GOP Missed Opportunities Presented by Tea Parties | Newsweek Politics

How Republicans missed their social-media moment.

By Kurt Soller | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Apr 17, 2009

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A police officer leaned against an unused barricade near city hall in Manhattan Wednesday night. The crowd the barriers were meant to contain was still a short walk away, gathered in front of the city's 97-year-old seat of government to vent their collective conservative anger at one of 750 Tax Day "tea party" rallies.

"It's a pretty big protest," the patrolman commented. Then, asked if it exceeded expectations, he pointed to the unused railings. "Not quite."

The officer's offhand analysis frames the popular narrative of the moment: nearly every political pundit in the media sphere—conservative or liberal—has been bickering over attendance numbers, as if a certain benchmark would make the tea parties a legitimate social movement. All of which should be irrelevant, if the Republicans have learned their lesson and understood the political power of Netroots organizing. The fact that a cadre of GOP stalwarts are eating up airtime arguing about crowd estimates and defending the grassroots bona fides of the tea-party movement suggests they do not.

Largely set in motion by conservatives outside the Republican core and organized over the Web, the tea parties have been embraced by conservative leaders as the GOP's own version of a grassroots uprising.

"Through technology, using Twitter especially, we've created a grassroots movement," said Amy Kremer, the national organizer for the events. On a site Kremer launched, taxdayteaparty.com, she listed the tea parties across the country, giving each its own listing announcing the time and place as well as any Facebook page, Twitter feed or personal Web site connected to the event or its organizers.

In some locations, the combination of online organizing and conservative star power pulled in the crowds. Nearly 2,000 people turned out in lower Manhattan, where Newt Gingrich was the headliner, chanting, "Audit the Fed," "U.S.A." and "Schumer sucks," in reference to Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator from across the East River in Brooklyn. The events were technically nonpartisan, but the rhetoric was solid red, as many in the crowd vented their anger at President Obama. "You know, just because someone is charismatic does not mean that they should be running the banks," said Cecily Rassias, a Floridian who attended the protest decked out in a Colonial cap filled to the brim with English tea bags. "We're here to speak out against our government's socialist policies."

The scene played out at small and large gatherings across the country. In Boston, speakers in Colonial uniforms spoke to a crowd of 500 that had gathered in the historic Common. In Washington, D.C., the National Park Service thwarted protesters gathered in Lafayette Square as they planned to dump 1 million tea bags; the local broadcast media quickly reported that the event's organizers lacked the proper permits. In Hartford, Conn., 3,000 protesters gathered to dump tea, but media outlets couldn't resist pointing out that 40,000 people showed up to a protest just a few years ago when the state first enacted a personal income tax.

(continuing above with last paragraph)

As an ex-registered Republican, a moderate conservative, I think we really need a strong and responsible Republican Party to provide choice, balance and honest competition. This is not possible with their current mentality and focus, with their loyalty only to a small segment of the American people who greatly benefit from their actions as the majority gets only apathy, the costs and an abundance of subterfuge. It isn???t about conservative versus liberal; it isn???t about single issues used to excite passion and manipulate while they quietly pursue their own agenda; it is about having honesty and a sincere and responsible focus on benefit for all of the people. It is now really up to the voters to diligently see through the deception and to demand better, to never accept the rhetoric offered only to cover the self-indulgence and the rationalized drastic neglect!

The gap between the wealthy and the middle class has kept expanding and it seems that those few who benefit just aren???t ever satisfied, always wanting more. They look at the poor and the declining status of the middle class and accuse anyone wanting help as promoting liberalism and they offer that their own success doesn???t have anything to do with their abuse of power but rather is the natural result of conservative philosophies. When checking the facts, we see something different as is clearly demonstrated by what has happened on Wall Street, in the financial industry, so many times in corporate America and in general, where those with power and influence take advantage in arrogantly flaunting unchecked greed, self-indulgence and gross dishonesty. The real problem is that they have been encouraged, condoned, excused and even helped by politicians who they then support, contribute to and promise after office compensation (kickbacks) to. It doesn???t have anything to do with conservatism versus liberalism, which is the subterfuge they hide behind, but rather it is a blatant abuse of power always for money with the politicians being co-conspirators. They simply treat the American people as if they think everyone is stupid and easily manipulated.

Right now we are hearing a lot of rhetoric from many Republicans who strongly tout conservatism, rationalize all of what the Bush-Cheney administration did and try to fault the Obama team as being too liberal. Their actions, in contrast to the deception they offer, really tell a different story. In remembering the last eight years we recall their lying about: the value of tax cuts for the wealthy; privatizing Social Security; bringing drugs back into the USA as being unsafe; Global Warming as not being a problem; the value of unchecked deregulation; the allowing of massive exportation of American jobs and taxes; and on and on always benefiting Special Interests and a select few. We saw their deception in saying they were keeping America safe while actually focusing on Iraq and ignoring pre-9/11 warnings, in taking resources from Afghanistan to initiate the falsely justified Iraq War, in manipulating reporting on both wars, in unchecked spending with favored vendors for the wars and for Homeland Security, often providing limited value, in departing from American values and Geneva convention to authorize abuse and torture of prisoners, thereby putting our troops more at risk, in trying to sell our port security to Dubai Ports, and again on and on significantly benefiting a few and always with arrogance and an unconscionable, self-serving sociopathic mentality. All of these actions were totally and stubbornly supported by the Republican Party who now offer no apology or any promise to correct but rather only rhetoric to disguise and justify a return to more of the same.

As an ex-registered Republican, a moderate conservative, I think we really need a strong and responsible Republican Party to p

Member Comments

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Posted By: NewsWkDickG @ 05/24/2009 12:42:30 PM

(continuing above with last paragraph)

As an ex-registered Republican, a moderate conservative, I think we really need a strong and responsible Republican Party to provide choice, balance and honest competition. This is not possible with their current mentality and focus, with their loyalty only to a small segment of the American people who greatly benefit from their actions as the majority gets only apathy, the costs and an abundance of subterfuge. It isn???t about conservative versus liberal; it isn???t about single issues used to excite passion and manipulate while they quietly pursue their own agenda; it is about having honesty and a sincere and responsible focus on benefit for all of the people. It is now really up to the voters to diligently see through the deception and to demand better, to never accept the rhetoric offered only to cover the self-indulgence and the rationalized drastic neglect!
- Reply
- Report Abuse
Posted By: NewsWkDickG @ 05/24/2009 12:39:56 PM

The gap between the wealthy and the middle class has kept expanding and it seems that those few who benefit just aren???t ever satisfied, always wanting more. They look at the poor and the declining status of the middle class and accuse anyone wanting help as promoting liberalism and they offer that their own success doesn???t have anything to do with their abuse of power but rather is the natural result of conservative philosophies. When checking the facts, we see something different as is clearly demonstrated by what has happened on Wall Street, in the financial industry, so many times in corporate America and in general, where those with power and influence take advantage in arrogantly flaunting unchecked greed, self-indulgence and gross dishonesty. The real problem is that they have been encouraged, condoned, excused and even helped by politicians who they then support, contribute to and promise after office compensation (kickbacks) to. It doesn???t have anything to do with conservatism versus liberalism, which is the subterfuge they hide behind, but rather it is a blatant abuse of power always for money with the politicians being co-conspirators. They simply treat the American people as if they think everyone is stupid and easily manipulated.

Right now we are hearing a lot of rhetoric from many Republicans who strongly tout conservatism, rationalize all of what the Bush-Cheney administration did and try to fault the Obama team as being too liberal. Their actions, in contrast to the deception they offer, really tell a different story. In remembering the last eight years we recall their lying about: the value of tax cuts for the wealthy; privatizing Social Security; bringing drugs back into the USA as being unsafe; Global Warming as not being a problem; the value of unchecked deregulation; the allowing of massive exportation of American jobs and taxes; and on and on always benefiting Special Interests and a select few. We saw their deception in saying they were keeping America safe while actually focusing on Iraq and ignoring pre-9/11 warnings, in taking resources from Afghanistan to initiate the falsely justified Iraq War, in manipulating reporting on both wars, in unchecked spending with favored vendors for the wars and for Homeland Security, often providing limited value, in departing from American values and Geneva convention to authorize abuse and torture of prisoners, thereby putting our troops more at risk, in trying to sell our port security to Dubai Ports, and again on and on significantly benefiting a few and always with arrogance and an unconscionable, self-serving sociopathic mentality. All of these actions were totally and stubbornly supported by the Republican Party who now offer no apology or any promise to correct but rather only rhetoric to disguise and justify a return to more of the same.

As an ex-registered Republican, a moderate conservative, I think we really need a strong and responsible Republican Party to p
- Reply
- Report Abuse
Posted By: chris s. @ 05/17/2009 12:48:14 AM

Pia, remember you don't have to explain yourself to this idiot.He's not now, or ever going to get it. He's simply not worth the key stroke effort.