And they wonder why people are upset
I attended part of yesterday’s tea party at the Gold Dome, and a couple of things were apparent: The crowd was significantly smaller than last year’s massive rally (suggesting in part that Sean Hannity > Neil Cavuto as a crowd attraction), but its members remain passionate if the conversations I had are any indication. I also think it would be a mistake to view the smaller size as an indication of a waning movement, if only because I find it hard to believe that people who were upset last year about the stimulus and bailouts would be pleased with the direction Washington’s taken since then.
A lot of what was said by the speakers and written on the signs was, a year after the first big rallies, pretty much predictable. That’s not to say it’s stale or somehow bad; it’s just that the message and the motivation haven’t really changed. As for the buzz that there would be infiltrators trying to make the tea partiers look bad, there seemed to be none of that in Atlanta. I saw only a couple of counterprotesters holding pretty lame signs (”I’d rather be watching ‘Glee,’ ” one of them said, and no one was stopping her from doing just that). At other tea parties, the participants dealt with the faux tea partiers in their midst calmly and prudently.
With that, I’ll finish with a cartoon from Reason.com that smartly sums up why so many Americans are unhappy with the way the country has been run.
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139 comments Add your comment
You Distort/We Deride
April 16th, 2010
7:59 pm
You WANT to believe that Palin annoys liberals. The truth is, she wields ZERO power, ZERO influence, over the decisions of our day. She is a figurehead, self-anointed, and nothing else. You may dig her, but just because you’re a fan doesn’t empower her in the least.
Tommy Lee Maddox
April 16th, 2010
8:34 pm
Hey Danny X – what economic miracle were you speaking of way back on the first page?
Come November, the awakened angry beast will vote. There’s a bunch of us with it marked on our calendar.
You Distort/We Deride
April 16th, 2010
9:17 pm
Tommy
Yeah – You’ll vote for the same pretenders you ALWAYS vote for…the ones who talk about “principles” and then sell us all down the river.
Michael H. Smith
April 16th, 2010
9:31 pm
In return for assuming that increased risk Fannie and Freddie bought those loans and repackaged them into tradeable securities which were literally sold around the world as AAA investment grade paper or shares. As fannie and feddie grew and posted astonishing returns every other bank wanted in on the game and because of the repeal of Glass-Steagall they could do it.
A couple of problems don’t disappear with re-enacting parts of the Banking Act of 1933 that prohibited bank holding companies from owning other financial companies, repealed under the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act of 1999. (Glass-Steagall as it is commonly referred to is actually two separate laws; one enacted in 1932, the other 1933)
Item 1: The problems with lair loans or ninja loans is clearly attributable to the “Loan Originators” no longer having to qualify loan applicants, which allowed for legalization of fraud to be committed.
Item 2: Allowing the “repackaging of loans”, these “questionable loans” particularly and the Enron type “mark to market” valuation of them that allowed their assignment as “investment grade securities” further perpetrated the fraud generated by the “Loan Originators”.
Glass-Steagall- part 2 or The Banking act of 1933 clearly does not address or separate fraud from entities that desire to commit “fraudulent conveyance” or from being a conspiring party to it, merely by separating bank types according to their business, be it commercial or investment.
With this hindsight, whether Glass-Steagall- part 2 is restored by repeal of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act of 1999 or not, in order to prevent the financial repercussion experienced in the financial and housing markets that has figured chiefly in the economic meltdown, a return to the traditional rules or laws followed by loan originators of qualifying applicants is a necessity and strict enforced laws governing the repackaging of loans and the assessment of their risk and true market value must be fully disclosed. In addition, federal laws prohibiting “False Conveyance” which should include “Claw Back” previsions must be enacted.
Keep up the good fight!
April 16th, 2010
9:31 pm
Linda…really you spew a lot of misinformation…mostly from Fox. Check in on reality.
16,500 new IRS agents to enforce health care? Absolutely false. There are currently only 17,000 enforcement agents now for the entire IRS code. And what are they enforcing? The law says no penalty or jail time.
I’m not going to bother with the rest. You can fact check yourself or just go to a source like Politico.com.
Michael H. Smith
April 16th, 2010
9:44 pm
what are they enforcing?
Who knows what rules or laws the IRS will be enforcing or the actually number of agents that will be needed. As Alcee Hastings said, when the deal goes down… they”ll make’em up as they go along.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbHTJSu_2Lk
What an absolute RIOT!!
Algonquin J. Calhoun
April 16th, 2010
10:08 pm
It’s not necessary to go to any great lengths to make the tea baggers look stupid. They do that all by themselves. They are just really rabid fascist morons!
Paulo 977
April 16th, 2010
10:26 pm
Fear has really spawned this entity, the teapartiers ..there is a black president who is going to take all the goodies from the offspring of citizens of the early slave empire that built its economy on the sweat blood and tears of black slaves and give it to these ‘lazy’ offspring of those early workers . This would completely upset the status quo ,wouldn’t it? By the way , the blacks will not be the only beneficiaries of laws being passed by the Obama administration. There is a huge element of society known as ‘white trash’ by these snotty teapartiers who will benefit BUT because of their own racism and ignorance cannot figure out that these bills are being passed to help them as well and they blindly follow these ‘bandits’ and will in all probability vote for them come November!!
SAH
April 17th, 2010
1:12 am
Linda, O’Keefe, and JohnnyReb: You guys are very good at selectively reciting history. Linda, as I remember it, Republicans had taken over Congress by 1995, so you cannot blame anything that happened in Congress between ‘94 and ‘06 on just Democrats. You give credit to the Newt Republicans for balancing the budget, but then blame Dems for mortgage policies. How exactly does that work? Clinton and congressional Repubs deserve credit for balancing the budget. Both parties deserve blame for the current mortgage mess. Yes, many people who could not get mortgages before were able to get them after the affordable housing policies were put into place. However, none of this crisis would have been possible without the repeal of Glass Steagall, which was a Republican initiative (repeal).
Also, the affordable housing policies benefitted poor people, not just minorities. The fact that so many of you want to pin this on minorities says much about your motivations. The vast majority of foreclosures (both in numbers and dollars) are for caucasian homeowners. There just are not enough minority homeowners to create a mess of this magnitude. Furthermore, it was people with middle incomes that caused the bulk of this crisis, not the poor homeowners enabled by Affordable Housing. The problem was middle income folks wanting to buy more than they could afford and getting in over their heads.
I could be wrong, but my firm belief is that the TEA party movement, as well as the Repub party’s drastic swing to the far right, is caused by the election of an African-American President. It is a drastic change from the status quo, and something I never expected to see in my life time, and I am not yet 40. It is a sign that the demographics and ideology of the country have changed more quickly than most of us could have imagined. That being said, he is the legally elected president of this country, and to call him and the Dems in Cogress socialist is simply inaccurate and reeks of xenophobia. No policies passed in the last year and 3 mos can even remotely be accurately labeled as socialist. They passed a stimulus full of tax cuts and healthcare reform that provides insurance companies with millions of new customers. How is that socialist? How is that a gov’t takeover? It simply is not.
SAH
April 17th, 2010
1:25 am
Your anger and passion should be directed at the large banks and corporations that knew what was going on and turned a blind eye to it because the money kept rolling in. They were playing hot potato with debt, it spun out of control, and we all got burned. We need to focus on fixing the problem. We need to focus on making sure it never happens again. Class war and social strife only serve to distract us while the banks and insurance companies tighten their stranglehold on our nation. When we lose our freedom, it will be to Big Money, not Big Government. You guys will keep railing against government and Dems right up until the time some corporate-backed “Conservative” President/Congress takes away the very freedoms you elected them to protect. It started under W. Individual liberties compromised, illegal wiretapping, unlawful search and seizure, character assassination and, in some cases, prosecution of anyone who dared to speak out against W or Cheney: I don’t remember hearing from any of you then.
SAH
April 17th, 2010
1:30 am
BTW – Does anyone, conservative or liberal, really believe that McConnell and the rest of the Repub Senators are standing on principal when they oppose financial reform? I just want to know what you guys think.
Michael H. Smith
April 17th, 2010
6:58 am
However, none of this crisis would have been possible without the repeal of Glass Steagall, which was a Republican initiative (repeal).
SAH, see my April 16th, 2010 9:31 pm comment.
This could have happen without Glass Steagall ( the two separate banking laws of ‘32 and ‘33) which has nothing to do with allowing loan originators to make loans to people who could not legitimately qualify for the mortgage. If you can direct me to exactly where in the Banking Act of 1933 it prevents loan originators from committing fraud then I’ll stand corrected. Till then face reality, whether commercial banking and investment banking are separated or not, until the fraud of non-qualifying loans is separated from these entities (including the rest of my April 16th, 2010 9:31 pm comment) the part of Glass Stegall the Banking Act of 1933 that was repealed by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act of 1999 is meaningless for all practice purposes.
One other thought to add concerning the corrupt SEC: This GUB’MENT agency if it cannot be cleaned up needs to be abolished and something else created to take its place that will restore integrity to the system.
Does anyone, conservative or liberal, really believe that McConnell and the rest of the Repub Senators are standing on principal when they oppose financial reform?
Nope, and I don’t think the corrupt Dems are either. Frank and Dodd are corrupt and Goldmen Sachs is one of Obama’s chief contributors.
Michael H. Smith
April 17th, 2010
7:09 am
The Tea Party sure has the Big GUB’MENT socialist-liberals scared, as rightly they should be.
For whatever it is worth Kyle, I agree with the earlier blog comment made to ban the use of the word “teabagger” and any variants of it.
Michael H. Smith
April 17th, 2010
7:33 am
Here ya go Libs: Breyer: Health overhaul could come before court
Justice Stephen Breyer is predicting the Supreme Court will one day pass judgment on this year’s health care overhaul.
Breyer told a congressional panel Thursday that the massive health care law, like most major federal legislation, is a good candidate for high court review.
Breyer said the court’s relatively light caseload in recent years will soon be a thing of the past.
http://www.ajc.com/business/breyer-health-overhaul-could-464763.html
Obviously Justice Breyer sees legal grounds that interests the Court to hear cases brought against ObamaCare.
Anton Zvotney
April 17th, 2010
9:39 am
This, too, shall pass.
3rd Party Guy
April 17th, 2010
9:45 am
The Tea Party should start calling itself the Constitution Party and start selecting/endorsing real candidates for office. In other words, be a real party. Dump the Republican/Democrats, and promote freedom in the USA.
3rd Party Guy
April 17th, 2010
10:05 am
LibraryJim
April 16th, 2010
3:19 pm
That’s the reason those of us who work/want to work are not represented by our politicians. I’m guilty too. The democrats sit at home with entitlements and have all the free time they need to protest and be represented. Meanwhile the republicans just outsource their protesting by hiring lobbyists. Just imagine the working class giving up some their precious free time to demand representation. If the middle class actually demanded good government, they might actually get it.
Voice of Reason 2011
April 17th, 2010
10:10 am
Tea Party members have a right to voice protest as well as they should if they do not agree. However, any movement that obtains its momentum on wicked racist views and racist acts is bound to die and be added to the trash heal of political suicides. The tea party protesters who are not racists should shut up those who are or else they are just as guilty. All movements are judged in history by the righteousness of its adherents. Racists tea party members will only compromise its impact. Unfortunately, racism is so blinding, it will be too late before they realize how they have imploded due to the racism. If this is the case, it will be good for the nation, conservatives, and liberals.
Morrus
April 17th, 2010
10:23 am
Vote out the incumbents and start over
Linda
April 17th, 2010
12:47 pm
SAH@1:12, 1:25 & 1:30AM,
Dems blame Bush for EVERYTHING but you say I can’t blame Clinton for anything that happened after ‘94, yet Clinton BRAGGED in his autobiography for the $800 B in sub-prime loans made under his adm. after ‘94. Read his own words. Clinton signed the Glass Steagall Acct after using it for leverage.
I never used the word “minorities” but rather low- & moderate-income neighborhoods. I didn’t pin this on minorities. The blame was primarily on Dems/Progressives in govt. I also said that the initiatives to reduce the GSEs’ lending standards started a tsunami that included everyone including investors.
The Tea Party movement was not caused by the election of an African-American president but rather by the actions of a socialist president. The Tea Party is made up of all races. The keynote speakers for 2 of the largest GA Tea Parties was an African-American. One of the speakers at a 9/12 meeting I attended was Dr. Deborah Honeycutt, who I have solicited support for on this blog. Obama would never have been elected without the white vote.
The Economic Stimulus Bill that was “full of tax cuts” has to be paid for with higher taxes. The taxpayer earning $50K who received a tax cut of $807 owes $1405 more in taxes to pay for the bill. The taxpayer earning $75K who received a tax cut of $878 owes $1405.
The hc bill that provides insurance for millions of people fines people who don’t buy insurance. Since the fines are less than insurance & insurance companies must cover people with pre-existing conditions, why will anyone ever again purchase policies until they become sick, at the ER?
Americans ARE the corporations. We are the stockholders, the employees, the creditors, customers & clients. If you have a retirement acct., it’s invested on Wall St. If you don’t, you still have to pay taxes & if the retirement accts. for public workers fail on Wall St., you will pay for it.
The health care insurance industry makes a mere 3.3% profit. There’s at least a dozen medical-related industries that make a higher profit than they do. The health care bill will put them out of business.
It was O who said, “We are 5 days away from fundamentally transforming the US of America.”
He’s nationalized the financial sector, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, 2 of our 3 auto makers & their financial arms, the health care system, Student Loans, the largest insurance company in the world (AIG) & plans to nationalize our energy system.
dom youngross
April 17th, 2010
12:53 pm
Some people don’t like President Obama because he is half black. Some people voted for Candidate Obama because he was half black. So let’s expose and discredit racism where ever it is found.
I don’t like President Obama because he is twice the war and four times the debt of Bush. I don’t fall for that ‘Bush made him do it’ routine, like President Obama was Ginger Rogers to Bush’s Fred Astaire.
BTW, thank you so much President Obama for letting me keep that extra $10 per week of my own money. Thank you, thank you, thank you, n + 1, to the 52nd power for bailing me out like that, with my own money. At least for last year and this year, as you have determined that it will be too expensive for you to continue to bail me out like that, with my money, after this year.
Linda
April 17th, 2010
12:56 pm
Voice@10:10, John Lewis was offered a $100,000 donation to the Negro College Fund if he or anyone else gave proof that the N-word was used by any Tea Party member toward the Congressional Black Caucus, as he claimed, the weekend the hc bill was passed. Still waiting.
Who was the keynote speaker at the 4/15 Tea Party this year as well as last year? Herman Cain.
Tea Party members don’t “shut up” other protesters. Part of our reason for being is to protect the right of Americans to assemble & speak.
You need to attend a Tea Party. Go on line & find one near you.
Tommy Lee Maddox
April 17th, 2010
1:24 pm
You Distort/We Deride – yep.
Michael H. Smith
April 17th, 2010
1:47 pm
Oh I’ll do a little better than that Linda, I’ve decided to join the movement instead of simply speaking favorably of it in support of what it is doing. One word of advice to Republicans: Don’t try to change the Tea Party, its’ purpose is meant to CHANGE YOU!
Pogo
April 17th, 2010
4:01 pm
Obama is a lightweight marxist tool (as are most who support him). His supporters by and large are lazy and want something for nothing and they want the government to do everything for them. Obama is more than willing to do just that but at the very high cost of the loss of personal freedom and personal rights. Good thing he will be neutered by the november Senate and House elections and be made a lame duck. This will one day be looked upon by history as the worse administration the US has ever had to endure. Carter’s is next and Bush’s will be right behind him.
colin richards
April 17th, 2010
5:22 pm
I can’t believe anyone would want the conservatives back in power after they almost destroyed the country under Bush. Tarp has been almost totally paid back the stock market is up. We are just starting to recover. Big business is funding these Tea Parties. There is shrill screaming against any kind of reform for banks or Healthcare/Pharma. Dick Armey’s (one of the highest paid lobbyists in DC) Freedomworks blankets their message in a ton of flags but the message it the message of big corporations. The Medicines Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb hired Dick Armey’s lobbying firm, DLA Piper, which in turned controls* is linked to FreedomWorks, the group behind the town hall riots at which “ordinary” citizens shout down anyone who wants to discuss healthcare reform. Regular people cannot afford to pay for the buses, gas, insurance, speakers (including the very expensive Palin) sign and entertainers that you see at TP rallies. Get a clue people. The message of stopping reform is that of Big corporations, no matter how many flags they wrap it in. God bless America and our Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama.
Michael H. Smith
April 18th, 2010
8:59 am
Oh ye of little faith.
"Fed"-Up
April 18th, 2010
9:15 am
Follow the money folks. If you follow the campaign contributions from the Major Wall Street firms, you will find that they give disproportionately to Democrats. This is not to excuse the previous administration, but who was controlling congress before and during the meltdown? ->DEMS!
Michael H. Smith
April 18th, 2010
9:39 am
Conservatives don’t excuse the previous administration headed by a liberal George Bush and the “Libertarian Neo-Republicans” who spent tax payer money like drunken socialist Democrats.
However, it is very interesting to note that among “Comrade in Chief ” Dear Leader Obama’s major contributors it does tend to read like a Wall Street who’s who list.
Goldman Sachs $994,795
Citigroup Inc $701,290
JPMorgan Chase & Co $695,132
UBS AG $543,219
Morgan Stanley $514,881
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638
"Fed"-Up
April 18th, 2010
11:00 am
Most of the Financial Industries (Banking, Brokerage, Wall St,.etc) in this country give about 55% to Dems and about 45% to Republicans.
Paul Revere
April 18th, 2010
12:07 pm
Corrupted Government ministers, congressmen, senators that seems to be the habit of the times lately! It is well passed the time to clean up the crap on both the Establishment Left and Right in all countries! Reflect the seriousness of our corrupt politicians, look at what has happened in Poland, look at the corruption in Greece, Iceland and the USA, it is right in front of our face!
There is a problem our laws, courts and lawmen only seem to be able to arrest, charge and convict ordinary law abiding citizens!
Should you have super wealth and position we are being shown that these tyrants are above the law, is that the kind of Fascist country Americans’, Canadians’ and the world desire?
Take a look at this brand new video that tells all and illustrates just exactly what is occurring in the upper Echelons of the Political Wealth Mafia!
Re: Here is a powerful NEW documentary for you, which will put the final nail in the coffin of any doubts that a dictatorial elite is openly setting up an authoritarian system of world government designed to concentrate power and crush the freedom and living standards of the middle class.
Film maker Jason Bermas has collected a truly monumental amount of video archive and document material to render completely obsolete claims that the agenda of today’s ruling elite is not the open move towards a global totalitarian world government which will be run to the detriment of the people in the self-interests of the tiny ruling class that sit atop the power pyramid.
Invisible Empire 1 of 16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKJuyti1YjU
Nick
April 18th, 2010
5:38 pm
Restore America: Tax Exempt 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGa7Yv01ZL0
vuduchld
April 18th, 2010
9:46 pm
Tea Begging and Tea Beggers have run it’s course. At the end of the day your “party” has become a lap dog shill for the G no P. The ideas you have are bogus because most of you in the movement are bogus human beings. Where were you when the Bush tax cuts poured in, or how about Iraqi War fever when you pilgrims gave Bush a blank check to fund a war based on the WMD hoax. Now all of a sudden you hypocrites got religion because an African-American occupies the oval office. Well, me and others out there are not drinking the Tea Begger Kool-Aid because at the end of the day you people are what you have always been, a bunch of yellow, shallow no nothing hypocrites. Yet again you have been exposed, that is why you silly party is going on where…PERIOD.
No More Progressives!
April 18th, 2010
10:31 pm
Brad Steel
April 16th, 2010
3:47 pm
The word “nobody” it the cartoon should be replaced with “the tea party”.
The Tea Party doesn’t seem to understand much of anything. But I will hand’em this: they are real good at making home-made signs.
This statement infers that you do understand the Tea Party.
So educate us, Oh Great Sage: what is it we’re missing?
No More Progressives!
April 18th, 2010
10:40 pm
vuduchld
April 18th, 2010
9:46 pm
“Well, me and others out there are not drinking the Tea Begger Kool-Aid because at the end of the day you people are what you have always been, a bunch of yellow, shallow no nothing hypocrites.”
Good. I want you and all four of your friends to go to some socialist utopia and call us periodically to let us how you’re doing.
“All legislation will be posted on-line for 48 hours so you can read it.”
“I’ll go through every bill, line by line, and remove every earmark.”
“All the healthcare debates will be on CNN.” …………ad nauseum.
From the Hypocrite-in-Chief, Little Barry Soetoro.
Garry Owen
April 19th, 2010
5:53 am
Why am I upset? We won our independence from England thanks to many, many brave men. Now we have a government that wants to turn this country back into the very thing these brave men faught against! God bless the late great American Republic.
Port O' John
April 20th, 2010
10:52 am
Oh the hypocrisy: Christian Tea-bagger who advocates throwing bricks through the windows of democrats in protest of health-care lives off of government disability checks:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/25/AR2010032501722_2.html?sid=ST2010032402500
Robert Littel
April 25th, 2010
10:45 am
The Fox News created, corporate financed, Right-wing talking point driven celebration of inanity known as the Tea-Party, is an organization of people who are so fear driven and politically unsophisticated that they have been convinced to take up the corporate mantra for smaller and less government, which will only make corporations stronger and more able to steal from them. The government, if purged (through election) of corporate influence, is the best hope the middle-class and the poor have to not end up being pawns, or worse, in a corporate feudal system, where their view of the function of government is to provide a military for resource wars (that the children of the rich do not fight) for corporate benefit, with prisons and police to keep corporate order. Outside of that, and road building, that will be all we have left if the Right gets its way, and they are counting on the bulk of Americans to be either too stupid to see it, or too disinterested or distracted to care, by conning them with simplistic dogma and flag waving manipulation of societal myth. The Tea Party movement is a bad joke, on themselves.
No More Progressives!
May 1st, 2010
7:46 pm
Well, look who’s here, Perfezor Huffnpuff. Where ya been, Perfezor? Indoctrinating another classroom of little Comrades?