Tea Party

Tea Party backers outnumbered in Wisconsin budget demonstrations

February 19, 2011 by Source

By James Kelleher / Reuters / Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:55pm EST MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) – Supporters of legislation to reduce public employee union bargaining power and benefits in Wisconsin were far outnumbered by opponents on Saturday, as the two sides shouted competing slogans under clear skies. Tens of thousands have demonstrated throughout the week […]

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“We are in a war” says New Hampshire Tea Party Activist Just Elected GOP State Leader

January 24, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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Something happened over this weekend at the other end of the country that gives us a preview of how the right is moderating its rhetoric in the post-Tucson political climate of America. The State of New Hampshire Republican Party elected its state chairperson on Saturday, and a tea party activist by the name of Jack […]

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Protest vs billionaire Koch Bros – tea party funders – in Palm Spring Jan. 30th

January 18, 2011 by Source
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Increasingly, Democrats, liberals and progressives are coming to understand that the Koch brothers, a secretive right-wing billionaire family that pours limitless money into virtually every destructive anti-democratic initiative affecting tens of millions of Americans, are “Public Enemy Number One.”

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Neo-Confederates, the Militias and the Tea Parties – Are We Heading for a Second Civil War?

January 10, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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Originally posted April 21, 2010 I began writing this nearly a week ago, on Tax Day, April 15th, as thousands of Tea Party members were rallying across the nation.  I wanted to write something substantive, authoritative, a summary, a review of the extreme right mobilizations, of the militias, the new secessionists, the  open-carry activists with […]

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Sarah Palin’s Top 10 Tea Party Mamma Grizzlies (from DC Douglas)

September 24, 2010 by Patty Jones
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D.C. Douglas, a veteran character actor and voice over artist, has produced another in a series of comedic political videos. “Sarah Palin’s Top 10 Tea Party Mamma Grizzlies” is a 4 minute voter’s guide to Sarah Palin’s mid-term Tea Party congress candidate picks.

“I find it best to put all your crazy tea bags into one pot so you can get a real taste of Sarah Palin’s political acumen,” says Mr. Douglas.

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More Observations from the “Doctor’s Tea Party”

August 11, 2010 by Andy Cohen
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Editor: Here are Andy’s observations and more photos of the “doctor’s” tea party held last Saturday (08/07/10) at Spanish Landing near downtown San Diego. He did find that the “Birther” movement is still alive here in San Diego.

by Andy Cohen / The Politics of Football / August 10, 2010

I’m not sure what I expected to see when I dared to venture into enemy territory. I mean, I knew that, generally speaking, the Tea Partiers’ vision of America was not firmly based in reality; that they typically harbor a longing for “a simpler time,” and “the old days,” and their theories on the economy and politics and health care tend to be more theory and less actual, workable policy. And I know unequivocally that should the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party gain any real power in America then we’re all in for a long, slow descent into third world status.

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Dwindling numbers of tea party activists rally against “Obamacare”

August 8, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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There was a tea party rally yesterday (8-7-10) at Spanish Landing along San Diego Harbor, organized by a so-called “doctors” group against – what the extreme right calls – “Obamacare” – the newly enacted federal medical care reforms. Yet the rally – attended by approximately 400 protesters – displayed something rally organizers are not swift to admit – dwindling numbers of tea party activists coming out to such events – as earlier tea party rallies had upwards of a thousand people.

A small group of counter-protesters were out there in the sun as well, holding signs supporting medicare for all. About a dozen folks – organized by a progressive group of local doctors and healthcare workers – Physicians for a National Health Program – had somehow found parking and managed to get to the sidelines of the much larger crowd.

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Is Rep. Duncan Hunter Ignorant or Just Racist?

April 28, 2010 by Source
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Rep. Duncan Hunter backs deporting U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants

At a recent Tea Party meeting in Ramona, Rep Duncan Hunter stated that he supported the deportation of children born in the US to undocumented migrants. Is he racist or maybe he just doesn’t know what the Constitution states.

Section 1, Clause 1 of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, states:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

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Let’s play a game: Imagine if the Tea Parties were Black

April 26, 2010 by Source
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by Tim Wise

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure – the ones who are driving the action – we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition.

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Gun-toting protesters rally across Potomac from Capitol voice violent thoughts peacefully

April 20, 2010 by Source
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Editor: I know, I know, this has nothing directly relating to OB but … We posted this to demonstrate what is going on across the country. Here, on the 15th anniversary of the worst domestic terrorist incident in American history, armed vigilantes rally and spout violent rhetoric against President Obama, the Democrats and our country.

By Dana Milbank /Washington Post / Tuesday, April 20, 2010

They came in camouflage and ammunition vests, carrying AK-47s slung over their shoulders and pistols in their hip holsters. They were in Northern Virginia, on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, to stand on federal land and to voice violent thoughts.

They did this in a strictly nonviolent fashion, naturally.

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San Diego Coffee Party Welcomes Bob Filner

April 12, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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The event was at Queen Bee’s in North Park, and it represented a coming-together of the County’s various Coffee Party chapters. There were reps from Ramona, Oceanside, Escondido, and from the various San Diego areas, “Coastal”, “eastern San Diego”, and “mid-city”.

Representative Filner stressed that the nation needed public financing of elections, in order to level the playing field. This issue has become one of the Coffee Party’s central issues.

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More thoughts on the tsunami tea party rally

February 28, 2010 by Dave Rice
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I went down to check out this whole Tea Party extravaganza today. This is my take on it, or at least a list of random thoughts I had and a list of things I saw today…

I headed down a bit late, probably should’ve been out by 10:15 instead of 10:40. Oh well. Street parking was scarce, but there were some terrific displays of capitalism, namely empty Ace parking lots charging $10 to get in. I parked a mile or so away and walked first along the bay side of Harbor drive, about 10 minutes after the 11 a.m. rally was scheduled to begin. I don’t know how many the teabaggers were claiming would attend or how many they’re going to claim did, but by my estimate they got maybe 250 – I heard some other estimates in the low 300s, which are entirely feasible too, as a few more people trickled in until noon or so.

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Standing Witness to the Tea Party Rally – San Diego Style

February 25, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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This Saturday, February 27th, a group of local Tea Party groups are sponsoring a rally downtown along San Diego Harbor. And San Diego progressives will be there to stand witness to this rally of tea baggers.

Nearly one hundred San Diego progressives have committed to being present at this non-violent counter-demonstration. The counter protest – really more of a show of strength than an actual protest or counter-demonstration – has been organized solely via emails and word of mouth.

This blog website the OB RAG, in conjunction with a number of other San Diego progressive and peace groups have put out the call for the counter effort; we went to cyberspace for the medium of our message. And just over a week’s time, San Diego progressives have stepped up to be witnesses to our local movement of reaction.

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Tea Party Hypocrites – San Diego Style

February 24, 2010 by Anna Daniels
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On Saturday, February 27, a number of our fellow citizens will take publicly funded roads to a public park to participate in a Tea Party rally at which our publicly funded police force will maintain law and order if necessary. Once our fellow citizens arrive, they will rail against the unfair redistribution of wealth and the size of government.
Hypocrisy In Action

Of course it is that very redistribution of wealth which provides them with those roads, that park, those police. And it is that very redistribution of wealth that provides their “entitlements” of Medicare, Veteran Benefits, and Social Security; that provides their children with public education, parks and recreation centers and libraries. The Tea Party comes with an enormous side of hypocrisy.

It is statistically probable that 95% of those in attendance received a tax cut under the Obama administration.

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Should Progressives Confront Up-Coming Tea Party Rally?

February 17, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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Should San Diego progressives hold a counter-demonstration at the up-coming Tea Party rally? This is the question for San Diegans with a conscience.

Local Tea Baggers will be staging an event on Saturday, February 27th. Local right-wing radio pundit, former felon and mayor, Roger Hedgecock will be the keynote speaker. The rally will be held from 11 am to 1 pm, just north of the Star of India along Harbor Drive.

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