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Posts Tagged ‘tea party’

Blacks condemn the NAACP’s baseless attack on Tea Parties

Posted by Richard on July 15, 2010

Big Government has a series of ten seventeen posts condemning the NAACP for accusing the Tea Party movement of being racist. The authors are Michael Steele, Deroy Murdock, and eight other members of the Project 21 black leadership network, ranging from journalists to businessmen to political consultants. Several of them are themselves leaders of Tea Party organizations. For now, you can read them all at the top of the front page. Below are links to the individual posts. They are well worth reading.

The Tea Party Is Not Racist

I Condemn the NAACP: Where Is the Evidence of Tea Party Racism?

I Condemn the NAACP: It Has Tarnished its Reputation

I Condemn the NAACP: It Has a Selective Memory on Race

I Condemn the NAACP: Call Me a Racist!

I Condemn the NAACP: It Should Stand With Tea Parties

I Condemn the NAACP: It Is Grossly Out of Touch

I Condemn the NAACP: Screaming ‘Racism’ Discredits the Organization

I Condemn the NAACP: It Needs to Wake Up!

I Condemn the NAACP: It Has Lost its Way

UPDATE: Whoops, posted too soon! There are still more.

I Condemn The NAACP: They Are Obsessed With Identity Politics

by Robin Martin

I Condemn the NAACP: The New Black Panther Party Are the Real Racists

by Deneen Borelli

I Condemn the NAACP: It Has Been Taken Over by the Hard Left

by Kevin L. Martin

I Condemn the NAACP: Get Back to Freedom

by R. Dozier Gray

I Condemn the NAACP

by Marie Stroughter

Chicago Machine Democrats Deserve NAACP Condemnation, Not Tea Party

by Cedra Crenshaw 

NAACP Is Not At All Serious: They’ve Missed the Real Issues

by LTC Allen West (USA, Ret.) 

And then there's this post by some "cracker." Watch that video! 

Breitbart Exposes the ‘N Word’ Lie on Hannity

by Larry O'Connor 

Andrew Breitbart appeared on the ‘Hannity’ show tonight [the 13th — ed.] to discuss the NAACP’s resolution condemning the Tea Party Movement as racist.  The NAACP used the dubious claims of Rep. Andre Carson, that fifteen protestors yelled racial slurs at him fifteen times on March 20th prior to a vote on ObamaCare in Washington DC.

Breitbart conducted a search of all available video of the moment Rep. Carson described – as he and Rep. John Lewis “came down the steps at (the) Cannon” Office Building on their way to the Capitol.

This segment on ‘Hannity’ marks the very first time these videos, which show no evidence of anyone shouting racial slurs and which contradict every description Rep. Carson made of the scene, have been shown on national television.


[YouTube link]

Given that this false charge has become the basis for the nation’s oldest and most respected civil rights organization to label an entire political movement as racist, it will be instructive to see which other media outlets pick up the story as well.

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NAACP criticized by SC congressional candidate Tim Scott

Posted by Richard on July 9, 2010

From South Carolina's FITSNews:

S.C. Rep Tim Scott – the Republican nominee for South Carolina’s first congressional district – took exception Tuesday to a draft resolution from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that accuses the Tea Party movement of harboring “racist elements.”

The NAACP is expected to approve the resolution this week at its annual meeting in Kansas City.

“I believe that the NAACP is making a grave mistake in stereotyping a diverse group of Americans who care deeply about their country and who contribute their time, energy and resources to make a difference,” Scott said.

Scott is the first African-American Republican to be elected to the S.C. State House since Reconstruction. [apparently, that's incorrect — ed.] If elected in November, he would become the only African-American Republican in the U.S. Congress.  He’s never made a big deal about his ethnicity, though, choosing instead to focus on fiscal policy.  In fact, Scott was one of only a handful of GOP lawmakers in Columbia to earn an “A” grade from the S.C. Club for Growth for his votes to limit taxes and government spending.

His voting record quickly made him a favorite among Tea Party activists searching for true fiscal conservatives within the GOP ranks.

Tim Scott (campaign website) is running in the congressional district where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. In the primary election, he defeated Gov. Carroll Campbell's son. In the runoff, he trounced Sen. Strom Thurmond's son, getting 68% of the vote. He's expected to easily defeat a weak Democrat.

Scott is one of three state legislators who joined forces to put a measure on the ballot that would amend the state constitution to block parts of Obamacare, including the individual mandate.

Scott's statement went on to say: 

As I campaign in South Carolina, I participate in numerous events sponsored by the Tea Party, 9/12, Patriot, and other like-minded groups, and I have had the opportunity to get to know many of the men and women who make up these energetic grassroots organizations.  Americans need to know that the Tea Party is a color-blind movement that has principled differences with many of the leaders in Washington, both Democrats and Republicans.

Their aim is to support the strongest candidates – regardless of color or background – who will fight to return our country to its Constitutional roots of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets.

Between Tim Scott, Gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley, and a bunch of upstart, reform-minded legislative candidates (five out of fifteen Republican incumbents were defeated in the primaries, and some others chose to retire), it's clear that change has swept through the South Carolina GOP — and seems poised to sweep through the state. 

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Concealing the grim budget news

Posted by Richard on May 26, 2010

Rick Manning of Americans for Limited Government:

House Democrats plan to leave the country without a budget according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer who stated, “It’s difficult to pass budgets in election years because they reflect what the [fiscal] status is.”

Now that’s courage, leadership and transparency.

Remember, the Democrats hold 59% of the seats in the House with a 255 to 176 advantage over the Republicans, yet it is too hard to put a budget together?

For perspective, consider election year 2002 when Speaker Dennis Hastert enjoyed a slender 222 to 211 advantage, yet our nation was not left without a budget.

The ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan, has called this decision, “an unprecedented failure to govern.”

I call it unprecedented cowardice and dereliction of duty.

I call it a calculated and cynical attempt to hide the ugly truth from the American people during the run-up to the November elections. Will it work? Maybe not this time. Michael Barone thinks there's something different about the current mood of the country: 

It has long been a maxim of political scientists that American voters are ideologically conservative and operationally liberal. That is another way of saying that they tend to oppose government spending in the abstract but tend to favor spending on particular programs.

In the past, rebellions against fiscal policy have concentrated on taxes rather than spending.

The rebellion against the fiscal policies of the Obama Democrats, in contrast, is concentrated on spending. The Tea Party movement began with Rick Santelli's rant in February 2009, long before the scheduled expiration of the Bush tax cuts in January 2011.

What we are seeing is a spontaneous rush of previously inactive citizens into political activity, a movement symbolized but not limited to the Tea Party movement, in response to the vast increases in federal spending that began with the TARP legislation in fall 2008 and accelerated with the Obama Democrats' stimulus package, budget and health care bills.

The Tea Party folk are focusing on something real. Federal spending is rising from about 21% to about 25% of gross domestic product — a huge increase in historic terms — and the national debt is on a trajectory to double as a percentage of gross domestic product within a decade. That is a bigger increase than anything since World War II.

I hope Barone is right — and that this long-overdue revolt against government spending is not too little or too late. 

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Great day, great Tea Party in Denver

Posted by Richard on April 16, 2010

It was a beautiful spring day in Denver, sunny and mild — a perfect day to spend 3 hours amidst thousands of small-government, pro-liberty people having a great time at the State Capitol. Best use of a vacation day I've made in some time.

I only caught bits and pieces of most of the speakers because I did a lot of wandering around, looking at the crowd, the signs, and the handful of counter-demonstrators across the street. Bumped into several old friends. I did listen to Jimmy Lakey's speech, and wow, he is as his website bio says, "a gifted communicator."

I didn't see any outrageous signs or other indications that there were "Crash the Tea Party" infiltrators in the crowd. Didn't even see the dead fetus signs that the anti-abortion folks usually bring to every rally, no matter what the cause or sponsor.

One of the counter-demonstrators had a sign that read "Lynch Palin" — thus proving that Tea Parties do attract misogynists who advocate violence against women.

Most of the local media are citing a crowd estimate of 2,000. Last year's event was estimated at 3,000, and I'd say this crowd was comparable, if not larger. But at least no one I'm aware of is calling it "dozens."

One TV station followed the "downplay the Tea Party" script. 9News has a video on their website from their noon newscast in which the reporter on the scene, Brooke Thacker, was asked for an estimate. She said hundreds, even while the brief crowd shots in the accompanying video made a liar out of her. The AP story posted adjacent to the video says 2,000.

It got worse. 9News didn't air any of the speakers or interview any of the organizers — just a clip of some realtor saying that the housing market was really bad. Thacker gave a cursory, shallow description of why people were there. But after the remote from the rally, anchor Kyle Dyer explained that they wanted to present "the other side," so she did a phone interview with the Democratic Party chair, who was allowed to rattle off all the Democratic talking points at some length. Epic journalistic fail, 9News.

The People's Press Collective streamed the whole thing live, and at one point they announced that over 6,000 people were receiving the stream — I think they should all count as virtual attendees. 🙂 PPC has some video and pictures posted already, and I understand video of all the speakers will be available this evening. Check out that Jimmy Lakey speech.

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Attend your local Tax Day Tea Party

Posted by Richard on April 14, 2010

I hope you'll take some time away from work and/or last-minute number crunching tomorrow to attend a Tax Day Tea Party in your area. Tea Party Patriots lists over 750 such scheduled events, and you can find one near you by city, state, or ZIP code.

I'm taking the day off to attend the Denver Tea Party. Like all good Denver rallies, it's at the State Capitol, and it's scheduled for 10 AM to 1 PM. If you're going, too, look for me and say hi — I'll be the, um, "mature" fellow with a beard wearing an "Infidel" t-shirt.

If you've never been to a Tea Party rally, you'll be amazed at how friendly, good-natured, and diverse the crowd is. But keep your eye out for leftist "Crash the Tea Party" infiltrators pretending to be Nazis, bigots, and yahoos in an effort to discredit the movement. You might want to bring a pocket videocam to capture the fun — and the truth.

Remember what the left taught us: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." So get out there and be patriotic! 🙂

UPDATE: Ann Althouse has some good advice on dealing with leftist tea-party crashers. Some good comments, too, like this by Fred4Pres: 

I have been to a few tea party events and they are about as edgy as a Rotary or Lions Club meeting. If someone is making a complete jackass of themselves, I am going to conclude that person is a Kos Kid.

(HT: Instapundit)

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10,000 goes from “dozens” to “hundreds”

Posted by Richard on April 14, 2010

When Tea Party Express III kicked off in Searchlight, Nevada, a couple of weeks ago, CNN described the crowd of 10-20,000 as "at least dozens of people." Earlier today, the "Top Stories" widget on my iGoogle page included a Boston Globe report that "hundreds" were at the Tea Party Express rally at Boston Common.

The Tea Party Express people say it was "Well over 10,000," and they have pictures and aerial footage to back it up. 

The Boston Globe has now acknowledged in its photo gallery of the event that there were "thousands." But it wasn't until picture 23 (of 71) that I found a half-way decent crowd shot, and that's at a low enough angle that it's hard to judge the size. Most of the images are tight shots of Palin or of fewer than half a dozen attendees (I quit after looking at the first 36; maybe all the crowd shots are toward the end). 

Well, we've gone from an absurd claim of dozens, to a laughable claim of hundreds, to a grudging acknowledgment of thousands. It's progress, I suppose. 

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At least dozens for real this time

Posted by Richard on April 6, 2010

On March 27, the Tea Party Express kicked off their latest cross-country tour with a "retire Harry Reid" rally in the senator's home town of Searchlight, NV. According to credible sources, 10,000 or more attended. According to CNN, it was "at least dozens of people."

Yesterday, Sen. Reid kicked off his reelection campaign in Searchlight. With the help of 100 supporters.

So this time, CNN could have honestly described the turnout as "at least dozens of people." But of course, this time they didn't mention the crowd size. They were too busy reporting that Reid "put supporters in hysterics" with a Palin joke.

Let's try writing a better lede for CNN's story: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid kicked off his reelection campaign Monday in front of at least dozens of hysterical supporters." I like it! 🙂

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Help finalize the Contract From America

Posted by Richard on April 5, 2010

For almost a year, Tea Party Patriots, the umbrella organization for hundreds of local tea party groups, has been facilitating the creation of the Contract From America. Unlike the Republicans' 1994 Contract With America, the Contract From America has been a grassroots, bottom-up effort.

The planks were proposed by individuals from all walks of life throughout the country. Local tea party organizations discussed and debated them, helping to winnow the list down. And since January, over 360,000 people have voted for their top priorities. If you haven't, there's still time:

Right now, concerned citizens can visit the Contract FROM America website (www.contractfromamerica.org) and choose their top ten priorities from a list of 21 planks proposed by committed Americans from all walks of life. By asking website visitors to propose and vote on the agenda, the result will be not a list handed down from on high by old-bull politicians, but one handed up from the true grassroots in this country. Once voting is complete on Monday, April 5, 2010, the Contract will be finalized into a blueprint that will serve notice to public officials about what the people want for their future.

The top priority to date, chosen by over 80% of respondents:

Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does. (Proposed by: Brooke Storrs, Midland, MI)

Numbers two and three (virtually tied):

Stop costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation's global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures. (Proposed by: Jan Heinricks, Spring, TX)

Begin the Constitutional amendment process to require a balanced budget with a two-thirds majority needed for any tax hike. (Proposed by: Erik Carter, San Diego, CA)

As Dafydd observed (emphasis in original): 

what the winning plank tells us is that, contrary not only to charges by devious Democrats, ludicrous liberals, and lying lefties, but also by some confusticated conservatives, laughable libertarians, and even asinine anarchists, the Tea-Party popular front is neither "populist" nor "fascist" but simply constitutionalist.

But if you still believe the MSM narrative of tea partiers as racist, misogynist, and homophobic angry white male Christian fundamentalist militia members — well, you might want to look at some recent polling.

According to Politico, much of the leadership of the various tea party groups is female, and a recent Quinnipiac poll found that the majority of the membership may be female, too. A Gallup poll released today found that tea party supporters were in most respects "quite representative of the public at large." Quinnipiac and Gallup aren't exactly right-leaning pollsters. 

Rasmussen — generally considered a more right-leaning pollster (largely because he surveys likely voters instead of just registered voters or all adults, like many other pollsters) — reported today that, although only 16% of voters identify themselves as part of the tea party movement, 48% of them think the average tea party member is closer to their views, while only 44% think the President is closer to their views.

So here's my take: The tea party movement is all about the Constitution, limited government, fiscal conservatism, and individual liberty. And it's becoming the new mainstream.

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Tea Party Express III comes to Colorado

Posted by Richard on March 30, 2010

The Tea Party Express has two stops in Colorado on Wednesday (via email):

GRAND JUNCTION: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 – 10:00 AM

1301 East Sherwood Drive
Grand Junction, CO

DENVER: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 – 4:00 PM

West steps of the State Capitol
200 E Colfax Ave
Denver, CO 80203

Tea Party Express III: Just Vote Them Out national tour kicked off this weekend in Searchlight, NV where one of the largest political gatherings in Nevada history took place. The Tea Party Express will hold 44 tea party rallies across the nation, ending in Washington, D.C. for the Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th.

Of course, the Denver turnout won't hold a candle to the Searchlight, Nevada, mega-rally. But I hope the Denver Post at least provides fairer coverage than CNN gave the Searchlight event.

Searchlight's population is about 600, and it's in the middle of the desert 60 miles south of Las Vegas. Crowd estimates for the "retire Harry Reid" rally ranged from 9-11,000 to more than 20,000. Countless others weren't able to get there; even after the rally had ended, traffic headed into Searchlight was still backed up 15 in both directions. So how did CNN's Fredricka Whitfield report the event? According to NewsBusters (emphasis in original):

"Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin there in Searchlight, Nev., was the backyard of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but today it's the backdrop of this Tea Party Express – making a stop here," Whitfield said. "Hundreds of people, at least dozens of people – we haven't gotten a count of how many people turned out there. We heard Sarah Palin talk about everything about the campaign, to unseat Sen. Reid to what she calls ObamaCare, on the heels of that health care vote and even talking about her definition of her love of America."

Pictures and links at Gateway Pundit. Yep, that's at least dozens. 

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Arizona Tea Party chooses none of the above

Posted by Richard on March 3, 2010

The four largest Tea Party organizations in Arizona agreed not to endorse a candidate in the Republican Senate primary, which pits incumbent Sen. John McCain against challengers J.D. Hayworth and Jim Deakin. Their reasons speak well of the Tea Party movement and put the lie to the “astroturf” nonsense (emphasis added):

“The Tea Party is a non-partisan, grassroots movement that stands for limited government, free markets, and fiscal responsibility. Both McCain and Hayworth’s records during their many years in Washington leave much to be desired on these issues,” said Robert Mayer, co-founder of the Tucson Tea Party. “It is their job to hold themselves up to these values and fight for our votes.”

Other tea party organizers across the state agreed that the local organizations should not endorse so early if at all.

“It is not appropriate to make an endorsement in this race at the drop of a hat, as some other groups are doing,” said Kelly Townsend, organizer of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party. “The movement must stand for ideas, and do everything possible to provide information to people so that they can make the best personal decisions.”

“We stand for principles and ideas, not for politicians or parties,” said Patrick Beck, organizer of the Mohave County Tea Party. “Our mission is to promote constitutional government and fiscal responsibility, and to inform people so that they can make their own decisions.”

McCain is anything but a champion of limited government and individual liberty. Although Hayworth, a former congressman, is described as “more conservative” than McCain, he’s not more pro-liberty. His primary focus has always been the authoritarian social-conservatism issues and a hard-core anti-immigrant agenda. I don’t know anything about Deakin, and no one seems terribly interested in or concerned with him, so I assume he’s not really a factor.

The Arizona Tea Party people seem to be principled, consistent advocates of liberty, and I think they’ve done the right thing by declaring essentially that “none of the above represent our values.” My hat’s off to them.

 

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Palin on the Tea Party movement

Posted by Richard on February 2, 2010

Sarah Palin in USA Today:

Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement. I look forward to meeting many Americans who share a commitment to limited government, common sense and personal responsibility. This movement is truly a grassroots, organic effort. It's not a top-down organization; it's a ground-up call to action that already has both political parties rethinking the way they do business.

From the town halls last summer to the protests and marches in the fall to the game-changing recent elections, it has been inspiring to see real people — not politicos or inside-the-Beltway professionals — speak out for common-sense conservative policies and values. As with all grassroots efforts, the nature of this movement means that sometimes the debates are loud and the organization is messier than that of a polished, controlled machine. Legitimate disagreements take place about tone and tactics. That's OK, because this movement is about bigger things than politics or organizers.

Read the whole thing.

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Memo to GOP: “Lead, follow — or get out of the way”

Posted by Richard on December 8, 2009

On Monday, Rasmussen Reports released the results of a poll of 1000 likely voters in which they asked them to "suppose the Tea Party Movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" The results:

18% Republican
36% Democratic
23% Tea Party
22% Not sure 

To those ready to file party organizing papers, Rasmussen offered this caution: 

In practical terms, it is unlikely that a true third-party option would perform as well as the polling data indicates. The rules of the election process—written by Republicans and Democrats–provide substantial advantages for the two established major parties. The more conventional route in the United States is for a potential third-party force to overtake one of the existing parties.

But the polling data ought to make the GOP leadership (and I use the term loosely) stop and think.

Seventy percent (70%) of Republican voters have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement while only seven percent (7%) offer an unfavorable view. Interestingly, 49% of Democrats have no opinion one way or the other.

Among unaffiliated voters, 43% have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party efforts while 20% say the opposite.

Forty-one percent (41%) of all voters nationwide say Republicans and Democrats are so much alike that a new party is needed to represent the American people. Republicans are evenly divided on this question, while Democrats overwhelmingly disagree. However, among those not affiliated with either major party, 60% agree that a new party is needed, and only 25% disagree. Men are far more likely than women to believe a new party is needed.

As for the voting preference, the Tea Party bests the GOP among both men and women and in all age groups except those over 65.

And it ought to make the socialists running the Democratic Party stop and think, too. Notice that the Republican plus Tea Party total is 51%, and the Dems got barely over a third. Notice also that 60% of independents think the donkeys and elephants are too much alike — that ain't 'cause the Dems have moved toward fiscal conservatism, free-markets, and limited government, folks!

Americans for Limited Government president Bill Wilson issued a statement that put it rather well:

"The stunning Rasmussen Poll showing the Republican Party finishing a decided third to a hypothetical 'Tea Party' candidate should send shock waves through the GOP. It demonstrates once again that the timid, tepid Republican leadership is leading its party to the brink of disaster. Tens of millions of Americans are looking for strong leadership to stand up to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi leftwing onslaught. Instead, the Republican Party is giving them the same shilly-shally two-step that cost it a majority in Congress, and the Oval Office. Looks like the American people are telling the GOP in no uncertain terms, 'Lead, follow — or get out of the way.'"

What he said.

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Labor Day Tea Party rally draws 10,000+ in Illinois

Posted by Richard on September 8, 2009

You midwestern tea partiers are putting us westerners to shame. The Tea Party Express bus tour stopped for a Labor Day rally in New Lenox / Joliet, Illinois (outside of Chicago). According to the sheriff, the crowd was over 10,000, and they had to shut down a portion of Interstate 80 for a time. Wow! Illinois Review has video.

It's only going to get more exciting on Tuesday. Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher is scheduled to speak at one of the Michigan stops. Here are the details (from Levi Russell via email): 

(ON THE ROAD NEAR SOUTH BEND, IN) — Joe The Plumber (Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher) has confirmed with organizers of the Tea Party Express that he will speak at Tuesday's Tea Party Express rally in Brighton, Michigan.

The Tea Party Express will cross into Michigan on Monday evening for a 7:30pm rally in Battle Creek. Then on Tuesday the Tea Party Express will conduct rallies in Jackson (12:00 Noon), Brighton (3:30pm) and Troy (6:30pm).

For Monday's rally supporters will join the Tea Party Express convoy and caravan from Jackson to Brighton and then on to Troy.

National media outlets are traveling with the Tea Party Express and will be broadcasting reports from each Michigan tea party rally.

Here are the details on our Michigan stops.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th at 7:30pm – BATTLE CREEK
Friendship Park (northeast corner)
Capital Avenue NE & State Street
Battle Creek, MI 49017

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th at 12:00 Noon – JACKSON
Cascades Falls Park
1401 S. Brown Street
Jackson, MI 49203
*We then invite all participants to caravan over with us to the Brighton rally!

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th at 3:30pm – BRIGHTON
Mill Pond (by the gazebo)
W. Main Street & Mill Pond Lane
Brighton, MI 48116
*JOE THE PLUMBER TO SPEAK!
*We then invite all participants to caravan over with us to the Troy rally!

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th at 6:30pm – TROY
City Hall (south lawn area)
500 W. Big Beaver Road
Troy, MI 48084

I wish I could be there in Brighton. I hope any Michigander readers I have will turn out for one or more of these events.

I've made another donation to the Tea Party Express to help them keep the momentum going all the way to Washington, DC, on September 12. If you'd like to help, too, go here

I can't wait until the big rally here in Denver next Saturday, Sept. 12, at the State Capitol, coinciding with the 9/12 March on Washington. I bet there's one near you, too — check the appropriate links in this post.

UPDATE (9/8): It sounds like they've had a great reception in Michigan, with thousands at each of the rallies despite off-and-on heavy rains. Check out the pictures and news videos at the tour blog's Michigan update, or just go to the home page and keep scrolling.

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Join the Whole Foods buycott

Posted by Richard on September 1, 2009

About three weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal published an excellent article by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in which he proposed eight health care reforms that would move us toward "less government control and more individual empowerment" and would lower costs dramatically for everyone. This outraged some of the rich leftists who go to Whole Foods for their organic arugula, free-range chicken, and soy milk, and they organized a boycott of the grocery chain.

The backlash has begun, in the form of a "buycott" encouraging fans of John Mackey and his proposals to shop at Whole Foods. The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition is promoting the buycott, and the first two organized buycotts are scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 1, at Whole Foods stores in St. Louis and Dallas. The coalition is planning more such events throughout Sept. and is encouraging people to sign up to sponsor events at their local Whole Foods Market. But I'm not going to wait. 

I don't shop at Whole Foods often. But tomorrow after work, I'm going to the Whole Foods Market on South Washington St. near where I live, and I'm going to splurge a bit on groceries. Maybe I'll get a bison strip steak and some of the fine deli salads and produce they have. I might even try that free-range chicken. 

If there's a Whole Foods store in your area, drop by tomorrow and pick up a few things. Don't forget to bring your reusable grocery bags (although you can buy some there or get paper bags if you forget). And if you haven't read it yet, please read John Mackey's outstanding article.

UPDATE (9/1): Well, I dropped thirty bucks at Whole Foods after work (passed on the bison steaks, though). It was quite busy, but I'm not there enough to know if it was any different than an average Tuesday evening. Later, I caught a report on the St. Louis buycott on Fox News. In the first half hour, about 300 people showed up, there was a line out the door, and there were no carts available. Oh, and there was one boycott supporter in an Obama shirt.  

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Sheehan still protesting war

Posted by Richard on August 19, 2009

Mama Sheehan (a.k.a. "Mama Moonbat") is going to try doing to Barack Obama what she did to George Bush:

Cindy Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq, will join hundreds protesting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at Martha's Vineyard where Pres. Obama and his family will be vacationing.

Sheehan will be arriving on Tuesday August 25, 2009.

Her statement was released from her home in California:

“First of all, no good social or economic change will come about with the continuation or escalation of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. We simply can’t afford to continue this tragically expensive foreign policy.

“Secondly, we as a movement need to continue calling for an immediate end to the occupations even when there is a Democrat in the Oval Office. There is still no Noble Cause no matter how we examine the policies. …”

Byron York noted that, judging from the recent Netroots Nation conference (successor to YearlyKos), most of her former allies won't be joining, or supporting, or even paying much attention to her (emphasis added): 

The meeting didn't draw much coverage, but the views of those who attended are still, as they were in 2006, a pretty good snapshot of the left wing of the Democratic party.

The news that emerged is that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have virtually fallen off the liberal radar screen. Kossacks (as fans of DailyKos like to call themselves) who were consumed by the Iraq war when George W. Bush was president are now, with Barack Obama in the White House, not so consumed, either with Iraq or with Obama's escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan. In fact, they barely seem to care.

As part of a straw poll done at the convention, the Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg presented participants with a list of policy priorities like health care and the environment. He asked people to list the two priorities they believed "progressive activists should be focusing their attention and efforts on the most." The winner, by far, was "passing comprehensive health care reform." In second place was enacting "green energy policies that address environmental concerns."

And what about "working to end our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan"? It was way down the list, in eighth place.

Perhaps more tellingly, Greenberg asked activists to name the issue that "you, personally, spend the most time advancing currently." The winner, again, was health care reform. Next came "working to elect progressive candidates in the 2010 elections." Then came a bunch of other issues. At the very bottom — last place, named by just one percent of participants — came working to end U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For many liberal activists, opposing the war was really about opposing George W. Bush. When Bush disappeared, so did their anti-war passion.

On an earlier York column about Sheehan, commenter RHO1953 said it rather nicely: 

I do not agree with Ms. Sheehan about anything. We probably couldn't reach consensus about the time of day, but I have to give her credit for consistency. She believes in her cause irrespective of whether a liberal or conservative is in power. At least she's not a hypocrite like Pelosi, Reid, Waxman, Murtha, Kerry and Durbin.

At HolyCoast.com, Rick Moore contrasted the effectiveness of the anti-war movement and the anti-socialized-medicine movement: 

The left has been strangely silent about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since rainbows and unicorns came into power in January, but our favorite ditch person, Cindy Sheehan, Mama Moonbat herself, wants the antiwar left to mimic the Tea Party protesters who are thwarting Obamacare. The antiwar left griped for years and held big rallies, but never had the kind of effect on national policy that the anti-Obamacare folks have had in a few weeks.

Why? Republicans knew she and her merry band of Code Pinkos were a bunch of kooks and they weren't intimidated. They just ignored the petulant outbursts. Obama knows he's not dealing with kooks, but people who could really make an impact on his presidency.

Well, the biggest difference is numbers. It's clear from the turnouts at tea parties and town halls and the recent poll numbers that public sentiment has swung fast and hard against socialized medicine, and the anti-Obamacare movement has the support of the majority already.

That didn't happen with the anti-war movement. For years, they were clearly a small minority. Eventually, as the sectarian fighting undermined support and war fatigue set in, a significant portion of the population became nominally opposed to the Iraq campaign, but for the vast majority of them it was never strong, strident opposition — just discouragement, disillusionment, and disinterest. We never saw mainstream America joining the whackjobs at the anti-war rallies. 

Anyone who's been to a tea party rally, on the other hand, knows that it's very much mainstream America. 

Moore added: 

Let's see if Obama is as tolerant of her protests as Bush was.

Oh, I think he will be. Most of her cohort have moved on, and the media are focused on the "right-wing crazies" who are killing health care reform and inexplicably failing to show the proper respect for our enlightened rulers in Washington. Sheehan will get little attention and pose no significant challenge to Obama on the war issue.

If anything, Obama may welcome such smatterings of dissent from the left. They permit him to position himself as attacked by extremists on both sides, and therefore clearly the voice of reason and moderation. Yeah, that's the ticket.

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