What do you mean by "Slam the Movement' HomeSlice?

I can see why Tea Baguettes are so upset.

Stimulus, Tea Baguette Woes, and Posercare live unprecedented

Darwin bless you

Agnostik,

My comments were not an evaluation of the Tea Party movement either way. Just the continued display of a vulgar term when the initial use had been dropped after the street definition was widely circulated. The use of the term now is meant to slam the movement, no other reason. You are to put together an intelligent opinion on why you don' like them, so the use of the crude phrase should be beneath you.

Still sick.

tea baggers, great white hopes and birthers.

LOVE IT!

Interesting to see both HomeSlice and none2 remain obsessed with genitalia.

Also very telling that they don't challenge my assertion that the whole "tea" movement of the past 12 months has been a pre-contrived, pre-packaged, processed, spray-painted astroturf form of political rage. It's really just an ongoing series of pseudo-patriotic flash mobs.

What do you get when you cross neo-McCarthyism with Y2K? Teabaggers!

none2, I suggest you read my post again. Nowhere did I say anything about "wasting" tea. Nor did the Wikipedia entry say anything about wasting tea. Clearly you're delusional, and perhaps blinded by your rage.

You also fail miserably in your feeble attempt to link "teabag" to the other words. You'll find teabags in supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, even places like Starbucks.

Care for another reference? Easy enough!

"Pre-fab patriotism?"

"Potato flake patriotism?"

"Astroturf anarchy?"

"Hamburger Helper hubris?"

This wasn't the first time I've said any of that, either:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/feb/07/tea-party-palins-people/#c1138235

For these reasons, I will continue to refer to these folks as "teabaggers."

As porch pointed out, the term was first used by the "tea partiers" themselves. Perhaps the real reason you talk so much offense to it, is that it gives you another opportunity to squeeze a little more sympathy out of the movement. It's bad enough that you're "over-regulated" and "overtaxed"... now they're calling us names! We're martyrs to the Great Cause! B-O-O , H-O-O.

[Pay no attention, of course, to those other folks with those signs. Those signs with President Obama wearing "Joker" makeup, or a toothbrush mustache, or dressed as an African native, a bone through his nose. No, those folks aren't "real"... they're not "with us."]

A cross is only big enough for one person... and last time I checked, that position was already taken.

Go spit.

Agnostick agnostick@excite.com

edjayhawk (anonymous) says… Liberty275 (anonymous) says… They aren't. Most conservatives want government and business to be well separated.. Fascism is the opposite of that.

Incorrect. Corporate America wants the government to fund them when they lose money. They also don't want to pay their fair share of taxes and don't. The government doesn't enforce that. Lobbyists represent corporations and give money to the politicians so corporations can get their way even if unethical. Even Republicans like President Eisenhower warned us of the Government-Military-Industrial Complex and was right.

Oh no, now the rightwing will label Eisenhower a socialist in the history books. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/apr... They'll definitely leave out that speech.

HomeSlice (anonymous) says… Yes Porch, I knew they used it first. It had a historical meaning, but it has turned into a perverted one. Most decent folks, and I include those on this board, did not know what the 'street' version was. Now that the Tea Party and its detractors know the coarse version, there is no excuse for using it. Sick.

I'm glad you find it obscene too. Intelligent people can have a civil discourse and disagree, and don't have to lie down in the gutter in the process.

==============================

HomeSlice, that was precicely my point. Unlike Agnostic's claim that I'm sexually-obcessed, I didn't know what it meant until a friend told me a week or two ago. I had heard the term used by liberals and intuition told me within the context that something was more scenester about the term than distancing one's self from the Tea Party movement. I wasn't sure, so that is why I asked a friend if he had any idea.

It is really disingenuous of Agnostic to try to claim his use of the word was some archaic reference to wasting tea by using a teabag. One could use the "n" word and say that they meant nothing derrogatory because in their mind it was a form of the original Latin adjective for the color black. One could use the "f" word that Fred Phelps loves to use, and say that it wasn't derrogatory because they were referring to older meanings of the word which include slang for cigarettes. One could use the 'b" word and say that the reference was to the use of the word in regards to animal husbandry. The fact of the matter is those terms do not belong in public debates because not only are they insulting, they are also off topic.

Second, anybody who drinks tea knows that you can buy a re-usable tea bag where you put as much in the bag as your tastes dictate -- not out of laziness and/or lack of desire to conserve tea. So such a claim that the term is only used in the context of defining wasteful people is pretty lame.

Third, you notice he made reference to wiki's definition of "teabag" but not "teabagging". If wikipedia is such a good source of information for him, why didn't he give a more appropriate link for the term that was considered derrogatory?

The bottom line is if an individual knows that a term has an obscene meaning yet that individual still ChOSeS to use that term anyway, then that says something about that individual's character -- not the opponent's . It also shows that instead of debating the merrits/faults of an opponent's positions, the individual has to stoop to using insults because they are lacking in mental skill to debate their opponents.

straightforward (anonymous) says… "Tomato - maybe the ignorant rednecks should unionize right? Then they could get days off and go stand with you and all the intellectually elite."

Good grief, first you guys accuse me of being jealous of the elite corporate CEO's, then I'm accused of being an elitist. Ho hum. People who can't read for understanding, who are not educated enough to know that not everything you get in an email is true, who can't spell when they make a rally sign, cannot expect people to take them seriously.

Yes Porch, I knew they used it first. It had a historical meaning, but it has turned into a perverted one. Most decent folks, and I include those on this board, did not know what the 'street' version was. Now that the Tea Party and its detractors know the coarse version, there is no excuse for using it. Sick.

I'm glad you find it obscene too. Intelligent people can have a civil discourse and disagree, and don't have to lie down in the gutter in the process.

HomeSlice,

The joke is that the "tea baggers / tea partiers" named themselves that at the beginning. I agree that it's obscene and should not be used in polite company but the problem is........the "tea baggers / tea partiers" kinda brought it upon themselves. They are the ones that used it first.

For me, it's a reminder of how incompetent they are. Like their noted ability to spell (incorrectly).

"Why do I say "teabaggers?" Certainly not because I'm sexually-obsessed like none2 is. In my mind, "teabagger" has nothing at all to do with that."

Some may believe the term means something else, but it is intended as a vile smear against those who don't agree with the current state of affairs. The term has one meaning when used in the context of the Tea Party, past meanings notwithstanding.

Using it is still vile, no matter how you try to spin it. You know what it references. Sick.

Here, Tom, I'll throw you a bone......

Tom Coburn (R-OK) acted civilly today. He told people to not be swayed by Fox and that Nancy Pelosi is a nice person.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/06/coburn-defends-pelosi-takes-swipe-at-fox/

There's hope.

TomShewmon,

Gee, Tom, that acknowledgment is the nicest thing you've ever said to me.

(laughter)

TomShewmon,

No but ........I'm not even going to give that a "nice try". Pretty mediocre. 53% of the American public is not the "extreme left".

The media is not "the mainstream media" and "utterly corrupt" because you're too stupid to not realize that nominating someone who doesn't know the job description to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency isn't a good idea.

(this is unfair but I'm going to do it anyway)

Hey, TomShewmon,

Wanna start a pool on Michael Steele's departure from the Republican Party?

The rats are leaving the ship. Attention, the rats are leaving the ship.

(laughter)

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/06/steele.rnc/index.html?hpt=C1

(as always, remember to capitalize "politics" in the web address as the LJ World software will change their case)

Defender / Moderateguy,

Try seeing it from the perspective of someone who remembers the Sixties and the Seventies. No, this Republican Party is one hell of a long way from the Republican Party I was raised in. The Republicans of my era would have jettisoned this Limbaugh / Beck / Palin branch tout suite.

" I despise the way the religious "right" has hijacked a party that once stood for limited government, fiscal restraint and personal responsibility."

No where close to same anymore, is it Moderateguy? Makes me ill too, I was just a teenager in the early eighties, and during Reagan's term it seemed like it was steaming hard in just such a direction. The single biggest reason I didn't like Reagan and his cronies back then, and still don't.

Liberty275 (anonymous) says… They aren't. Most conservatives want government and business to be well separated.. Fascism is the opposite of that.

Incorrect. Corporate America wants the government to fund them when they lose money. They also don't want to pay their fair share of taxes and don't. The government doesn't enforce that. Lobbyists represent corporations and give money to the politicians so corporations can get their way even if unethical. Even Republicans like President Eisenhower warned us of the Government-Military-Industrial Complex and was right.

pace (anonymous) says… One reason they prefer no formal organization is they don't have to take group responsibility for racist behavior of their group members. I notice when the GOP was asked to denounce the the attacks during the Health care bill coverage, they fobbed the racists remarks off as a few loonies. I think the teabaggers should speak up about their group's remarks, if they do tolerate such behavior or if they condone it, they should at least own it.

I find this ironically similair to muslim terrorists.

Not all muslim are terrorists... yet when a muslim terrorist kills scores in a bombing people will say "Why aren't the muslims condemning these attacks?" So they logically assume that since the religion as a whole hasn't come out then the muslim religion must be in favor of terror attacks.

The same must be true for the Tea Party then. If the Tea Party has not come out, as a unified voice, against this racist fringe, or the ones sending death threats, or cutting gas lines, or throwing bricks through windows, or spitting on legislators... then logically (just like the muslims) they must be in favor of these acts.

The uber-disgusting Reid told Greta Van Sustern that despite a "loud minority", they still rammed ObamaCare through. What an arrogant, miserable old SOB.

"Loud minority"? Goes to show how arrogant he really is, as I have seen very few polls, if any, that show opponents of ObamaCare to be a "minority". He's either arrogant or dumb, but probably both. And if he's dumb, Pelosi is probably barely able to function cognitively day-to-day. We see evidence of this every time Pelosi goes into facial spasms and continual odd hand gestures and motions whenever she speaks on camera. Dumb and Dumber: Pelosi and Reid.

"Harry Reid sure was condescending when we organized the massive "Showdown in Searchlight" mega tea party rally which drew more than 10,000 people to the tiny Nevada desert town that once was Harry Reid's hometown. And now Harry Reid has been completely humiliated when only 100 people turned out for his own campaign rally in Searchlight, NV that kicked off a statewide campaign swing for his re-election campaign. We're not making this up, you can see the Las Vegas Review Journal article for yourself - HERE. We did it folks - we stood up to the corrupt Senate Majority Leader and we showed the power of "We the People." Now we're on to do it again by taking on Democrat Bart Stupak who sold out his constituents and betrayed the constitution by providing the bloc of votes to pass the Obama-Pelosi-Reid healthcare monstrosity."

Tea Baguetts are getting all 'Fussy'

Stimulus, PAD Baguetts, and Posercare live unprecedented

Darwin bless us

Tea Baguettes are getting 'Full of Themselves'. They have had it with the abuse of the Tea Baggers.

Enough is Enough.

Stimulus, Tea Baguettes, and Posercare live unprecedented

Darwin bless us

" I'm surprised they just don't come out and use the "n" word."

That's a hallmark of the TPers.

You "agree."

Now.

How convenient.

So much for credibility. Same goes for the teabaggers.

Why do I say "teabaggers?" Certainly not because I'm sexually-obsessed like none2 is. In my mind, "teabagger" has nothing at all to do with that.

Folks need to remember that back in the days of the American Revolution, tea leaves were loose. You can still buy and prepare loose leaf tea. Instructions can be found here:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2080066_steep-loose-leaf-tea.html

Now, as for tea bags, here's what Wikipedia has:

"The first tea bags were made from hand-sewn silk muslin bags and tea bag patents of this sort exist dating as early as 1903. First appearing commercially around 1904, tea bags were successfully marketed by tea and coffee shop merchant Thomas Sullivan from New York, who shipped his tea bags around the world. The loose tea was intended to be removed from the bags by customers, but they found it easier to prepare tea with the tea enclosed in the bags. Modern tea bags are usually made of paper fiber. The heat-sealed paper fiber tea bag was invented by William Hermanson, one of the founders of Technical Papers Corporation of Boston. Hermanson sold his patent to the Salada Tea Company in 1930.

"The rectangular tea bag was not invented until 1944. Prior to this they resembled small sacks."

Tea bagWikipedia

So, instead of opening the bags up and spilling out the pre-measured amount of tea leaves... people got lazy, opted for convenience, and just tossed the whole bag in their cup of hot water.

"Pre-packaged"... "pre-processed"... "convenience"... those are hallmarks of this political fringe movement. It's marketed by a handful of fringe media outlets, it provides excuse for people to make or buy signs with President Obama dressed up as "The Joker" or Hitler or some other nefarious character. Cities that host Teabagger gatherings no doubt benefit from travel and tourism dollars.

A choice was made in April 2009; rather than do some deep soul-searching, and think about the real reasons why "their side" lost the 2008 election, they took the easy, processed, convenient and very "lazy" way out and started a cottage industry of false patriotism and cyclical, artificial rage.

It took no longer than popping a tea bag into a mug of hot water. Last year, on Tax Day, I even had co-workers that taped Lipton tea bags to their doors, as a sign of "solidarity."

The only real winners of the Teabagger movement? Lipton, Bigelow, and Celestial Seasonings.

That's what it's all about.

Agnostick agnostick@excite.com

"This is the silent majority finally finding its voice."

Yeah, they were especially silent during that January 2001-January 2009 period.

Beatrice, the difference is the Tea Party protesters are largely peaceful. Of course the liberals want to claim they were spitting and yelling profanities at congressional representatives but there has never been any evidence. I bring up the WTO protesters because they're really is no comparison. The liberal WTO protesters were violent and very destructive. Democrats may not want to claim them because it's bad PR but the truth is the ideology is one in the same: big corporations are evil (note those in these postings who want to demonize the Koch family, those evil rich people who employ Kansans).

Liberals are all speaking from the same talking points: Diminish Tea Party supporters by labeling all of them as ignorant racists. Call them tea baggers and rednecks who are fanning the flames of anarchy, hoping that if you say it often enough, people will start to believe it.

Some may be misinformed but for the most part, they are Americans who are rightly concerned about over-reaching government and an exploding debt (even on top of the debt Bush left us with). Democrats seem to think money grows on trees. It's gotten to the point that a couple hundred billion dollars seems like pocket change. Conservatives know the difference between limited government and no government and they understand the intent of our constitution.

Tomato - maybe the ignorant rednecks should unionize right? Then they could get days off and go stand with you and all the intellectually elite.

Thanks Liberty275 or setting bea straight on the BP's.

But bea the comment:, "Since when do two wrongs make a right?"

OK, this rhetorical question has depleted its useful life expectancy by the left. I really don't have a desire to respond to it anymore. Tired;shopworn.

Yes, Straight F, I do remember the protesters in Seattle. Not at all peaceful. Bunch of hooligans, mostly children of white urban yuppies. Interesting that you would use them as a comparison to the Tea Party.

Same with Tom and Liberty275 talking about the Black Panthers, and this basically non-existant New Black Panthers Party (note the word "New" in their title - they aren't really "the" Black Panthers, which is a thing of the past. You can call yourself a New Centurian, but that doesn't exactly make you a Roman, now does it?)

Difference is, the protestors in Seattle and the Black Panthers are not part of the Democrat Party's mainstream. You will never EVER find a Democratic candidate for Vice President talking at their conventions, let alone being their keynote speaker the way Palin was for the Baggers.

No, big difference between the extremists groups is that the Republicans embrace and invite the lunatic fringe of the right to be part of their party, while Democrats don't consider the left fringe part of their party. Palin, standing next to John McCain, told a gathering of Republicans "We are all Tea Party members," and nobody objected. See the difference now?

Any other examples you care to make?

Tomato Grower - If I recall, wasn't the Save our Schools Rally on a weekday during spring break? I'd be interested in knowing what percentage of that 1,000+ were teachers who had the day off or stay at home moms with their kids. I'm not saying these people don't deserve a voice but the strength of a movement can't necessarily be measured by the number that show up at a rally.

The Tea Party event was also on a week day and I would imagine most its supporters were at work. Many of those that did show up were probably older retired people. I think you're wrong to say that the Tea Party movement gets more attention than it deserves. This is the silent majority finally finding its voice. Many people who have never paid attention to government or politics are finally becoming involved in the process and it's a very good thing.

P.S. - Anyone remember those peaceful protesters at the 1999 WTO Conference in Seattle?

Actually Ed, I do know what a fascist is. Not really my thing. I despise the way the religious "right" has hijacked a party that once stood for limited government, fiscal restraint and personal responsibility. I'm pro-choice and think marijuana should be legalized (not that I've ever tried it..) I used to think I was a moderate due to those stances, but the Democratic party has taken control of the airliner and pointed it towards the ground. I guess that makes me more of a Libertarian than anything. (Not a newly "fashionable" Libertarian mind you. I was a registered Libertarian during the Bush years as well.)

The last thing I condone or look forward to is violence in our society. I work hard and have a family. Real violence is going to happen when people used to 'entitlements" stop receiving them because our nation is bankrupt. They are still going to feel entitled. They will just start taking what they want from the people who still have something. I spend every day trying to enjoy my life, our society, and basic rule of law before that happens. Everybody should.

"Railing against printing money like we're playing Monopoly ain't so party specific after all."

I love this comment Jaywalker! So true!

"you do know that there haven't been Black Panthers since the mid 1970s"

http://www.newblackpanther.com/

"Libertarianism is just Anarchism for the rich."

small "L" libertarians that aren't hyphenated with "anarcho" support small government. Most libertarians in America fall into that category because they realize underlying law of our country calls for a government. I think you will find that libertarians dislike anarchists as much as they dislike liberals, which is a lot.

"Meanwhile, should we expect private industry to start paying for the repaving the roads?"

They already pay their fair share, just like everyone else that buys fuel. The government only acts as a middleman.

"Should we just trust UPS and FedEx to build bridges that we can use -- for a fee?"

There are private contractors that build the bridges, paid for with our tax dollars. As for using privately-owned roads for a fee, that's pretty commonplace.

"Do you want your tap water to be based on a profit margin?" That wouldn't bother me as long as there was no monopoly. In fact, it could drive prices down.

"The only thing that scares me about the TP movement is the potential violence that often accompanies frustrated ignorance. "

You don't need a teaparty for that. Go to a G12 meeting. Except the violence is never potential, it is always real.

"YEARS think that socialist is a slur."

I think it's a label, much like marxist, capitalist or anarchist.

"dumblicans"

LOL, the counterpart for the DIMocrat. Hilarity ensures!

"Is this really that bad? "

I'd rather work and own a vette, a boat and a house.

"they don't have to take group responsibility for racist behavior of their group members"

Why would being racist stop people from forming into a hierarchical group. There are thousands of them in America today. Vaious versions of the klan still exist.

"Gallup poll finds that 45% of Tea Party supporters lack the necessary bits to perform tea-bagging."

45% are female?

"Its you rednecks that will use vigilante force to get your way and you will probably team up with the Christian Militia. And how can you call yourself "moderate" moderateman?"

I'm a redneck, a well educated hick and a cracker. OTOH, I'm an atheist. My vigilante force is the dots I fill in on election ballots.

"yet the right-wingers don't think they are fascists" They aren't. Most conservatives want government and business to be well separated.. Fascism is the opposite of that.

geeky,

Just relaying the info I heard the way I heard it. If they broke down the percentages of dems and indies and I'd heard it, I would have included it.
But thanks for approaching me with all the rationality of a porch person. Here's to hoping you rise above that level. (Don't worry though, it ain't a long climb.)

Black Panthers? Really? Tom, you do know that there haven't been Black Panthers since the mid 1970s, don't you? What next, gonna start complaining about the northerners and their war of aggression?

If your defense of "potential violence that often accompanies frustrated ignorance" coming from the teabaggers is that other groups have resorted to violence, too, then that is just weak. Nobody here is condoning violence, but you are making excuses for it. Since when do two wrongs make a right?

Moderateguy (anonymous) says… "How typical that liberals get all up in a huff when they are labeled as "socialists," but have no compunction of calling Tea Party members "rednecks" or "racists" or "inbred morons." Keep it up. Only makes them more determined and increases their numbers. For every 10 that showed up, there are probably 1,000 who were at work. And they vote! When the economy comes crashing down due to an out of control government, it's going to be the "rednecks" that can take care of themselves. All you statist, liberals will still get your gubm't check, it just won't be worth anything. You'll starve to death. Printing money without collateral or an end equals inflation. At the current rate it equals hyperinflation. It's really too late to stop it now. A correction will happen."

Don't let the door to your truck hit you on the way out. I like how the word "socialist" is an appropriate term to label dems, yet the right-wingers don't think they are fascists (they probably don't know what it means!). Its you rednecks that will use vigilante force to get your way and you will probably team up with the Christian Militia. And how can you call yourself "moderate" moderateman?

"The only thing that scares me about the TP movement is the potential violence that often accompanies frustrated ignorance. "

Yeah, like the Black Panther TP'rs at the polling booth, the SEIU TP'rs in STL and the TP'r in Denver who smashed out windows---to name a few.

And, when's the last time a leftist zealot had a pie thrown at him, was issued verbal threats outside a speaking engagement or had his at office shot at?

WOW! The ignorance is stifling!

Actually, tusch, some of the hardest questions that idiot has had to confront were not from "gotcha dumblicans", except for this one:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-4979269-503544.html?tag=contentMain%3bcontentBody

(laughter)

This president may be a "constitutional scholar" but he sucks as a president.

Wow!

Saw a political cartoon I liked -- two guys: one a dude in a suit, the other a young punk with spiky hair. Caption read: Libertarianism is just Anarchism for the rich.

Meanwhile, should we expect private industry to start paying for the repaving the roads? Should we just trust UPS and FedEx to build bridges that we can use -- for a fee? Do you want your tap water to be based on a profit margin? Should we dump the food inspectors? If socialism means I don't need to worry about what's in a hot dog, maybe it's not such a bad thing.

Okay, maybe the hot dog isn't a good example. ;-)

How typical that liberals get all up in a huff when they are labeled as "socialists," but have no compunction of calling Tea Party members "rednecks" or "racists" or "inbred morons."

Keep it up. Only makes them more determined and increases their numbers. For every 10 that showed up, there are probably 1,000 who were at work. And they vote!

When the economy comes crashing down due to an out of control government, it's going to be the "rednecks" that can take care of themselves. All you statist, liberals will still get your gubm't check, it just won't be worth anything. You'll starve to death. Printing money without collateral or an end equals inflation. At the current rate it equals hyperinflation. It's really too late to stop it now. A correction will happen.

tuschka, noone can display the abject incompetence that the dough-faced Robert Gibbs displays. He is inexplicably buffoonish. Buuuuut, as always, the large swath of the media, the corrupt Obama-loving media, tend to go easy on this blithering idiot who is clueless, working for a clueless administration. So it's not totally his fault.

Wow!

(laughter)

wow, unorganized, really? gee, militias stay unorganized so that no one has any culpability for their statements of platforms. They just want to hide their CRAZY views under the radar so that they don't have to answer for what they obviously don't know about. It reminds me of all of the times I saw Margaret Tutweiller and Ari Fleischer BS their way through real questions that no dumblican could answer beyond energy exploitation, labor exploitation, free market exploitation, or guns, god, and abortion. They really don't have to know anything other than the limited items their followers buy into. Know Nothing Party anyone?

Hey Barry Penders, posercare is better than Bob Dole care. At least with posercare I can afford to get sick. (Laughter).

"I hear these tea parties are always real real white"

Probably beige.

"Koch"

Soros

"imagine that, they're from manhattan. rednecks."

I bet the significance of the word "redneck" in American culture would surprise you. If you are a true left winger and an honest man, you would appreciate the word. I'm no left winger, but I do appreciate what it means. Protip: it has to do with bandanas that coal miners wore.

Yes, *, you can quote that.

Battle of Blair Mountain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaWikipedia

Jim Hightower....now there's a real fair and balanced "journalist" or whatever you want to refer to him as. rolling eyes

WOW!

Tom, even if someone is unhappy with Obama today, that hardly means that person thus wishes McCain / Palin had won the election instead, or that they would vote for whomever becomes the Republican candidate in 2012. It most likely means their expectations for Obama were higher than than the reality. It does not mean they would be more happy or happier with just any alternative.

jaywalker might be our perfect subject to ask. He begrudgingly or with reservations (from what I can tell) voted for Obama, and has written against many of his actions since Obama took office. However, I have a strong feeling that despite his unhappiness with Obama performance he still doesn't wish that McCain and Palin were in office instead. However, he is just one person and I can't speak for his feelings on this, but it could be of interest to hear his take. Jay, care to jump in on this?

check out Jim Hightower on the web about Koch Industries Right-wing groups receiving major grants from the Koch Family Foundations (Charles Koch, David Koch, and Claude Lambe Foundations) Amounts granted from 1976 through 2007, the latest year for which data is available.

Organization: Amount

George Mason University Foundation, Inc.: $25,808,987 Cato Institute: $13,349,240 Citizens for a Sound Economy/Freedomworks: $12,906,712 Mercatus Center: $8,024,000 Institute for Humane Studies: $4,668,957 The Heritage Foundation: $3,272,000 Americans for Prosperity Foundation: $3,176,500 Institute for Justice: $2,615,000 Reason Foundation: $2,354,212 Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies: $2,002,700 Bill of Rights Institute: $1,667,000 Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE) : $1,305,000 Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy: $1,160,800 Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Inc.: $1,125,000 Washington Legal Foundation: $1,105,000 Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Inc.: $850,000 Intercollegiate Studies Institute: $706,250 Competitive Enterprise Institute: $666,420 Capital Research Center: $605,000 National Center for Policy Analysis: $600,000 American Enterprise Institute: $500,000 Tax Foundation: $475,000 American Legislative Exchange Council: $465,000 Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research: $300,000 Center for Equal Opportunity: $240,000 Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty: $297,500 Texas Policy Foundation: $296,516 Philanthropy Roundtable: $263,700 Institute for Energy Research: $237,000 Property and Environment Research Center: $219,500

Bob_Keeshan (anonymous) says…

"Apparently that group had been tainted..."

Aahh, but HOW??

By who, or what???

(laughter)

Ok, Starlight, you owe me a keyboard!!!

(laughter)

I don't care who you are, T H A T' S F U N N Y!!!

Tom,

I stand corrected. "Mathematically impossible" is false. Thank you. I don't think the Democrats will lose either the House or the Senate either. Obama will be reelected, baring some major, major scandal but that isn't going to happen.

Where the interest will lie (entertainment wise) will be the continuing saga of the Republican Party. Will "American Crossroads" become a third party? Will Sarah Palin appear on a reality TV show with Lindsey Lohan? Will Cal Thomas realize he's had a stroke? Just how will Michael Steele be led to understand that he has "opportunities elsewhere"?

"Questions, Questions, Questions, flooding into the mind of the concerned young person today. Ah, but it's a great time to be alive ladies and gentlemen. And that's the theme of our program for tonight,......"

To see the intelligence of those in the Tea Party movement, just read their signs. they appear to have their own language now - teabonics. How can anyone trust them with anything when they can't read and write? Elementary school students are smarter.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/galleries/teabonics_the_flawed_language_of_protest/teabonics_the_flawed_language_of_protest.html

geekyhost...

Last I checked 51% (43% indep + 8% dem as quoted by you) is LARGER than 42% (indep & dem as quoted by jaywalker.)

Looks like he wasn't inflating any numbers.

It isn't in this story, but as I recall some of the major organizers of the Kansas Tea Party are former members of the Minuteman Civil Defense group.

Apparently that group had been tainted, so now they have the safety of the Tea Party label to hide behind.

Porch, 36 seats are up; almost a dead split R/D (also of retirees). How do you arrive at this conclusion? Possible? Yes. Very, very difficult? Yes. But your "mathematically impossible" statement is just you doing what you do best.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100021430/could-republicans-win-back-the-senate-in-2010/

(laughter)

And the house? Again, probably not a take-back by R's, but I'm willing to bet it will be a stunner nevertheless. The corrupt right AND left wing media will be spittling Wednesday November 3 2010.

(laughter)

And Obama is a one-termer.

(laughter)

TomShewmon,

You do know that it's mathematically impossible for Democrats to lose the Senate in the midterms, don't you?

(laughter)

Obama will be reelected handily. No question. The Republican Party might have to contend with the "American Crossroads" party in 2012.

Do try to keep up.

(laughter)

"and 43% are Independent"

Geekyhost, that's all I need to know. Disingenuous or not on the lumping, that is all I need to know. Unless something major swings in favor of the current trainwreck of a Dem-controlled congress this fall and for Obama in 2012, this is going to be their undoing. It was nice to lay my eyes on that number, "43% independents". I've roughed it and I'm guessing somewhere around 20 million voters have now turned on O/P/R. What did McCain lose by on the popular vote?

Obama= 69,456,897 McCain= 59,934,814 ---------------- 9,522, 083

(laughter)

I feel sad for the Tea Baguettes. They have been abused by the Tea Baggers relentlessly.

The 'Punishment' that the Tea Baguettes have endured is maddening.

Stimulus, Tea Baguette Punishment, and Posercare live unprecedented

Darwin bless us

geekyhost,

Jaywalker disingenuous???? You take that back!!

(laughter)

I love the definitions of "Tea Party" from Urban Dictionary:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tea%20party

"On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama."

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/april_2010/tea_party_48_obama_44

They need to get 'Organized' like ACORN is. ACORN has the backing of the 'Blessed One' and he can do anything. ACORN is peaceful, well meaning, and have the backs of Illegal Residents. If only Tea Baggers could apply 'Transformation'. Tea Baguettes would appreciate it.

Stimulus, PAD Tea Baguettes, and Posercare live unprecedented

Darwin bless us

From the article:

"But their Manhattan-based group has no leaders — on purpose. So far, Kansas' tea party is a loose coalition of groups without a statewide hierarchy...It's difficult to say how many Kansans are part of the movement because of the lack of a single, statewide organization."

From the dictionary:

anarchism (noun)

belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion. • anarchists as a political force or movement : "socialism and anarchism emerged to offer organized protest against the injustices of Spanish society."

There are those who see the political spectrum of thought as a circle. At some point on a circle left meets right. Are we there yet?