Politics And The Tea Party Movement

The collision of the Tea Party movement and politics was always inevitable. It seems to be gaining some steam. Even Senators now have a chance to weigh in given this resolution.

Whereas taxpayers in the United States are expressing their opposition to high taxes and skyrocketing spending by the United States Government by organizing ‘‘Taxed Enough Already’’ parties, also known as ‘‘TEA’’ parties:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate designates each of April 15, 2009, and April 15, 2010, as ‘‘National TEA Party Day’’.

Unfortunately for now, it seems some politicians would rather hide under their desks. h/t Instapundit.

Taxpayer tea parties have rattled some politicians in Washington, as thousands have gathered in cities across America to object to President Obama’s spending policies. But no politician was rattled as severely as the staff of Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) was yesterday.

After opening an envelope containing a teabag and marked “Tea Protest” in the Congresswoman’s Manchester office, Shea-Porter’s staff called Capitol Police and city police and firefighters.

Regarding the Vitter resolution above, actually Vitter has been on board with the movement for some time. And with other high profile Republicans including Newt Gingrich on board, it's only a matter of time before the movement solidifies. April 15th should be a very interesting day. Maybe it's time to get that manifesto firmed up, too.

On April 15, millions of grassroots voters will assemble in cities and towns across the country for the first National TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party to register their displeasure with our government's addiction to wasteful spending, bailouts for big business, and higher taxes. Help me force the Senate to recognize this day as a formal protest by the people against these policies. I support the efforts to enshrine in law a National TEA Party Day, and am completing the form below to become a Citizen Co-Sponsor of Senator Vitter’s resolution.

Comments

[Michael A.O'Sullivan]

It is high time that we Americans took the initiative and give our so-called representatives a taste of what might be in store for them should they continue to ignore the majority opinion of the American people.

I will vote against ANY of my representatives who in any way support ANY new spending bill that is not accompanied by a resolution to cut overall spending by twice the amount of new spending contemplated.

The 3.6 billion debacle voted out tonight should not become an actual budget!!

LET'S GET BEHIND THIS TEA PARTY ON APRIL 15 AND MAKE IT SO HUGE THAT EVEN THE MSMERS WILL BE UNABLE TO BLOCK OUR VOICE OUT...

[rrpjr]

They're "rattled," huh? Well, the rattling has only started.

[Bob]

News for the "faith-base" community (a.k.a. Republicans who lost the election and can't face the truth): The vast majority of middle-class taxpayers will be getting tax cuts under the Obama plan. Furthermore, President Obama currently has a 60% favorability rating according to Pollster.com. Yet, apparently, the Republican Party leadership and its sponsors among super-wealthy corporatists want to pretend that "ordinary" Americans are up in arms about something or other. Apparently the Republicans really do want to prove that their vision of government can do nothing to address the problems of ordinary Americans, thereby courting yet another devastating electoral loss. It's fascinating to watch the antics, anyway.

[24AheadDotCom]

I have to wonder: are Dan Riehl, Instapundit, and all their friends completely delusional, or are they playing some kind of pro-BHO game? The tea parties will never have any sort of impact whatsoever. There are only a small percentage of conservative Republicans and libertarians who'd be interested in the message so far sent by the tea parties, and that's not going to worry any politician or spur any politician to action.

For example, at the MA tea party, a number equivalent to 99.9% of those who voted for the last GOP challenger in that district did NOT turn out for the "party". Only 100 people turned out, a number equivalent to 0.1% of the votes that GOP challenger got. Does that sink in in any way? Do I need to get out the crayons and make a drawing?

What's galling about the "parties" is that they're a distraction from a much more potent campaign that would simply oppose BHO's far-left and authoritarian policies. That non-Randroid, non-Kochtopus movement could involve millions and millions of people and have an impact. Instead, at the Buffalo "party" there was a sign saying "No Taxes" and nothing else. No one who isn't a complete Randroid or Kochtopus hack is going to be interested in things like that.

And, the "parties" also make it more difficult to get traction for people doing something that would be far more effective. Namely, discrediting politicians by asking them real questions to their face on video:

http://24ahead.com/s/question-authority

If you're thinking of going to a "party", please think it through and do something effective instead.

[gordo]

Hey Bob, its "Faith-based" you dope. And by the way, I just loooove that Demo-Talking-Point about the vast majority getting tax cuts. Look up cap and trade, why don't ya? Your other comment about the "super-wealthy corporatists" is a real hoot. Who exactly do you know who believes the basic unit of society is a corporate group, huh? Aren't the Democrats always talking about "the poor". Thats a group, not an individual. That makes them "corporatists". Look it up. Your antics are fascinating, but when the DNC drinks water, I bet you don't talk.

[Ogre]

Bob, you seem to think people are doing tax protesters because they under the false illusion that their taxes are going up under the new plan. You couldn't be more wrong. We are protesting because we believe government spending is out of control and we've looked at the math. Taxes will have to go up in the future for pay for this fiasco. Obama and Congress may wait a few years, but they will go up. Right now the threshold is $250,000. Next year they could drop it to $150,000. Then $100,000.

That may still seem like a lot to you , but when inflation goes crazy and your average income is $300,000, it will take on a whole new meaning.

[john]

I take it Bob hasn't paid attention to stories such as this:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D979POSG0&show_article=1

Cigarette taxes overwhelmingly effect the poor, as does cap and trade which someone else already mentioned. Then there's his closing of recently opened offshore oil/gas deposits which have caused the price of gas to once again begin to rise.

Also don't forget that study a month or two back which held that even if the govt. took all the money earned by the top 5% it would not cover Obama's debt. So I just have to wonder Bob, where is that money going to come from?

[rrpjr]

Bob: For some cold hard insight into Obama's semantical scam over tax increases, check this out.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123871911466984927.html
The proper term is "tax bomb," Obama's gift to current coming generations of American taxpayers.
There's no one in the administration talking anymore about taxes not going up. And this doesn't even factor in the "hidden taxes" as businesses pass on their own higher taxes to consumers. If you really believe in your "vast majority" theory, or believe you can sell it here, it's you who can't "face the truth."

And despite two months of hard-sell, the popularity of Obama's plan keeps sinking. Check your polls.

[Fat Man]

My Tea Party Platform

No Bailouts
No Stimulus
No Subsidies
No Earmarks
No Pork
No Deficits
No Tax Hikes
No Nationalizations
No Socialism
No Protectionism
No Public Funding
No Government Cheese
No Bubbles
No Bu11$#;+
Nobama

[vigilant]

SHOW BOB - Start wearing a Tea Bag Label as a Lapel Pin.

See if he can read the "TEA LEAVES."

He and like-minded anti "faith-base" liberals are OUTNUMBERED. Their days are numbered. SAYONARA!

[Bob]

But the fact is, none of you supposed fiscal hawks gave a damn about out-of-control deficits under the Bush administration. No one was out in the streets demanding spending cuts to go along with the tax cuts over the past eight years, were they? The conservative movement has no credibility when it talks about fiscal responsibility, just as when they talk about honesty or competency for that matter. Republicans don't seem to have any actual principles; they just do what they're told. Even your fellow conservative 24aheaddotcom noted the fatuousness of these tea party protests. Get a clue, you phonies.

[ashok]

The tea party movement is a really awesome thing, but I do fear that the MSM holds unbelievable sway over its effectiveness, given that mainstream coverage is ridiculously hard to find. I've shown the blogposts demonstrating the numbers and extent of these rallies to people I know, and they're just like "huh." Whereas the continual bombardment of how good President Obama is and how wonderful Congress is does get to them, even if they avoid the news. There's just so much Leftist nonsense out there parading as journalism that it feels like, to me, that it is drowning out any efforts to communicate that not all of us are terribly thrilled with "hope and change."

One thing that stuns me about liberals - and maybe we have to do a better job educating about the general concept of "you should only pay for what you can afford" - is where they think the money for these giant budgets comes from. They just kinda assume a gov't has more money than God or something. At the beginning of March, I wrote on Pericles, who paid all Athenians for jury duty - given the numbers who served as jurors at trials, this was pretty much paying off the whole of the city. Eventually the money for that sort of welfare results in a real need for imperialism, stealing from other places and making others virtually slaves:

http://www.ashokkarra.com/2009/03/the-noble-life-on-plutarchs-pericles/

[Bob]

"He and like-minded anti "faith-base" liberals are OUTNUMBERED."
--vigilant

Again, vigilant, with Obama's job approval rating at around 60%, and with Republicans having been devastated in the last two elections, how can you claim that anyone but right wingers are outnumbered right now? Seriously? You're not even facing up to reality any more.

[rrpjr]

Charges of "fatuousness" from the backer of a candidate who never ran, managed, led, changed, reformed or stood up to a single thing in his life, a so-called orator who can't talk without a teleprompter and a man whose entire political bonafide was based on two "lyrical" autobiographies. Brilliant.

And your contention is ridiculous. Every conservative fiscal hawk in sight raised hell at Bush's budgets and spending. But I gather, since you labeled Bush's deficits "out of control," you must be simply aghast at Obama's. Maybe you'll join us on the streets. If these tea parties scare you so much, best to face your fears (in lieu of facing the truth).

[Randy Rager]

Fellow conservative?

Riiiight. Pull the other one, maybe it's got bells.

If you had clue one about the conservative movement, you'd have noticed all the yelling from conservatives about spending. In 2004, it was a bit muted, but there. In 2005, there was a definite "you're going to lose the midterms because of spending" note from the Right. And since 2006, there has been a very loud "told you so" theme.

But obviously you don't pay attention to conservatives, or the utter drooling drivel wouldn't be pouring from your keyboard, Bob.

When people who've never protested anything in their lives suddenly start taking to the street, smart people sit up and notice. Looks like Bob and "24AheadDotCom" can safely be categorized otherwise.

[WhatWhen]

I'm all in favor of your tea parties. They will push the Republicans further to the right in the 2010 elections. Thank you, Jesus!

[Bob]

But seriously, look at a chart of the gross national debt like this one:

http://zfacts.com/p/318.html

It's clear that the national debt went down continuously from the end of WWII right up until the Reagan administration, where it started climbing back up steeply for all of Reagan and G.H.W. Bush's terms, went back down during Clinton's presidency, and then started climbing back steeply again during G.W. Bush's terms. It's so obvious that it's primarily been Republican presidents driving up the debt for the past 25 years. Republicans have spent just as much as Democrats, but the problem is that they're not paying for it with taxes. That's why conservatives have zero credibility when they start yammering about fiscal responsibility. It's fine to say that liberals or the mainstream press don't listen to your supposed complaints about runaway spending; your own party apparently hasn't been listening either. You ya gonna blame for that?

[24AheadDotCom]

1. Let me repeat this slowly. Just 100 people turned out for the MA protest... the GOP opponent in that solid blue district got 91,000 votes... can you do the math?... that makes the 100 who turned out just 0.1% of the GOP challenger's vote total... it was just 0.05% of the winning Dem's total. For comparison purposes, if the votes the Dem got was one pound, the 100 people would be one quarter of a gram.

2. You might say that there were more people at other protests. That doesn't matter: given signs like "No Taxes" and all the rest, you will never have the numbers. You will never encroach on a Democrat's territory, take votes from them, or worry them in any way.

3. Does the fact that there have been no MSM hit pieces on the "movement" tell you anything? Let me explain it, slowly: if the political class were worried... the MSM would help them out by doing something very simple... such as looking into who's promoting the "movement"... and the like.

4. If BHO wanted to create a completely toothless opposition, he'd probably start something like the "movement". As it is, you've taken care of that for him. If anyone in the WH even knows about the "movement", they're probably laughing their heads off about how inept your leaders are.

[mark l.]

"Republicans have spent just as much as Democrats, but the problem is that they're not paying for it with taxes."

so...republican debt bad, democratic debt good? some issue with 'they're not paying for it with taxes' as tax revenues rose faster than gdp, following the tax cuts. Are the dems paying for THEIR programs, or just borrowing to pay for them? Is there much of a difference? size of deficit for starters.

If your main beef is with debt, regardless of party, you can't deny that this is utterly unsutainable.

the only nexus where we moved towards a balanced budget, was under a moderate dem president, and a gop controlled congress.

Trying to figure out the praise for wjc for his moderation and success in spending and barry aboma's call to explode the debt. Nice buffet of social programs, that only require us to borrow a trillion a year.

If bush's spending was so bad, what is barry going to cut? there should be a ton of crap to get rid of from the budget.

[Marc]

Here's the thing with respect to out of control spending by those we've been sending to Washington... The Republicans totally betrayed the notion of Republicans as being the party in favor of small government and fiscal responsibility. (of course, the Democrats, as they always do TOTALLY shirk all responsibility for any of the mess, despite being in control of Congress for the two years preceding the beginning of the Obama Nation.) Republicans started the "bus" downhill toward the chasm... Obama, rather than say, "Whoa, better put the brakes on.." sees the opportunity of a lifetime to put into action his socialist/fascist beliefs and says "WOO HOOOOO... step on the gas baby and let's drive this thing right off the cliff!"

There is plenty of blame and disgust to go around... but for the first time in my adult life, I am experiencing daily a knot of fear in my gut caused by the spectacle of a President who is hell-bent on the destruction of everything that has made our Country great. I am concerned that if WE THE PEOPLE don't rise up NOW and take back our country from the self serving, immoral, scum sucking politician OF BOTH PARTIES... we are truly witnessing the beginning of the end of the greatest nation in the history of mankind. I can only pray that as a nation of free people (for now) we wake up before it is truly too late.

[Nahanni]

"I do fear that the MSM holds unbelievable sway over its effectiveness, given that mainstream coverage is ridiculously hard to find."

ashok,

Despite the best efforts of the Corruptocrats, their moonbat nutroots, their "community activists", their race/ethnic warriors and their MSM propaganda wing these protests are gathering steam. It is beginning to dawn on them that the MSM is no longer the gatekeeper of information and their "0bama is the Messiah" propaganda campaign is not working. They are playing a very dangerous game and have staked it all on one throw of the dice and it is beginning to sink in to their heads that they have come up with an epic failure. They are going to pay a dear price for not knowing anything about this country or it's people outside of their "reality-based communities" or what they have been told by their Marxist "professors".

They know, despite the snarky comments out of their moonbat 0bamabot trollchldren and the scoffing dismissal of the elites, that to get the numbers of regular working folks (aka to the Corruptocrats as "bitter Klingons" and "redneck racist morons") out to protest anything is chilling and frightening to them. These are not the Corruptocrats ACORN and SorosStooge professional protesters, they are people with jobs and families who they want to bleed dry. They also know that these people are slow to anger but once they get angry there will be no stopping them, even with the 0bamamessiah's SS...errr..."civilian security force". If they try to use force or dirty tricks to suppress this they will learn a first hand lesson in Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

Most importantly, in the end, they know that all those who had an active hand in the looting of the treasury and the rest of the Corruptocrats totalitarian agenda stand a very good chance of hanging from lamp posts on Constitution Avenue and being used as human pinatas.

THAT is what has them rattled.

[rrpjr]

I feel strangely thrilled when I hear the word "never" come up as a refrain in such discussions.

I am inspired by your words, 24AheadDotCom. You speak for a kind of tenebrous idiocy that is somehow essential to the origins of many moral/political movements. I can't explain it; it is just so.

I am glad the MSM is saying nothing. I hope the WH is laughing. These too are indicators, signs of meaning.

Those involved in this movement know this, deeply. The tea party movement, no matter its name or its present status, speaks to a deeply moral ache and need. Beware such movements.

[Don Meaker]

"Socialism is a good idea, until you run out of other people's money to spend." Mark Twain

When the government spends Trillions of dollars, where does it come from?
From the printing press? Then all existing money is taxed.
From taxes? then existing productive work is taxed.
Borrowed? Then the future is taxed.

Government spending is less efficient. How can reduced efficiency lead to a more abundant life? Well it can't.

[Mrs. du Toit]

Bob,

Many of us on the right were concerned about the spending during the Bush Administration. The reason that many on the right didn't turn out to vote against Obama was because they (foolishly) wanted to teach the Republicans a "lesson" and would not vote FOR Centrist-McCain. The reality, however, is that we were also all too aware that it was the non-discretionary entitlement spending that was the bulk of the budget. If all other Federal spending stayed the same (not even adjusted for inflation) the Social Security ponzi scheme would cause spending to rise.

Which party blocked reforms of entitlement spending? Which party rejected oversight inquiries into Fannie/Freddie? Which party is in the pockets of the industries now in distress? Which party had the more expensive Medicare Bill? Which party raped the military budget that required the additional spending in one of the few actual Constitutional arenas where they're supposed to spend money, so our troops could practice again with real bullets instead of shouting "BANG!" with unloaded weapons?

But if spending is such a big deal for Democrats, why would they propose spending now that exceeded what Bush approved? Where in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does Congress have the authority to do what it is doing?

Let me guess... rather than answering those questions, you'll change the subject to some other meme.

[Lala]

Margaret Thatcher paraphrased Mark Twain?

"Socialism is a great idea, until you run out of other people's money" - Margaret Thatcher,

[SDN]

Let's see. Bush / Republicans proposed new rules to deal with Freddie and Fannie in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Democrats, led by Chris "Friend of Countrywide" Dodd, and Barney "Fannie Ranger boyfriend" Frank, threatened filibusters to stop it (and Republicans never had 60 votes). But according to Bob, it's all Bush's fault.

[Geoff Goedde]

Bob,

A) Democrats controlled both Houses since 2006, they spent the money, in the majority and in collusion with the Republican minority
B) These tea parties are the early civil protests of reasonable but as yet unorganized citizens in the productive minority, to head off the need for hanging lots of folks in the future.
C) "single party politics" ends up the political system of US, garaunteed by A) + B), no matter which side prevails.

I would observe your wearing that We won! You lost! attitude will get unhealthier by the day, comrade kapo.

[Geoff Goedde]

SDN,

Maggie was a great friend of liberty. Soon to be quoted - W.C. Fields said: "I never drink hard liquor. It might make me shoot at revenoors, and miss."

[Bob]

Look, guys, actions speak louder than words. If you all cared so much about deficit spending, your little Tea Party movement wouldn't have lain dormant for all of the previous eight years as the national debt rose and rose, and only AFTER all of that, sparked to life within the FIRST TWO MONTHS of a Democratic presidency. The conservative movement, for all of its pretenses, is not actually about balancing the budget or making the trains run on time. It's about Glenn Beck sobbing on TV as he tells us how much he loves his country, or Ann Coulter calling liberals "fags." So this Tea Party movement is just the latest cheap partisan stunt, more akin to the Swift Boat Veterans than any sincere concern about government policy.

[Anon]

How do you know that?

Maybe the Republicans have awakened from their 8 year slumber and finally realized how George Bush sold them out and destroyed their credibility, which at the grassroots level some are trying to regain.

It is a fact that we can't go on spending trillions of dollars that we don't have and covering it up by running the Fed's printing presses 24/7.

I have no doubt that Obama will raise taxes, I have never had any doubt that he would raise taxes, there is no other way for him to pay for all of his programs and new entitlements, just because he may call these taxes "fees" or the elmination of tax credits or other semantic sleight of hand won't change the fact that taxes of all kinds will go up. Indeed, they are already going up at the state level, which is a direct result of Obama's stimulus money..instead of forcing states to live within their means and cut the fat from their own budgets, they too are now going on a spending spree and raising taxes "temporarily"...which is gov. code for "for the forseeable future".

There is no question in my mind that the GOP has been deeply deluded for the last 8 years, deluded about the 'war on terror', deluded about how deeply most Americans care about some of their own hot button issues of abortion, euthenasia and gay marriage, and deluded about the long term damage they were doing to themselves by acting like Democrats...spending and spending and spending.

The fact of the GOP having been wrong doesn't make the Democrats any less wrong themselves.

[SDN]

Actually, that quote is from Robert Heinlien's "Notebooks of Lazarus Long".

"Be wary of strong drink. It might make you shoot at tax collectors --- and MISS!"

[Nahanni]

I have to laugh at you, Bob.

You and your ilk have not yet grasped that this phenomenon is not being generated by the Republican party. I can understand your confusion because all those "protests" against Bush were financed and organized by the people who own the Corruptocrat party so you automatically assume that this is being done the same way.

It isn't. And that is what has the Corruptocrat party frightened.

[Bob]

Conservatism is all about phrases that begin with "you and your ilk" followed by lame excuses about how you just sleepwalked through eight years of inept and corrupt Republican leadership only to belatedly claim that you have any principles or ideas other than tax cuts for the wealthy. You had six solid years of Republican control of every branch of government to prove what your movement could do for regular Americans, and you squandered it on military adventures while serious domestic issues like affordable healthcare went begging. So don't complain now because your party got thrown out of office, and don't pretend to have principles that you couldn't bother to display when you had the chance to do something meaningful. All you've got is empty posturing and everyone except apparently the small minority of right wing extremists knows it.

[southdakotaboy]

To everyone who is a conservative who has posted on this site. The Tea Parties are a good start, but we also need to work to hamstring Obama's economic plan. His popularity depends on a robust economic recovery that he is going to make off of our backs. We need to stop spending, hold off on any big purchases as long as you can. Switch to cash for every thing. Don't go to the movies, or spend any more than you have to. If we all act in concert we can have an effect far greater than our numbers migh suggest. The main idea is to make sure that Obama and the traitors on the left fail.

[john]

And liberalism is all about phrases that boil down to either "well George did it too" or "that's not fair" (it's fun making straw-men isn't it).

In all seriousness though Bob once again ignores all the posters who pointed out that the reason the Reps. did so poorly after the 2004 election is because the fiscal/small govt. conservatives took action (or should I say inaction) and refused to support them. I suppose if you close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears claiming that they supported Bush makes some sense, it also allows you to pretend that the Reps controlled congress since 2006 (granted according to a CNN poll apparently 40% of their viewers do this as well).

[mark l.]

"Conservatism is all about phrases that begin with "you and your ilk" followed by lame excuses about how you just sleepwalked through eight years of inept and corrupt Republican leadership only to belatedly claim that you have any principles or ideas other than tax cuts for the wealthy."

sleepwalking thru eight years...

democrat ideas?
run a larger deficit than bush.
engage in a war without an exit strategy.

Iraq bad, Afghanistan good. (43 US soldiers dead this year, afghanistan, 42 dead in Iraq same period)
4.5 trillion of debt for past eight years is bad, so adding 9.3 trillion for the next eight is good.

It seems that the dems are actually 'overachieving' relative to the gop.

I'm not really that shocked, but EVERY "sin" of bush, is being repeated or exceeded by the current dem president.

Obama better than bush? hardly.

"like affordable healthcare"...if you have to go into debt to pay for health care, then it is not affordable. I would assume that since it is true in the case of the individuals, it is probaly true in the case of the govt.

[The Juice]

Bob thinks that all members of a party must think homogeneously. He doesn't understand the difference between Bush, Republicans, and conservatives. Belonging to a party which doesn't value individualism, he can't fathom thinking for himself - which is why he probably gets paid to troll conservative blogs with the express purpose of demoralizing the opposition.

Bob, we voted for Bush in SPITE of his shameful spending, because the alternative was much worse, and national security (a success, by the way) trumped the irritation over spending. The alternative was to vote for the guy who would spend MORE, and REDUCE federal revenue by punishing the productive, not to mention who would surrender to jihadists, a guy who honestly thought "honor" meant telling lies under oath about his fellow servicemen for political gain.

But tell us, Bob - what are the economic core principles of liberals? We believe in freedom first. You believe in control first, "for our own good." You don't understand America, you don't understand free markets, you don't understand liberty. The ONLY thing you consider is team loyalty. Your philosophical sophistication goes absolutely no deeper than "Yankees suck! No, Red Sox Suck!!!" If Bush had had a "D" behind his name, you would be lauding him even now.

You, sir, are an ignorant ass with a head so empty that you are forced to cut and paste straw men straight from your mailing list, because you haven't the cognitive capacity to think for yourself. No wonder you want so badly for someone else (government) to solve all your problems for you with someone else's money.

[Anon]

I have to agree that other than a few cosmetic changes, Obama is pretty much continuing on Bush policies on a lot of fronts..so far, Obama has made the disastrous Bush presidency look better.

It took Bush 8 years to waste $1 trillion in Iraq, it has taken Obama 2 months to waste $8-12 trillion.

The Iraq war was a bad idea, but Obama doesn't have any better exit strategy than Bush did, same for Afganistan.

Obama has no way to pay for all of the increases in federal spending. That leaves only two choices: print money or raise taxes, Obama is going to do both.

Obama is already running roughshod over the states and has shown himself to be as happy to take on unconstitutional executive power as Bush was...his commitment to the Constitution is the same as Bush's was...he likes it when it supports what he wants to do and when it doesn't, he ignores it.

The Democrats have so far, proven themselves to be exactly the incompetant, idealogical dullards that I expected them to be...quite similar to the idealogical dullards that ran the Bush Administration.

The truth is that Obama didn't get anything he wanted at the G-20 Summit, but for some reason, nobody is reporting it that way, considering how much money we are spending, a paltry $1 trillion...going to the Europe controlled IMF no less...is a total failure on his part. Now, I am glad he failed since I don't think deficit spending will solve the problem, but it is still a failure of what he wanted.

[24AheadDotCom]

Since it wasn't clear to some, let me try to explain this again.

First, the GOP isn't really scared of the "movement". Some of the local organizers are local GOP officials. And, the GOP was secretly behind this video:

http://24ahead.com/sen-mitch-mcconnell-now-promoting-randroid-tea-parties

Second, your leaders have made the decision to do things with sheer numbers rather than doing things the smart way. Sheer numbers can work, if you've got the numbers. If you don't have millions of people, then you have to realize that and do things a smarter way, using leverage.

Are we clear at least on the underlying idea? If you're outnumbered, you have to change how you do things. You have to do things in a smarter way.

Your leaders have consciously decided not to do things the smart way.

As for the numbers, picture a circle. Now, take away over a third of that circle: almost no Dems are interested in what you're pushing. Take away another third: most independents aren't interested in what you're pushing. Now, take away half (or more) of what's left: not all Republicans are strong fiscal conservatives.

You're only left with a small part of the circle. And, some of your leaders are Randroids; they're considered fringe even with the Libertarian party.

I don't expect that to sink in for many; if you've fallen for the "parties" so far, you're probably never going figure out how dumb they are.

Some of you might be different; in that case, you can do things the smarter way as I outlined in my first comment.

[Swamp Rabbit]

OsamaHusseinIslamObama 2012'
(the terrorist choice)
-It's never to early to campaign-

That is all.

[Anon]

Ugh, that kind of stupid will ensure the Democrats are in power for another decade by which time the country will never be able to recover, if it can even recover now.

Obama is not a muslim, or a terrorist, or a terrorist sympathizer. Repeat that until you get it into your head.

He is an untested, unexperienced, ivory tower socialist do-gooder, who like all socialist do-gooders has a dislike of successful and productive people who don't apoligize for being successful and who won't attribute their success to some kind of unfair privilege. He is most likely going to be weak on foreign policy and willing to make too many accomodations. He is anti-military. He is pro-welfare state. He is anti-gun and soft on crime.

There are hundreds of reasons to oppose Obama, but muslim/terrorist isn't one of them.

You guys have to get off this meme or you are done for. The things that worked from 98-2006 will not work anymore. You need a new narrative that goes back to the Reagan well and bypasses the George W. Bush/Tom DeLay years in the wilderness.

[mark l.]

"Bob, we voted for Bush in SPITE of his shameful spending, because the alternative was much worse..."

I'm with juice. I hold no love for the gop, but find them the lesser of two evils, EVERYTIME.

[FREE]

Guess who is the only POTUS to bow to a king, and a musi at that!!!

[templar knight]

Anon, I found the bow to King Abdullah, or whoever, to be revolting, but was not surprised. Obama's leanings are toward the ME, Africa and Latin America, including Cuba and Venezuela. The Europeans are likely to get jilted when push comes to shove, or when their interests collide with those of the third world.

Of course, the Obamabots come here posting their drivel with nary an ounce of credibility themselves, as they denounced the Bush deficits yet say nothing about the Obama's much greater deficits. They were against deficit spending before they were for it. They complained about the Bush wars, yet say nothing about Obama's push in Afghanistan.

As for the tea parties, they are a spontaneous outcry against the lunacy now taking over in Washington. I was in Washington last week, and witnessed the motley crew of moonbats who marched on the Pentagon. A sorrier group of individuals hardly exists anywhere in the World outside Democratic National Headquarters. As I looked out over the heros buried in Arlington Cemetary, I saw the human scum who aren't worth a single one of these men who died for them. I was disgusted.

As for you, bob, you're just a troll trying to discourage the opposition. I've seen many of your kind on the interwebs recently. You ought to have your ass kicked. That's what you deserve. As it is, what you say means nothing to me or anyone who is a conservative.

[Anon]

Well, his leanings are always going to be for "The Poor"..since for some unknown and insane reason he thinks this country is in a position to INCREASE aid to the third world...and I think his personality is such that he's going to always tend to compromise, which, depending on who your adversary is may be judged as weakeness. Always compromising is as bad as never compromising, like Bush. I just don't buy into the anti-Islamic messages that so many other conservatives do, the Saudi King is corrupt, but everyone has known that about the Saudi royal family for decades.

I seem to be the only one who is reading something scary into all these protocol breaches, though. I read total arrogance L'etat c'est moi, I will create my own protocols..

But, its hard to judge anything what with the full scale media black out on anything critical of our new president.

I wouldn't count on the tea party stuff to get much traction until Obama's taxes start to hit home and until the 'stimulus' turns out to be nothing but a give away to entrenched Democratic allies.

I do agree the Democrats have displayed their hypocrisy with lightening speed...they railed against the then 'huge' trillion Iraq war and huge deficit spending, and now deficits don't matter..Roland Burris, and any other Democrat that gets elected is fine w/them no matter whether its legal or not..a tax cheat as Sec. of Treasury, its all good.

I hope that they get thrown out of Congress in 2010, because the country always, always works best when neither party controls the WH and the Congress, but I'm not sure it will happen. The GOP is still in tatters and people are still scared about the economy and it will work for a while longer to blame Bush and the Republicans for everything...

[Karen]

To the sheeple of Obama:

The Tea Party in Indianapolis which I will attend expects 8,000 + and have been meeting regularly for "sign making". The email list of people who registered themselves for this movement is well over 8,000 so even if some who say they are going end up not going it should average out to the 8,000 mark. Cincinatti had one and there were 5,000 that attended and that was before the April 15th National TEA.

I am still waiting for that tax cut and so far have seen none , how do you think all this spending is going to get paid for, taxes will go up. Obama said no taxes would go up on anything and already the cigarette tax has gone way up have you ever thought that maybe with this much tax that maybe we are TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY:
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Court Fines (indirect taxes)
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Interest Expense (tax on the money)
Inventory Tax I
RS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Toll Booth Taxes
Road Usage Taxes (truckers)
Sales Taxes
School Tax
Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Toll Bridge Taxes Toll
Tunnel Taxes
Trailer Registration
Tax Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers' Compensation Tax

[Peg C.]

The Tea Parties have the statists in a swivet or they would not be infiltrating all blog posts about them. Trolls and mobys run amok. I for one cannot wait to attend my 2nd Tea Party on Tax Day. The whole family is taking off work and spending the day politicking. There will be hundreds of thousands of liberty-lovers congregating, networking, politicking and socializing, most of us for the first time ever with like-minded people. This OUGHT to scare the statists witless.

As for the politicians, that Shea-Porter creature obviously had an IQ similar to that of
Maxine Waters. Needless to say, this twit is a Democrat.

[North Dallas Thirty]

Bob gets funnier and funnier by the minute.

He insists that Bush's deficits were out of control and wrong, but insists that Obama's deficits that are three times as large are good and right.

He insists that Bush should have raised taxes to cover the deficit, but then brags that Obama will not raise taxes to cover the deficit.

Then we have the shill 24Ahead, who is whining about how ineffective public protest is while belonging to the party that owns ACORN and the paid mobs they send out to protest.

Peg is absolutely right. The Obama shills are scared shitless because they see things boomeranging back on them. The funniest thing is their concern-troll routine, as if we believed they actually cared about conservatives while we know they're calling for our death and elimination on other boards.

[Bob]

North Dallas Thirty, I wouldn't pretend to care about the welfare of the conservative movement. As far as your phony claim of people calling for your "death and elimination" goes, you're doing such a good job of ensuring your own defeats that any further intervention on our part seems unnecessary. There's plenty of room for good-faith disagreement about whether massive government spending is the best way to get out of a serious recession or not, but Republicans are the last ones whose opinions matter. Conservatives only seem to have tax cuts and fake outrage campaigns to offer. They only have their Beavis and Butthead routine where someone says something like, "ACORN!" or "Marxist!," and all the faithful dittoheads go "He-he-he." As I've been saying, if any of you conservative concern trolls sincerely cared about deficit spending, the silly Tea Party movement wouldn't have just appeared upon the inauguration of a Democratic president. Your phoniness is far beyond hiding.

[southdakotaboy]

Bob it is not fake outrage. It pent up anger at both our irrisponsible government and people like you.

Conservatives may be out of power right now, but Obama's plans depend on us falling into line and pulling along with everyone else. Inorder for his buget to work he needs growth of over 3% a year. If we on the right simply don't participate to the full extent that we are capable of we can have an impact.

Now normally this wouldn't be able to cause much of a problem in a healthy and robust economy. But as we all know this isn't that kind of economy. Combine our efforts with what many people are naturally doing during this economic down turn and our efforts become magnified. As an example take the movie industry. It employes tens of thousands of people (if not more). Right now many people are not spending their money to go to movies because of economic fears. If you then suddenly remove even more of the already decreased revenue the effects on the movie industry would be huge and would spread far beyond just the film industry and Hollywood.

Isn't the internet grand!