But it's changing as they work to make the group look more mainstream.

You don't have to do anything to paint them as fringe other than talking to them and taking pictures of them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/10-most-offensive-tea-par_n_187554.html

No, the Tea Party started out as grassroots mainstream Americans and continues to grow in that vein.

It was the Left that tried to paint the TP as "fringe" and they failed. Miserably..

Check out recent entries in CW's current TP commentary and you'll see exactly what I mean.

Michale.....

It used to be that the GOP strategy was to try to marginalize the left as non-mainstream, loony, liberal, communist, socialist, etc.

The whole while trying to shift the spectrum further right.

But the Tea Party appears willing to be the fringe. Or at least that was how they initially came off.

This is what Republicans fear about them. And you can see they've been trying to change the direction of the TP - trying to eliminate the radical elements of the org.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

-David

Err, that would be "favors"... :D DOH!!!!

Michale.....

“Some other thoughts are to ask people at the rally to sign a petition renouncing socialism. See just how much info you can get from these folks (name address, DOB, Social Security #). The more data we can mine from the Tea Partiers, the more mayhem we can cause with it!!!!” he wrote.

He has said he would seek to embarrass Tea Partiers by attending their rallies dressed as Adolf Hitler, carrying signs bearing racist, sexist and anti-gay epithets, and acting as offensively as possible — anything short of throwing punches.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/15/oregon-probes-teacher-determined-demolish-tea-party/

Oh yea... You just HAVE to love how the Left addresses issues "intelligently", eh?? :^/

That was sarcasm, in case ya'all missed it.. :D

At least the anti-Tea Party rhetoric here hasn't reached that level...

Thank gods for small facors.. :D

Michale......

Complete agreement..

It plays into the TP's pity story about how the "left" hates them (i.e. Michale's comments).

As the facts show, it is apparent that it is more than a story but rather is a factual account of the issues.

I believe it would be much more effective to just let them speak and let people judge for themselves.

Apparently, the Hysterical (and not so Hysterical) Left are seeing that the Tea Party is actually gaining widespread acceptance amongst mainstream Americans...

Which is why they are using "infiltrations" instead of actually debating and discussing the issues.

The Left seems to actually be scared of the Tea Party movement.

Who woulda thunked it??? :D

Michale.....

Hmmm. Not a good idea. It plays into the TP's pity story about how the "left" hates them (i.e. Michale's comments).

I believe it would be much more effective to just let them speak and let people judge for themselves.

The way to go on offense is to sound more centrist/rational than they are - not a hard thing to do given some of their rhetoric.

Anyone watching the new 'V' series???

It's a pretty interesting show...

I am always into the FIRST CONTACT type shows..

One thing I found rather ironic..

The Vs are trying to infiltrate the planet using "Universal Health Care" as their "Trojan Horse"...

Iddn't that just fascinating.. :D

Michale.....

I would put forth that, during the Vietnam era, the Left did NOT resonate with the public in the form of mainstream Americans..

At that point in time, the Left resonated with a minority yet very vocal and aggressive segment of the public...

Yes, they were vocal, but they were still not mainstream Americans..

But I'll be writing about this later today, so you'll have to wait to see my full take on the TP folks.

Whatta tease.... :D

I saw a small story (with not much in the way of detail, was in my local paper but I think was AP-based) about lefties saying they're going to go to TP events and shout racist crap and other idiocies, in the hopes of de-legitimizing the TP in the eyes of the media and public.

There has actually been several stories of this type, one of which I posted above...

Iddn't amazing that the Left feels the need to discredit the TP groups by "infiltrations" and obfuscations and hysteria, rather than simply addressing the facts and issues..

Once again, we see the line between the Hysterical Left and the Hysterical Right blurred even further until it's non-existent...

Michale.....

And yet... :D

'Absolutely obsessed with painting [them] as racists...'

http://www.nowhampshire.com/2010/04/14/source-state-dems-scrambling-to-deploy-tea-party-%E2%80%98crashers%E2%80%99/

It's a proven fact that the Tea Party is made up more of Dems and Independents than it is of Republicans.

Personally, I don't care if GOP or TP candidates get elected..

Dems have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are simply incapable of governing and leading.

If the passage of CrapCare proved anything, it proved that...

I had such high hopes... It's personally aggravating to see them dashed so thoroughly and completely...

Michale.....

I'd quibble on two points. The first is that the left has indeed resonated with the general public in the past -- best example I can think of would be the anti-Vietnam-War protests, which started off small, but by the end had gone quite mainstream indeed, and had the support of a huge swath of the public. That's just one example. These things (from both sides) are cyclic, and the pendulum always swings back and forth.

But I'll be writing about this later today, so you'll have to wait to see my full take on the TP folks.

akadjian -

I saw a small story (with not much in the way of detail, was in my local paper but I think was AP-based) about lefties saying they're going to go to TP events and shout racist crap and other idiocies, in the hopes of de-legitimizing the TP in the eyes of the media and public.

Or, Michale may be referring to the LaRouche followers, who did show up at early TP events with crazy signs and yelling crazy things, but these folks (I would argue) aren't on the "left" or "right" but rather off the scale to "crazyland." As evidenced by the fact that the crazy signs had their La Rouche website prominently featured -- not exactly undercover agents provacateurs.

I do agree with you about the Republicans being more scared of the TPers than the Democrats.

-CW

Really. I'm curious. Haven't seen anything on this and I try to keep up on my right wing radio.

As far as hate for the tea party, I think it's more "love to hate" :)

I think the Republican party has much more to fear from them than Democrats. Traditional conservatives (ones that might attract independents) are being driven out of the party by the extremists.

If the tea party is attracting independents, why does Scott Brown not want to appear at a tea party rally in Boston?

I think the tea party is the best thing to happen for Democrats in a long time.

-David

The East India Company, as everyone knows, was saved when it captured Davy Jones and acquired the services of The Flying Dutchman to fight off the Pirate brethren, led by Captains Jack Sparrow and Barbossa of the Black Pearl.

Come to think of it, the Pirate brethren were led by Elizabeth Swann....

Or so the story goes...

:D Sorry, just COULDN'T resist.. :D

Michale.....

I had an epiphany yesterday on the subject of the Tea Party and I have been dying to share it with ya'all.. :D

I have always wondered why the Hysterical (and not so Hysterical) Left hated the Tea Party so much. And, don't be fooled. It IS hate that the HL and Not So HL feels for the Tea Party. Why else would the HL publicly state that they are going to infiltrate Tea Party events and cause trouble.

Infiltrate?? Sounds like a Right Winger mentality, eh??

But I digest. :D

Anyways, it suddenly hit me yesterday as to why there is so much hate..

It's because the Tea Party has been able to do, in just a little over a year, what the Left-Wing groups have been trying to do for over 50 years..

Resonate and find acceptance with mainstream Americans...

The Left has been trying and trying and trying and trying to gain acceptance with John Q Public, but they could never quite accomplish it..

And here comes this upstart group that doesn't have ANY kind of organization and within the span of a year, they are the favs of John Q and Jane M Public... And the fact that it's a RIGHT WING group that actually attracts more Dems and Independents than Republicans is simply adding insult to injury...

Organizations like Code Pink and MoveOn are simply RED with envy..

I say "RED" because, as we have seen, they are stooping to Right Wing tactics in an attempt to smear the Tea Party..

I predict it will only backfire on them, however..

So, there ya have it...

Now ya'all know why the Hysterical Left and the Not So Hysterical Left hate the Right-Wing Tea Party..

Michale....