the speeches started. Still, it got my 8-year-old daughter interested in what’s going on, so I was able to explain some things to her. I’ve never been to any type of political rally or demonstration before. I’m going to make sure it’s not my last. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera so I could send you some pics. I’d planned to, but getting three young kids ready and into the car is a trick in itself. Still, between myself and the camera, I’d say it was better that I got myself there.”
And luckily, reader Jim Verdolini was there and sent this pic:
And here’s a blog report from Lakeland, Florida. I’m sure there are more — please send me links to anything that deserves attention.
Meanwhile, here’s some video from L.A.
BYRON YORK: Inside the 9/12 Tea Party Protest. “Some people were animated by a single issue — health care, taxes, the Second Amendment. But in dozens of interviews with marchers, the picture that emerged was of people who believe things are racing out of control along a whole range of fronts in Washington, and that no one is representing their interests. . . . You’ve probably heard descriptions of the marchers as crazies and haters and fanatics. Perhaps there were some in the crowd. Far more important, though, was the very presence of so many everyday Americans protesting in Washington, just eight months into unified Democratic control of the White House and Congress. What did Barack Obama and his party’s leadership on Capitol Hill do to bring doctors and truck drivers together in common cause on the streets of the nation’s capital? More than anything, these people are afraid that the new president is running the country off a cliff. They’re in no mood to remain silent now.”
REPORTS ON THE QUINCY TEA PARTY from the Quincy News and the Quincy Herald-Whig.
THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT: How We Got Here.
QUINCY WRAPUP: I’ve been involved with a lot of events over my life, from civil rights protests to rock concerts to science fiction conventions, and I’ve never been involved with an event that ran with such well-oiled efficiency. I was going to say “ruthless efficiency,” but of course it was cheerful, considerate Midwestern efficiency and not ruthless in the least. The Quincy folks were charming hosts, and threw a dinner party for us last night where all the food was homemade, and delicious.
One interesting note: I’ve said this before, but those in the GOP who think that the Tea Party movement is for their benefit need to think again. Roger Stone spoke, and while nobody had anything against him in particular, several people told me that they thought the GOP was trying to co-opt the Tea Party Movement, and they weren’t happy about that. My advice to the GOP — and, for that matter, to those Democrats who care — is to try to find a way to address the Tea Party crowd’s interests, bearing in mind that if you don’t they’re just as happy to throw Republicans out of office as Democrats.
But it probably doesn’t matter. Based on the level of organization, commitment, and sheer likability I saw this weekend, the folks from Quincy are going to wind up ruling the world anyway . . . .
ROGER SIMON: America Goes to Washington: I Was Wrong About The Tea Party Movement. “Boy, was I wrong. I can remember telling Glenn Reynolds during CPAC that these Tea Party demonstrations were rinky-dink and going nowhere. Barely more than a half-year later, they’re putting two million people on the Washington Mall. Wow! If I were Obama & Co., I’d be afraid, I’d be very afraid. . . . Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod are going to be looking at each other like nervous apparatchiks in the Politburo because someone is going to have take the bullet for the disaster they have wrought. Emanuel is looking like a particular dummy right now for opening his mouth about not missing a good crisis.”
UPDATE: “Two million people with jobs.“
FROM ED FRANK, VIDEO FROM TODAY’S D.C. TEA PARTY:
MORE ON THAT bomb threat against the Tea Party organizers in DC.
IN THE MAIL: From Michael Barone, the 2010 edition of The Almanac of American Politics. Likely to be popular with the Tea Party crowd, and those following them.
IT’S EARLY YET, but the Tea Party crowd in DC is already looking pretty big, judging from these traffic cam shots.
UPDATE: A reader sends this Blackberry pic:
HMM: Pelosi, Dems Bracing For Huge Turnout At Glenn Beck/Tea Party Gathering. Actually, I think they’re floating huge numbers — two million? are you kidding? — so that they can paint it as a disappointment if we see “only” hundreds of thousands.
But no, that can’t be it: “The House leadership memo predicting huge turnout could have been written in hopes that it would leak and inflate expectations for turnout, anticipating that it will fall far short. But Dems on the Hill insist they’re genuinely worried about what tomorrow will bring.” Well, if they insist that they’re genuinely worried . . .
UPDATE: Moe Lane shares my suspicions:
I am certain of three things:
1. The Democrats are trying to manage expectations about today’s DC demonstration by coming up with a number of ‘expected’ protesters that is far above actual expectations;
2. The media will play along;
3. It won’t actually work.
He’ll be there.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Matthias Shapiro writes:
As a numbers guy, I’d like to ask: What numbers you think would constitute success or failure for the Tea Parties?
I think the “2 million” number is hilarious. Do the Dems really think that the Tea Party will be 3 times bigger than the biggest Iraq war protest in the country (Feb 13, 2003) ? A protest whose organizers hired hundred buses across the nation to ship protesters in?
I think that meeting the 200,000 mark would actually mean far bigger things for the Tea Parties than for the Iraq wars. It would mean either 1) a higher percentage of those who disagree showed up (since urban areas tend to lean heavily Democratic and liberal), which means the topic reaches far closer to the middle or 2) more people came in from out of town.
Given that, I think 200,000 is a huge number for a protest. And, if you’re counting protests across the country, I think it the Tea Parties will reach that number and more.
Iagree. Two million would be about double the turnout of Obama’s inauguration. I don’t believe the Dems really expect that.
SO WHAT AM I DOING FOR SEPT. 11TH? In the past I’ve given shooting lessons to a Marine, and over the years I’ve blogged, not blogged, etc. This year, I’m going to a Tea Party.
UPDATE: Andrew Breitbart, hanging with his homies.
Plus, me with Jim Hoft, Andrew Breitbart, Dana Loesch, and Adrian, whose last name never heard. He came all the way from Texas, though, which is pretty cool.
More pics at Foundingbloggers.com.
TEA PARTY PLANNERS hit with bomb threat.
TEA PARTY CARAVAN heading to DC after passing through Knoxville.
THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED, THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND:
My Washington Examiner column on Tea Party history. Plus, 18,000 at Cincinnati tea party, and 10,000 in Joliet/New Lenox, and thousands in Austin and Louisville. And Morristown, N.J.
A pattern of incompetence? And, certainly, a pattern of unemployment.
State government finances are a wreck.
Creating a storyline by misquoting Mark Steyn.
Sweet deals for Charles Rangel. Plus, “Ethics for sale?”
My liking for the iPod Touch.
Let My People Go-Go.
Repeating Depression-era mistakes?
Stories the press isn’t reporting. The cover-up is worse than the crime!
A Saul Alinsky boom on the right?
Something to mail your Congressman!
Pizza! On a stick!
And if you don’t think Elvis is Number One, you’re full of Number Two!
UPDATE: This blog report disputes the 18,000 number for Cincinnati. Well, who knows? It was a sheriff’s estimate, but all crowd estimates are iffy.
NEW JERSEY: Hundreds take part in ‘tea party’ protest against high taxes in Morristown. If you can get a crowd like this in bluest New Jersey, well . . .
Here’s a photo from reader Richard Driscoll.
UPDATE: Sorry, wrong link before. Fixed now. And here’s another pic, by way of recompense.
OVER 10,000 TURN OUT FOR TEA PARTY RALLY in New Lenox / Joliet.
UPDATE: Here’s a picture from reader Robert Avery.
SOME HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT, in my Washington Examiner column today. With reference to Pauline Maier’s From Resistance to Revolution, an excellent piece of historical scholarship on popular resistance to government overreaches.
TEA PARTY FILLS LOUISVILLE PARK: “Thousands packed Louisville’s Central Park Saturday for the “Tea Party Express,” the third such event in Jefferson County since April to serve as a forum for opponents of President Barack Obama and his plans for health care reform.”
UPDATE: Dodd Harris took this “amusingly sad” photo of the counterprotest.
18,000 AT CINCINNATI TEA PARTY EVENT:
It was festival-like atmosphere of patriotism, with food vendors, face-painting for kids and live music for crowd that Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones estimated topped out at 18,000.
People of all ages were wearing patriotic clothing in hues of red, white and blue, many carrying American flags and hand-made signs with myriad slogans.
Plus, an Austin Tea Party:
The debate over President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plan spilled onto the south steps of the State Capitol Saturday afternoon.
Thousands of people from across Texas who don’t support the president’s plan rallied with signs as several guest speakers took the stage.
One was Steve Crowder of PJTV fame.
JUSTIN BINIK-THOMAS sends this cellphone picture from today’s Cincinnati Tea Party rally and reports over 7,000 already there with more arriving.
UPDATE: Another pic a couple of hours later, and this: “18,000 and counting per Butler County Sheriff Jones.”
MARK TAPSCOTT: Tea Party leaders are wasting chance to replace Congress.
AND THEY CALL THE TEA PARTY FOLKS CRAZY: Green jobs ‘czar’ signed ‘truther’ statement in 2004.
CONGRESSMAN DRIEHAUS breaks Tea Party promise.
JIM LINDGREN: “The biggest problem with the media’s understanding of the Tea Party movement is that some on the left assume (1) that the Tea Parties are Astroturfed at least as much as some of the left’s own demonstrations and (2) that the educated right hates Obama at least as much as the educated left hates Bush and Cheney. So far, I haven’t seen much evidence of either.”
READER MAUREEN DUFFY WRITES:
I was in an Indianapolis hospital parking lot and noticed a van covered with all the usual “progressive” bumper stickers. Except for one.
Looks like the Tea Party philosophy is taking hold in the most unexpected places.
Indeed. I find this less surprising than some might.
FAKE DEATH THREATS against Rep. John Salazar. First the Democratic vandalism of Democratic HQ, now this. It’s almost as if someone’s trying to stage events to make the Tea Party crowd look bad. Not trying very successfully, but . . . .
FROM NPR: A very positive and straightforward piece on Tea Party music star Lloyd Marcus.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, reader Matt Holzmann writes:
It was interesting to note the pro Obamacare protest outside of Congressman John Campbell’s office in Newport Beach yesterday. There were 300 pro Obama protesters and perhaps 125 anti Obama counterprotesters. Very civil.
The Obama protesters are personalizing their message, and they stayed away from the pre-printed signs. The Antis were mainly our version of tea partiers. A lot of Paulians and conservative Republicans. What is weird is that OC is very conservative and completely lethargic. There is not much of a “there” here. People are angry, but not yet ready to say so publicly.
I think the message I took away from this was that the Left is now going to catalog their own demonstrations and protests and use this as a meme in their effort. I expect them to come out with all guns blazing next Monday/Tuesday. I believe we are going to see one hell of a propaganda campaign. It’s going to be interesting.
Indeed. Kind of fits with this report.
UPDATE: Related: Busted… HCAN Organizer Hands Out the Astroturfed Signs at Illinois Town Hall (Video).
It’s good that lots of people take video cameras to these things.
THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND: Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter has constituent arrested for disrespect.
Thoughts on the Singularity.
Next California Governor: Tom Campbell?
Poll: 57% would replace entire Congress.
Feds looking forward to de-suburbanizing America?
Dems moving to cover for Charlie Rangel. But their patience is running out.
1,000 show up for Tucson Tea Party town hall meeting.
Heath Shuler says healthcare bill should start over from scratch.
Dog abuse that would chill Michael Vick’s blood. Or William Shatner’s.
Stephen Green visits Bikini Bottom.
NPR: “Tea Party Express” Takes Protests Cross-Country.
UPDATE: A report from the Rush Holt town hall in New Jersey.
THE TUCSON TEA PARTY’S RECESS RALLY: Robert Mayer sends this link to a blog report, and this collection of pictures and videos.
KOLD-TV reported a thousand there. Robert emails:
The townhall went very successfully, with a local news channel reporting 1000 in attendance.
However, one thug showed up at the very beginning and elbowed one of our attendees in the face. . . . The news coverage between the two stations were worlds apart. KOLD 13 gave us great, on topic coverage while KGUN9 focused on the imbecile who disrupted the event. It just goes to show that the mobsters are not the Tea Partiers, but the thugs who are trying to cram through the government takeover of health care.
It does seem that way.
THERE’S NOW A TEA PARTY PATRIOTS CHANNEL. With Austin Bay.
OKAY, SOME REAL TERROR IN THE HEARTLAND: New bizarre twists in Clayton bombing. “A federal search warrant obtained by the Post-Dispatch connects a former Democratic campaign strategist to a Clayton bombing last year that seriously injured an attorney. About two months after the October bombing, federal law enforcement officials searched the downtown loft of Milton H. ‘Skip’ Ohlsen III, seeking ‘evidence related to the planning, execution, and/or cover-up of the bombing in Clayton, Missouri, on October 16, 2008.’ Ohlsen in recent weeks has been at the center of a swirling political scandal that is threatening the political careers of at least two Missouri Democratic legislators. . . . Ohlsen was arrested on federal fraud and firearms charges on Dec. 18, 2008, in an unrelated case, according to federal court records.” (Via Gateway Pundit).
But remember, it’s the Tea Party folks who are the “terrorists.” The people who actually make bombs are just “activists.”
HEY, WAIT, I THOUGHT POLITICAL VIOLENCE CAME FROM WHITE REPUBLICAN MALES. Woman accused of threatening bomb-plot informant. “A Texas woman faces trial this month in Austin on charges she threatened to kill a government informant who infiltrated an Austin-based group that planned to bomb the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., last fall. Katyanne Marie Kibby, 25, was indicted in June by a federal grand jury in Austin. She is accused of retaliating against Brandon Darby, the community activist-turned-informant who helped federal prosecutors win convictions against Bradley Neal Crowder, 24, and David Guy McKay, 23. . . . Crowder and McKay built eight of the gasoline firebombs but didn’t use them, a fact law enforcement officials credited to Darby. Members of the Austin protest community heaped scorn on Darby, saying he had betrayed longtime friends and colleagues. ”
Say, wanna bet that if it had been “Tea Party” protesters building the firebombs instead of lefty Austinites this would be getting a lot more press? It’s all about the narrative . . . .
NO IGNORING PROTESTS: “President Obama will return from his island idyll to a political landscape completely remade. He still will be greeted by swooning crowds and enthusiastic cheers. But his signature domestic policy is weakened, the result of a resurgent Republican Party that only months ago was on life support. The irony here is that the Republicans played little role in their recovery, and are instead the innocent and passive beneficiaries of a grassroots (and radio-inspired) insurgency that, if they examine it carefully, may yet bite them as fiercely as it has bitten the president and his congressional allies.” Yes, those who think the Tea Party crowds are inherently pro-Republican are missing something.
UPDATE: More from the Milk Carton files. Plus, from the comments, a scathing remark on the “tele-townhall” failures:
My wife signed up to participate. We got a reminder call on Saturday to be by the phone 7 pm on Sunday. The phone rang a minute before 7, my wife answered the call, got put on hold for about 15 minutes. Then Sen. Klobuchar got on and after about 4 minutes of listening, the line went dead, she was dropped.
That led to a rather scathing email back to Senator Klobuchar.
When calling in to complain this morning, my wife could hear other lines being answered in the background apologizing for the technical difficulties, that it wasn’t their fault.
Is this how government run healthcare is going to be like? Wait, wait, hello, click, we’re sorry, it’s not our fault.
Indeed. Plus, a report from the Russ Carnahan Recess Rally.
And here’s a report on the Heath Shuler Recess Rally. “The meeting was part of a series of ‘Recess Rallys’ being held nationwide by Tea Party groups in opposition to the current health care reform legislation. ‘He (Shuler) and a lot of other congressmen held town hall meetings over the telephone and that really isn’t a town hall meeting,’ said Gary Shoemaker, who helped organize the event. ‘We wanted to have the real thing.’”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Failure Accompli: The Excuse-Making Starts.
HISTORICAL UNDERPINNINGS for the Tea Party movement. It worked, too — they haven’t tried to impose an income tax since.
SO THE KNOXVILLE TEA PARTY CROWD HAD A RECESS RALLY at the Federal Courthouse, where Rep. Jimmy Duncan and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have offices. They had 100-150 people (I heard that about half that many counterprotesters were there at the beginning, but they were marching off and beating drums as I arrived, so I can’t attest to precise numbers.) A fairly impressive turnout, though, considering that I believe that Duncan, Corker, and Alexander are all opposed to ObamaCare. Local media — and alt-media, as I was joined by Michelle from KnoxViews, who I was happy to catch up with as we hadn’t seen each other in a while — were covering it. (An earlier interview with Knox Tea Party folks is here.)
UPDATE: John Casey sends this via iPhone from Chicago: “Chanting ‘no more Dick’ outside of Dick Durbin’s office.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Joe Scott sends this from Asheville, where Heath Shuler (D-NC) was the target: “Glenn, there were about 150 people at Rep. Shuler’s office today. People directed their questions to an empty podium since Mr. Shuler apparently had more pressing business today.” Plus a cellphone pic:
To be fair, Shuler already told the Asheville Tea Party folks that he’d vote against the bill.
Plus, over 1,000 in Birmingham, Michigan. Pics and video at the link, but here’s one.
And reader John Marcoux sends this from Charleston.
MORE STILL: Another report from Birmingham, Michigan.
ALL 435 DISTRICTS: ‘Tea Party’ Organizers Plan Anti-’Obamacare’ Rallies Across the Country.
UPDATE: Tucson’s was yesterday, and Robert Mayer reports: “The Recess Rally was great everyone! About 700 at our peak, with probably 1000 total. Keep it up everyone! Gabby [Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ] has now announced that she will hold three townhalls, including one in Tucson on Sept 1. Can’t wait to be at that manufactured mess! Also, don’t forget about our townhall on Aug 28!”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Blue Dog: Hey, this town-hall anger seems pretty real to me. “Why are people scared? The government is about to take over one-sixth of the nation’s economy, even though soaring deficits make it clear that it can’t properly handle what’s on the plate now. It just fumbled a stimulus package and a program to kill old cars, and somehow people have the notion that this competence will continue with something more vital — their health care. They don’t want the government in charge of those decisions and invading their personal lives. The only surprise here is that elected officials didn’t see this coming, although clearly the White House had an inkling — which is why they tried to rush the bill through to a vote.”
MORE TEA PARTY NEWS FROM OHIO: Justin Binik-Thomas emails:
The Eastern Hills Community Tea Party (part of Cincinnati Tea Party) and the Cincinnati 9/12 Project were alerted to an ACORN healthcare rally in the Community of Kenwood Ohio.
We had 90 minutes notice and they had paychecks. We outnumbered them by a margin greater than 2:1.
Brenda and Gena from Eastern Hills Community Tea Party reported:
Everything went really well – we outnumbered our opponents at least 2-1. Our posters were far superior to theirs (no exaggeration – “Jesus wants Healthcare” “People before Profit” “Medicare for All” , “Public Option”) We received beeps from car horns and ‘thumbs-up’ 4-1 and even ONE great big SEMI AIRHORN agreement with a thumbs-up from the driver from his back window as he went by!! It was totally cool. And just as Richard predicted the ACORN people left right on the stroke of 6 o’clock. We couldn’t believe it. So it was high 5’s all around. One thing I forgot to tell my partners in crime at dinner afterwards was the following: As I was going across the street back to get my car a driver slowed as he turned the corner to say out his window his heart felt Thanks for showing up with our signs against the others. I could see the emotion in his eyes how much it meant to him. It was ALL Good.
This keeps happening.
A NEWS REPORT ON YESTERDAY’S CUYAHOGA FALLS TEA PARTY: “About 7,000 people crowded into Falls River Square Wednesday night for the first Akron Tea Party. Organizers said it was the largest Ohio Tea Party so far. Many in the crowd wore patriotic hats and shirts, waved American and ‘Don’t Tread On Me” flags and carried homemade signs protesting policies in Washington, D.C., and the direction the country is headed in general.”
UPDATE: Reader Nonda Surratt writes: “Wow you lose Akron, home of unions, you are in deep trouble. Funny — good friend of hubby’s, lives in that area, solid teamster for years, visited about a month ago and said he would NEVER vote for another Dem as long as he lives. Really shocked hubby they have been best buds since grade K.” Not living up to the hype, are they?
TEA PARTY UPDATE: Reader Pat Dooley writes: “There was another huge after-work Tea Party Rally in Cuyahoga Falls. . . . The organizers were expecting around 5000 people to show-up, according to this news report. One of the speakers, my brother-in-law, told me the crowd was 7000 people. The Tea Party movement is getting stronger, rather than fading away.”
And reader Tyler Cazin writes: “Just got back from our local tea party in the center of town. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but hopefully you’ll be seeing some pictures. Easily 7,000 plus. Nicest large group I’ve ever been around. I’ve been feeling down lately, but this really raised my spirits. I think we can get our country back.”
TEA PARTY UPDATE: Seven citizens meet with Barbara Boxer’s San Diego rep. “Our thinking was, since our senator will not come to the townhall, the townhall will come to our senator.” They look like a bunch of angry “evil-mongers” to me!
UPDATE: Perhaps Carly Fiorina will be willing to meet with them in person, and not via staff.
WIRED: Kodak Zi8: Best Pocket Cam We’ve Seen All Year. It’ll be released on September 15. That’s too late for the “recess rallies” or the September 12 Tea Party, but there’s always the old reliable for those . . . .
KEN GLADNEY UPDATE: Black Conservatives Hold Protest at NAACP Over Ken Gladney Attack. As Jim Treacher notes, if he were an Obama supporter beaten by white Tea Party folks, he’d be more famous than Rodney King. But since he’s a Tea Party supporter beaten by white Obama folks, it’s a non-story. Can’t blow the preferred racial narrative. . . .
UPDATE: Related: Video from the Carnahan crew. Unsuccessful provocateurs.
ROBIN GIVHAN sneers at the dress of Town Hall protesters, thus underscoring the press’s identification with the rulers rather than with the ruled. There was a time when journalists were badly-dressed working stiffs, rather than upper-middle-class strivers putting on airs. That time is long past. But — since although she’s a snob she’s sometimes an insightful one — she nonetheless hits upon a key insight: “Washington’s power brokers have suited up to underscore their authority and the seriousness of the subject matter. And bully for them. But their attire also says: I am the boss of you. All those howling citizens — in their T-shirts and ball caps and baggy shorts — are saying: No, you’re not.”
UPDATE: Reader Thomas Prewitt writes:
The article by Robin Givhan in the Washington Post leads one to wonder, “What do I wear to a town hall event?’
Are protestors part of an astroturfed Brooks Brothers brigade, or are they unserious, ill-kempt, bloviating whiners?Ms. Givhan’s commentary tells us more about Washington D.C. than it does about the Tea Party movement. The government-political-media establishment cannot seem to understand that their employers/customers are furious. This isn’t about a civil discourse; this is a really bad job review.
The people are hoppin’ mad and are trying to say, “We aren’t taking it anymore.” The recipients of this sentiment ignore it at their own peril.
Indeed.
TEA PARTY FALLOUT? Democratic Senators say no vote on cap-and-trade this year.
TEA PARTY PROTESTS ON OBAMACARE: Over 60 videos from over 25 states, compiled at the Club For Growth site.
UPDATE: Heh: “Maybe the media would be more sympathetic if the protesters were chanting, ‘No justice, no peace!’”
TUCSON TEA PARTY: Rep. Giffords a no-show at her own event due to Tea Partiers — then lies and says she never meant to go!
UPDATE: Fish, barrel, busting Keith Olbermann.
VIDEO from the Tea Party protest at SEIU headquarters in St. Louis.
FROM JIM HOFT, a first-person account of SEIU violence at the Russ Carnahan town meeting. Racial epithets and a beating from union members? Incredible. “Tomorrow, Saturday, the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition is holding a rally at the local SEIU headquarters. We are going to demand justice for Kenneth Gladney, who was brutally beaten on Thursday night. The St. Louis Coalition will request that the NAACP and the ACLU come out in support of Kenneth Gladney’s rights which were trampled by the union hooligans.”
UPDATE: More here, and a Mary Katharine Ham interview. “SEIU Representative Punched Him In the Face.”
ASHEVILLE TEA PARTY FOLKS MET WITH HEATH SHULER: Before we closed the meeting, Congressman Shuler told us he will vote no on HR3200. “We ended our time by telling him we would relay the news that he is not ‘in hiding’ if he will tell his colleagues in Washington that we are not a pitchfork wielding ‘angry mob.’”
