Attended the local Tea Party today

[Tre]

Interesting stuff.  

Among the slightly more than 200 people in attendance, there was only one 'Obama is a commie!' sign and I was the only Black (although that could've been true at the grocery store, too).

There was a broad cross-section of folks there, mainly retirees, and the more vocal individuals tended to be the least educated.  A few who grabbed the mic referenced Palin, but didn't go overboard with it.  There were a couple of attacks on Mexican immigrants and 'drug cartels' which led to them calling out the Republican leadership as well as the Dems.  

One WWII vet talked at length about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.  Another woman (one of this group's organizers) said that American wages are 'going to come down to 80 cents/hour, like China' if we don't repeal NAFTA.  Some of her comments made it clear she wanted to usher in a new era of protectionism.  

Although much of the language in today's little speeches was intended solely to whip people into a frenzy, some solid points were made and I was left with the impression that many in the crowd just want less waste and more accountability at all levels of government, starting in our city.  

All-in-all, I'm glad I went.  Yes, many of them are a little nutty, but I believe they are open to becoming at least somewhat educated about the real issues and the way things work.

[Army of One]

Did you engage with any of them about your fetish for musclebound chemically enhanced 'women'?

[GroinkTropin]

Interesting trip report. Why the fuck were you the only black guy there? How many people total? Please tell me these people were not rabid Palin fans??? And also these things are pointless. The powers that be will continue destroying this once great nation, selling it off as they go to feed their appetite. They will alllow us to do whatever we want, until we become any kind of real threat and then they will arrest us and fabricate whatever news story they want. Things WILL NOT change. Get over it. I have. I want to move, but there is no place to move to

[polychronopolous]

Seems like they made some good points, i cant think of anything worse for our country than millions of non assimilating illegal immigrants who drive down wages for american citizens who otherwise did not have the ability to secure a white collar job. construction used to provide decent wages and supported many families for the better part of last century but those days are long gone. nafta is a complete and utter disaster for both the united states and mexico and it is hard to see america keeping its super power status without a strong manufacturing base. people have a right to be concerned and the fact that the media likes to sensationalize these people as racist because of the occasional nut is wrong

[benchmstr]

what is a "black person"??

bench

[240 is Back]

the party, for the most part, and well informed people tired of govt spending.

Sure, you have some who are racist, rude, or complete palin worshippers.  They get most of the attention.  Most of them are level headed, and their platform (less warfare and less welfare!) seems to make sense.

[outby43]

The Tea Party does not represent true Liberty and freedom.  The thing that will keep them from being any kind of threat is the fact nobody knows what their stance is.  They throw out these vague statements like they don't want big Govt, we want personal freedom,  etc, well no shit.. but where is the line.  Do they favor ending the drug war for instance?  Do they oppose same sex marriage?  Anyone who likes the idea of a tea party needs to become Libertarian if you REALLY want personal liberty and small government. Selective liberty is only good for those who makes the rules based on a personal moral compass.

[Emmortal]

the party, for the most part, and well informed people tired of govt spending.

Sure, you have some who are racist, rude, or complete palin worshippers.  They get most of the attention.  Most of them are level headed, and their platform (less warfare and less welfare!) seems to make sense.

What group in any country doesn't have those?

[stormshadow]

The Tea Party does not represent true Liberty and freedom.  The thing that will keep them from being any kind of threat is the fact nobody knows what their stance is.  They throw out these vague statements like they don't want big Govt, we want personal freedom,  etc, well no shit.. but where is the line.  Do they favor ending the drug war for instance?  Do they oppose same sex marriage?  Anyone who likes the idea of a tea party needs to become Libertarian if you REALLY want personal liberty and small government. Selective liberty is only good for those who makes the rules based on a personal moral compass.

It turns my stomach that Palin has basically taken over this group.

It's such a joke, there will be no revolution, just a bunch of sheep bitching because the economy is bad.  None of these goons gave a shit about big government when the DOW was 14,000 and their houses where doubling in value...

[APE907]

The Teabaggers make me laugh. They are no different than the Green Party backing Ralph Nader the year which resulted in Gore losing out votes in the narrowly fought Bush/Gore prez election.  Allowing a red leather clad Sarah Palin to function as a key note speaker at their "big" events only adds to the hilarity.

[Wiggs]

Interesting stuff.  

Among the slightly more than 200 people in attendance, there was only one 'Obama is a commie!' sign and I was the only Black (although that could've been true at the grocery store, too).

There was a broad cross-section of folks there, mainly retirees, and the more vocal individuals tended to be the least educated.  A few who grabbed the mic referenced Palin, but didn't go overboard with it.  There were a couple of attacks on Mexican immigrants and 'drug cartels' which led to them calling out the Republican leadership as well as the Dems.  

One WWII vet talked at length about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.  Another woman (one of this group's organizers) said that American wages are 'going to come down to 80 cents/hour, like China' if we don't repeal NAFTA.  Some of her comments made it clear she wanted to usher in a new era of protectionism.  

Although much of the language in today's little speeches was intended solely to whip people into a frenzy, some solid points were made and I was left with the impression that many in the crowd just want less waste and more accountability at all levels of government, starting in our city.  

All-in-all, I'm glad I went.  Yes, many of them are a little nutty, but I believe they are open to becoming at least somewhat educated about the real issues and the way things work.

These old buffoons don't understand that is the beauty of their lovely capitalism.  Perhaps instead of complaining about jobs being outsourced and American wages going down, they should be out there opening small businesses and fighting for tax breaks since that seems to be the repubs answer to everything...oh brother
These morons are supporting the very people that will not support their cause...really smart

[Cleanest Natural]

there's an agenda for civil unrest behind the Tea Prty movement ...Palin is a patsy for a group

[Skeletor]

the party, for the most part, and well informed people tired of govt spending.

Sure, you have some who are racist, rude, or complete palin worshippers.  They get most of the attention.  Most of them are level headed, and their platform (less warfare and less welfare!) seems to make sense.

These sound like the Ron Paul supporters, mainly focusing of fiscal conservatism. Funny how very few, if any, of these people would actually support Ron Paul and instead support Palin, mainly because Paul does not support the war (for financial and political reasons).

[Parker]

Interesting stuff.  

Among the slightly more than 200 people in attendance, there was only one 'Obama is a commie!' sign and I was the only Black (although that could've been true at the grocery store, too).

There was a broad cross-section of folks there, mainly retirees, and the more vocal individuals tended to be the least educated.  A few who grabbed the mic referenced Palin, but didn't go overboard with it.  There were a couple of attacks on Mexican immigrants and 'drug cartels' which led to them calling out the Republican leadership as well as the Dems.  

One WWII vet talked at length about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.  Another woman (one of this group's organizers) said that American wages are 'going to come down to 80 cents/hour, like China' if we don't repeal NAFTA.  Some of her comments made it clear she wanted to usher in a new era of protectionism.  

Although much of the language in today's little speeches was intended solely to whip people into a frenzy, some solid points were made and I was left with the impression that many in the crowd just want less waste and more accountability at all levels of government, starting in our city.  

All-in-all, I'm glad I went.  Yes, many of them are a little nutty, but I believe they are open to becoming at least somewhat educated about the real issues and the way things work.

From what I gathered from your trip, most are a bunch of ignorant Americans...

The first in bold is generally true.

The second in bold, will not happen, how many idiots do you can exist on .80 cents an hour, especially when the price of goods is as high as a giraffe's ass?

The scond in bold, will probably not happen. People (Americans) tend to believe what they believe, especially if it conforms with their fears, prejudices, xenophobias...plus there are a lot of people who play on the ignorant...Also, many are too lazy to do research on thier own to find the answers, they rely on the biased (whether left or right) news shows (think about, if most Americans are too lazy to work out or try to lose weight, why do you think they would actively try and educate themselves are the meat and potato issues?)   

[Mr. Magoo]

Here is Tre being greeted by the local tea party activists

[Tre]

Here is Tre being greeted by the local tea party activists

American Classic!!

These sound like the Ron Paul supporters, mainly focusing of fiscal conservatism. Funny how very few, if any, of these people would actually support Ron Paul and instead support Palin, mainly because Paul does not support the war (for financial and political reasons).

There are people who say they want what Ron Paul stands for (not knowing he is the best guy), yet because the Republican leadership has done such a good job of marginalizing him, *he* is labeled as a 'kook' by many ignorant pretend conservatives. 

The third in bold, will probably not happen. People (Americans) tend to believe what they believe, especially if it conforms with their fears, prejudices, xenophobias...plus there are a lot of people who play on the ignorant...Also, many are too lazy to do research on thier own to find the answers, they rely on the biased (whether left or right) news shows (think about, if most Americans are too lazy to work out or try to lose weight, why do you think they would actively try and educate themselves are the meat and potato issues?) 

Yes, you had a number of kool-aid drinkers there who aren't going to change, no matter what, but just based on what I observed in this small sample size, the majority were open to working to find viable solutions and wanting to understand the issues better in order to move toward those goals.  Although there was plenty of talk about national politics, the majority of the time was spent talking about state and local government, where we have MAJOR, in-your-face problems that we have to deal with on a daily basis. 

That Palin has co-opted the Tea Party for her own ends is a problem, but there are plenty of 'Patriots' who will figure that out on their own and divorce themselves from her over time. 

In closing, although I did not join yesterday's 24-person march, I will stand with the Patriots in fighting City Hall. 

[George Whorewell]

I'm surprised Tre wasn't kidnapped by unionist thugs and held for ransom. It's nice to know that some people aren't completely brainwashed and are beyond mindlessly supporting a presidents policies just because they share the same skin pigmentation.

[El Diablo Blanco]

Where were these fucks when Bush was riding this country into the fucking ground with $5 per gallon oil, massive debts from war, allowing banks to rape this fucking country and giving away $700 billion that went unaccounted for, yet they like to bitch about the second $700 billion that obama gave out that a lot of banks have already paid back.

These idiots should spend less time complaining and stop shopping at Walmart and Target if they want to see higher wages here in the USA and more jobs.  They are the main supporters of what the problem is of this country.

[JOHN MATRIX]

the party, for the most part, and well informed people tired of govt spending.

Sure, you have some who are racist, rude, or complete palin worshippers.  They get most of the attention.  Most of them are level headed, and their platform (less warfare and less welfare!) seems to make sense.

funny, they didnt have too much of a problem with Bush spending.

i guess to these people, spending taxpayer money and american lives in middle eastern quagmires is A-OK, but spending money to try to help actual americans makes them AAANNNGGGRRRYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

[George Whorewell]

You do realize that as much as Bush spent, Obama has now more than doubled the deficit Bush created after being in office for 14 months?

You also realize that those middle eastern quagmires have continued on Obama's watch and that he just ok'd a troop increase to Afghanistan?

Finally,  you do realize that those "actual americans" as you call them largely consist of destitute leeches that don't pay taxes and are already being "helped" with medicare+medicaid, welfare and 10000 other governmental entitlements?

When Obama and his cronies push to make 20 million illegal aliens citizens via amnesty, should everyone just bite their lip also? Afterall,  I guess nobody should complain about helping "actual Americans".

[El Diablo Blanco]

funny, they didnt have too much of a problem with Bush spending.

i guess to these people, spending taxpayer money and american lives in middle eastern quagmires is A-OK, but spending money to try to help actual americans makes them AAANNNGGGRRRYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

prolly because bush isn't black.  I think a lot of these tea partiers are the most racist fucks who can't stand the idea of a black man telling them what to do.

[MCWAY]

prolly because bush isn't black.  I think a lot of these tea partiers are the most racist fucks who can't stand the idea of a black man telling them what to do.

This isn't about black; it's about GREEN, namely the green being siphoned from the people's wallets, by Obama's tax-and-spend frenzy.

These tea party folks come from all walks of life. It's the left that keeps whining about any criticism about Obama being because of race (a factor as to why he was picked to be the Dems' nominee).

[GigantorX]

prolly because bush isn't black.  I think a lot of these tea partiers are the most racist fucks who can't stand the idea of a black man telling them what to do.

Another shallow and ignorant look at things.

The post you just made sounds an awfully lot like the thought patterns you espouse the Tea Party people to have.

[El Diablo Blanco]

This isn't about black; it's about GREEN, namely the green being siphoned from the people's wallets, by Obama's tax-and-spend frenzy.

These tea party folks come from all walks of life. It's the left that keeps whining about any criticism about Obama being because of race (a factor as to why he was picked to be the Dems' nominee).

Puhleez.  Were you happy paying for $5 a gallon gas when bush was in office.  or do you take the bus?  How about how Bush allowed the economy to be crippled and then handed over the country in a huge mess to Obama to clean up.  man what is wrong with american's today.  Short memories are ruining this country.

[El Diablo Blanco]

Another shallow and ignorant look at things.

The post you just made sounds an awfully lot like the thought patterns you espouse the Tea Party people to have.

Oh come on man.  A lot of these senators in the bible belt came from families that owned slaves, now they are being told what to do by a black man.  You have no idea how hard it is for these guys to admit.  Honestly, 10 years ago did you think we had better odds of having a black man, a woman or a gay as President which would it be?  The idea of a black man in office was not even close to being a reality.  Now it is and a lot of these folks can't stand it.