Matt Taibbi: "This Tea Party Movement Is Gonna Kill The Republican Party!"

[Turborama]

Run time: 09:49 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVR6hg0_gBM   Posted on YouTube: August 31, 2010 By YouTube Member: MOXNEWSd0tCOM Views on YouTube: 795   Posted on DU: September 01, 2010 By DU Member: Turborama Views on DU: 2942

 

A. COOPER: Glenn Beck -- Glenn Beck today defying critics to find the political message behind his weekend rally in Washington. Tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the event. The exact number isn't known, a remarkable revival-style rally, where the focus was on faith.

Here's Glenn Beck, some of him addressing the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, HOST, "GLENN BECK": Are we so jaded as a nation, are we so pessimistic, that we no longer believe in the individual and the power of the individual? Do we no longer believe in dreams and the power of one person making a difference?

I testify to you here and now, one man can change the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

A. COOPER: Sarah Palin also spoke, saying she was there not as a politician, but as the mother of a combat vet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Many of us today, we are worried about what we face. Sometimes, our challenges, they just seem insurmountable. But here together, at the crossroads of our history, may this day, may this day be the change point.

Look around you. You are not alone. You are Americans!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

A. COOPER: The event held 47 years ago to the day and in the same place as Martin Luther King's historic "I Have a Dream" speech wasn't without controversy.

Joining us now is Matt Taibbi, political reporter for "Rolling Stone" magazine, and Tea Party blogger Dana Loesch.

Dana, appreciate you being with us as well.

Dana, watching the event this weekend, I was really struck that, in some ways, it reminded me of Promise Keeper events that I had gone to years ago.

Were you aware -- not surprised, but did you know it was going to be such a -- so much religion? Did you expect that?

DANA LOESCH, ORGANIZER, NATIONWIDE TEA PARTY COALITION: I think, Anderson, I was most surprised by the -- and I was really impressed.

I mean, I expected there to -- I -- I honestly expected there to be a little bit of politics in it, but there wasn't. And as far as was I surprised that it was a real faith-based event? Not really.

Just looking at everything leading up to the event, looking about restoring honor, realizing where our rights originate in this country, which is what makes it so great, that we -- man doesn't give us rights, that they -- they come from a higher power, I wasn't really surprised that it was so -- that it was focused on faith.

It was really positive. It was really uplifting. Everybody was super nice, considering since it was a frillion degrees outside.

(LAUGHTER)

A. COOPER: A frillion?

LOESCH: It was -- it was a nice event.

A. COOPER: I haven't heard that term.

LOESCH: A frillion, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

A. COOPER: I like that term.

LOESCH: New scientific term.

(LAUGHTER)

A. COOPER: Yes, exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

A. COOPER: I like it. I'm going to use it.

Matt, you were not at the event, but, I mean, were -- were you surprised by -- by the faith-based nature?

MATT TAIBBI, NATIONAL AFFAIRS EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": I was a little surprised by it.

I think, you know, the Tea Party, by and large, has not been a religious-driven movement. I think this is just Glenn Beck's own personal weirdness that informed that particular aspect of the event.

A. COOPER: Why -- now, why do you say weirdness?

TAIBBI: Well, I think it's just part of his own personal mythology, as a very religious person. Like Sarah Palin, it's a big part of his public persona and it's a big part of the message that he's trying to convey.

A. COOPER: Do you think it was a political event?

TAIBBI: When Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin give a speech to 100,000 white people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, it's a political rally.

I mean, if Barney the dinosaur or the cast of "Entourage" gives that speech, it's not a political rally. But in the context of everything that he's been doing for the last year, with this very racially-pointed propaganda that he's been pushing, it's definitely a political rally.

A. COOPER: Dana, do you think -- I mean, you say you were surprised that there -- there weren't signs which Beck had specifically said don't have. Do you see politics at play here, Dana?

LOESCH: I didn't. I didn't see politics at play at all.

And I wonder if Matt would still consider it to be a political rally even though Dr. Alveda King gave one of the most brilliant and beautiful speeches that I had ever heard. It was all about unity. And it was about how we are Americans, period. We are all in the exact same boat together.

I didn't find it political. And I think, if -- if people perhaps maybe have a problem with it, maybe it's just that they have a problem with Glenn Beck, and not so much the event and the idea behind the event itself.

A. COOPER: Dana, the -- I mean, what -- what those who believe it was political will say is, look, any time you have, you know, Glenn Beck and -- and Sarah Palin saying, we need to restore honor, it implies that honor has been lost, and the implication is, it's been lost by this administration or by events in recent years.

Do you -- do you -- do you see that, or do you think that's just nitpicking?

LOESCH: I didn't get that from -- from the speeches that were made. When they were speaking about restoring honor, everyone was indicted. Every single American citizen was indicted. Because I think at some point, we've all -- conservatives, liberals. This wasn't about identity politics. This was about we all, as American people, have grown apathetic. And we all contributed to the state of the economy. We've all contributed to the problems that was are in, because we've either -- we were silent. We've all allowed it to happen at some point.

And that really was the theme. And I was -- you know, I like Glenn Beck, I think as a radio broadcaster, I respect his talent in broadcasting, both television and radio. I was really impressed that he was able to separate that and that he kept it out of this event. I think it took some skill to do that.

COOPER: You just don't buy the separation on that?

TAIBBI: Well clearly, he toned down his usual rhetoric. But, again, you have to take this weekend's events in the context of everything that he's been saying in the past year. Glenn Beck for a year has not been pointing the finger to all Americans for the troubles that we're in. He's been very pointedly pointing the finger at the Obama administration with very racially-divisive commentary.

COOPER: It was interesting that he backtracked his statement, you know, right after he gave an interview to Chris Wallace, and he said -- you know, he basically said that he had a big mouth and you shouldn't have said the racist comment that he said about President Obama?

TAIBBI: Right. Well, he did -- he backtracked it. And clearly, he was -- he was very cognizant of the criticism as he performed this rally. Because it was nowhere near the temperature that he usually performs at. He didn't have the usual statements like Barack Obama is a racist and has a deep-seated hatred of white people. He didn't say things like, you know, pretty soon they're going to turn the fire hoses on us and let loose the German shepherds. None of that rhetoric was there.

I almost thought some of the people in the crowd was disappointed that it wasn't. But again, in the context of that, it had an incredible meaning for this rally.

COOPER: Where does it go from here, Dana? In terms of, you know, I heard Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin saying, you know, it starts today. Where does that energy, that enthusiasm move?

LOESCH: Well, I hope that it would -- you know, and honestly, from this event, I hope that we see more events like this in the future with such a focus on unity and such a focus on where our rights originate.

I think this energy, I think that it was about channeling people to take some action, to make some progress going into midterms and perhaps even carrying it all the way to 2012. I think it was really asking Americans, hey, you have a responsibility as a citizen of this country to act honorably, politically and in other arenas. So remember that when you're out there, discussing liberty evangelism or what have you. That's what I took away from it.

COOPER: Should Democrats be scared?

TAIBBI: No. I mean, I think in the short term, definitely, there are clearly going to be some losses for the Democrats because of all this political energy. But in the long term, this Tea Party movement is going to kill the Republican Party. Because it's going to make it impossible to win that center ground. You're not going to be able to win nominations without appealing to this group of people. But if you do appeal to this group of people, you're going to lose every nonwhite voter in the country and a large percentage of the sort of independent, middle-of-the road voters. It's just -- it's a very, very dicey situation for the Republicans.

COOPER: Dana, I'll give you the final thought. LOESCH: Yes. I would disagree with Matt strongly on that, because almost every single poll that has come out since spring of last year shows -- Rasmussen, Gallup, Quinnipiac, by and large, independents and moderates are flocking from the Democrat Party. Not just those, but also voters from the black community, as well.

We've had more than ever in any other election period. We've had more black conservatives running on Republican tickets in primaries. And they are doing exceedingly well. Charles Weller (ph), Allen West. We also have Senator Crenshaw in Illinois.

I think what we're seeing is a really true awakening with this grassroots movement, that people are realizing for the first time that individual liberty is applicable to everyone. It is not patented by one side or the other. And that is -- that's my hope for this event, and that's what I've been seeing.

COOPER: I said it was final thought, but I'll let you respond if you want.

TAIBBI: You're naming individual black politicians as though it's representative of, you know, widespread black attitude. It's just not the case. I just don't see large numbers...

LOESCH: Well, perhaps people like you and the liberal media quit down -- quit trying to diminish the contributions of black conservatives in the political sphere more would fear -- more would have the courage to speak out.

TAIBBI: This like one of those things when you see your crazy uncle taking his pants off at Thanksgiving. You don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's so incredibly offensive, this whole business.

LOESCH: So you name call?

TAIBBI: I just -- I don't know how to respond to that. This whole thing. You don't know whether they're being disingenuous or clueless in not seeing how incredibly offensive this entire event is. And it's really sad. And I think it's...

LOESCH: How is it offensive? You found prayer offensive? You found Dr. Alveda King speaking offensive?

TAIBBI: No. I find 100,000 white people who are gathering on the steps on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial...

LOESCH: Were you at the event? You can validate that every single person there was white?

TAIBBI: No. I'm sure -- I'm sure there were a few standard minorities.

LOESCH: Where do you get that assumption from, then?

TAIBBI: Because I've been to numerous Tea Party rallies. I've been covering this phenomenon for a year.

LOESCH: Because you've been to other events, right. Were you -- were you at this event and you can validate for sure that every single person in attendance...

TAIBBI: I watched it on television.

LOESCH: Because that's exactly like being there, watching it on television. Excellent.

COOPER: All right. I appreciate both of you guys coming on. Matt Taibbi, thanks very much.

Dana Loesch. Dana, I should just point out, just for accuracy's sake, Dr. Alveda King, she's not an actual doctor. It's an honorary degree. So just -- we -- as a point of reference. She's not...

LOESCH: Yes. She references herself that way.

COOPER: I know, I know. From what I...

LOESCH: I understand that. Thank you.

COOPER: All right. Dana, I appreciate your perspective. Thank you. And Matt Taibbi, as well. Thanks very much.

[Zoeisright]

1. Let us hope.

Something has to eventually kill off the party of loons, bigots, greedy assholes, and mean people.

[Grassy Knoll]

2. Alveda King turned on her family...

Just like the kids of the Beckkk followers will do in the future.

[stlsaxman]

13. A prophetic warning from Frank Zappa to the Teabaggers of today: "If your children knew how lame...

... you really are- they'd murder you in your sleep".

[perdita9]

20. There's a nut bag in every family

The King family is no different.

[TheEuclideanOne]

3. This is such a great short exchange

TAIBBI: I just -- I don't know how to respond to that. This whole thing. You don't know whether they're being disingenuous or clueless in not seeing how incredibly offensive this entire event is. And it's really sad. And I think it's...

LOESCH: How is it offensive?

[20score]

4. Matt Taibbi rocks!

[Tx4obama]

5. The TV media is giving that DANA LOESCH way too much airtime lately. n/t

[Confusious]

7. To bad she's a teabagger

Good looks and republican makes you seem so much more mean. It's kinda like finding a pit viper in your peanut butter cups.

[Turborama]

29. CNN seem to have picked her and Erick Erickson as the voices of the Reich & John Avlon

is the guy "in the middle" (supposedly).

[Cowpunk]

6. I loved the way she tiptoed around the fact this event was religious proselytizing

Loesch keeps saying she wants us to "focus on where our rights originate".

In other words, she and Glenn Beck believe America needs to get right with God. And as for seeking unity with all the heathens out there, well we all know they aren't real Americans.

[bulloney]

14. How can Loesch deny that previous teabagging events have been politically divisive

with at least significant elements of the events, if not the entire event, showing pure hatred and racism and implying violence on people who don't agree with these peoples' views?

How can she just sweep previous comments leading up to this event from Beck, Palin, Bachmann and others under the rug? And the whole teabaggin' movement has supposedly washed its hands from all of this with just one event.

How can Beck incite all of this hate and divisiveness on his radio and TV shows for the past several years and all of a sudden, find religion, peace and harmony?

I have to believe there is a significant percentage of those attending last Saturday's event who left a little disappointed because they didn't hear that angry talk toward Obama, liberals, Muslims and the other people who have been their targets of hate. Placards were supposedly not allowed, but you could still see the hate on many of these peoples' T-shirts and their comments when talking individually with roving reporters.

At the end, Loesch thought she got a good dig in on Taibbi by reading off a handful of Black conservative candidates running for office this year and polls favoring Republicans. That's what Taibbi and many others have been saying for weeks. The Republicans are exploiting peoples' fears about current economic and social conditions and creating boogeymen like Muslims, immigrants and whatever. This will likely give them short-term benefits in the upcoming November elections. But, as Taibbi and others have said, once reality sets in and people see that if or when people like Boehner, McConnell and others can steamroll their extreme pro-corporate/no social safety net agendas through Congress, it will bite the Republicans hard.

[Althaia]

17. Apparently, she's never heard or read the Preamble of the Constitution

Which is all about the source of our rights -
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Our constitutional rights come from each other, not from some 'higher power'.

[Cowpunk]

23. Well I have to disagree with you there.

The Constitution may have come from the people, but the founding fathers made clear in the Declaration that human rights are inalienable and come from "nature and nature's creator".

My personal belief in this regard is that my rights have been endowed upon me by my own creators, Mom and Dad.

[graegoyle]

8. I'm sick of religiousness.

If these rights are given by some "god" then how can they possibly be taken away?

I'm sick of the proselytizing: Stop jumping up and down in front of cameras and telling how good your religiousness is and live it--very quietly--in your own life. Or, better yet, get in the faces of the people who bring disrepute to your religiousness in the name of your own faith: They are the ones who need to hear it, no one else does.

[thereismore]

21. I am shocked that these people accept religiosity from a Mormon. For God's sakes,

I know evangelicals who think that Catholics will go to hell for worshiping Mary. Mormons are at the same level with them as Jehovah's witnesses, Jews and Muslims. All of a sudden, their worship leader is a Mormon and it's OK???

[Cowpunk]

24. They accept Beck because he is blowing the theocratic dog whistle

That's what all this talk about "the source of our rights" is.

Maybe that's what this rally was really about. I think Beck may have realized that pushing the buttons of white racists was a losing strategy in the long run. So he's found himself a new "other" to be his scapegoat, someone a member of any racial or ethnic group can despise: The godless heathen.

Expect to see Glenn Beck ratchet up the theocratic rhetoric in the next few months.

[thereismore]

27. I think you are onto something. The Declaration does state that our rights come from

a Nature's God, in order to justify our (American) breaking of the law (British colonial). So there you have it. The Beckster really got his thumb on something explosive. These religiously justified rights trump every law of a man, including the Constitution. And all Abrahamic religions agree on one thing: infidels must die. You are right. The next hated minority are the atheists.

[LaPera]

9. Love Matt Taibbi & Rolling Stone' offerings - They are always on top of it!

[travelingtypist]

10. She says "The Liberal Media" with contempt

and then she turns around and says he's name-calling?

Ear and eye bleach after watching that teabagger thing.

[florida08]

11. the event was offensive

because, regardless of the false image Loesch wants to project, it was a majority of segregated whites who didn't and would never have voted for Obama led by two hypocritical and empty talking heads. To do it on MLK's anniversary was the height of arrogance when they don't even recognize the sitting president. Thank you Matt.

[spicegal]

12. Matt Taibbi is correct. To suggest this wasn't political is extremely

disingenuous. You can't go on television 5 days/week bashing the Obama administration and push political agendas 364 days a year (like Palin and Beck), then hijack the anniversary of one of the greatest speeches ever made by the greatest Civil Rights leader of all times by staging an event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and then claim it's not political. Like hell it wasn't political. Listening to Beck totally creeps me out. You have to give him credit. He's quite clever to cloak his whole political agenda in religion.

[bherrera]

15. tea party movement appears to be nearly all white republicans

It is interesting, these are white republicans, but they claim they are not. I also noticed they emphasize smaller government and individual freedom, yet they supported President Bush when he increased the size of government and took their individual freedom away using methods such as Patriot Act, the denial of habeas corpus to individuals, and the use of torture on prisoners. We Europeans consider this type of movement merely a nazi party in disguise.

[gibby2433]

16. Seems the Tea Party is simply devolving into the new Christian Right

I thought this "new conservative" party was all about rebelling against government spending and a return to "the good old days?" (When the wealthiest paid a tax rate near 90%, by the way. How's that for Socialism?) But now they're simply starting to look like the evil Evangelicals of old that dominated the Reagan and Bush presidencies. "Freedom...on OUR terms!" seems to be their unofficial battlecry. You have unlimited freedoms in America, as long as you're a good Christian.

Jesus Wept.

[DinahMoeHum]

18. The GOP chose to ride this tiger called the Tea Party. . .

Good luck to them (they'll need it) in trying to get off.

:evilgrin:

[urgk]

19. Quote of the Debate fgoes to Matt.

Taibbi: This like one of those things when you see your crazy uncle taking his pants off at Thanksgiving. You don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's so incredibly offensive, this whole business.

Seriously, what an overwhelming display of rudeness on the part of the young Cruella DeVille.

[bulloney]

22. And Loesch has to throw out that "liberal media" canard.

Rather ironic, since the host of Whitestock last Saturday was one of many RW talk hosts that dominate the radio and TV airwaves every day.

Any time I hear a RWer bellyache about the librul media, I offer to sit down with them, pull up a radio and take a count of the number of RW talk shows the radio can pull in and the number of liberal talk shows. Nobody has taken me up on my offer yet, because the truth hurts.

[ellenfl]

25. kick for later. eom

[husky92]

26. This Woman is Like All the Others

The woman's affiliation should have been a tip off!
Listening to her drone on about religion and some other things makes me want to throw something at her. How about her condescending tone at the end towards Taibbi. It's always the same from her types labeling all media other than Fox and righties as the "liberal" media. I had to laugh about her statement about all these blacks and independents flocking to the Tea Party/Republican side. Yeah, they might be 5-6 voters this fall. If any black or minority votes for any of these people they should lose their right to vote! The Tea Party stands for everything that everyone wanted to forget about in 2008. Do we want it all back again?

[AtomicKitten]

28. That would be delightful. ((mmm, love me some Matt Taibbi)) nt

[JohnnyK]

30. We need more folks like Matt...

... and less like Beck.

[Quantess]

31. What the heck was she wearing?

Was that a hank of tattered sheepskin, or was it a worn out toilet bowl cozy?