Astroturf report: "Has the Tea Party Lost its Grassroots Cred?"

[deminks]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20017179-503544.html

Last week, Hotsheet drew a distinction between the Tea Party Express - the big-spending, headline-generating group that is run by a longtime Republican political operative - and the Tea Party Patriots, the decentralized umbrella group that prides itself on its hivelike, "organized but not organized" structure.

But that assessment has to be reconsidered in light of the Tea Party Patriots' announcement that they have accepted a $1 million donation "for the purpose of growing and strengthen regional and local tea party patriot affiliates across the country." The group would not identify who donated the money.

The Tea Party Patriots, a coalition of over 2,500 local tea party groups, needed the infusion of cash: As Politico notes, it raised less than $1 million in the 14 months between its incorporation and this August.

(snip)

That isn't to say that there isn't legitimate grassroots energy behind the Tea Party Patriots, which will continue not to endorse or contribute directly to candidates. But today's announcement does seem like one more step in the direction of the institutionalization of a movement that prides itself on standing against institutional structures. The Tea Party Patriots may be retaining their hivelike structure, but they are suddenly very much indebted to one powerful queen bee.

(end snip)

With Christine O'Donnell, we see the effect of astroturfing. Paid, unqualified operatives catapulting the propaganda, but can't really answer questions about their "stands". Spreading their filth of 'fear, baby, fear', they only say what they are paid to say, and no more.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I'm not surprised. I fully expected the "Tea Party" to be co-opted.

Let the "little people" organize and invest their money and time and then organizations with more money and power take control.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "All your RepubliBaggers are belong to us." - The Evil Empire (R)

[Erose999]

2. The Tea Party has always been under corporate control. Dick Armey's "Freedomworks" is a lobbying

organization, and it is also the mothership for the "advocacy groups" like 60+, Americans for Prosperity, etc.

The fools who attend the rallies might think its "grass roots", but there have always been a lot of corporate players pulling the strings.

[SpiralHawk]

3. "Smirk." - TeaBaggliPuppets (R)

[HughBeaumont]

5. The TeaFascists had "grassroots" cred?

When was this?

From it's inception, it's been corporatized and funded by GOP corporate gangsters. Look at the slick busses they get and the endless promotion on major cable networks they receive.

That's the one thing people don't seem to get about the TeaFarter's attendance numbers - with all of the promotion they receive on Faux and other channels, with all of that funding and bussing, their attendance should rival the March on Washington or any one of Barack Obama's rallies during his campaign. Instead, they've never broke 100,000 at any of their Festivals of FAIL. So really, are they THAT big an influence?

[SpiralHawk]

6. "TeaFarters" !?! Now, now, now Hugh...

You are getting a little too close to the truth...

[HughBeaumont]

10. "sniff sniff . . . aahhhhhhh . . ."

Sure was a lot of gas going around on both ends of FailFest 2010.

[Bullet1987]

8. And the only reason they reached 100,000 was because of FAKE News

MLK got more than that without the help of the media.

[HughBeaumont]

9. The anti-war protests held throughout the 2000s doubled and tripled BecKKK's attendance . . .

. . . just by word of mouth.

Yeah, I'd like to see them even hit 5,000 without the help of Murdoch, Inc. It'd never happen.

[Javaman]

7. It has no "cred" to lose since it was and has always been an astroturf group.

more of the turd polishing, I see.