A few questions on TEA PARTY protests

[Jeffersons Ghost]

DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Tea Party groups protest Hutchison's moves on health care bill

Tuesday, December 22, 2009
By TOM BENNING and TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News


WASHINGTON – Tea Party groups in Dallas, Austin and Houston gathered at the offices of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Monday to protest her breaking ranks with a GOP filibuster aimed at stalling the Democrats' health care bill.

"We want to let her know that we are not happy," said Dallas Tea Party leader Phillip Dennis.

Dennis said the noon rally at the senator's office on North Central Expressway in Dallas was meant to underscore expectations that she take every step possible to block the health care bill.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-teaparty_22tex.ART.State.Edition1.ae7e73.html

(1) Do all these protesters have great health insurance?

(2) Do they care about anyone other than themselves?

(3) Will they be gracious enough to form an official third party and fragment the Republican Party?

(4) Why don't anti-war protesters get the same news coverage as these misguided fools?

[Blue_Tires]

1. 5. Who's bankrolling them?

6. Since when did any middle-class citizen 'grassroots' group (even the obviously fake ones) think that fighting on behalf of multi-billion-dollar corporations would benefit THEM in any way??

[M155Y_A1CH]

13. Now wait...

They may all be insurance industry employees???

[derby378]

2. I drove by the protesters at the Dallas rally

And yes, I wish they would organize an official Tea Party in Dallas to dilute the local Republicans. In fact, I found a song they can use as their anthem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qAEdi68caM

[sasquatch]

3. These guys are either big fans of Thomas Hobbes, drasticly uninformed or Jacobites

[KharmaTrain]

4. They Already Are Fragmenting The GOOP

Good chance we'll see it in upcoming primaries, such as Florida. The uproar and "division" of the Democrats (a favorite corporate media meme) is a temporary condition while the teabagger influence on the GOOP is toxic.

To your other questions. Do the protestors have "great" health insurance? Probably not...but then the answer to this question lies with your next question...which is a resounding "YES"...they only care about themselves. That's a key ingredient in being a rushpublican...selfish. It's believing that all government is bad but you want your "rights" anyway. It's believing that the corporates will take care of you if only the government would leave them alone.

The reason Progressives and others don't get the coverage is they haven't been able to master message control and media maniuplation. Throughout this healthcare debate, places like the AEI and dozens of astroturf groups had "speakers" and other talking heads flooding the airwaves and op ed pages. They used hate radio and Faux Noise to manufacture the outrage and get the attention...and once that happened, the Democrats were put on the defensive and helped drag this bill out longer than it should have. While there are more Progressive voices on the teevee than there has been, there still aren't enough. Also, the netroots needs to wake up and energize...2008 wasn't the end, it's a beginning.

Cheers...

[kenfrequed]

9. In terms of message control.

It would be easier if the media didn't select or fixate on DLC democrats as 'the face of the democratic party' for their various pundit shows and what not. For that matter, among the Democrats opposed to the Iraq War (those more in the model of Kucinich or the late, great Paul Wellstone of my own home state) how many pundits represent that point of view?

[KharmaTrain]

11. Corporates Are Who They Are...

The corporate media comprises large companies that look after their interests and those who also do. It's those who favor "deregulation" and their ability to control the flow of entertainment and information into American homes. Progressives and liberals don't play well in this world...and in many cases are a threat as many of us favor reregulation and preventing them from getting a further stranglehold on the major commuications conduits. They've hated the netroots for the fact they can't fully control it thus they like to demonize and marginalize it.

Progressives need to be relentless with the outlets we do have...and work to build an even better information infrastructure...our own think tanks and "specialists" who can appear on the teevee anytime/anywhere. Things are better today than they were a few years ago, but it's still not enough. In the information age, access and message are more important as any bomb or tea bag.

Cheers...

[newtothegame]

5. Thank you for being mature about your post.

I've really started to wonder about the average age at DU. From "Teabagger," to "Repuke," it gets ridiculous and makes us look like jackasses. I don't want to give anymore credibility to the other side, we don't need to take credibility away from ours either.

[kenfrequed]

8. By all means...

We really need to apply Queensbury rules to the Thunderdome against an advesary with a chainsaw. How could we possibly lose?

[newtothegame]

10. Haha so are you saying that adults referring to other adults as "Shrub,"Repuke," or "Teabagger"...

furthers our cause? All I've seen it really do is get us to start calling each other these names, from "Freeper" to "Leftbagger." Seriously, I didn't know the grade schools had access to DU.

[Liberal In Texas]

14. One of the names they were calling themselves was "Teabaggers" back in

August. Not so much now they've found out what it is slang for.

[HughMoran]

6. The answer to (4) is Faux 'News' promoted them

& the rest of the mainstream media followed it as it will follow any circus act that's getting attention on Faux.

We live in some sort of alternate universe right now where the right is winning the message wars and the left is not only letting them, but we are helping them...

[kenfrequed]

7. Number 4!!!

I will die of old age waiting for the mainstream media to ask question four of themselves or of the protestors.

Why is it that the largest protests in US history, protests that took place in most major cities in the US during the run up to the Iraq war, were given at best a quick picture in the newspaper(s)and sometimes a 3 minute bit of coverage before getting a total brush off?

Meanwhile the confused, angry, incoherant, astro turf tea-party crap is still getting press.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

12. sickening, isn't it...

On a similar note, we currently live during the most prolific time in history of writers creating anti-war music. Have you heard any 60s style anti-war songs lately?

[kenfrequed]

17. Good point

There is a ton of it being put out. Even mainstream artists like Bruce Springsteen are recording anti war songs.

A lot of it is out of mainstream because it has always been mainstream. Hip hop that actually talks about culture and society and one of the many waves of punk that embrace anywhere left wing or anarchist schools of thought both come to mind.

But we here crap instead. The commodification of Rap into 'gangsta rap' comes to mind.

[Iggo]

15. 4. Because there's no money in Anti-War.

1. They should kill themselves.

2. They should kill themselves.

3. They should kill themselves.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

18. Anti-war music sold well in the 60s and 70s and it would sell now...

If radio - where entire markets are controlled by multi-national conglomerates like ClearChannel - played the music, it would climb the charts and make money. Essentially, certain gigantic cooperations benefit from an endless war. The same individuals that own defense contracting companies also own large blocks of media. One hand washes the other, as big business becomes Big Brother and influences how we think or feel.

[Iggo]

19. Yes.

I should've said "There's more money in War than in Anti-War."

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Some answers

since I have actually counter prostested with Billionaires for Wealthcare

(1) Do all these protesters have great health insurance?

Since most of them are older White Americans they do have medicare or military care, yes more than just a few are military retirees. By the way none of them (from talking to them at the protest) realize that either of these programs is Guv'ment run and damn it they paid\earned it ok.

(2) Do they care about anyone other than themselves?

Yes, they do. But many of them HONESTLY believe the crap that they're being told and are honestly afraid.

(3) Will they be gracious enough to form an official third party and fragment the Republican Party?

They are starting to do that in places like oh Florida...

(4) Why don't anti-war protesters get the same news coverage as these misguided fools?

Political elites are using these fools. This is an astro turf group reaching for a real populist anger. Given my answer to you on number three, the political elites will get bit in the damn ass.

Oh and I will say something that a lot of people round these parts don't get. No, you cannot reach 20-30% of them... but the rest have things in common with you and me. It is in the messaging where we have to work. We can reach them and in fact get seeds of doubt. I had a woman, seventy something, in front of me, protesting in the middle of the midday sun. I stood behind her ready to catch her if she got ill... at the end we said our cordial good byes, and when she said... I didn't know any lib'rul cared that much... I kindly reminded her that her social security and medicare were programs put on by lib'ruls, we have cared for her and her needs since 1936. I did change that mind.