Pissed off a friend

[salinen]

I feel bad, because he's a WW2 vet and a wonderful man. He was talking about the phenomenon known as the Tea Party, and saying how inept and temporary they are, and America will wake up and understand who they are and that will be that.

So I interjected: Whaddayamean inept? They are amazingly successful. They're the most dynamic political change in generations. They've frozen the government. We, on the other hand have seen our Progressive candidates fall, i.e. Feingold and Greyson. It doesn't really matter that they are the product of Koch, or Dick Armey, or everything corporate. That's always been the opposition. I accused us Progressives of not being as committed.

I should be more sensitive to him. I need to calm down.

[lame54]

1. sounds like he pissed you off

[salinen]

10. Right

I'm going to apologize when I see him.

[Kaleva]

2. I don't think you did wrong.

[Lil Missy]

3. He's right, they are inept. n/t

[salinen]

7. Inept

but powerful.

[Ohio Joe]

4. I dis-agree. teabaggers are a tool for the media to look at

They are in fact inept.. and stupid... and racist... and general all around tools. The effectiveness and success you see should be attributed to where it belongs, the corporations.

[salinen]

8. I agree

inept, stupid, racist, and tools. But scary and powerful and we have not countered this movement.

[RKP5637]

I agree with all you say. ... it shows a dangerous trend, how easily corporate

manipulation of the masses can work. And with the stranglehold corporate media has on this country, and the corporate stranglehold on gov., and the wall street / bankster shenanigans it makes for a pretty dangerous brew IMO.

As someone said once, I believe it was on DU, the linking of the faithful with teabagger ideologies is clever and dangerous.

As the corporations master this more and more, it shows how the inept, stupid and racist can be very useful all around tools. And if their numbers grow it can be quite dangerous IMO to the survival of a democracy.

IMO many corporations could give a F if a democracy exists/survives, because they are all about power, control and profit. And as long as they are on top and control the masses, they will have met their objectives of power, control and profit. As one of my wealthier friends once said, never think the merchants of great power and great wealth think (or have feelings) like the rest of us.

[onlyadream]

5. I thought your friend was going to be a TP person, :)

glad he wasn't, he's just not paying too much attention. As for the Tea Party, I think it will fizzle since it's so unstructured and simplistic in their beliefs. They aren't deep thinkers and think that "tough love" is the answer to fix a world leader's economy. Let's say they immobilize congress and we can't raise the debt ceiling and default (something the TP seems to be in favor of), we will see how successful they are after the country sees the ramifications of their ideas. Hope it doesn't happen... but it would be an eye opener.

[salinen]

9. Whatever happens

Liberals will be blamed. They control the media.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. He sounds like he knew what he was talking about. n/t

[XanaDUer]

11. I think your friend is more correct

they are going to tank soon. My fear is how much damage they can do before they do tank.

[salinen]

12. God

I hope so. But I fear it might be a beginning.

[lunatica]

13. You're both right. We're a schizophrenic Nation

They have been successful, but their success is a major FAIL in our eyes.

[demosincebirth]

21. Successful? I don't think so. Wait untill 2012, then we'll really see.

[pansypoo53219]

14. but the teahadist are ephemeral.

even the fucking gnews who PROMOTED them, is bored with them.

[lonestarnot]

27. existing long enough to destroy the social safety net.

[RagAss]

15. I would defer to his years of experience watching these groups rise and fall.

[Demoiselle]

16. I'd defer to his sense of hope.

I've pretty much lost mine, I'm afraid. I agree that the Teapartiers are inept. But those who manipuate them are not.

[salinen]

24. He has

seen quite a bit. He was in Nagasaki in 1945.

[Bluenorthwest]

17. I agree with your friend.

Freezing that you are hired to keep running well is not success. Self immolation is a hell of an act, as Daffy Duck showed us, but you can only do it once.
Just for fun, consider actually looking up 'dynamic' and 'frozen' and consider if the two go together at all.

[Kahuna]

18. I agree with you. It's amazing that this movement could come out of

no where and hijack our government the way it has.

[Warpy]

19. Yes, take a deep breath

and consider what progressives might be capable of if Soros, Buffett and Gates would get off their billionaire asses and give them the kind of support the teabagger maniacs have gotten from the Koch brothers.

Progressives are not uncommitted. Just unfunded and unsupported by a network of think tanks.

[salinen]

25. Ex "fucking" actly!

I could not have said better.

[AndyTiedye]

20. Citizens United is the Reason

The teabaggers are astroturf, but the Koch brothers can buy a hell of a lot of astroturf with those unlimited, secret corporate contributions.

[Curmudgeoness]

22. They are inept and temporary, but also they are successful.

At least they are successful in the short run. They have mobilized a large enough portion of the right to have influence on politics. But your friend is right that they are temporary. As with anything, when these cuts they demand start to hurt them, they will disappear.

Calm down, call your friend, and apologize to him for jumping the gun. And let's both hope that he is right.

[salinen]

26. I did apologize

thanks.

[demodonkey]

23. I agree with your friend, teabaggers are inept fools but......

...the media has given them untold coverage and blown their so-called movement way out of proportion. When your friend was young we had the Doctrine of Fairness that controlled the airwaves. Now, it is whomever has the most money that decides what the masses hear. And "money" wanted the teabaggers to get coverage, and to get their whackjob candidates elected. Otherwise it wouldn't have happened.

Our side had at least 500,000 to 1 million in D.C. in protesting the wars that put us in this financial mess. Those truly epic marches got maybe a two-sentence mention on most news shows, and with the crowd numbers way underestimated.

I was in D.C. working on election issues on the day of at least one of the "huge" Tea Party rallies (as the media portrayed it.) I saw maybe -- maybe -- a couple of thousand people, more like a few hundred, roaming around. Many wore silly costumes to declare their "patriotism." Cute. (not)

Which side was truly a force? Hundreds of thousands of real people who came to D.C. from all over the US to march, or a handful of fake Besty Rosses and fife players with fake bloody rags wrapped around their heads?

The teabaggers are dynamic only because the media has portrayed them that way.

[bluestate10]

28. Yes. Looks like you have a bout of well advised ass kissing in your near future.

Never give up good friends over small matters.