Moe Lane

They got two dozen people out to protest Sunday in favor of the Democrats’ health care rationing bill in Marin County, CA!  Impressive, isn’t it? – but then, as the article (and, implicitly, Instapundit) notes, Marin County is of course a strong Democratic stronghold.  So strong, in fact, that the Tea Party being held at the same time a couple blocks down generated a mere 600 people*.  I shudder at the implications.

I shudder.

Moe Lane

*At five bucks a head.  There were vendors.  And at least one candidate for Congress: Dana Walsh (CA-08, Nancy Pelosi’s seat).

(Via Hot Air) And it’s coming from the Congressional arm of the political party that has spent the last year informing the very people that they’re now trying to galvanize into action that being against the Democratic party’s insane amount of spending means that you actually like to put your testicles in other people’s mouths.

There is a certain disconnect, here.  Which is a polite way of saying “The Tea Partiers are mad at the GOP.  They bloody well despise the Democrats.”

Please calibrate accordingly.

Admittedly, it looks a little, well, small by right-wing activist standards, but that’s a real, live Lefty protest against a business organization* using actual pitchforks and functional torches. Feel free to pass that around the next time somebody has the vapors about a Tea Party protest…

(Via Instapundit.)

Moe Lane

*The Connecticut Business and Industry Association; goodness only knows why they in particular half-aroused the ire of this particular bunch. Probably they were late on the vig.

…third parties are a dead end.

…she quickly pivoted to the broader question of whether the Tea Party movement might successfully field its own candidates in national elections, and on that point she sounded far from convinced.

“Now the smart thing will be for independents who are such a part of this Tea Party movement to, I guess, kind of start picking a party,” [former Governor Sarah] Palin said. “Which party reflects how that smaller, smarter government steps to be taken? Which party will best fit you? And then because the Tea Party movement is not a party, and we have a two-party system, they’re going to have to pick a party and run one or the other: ‘R’ or ‘D’.”

Ace (the aforementioned, and self-described, GOP shill*), cut right to the chase when responding to both this, and the fairly obvious point that a functional third party = Democratic victory:

I’m not interested in “sending messages” when those messages come with the other, all-caps message: BARACK OBAMA AND HIS MOST STALWART LIBERAL ALLIES WIN, IN BLOW-OUTS, FOR AN ENTIRE GENERATION.

I’m not interested in a message like that, either.  Mind you, I’m not as worried about this as either Ace or Allahpundit is.  Third parties are often threatened, but are rarely a problem on the federal level.  Indeed, if the Democrats are really relying on and spending resources on the plan of encouraging a national third-party in time for November then it’s official: Congress will flip in the next election.  Both Houses.  You don’t make desperation plays like that unless you’re, well, desperate.

Besides, the RNC had a rush of oxygen to the brain.  I guess that we must have tried everything else, first**.

Moe Lane

*I’m the partisan hack, in case that wasn’t obvious.

**I didn’t say that I was a blindly partisan hack.

Crossposted to RedState.

At least, it was for Kleinheider, coupled with a big heaping of sour grapes about how nobody wants to come out and march for left-populism the way that they want to march for right- and libertarian-populism (not quite the same thing).  For that matter, the sexual connotations in Kleinheider’s first paragraph* would provide interesting fodder for a remote psychological viewing, if I inclined that way.  On the other hand, I haven’t actually seen THAT WOMAN’s speech, so I probably shouldn’t even be opining on the subject.  On the gripping hand: it’s Sunday, and since when do people not opine on subjects just because of… any reason, really?

See Instapundit for a round-up of more reactions.

Moe Lane

*The erotic and sexual aspects associated with vampirism in modern Western society are of course well known; I suggest this post for a perusal of some of the literature.  And this one for a more pragmatic take.

#2 was particularly tasty, although my essentially kindhearted and easygoing nature dictates that I be kinder these days to those poor folks trying to spontaneously generate a left-populist movement out of… well, nothing.  Nothing at all*.

(H/T: Instapundit)

Moe Lane

*I know, I know: it’s fun.  Not as much fun as watching elements of the Left now try to co-opt a movement that they spent half a year sexually slurring, of course.  Those people really need to learn to embrace the concept of long-term planning.

Crossposted to RedState.

It’s actually been a matter of some amusement for us over there: you could tell who the lazy or just dumb reporters were from their habitual reference of the site as Redstate.org, which it hasn’t been for years. Apparently, the Washington Post has gotten around to updating their files, bless their hearts. A shame that Eugene Robinson didn’t then try to actually talk to a Republican before he wrote his column, although I admit that it would have been harder than sneering at the Republicans that live largely in his head.

Let’s unpack a typical paragraph:

Will loyal members inform on others for harboring suspiciously moderate views?

Err, no.

Will anyone judged guilty have to wear a sign saying “Republican In Name Only” as penance?

Err, no.

Will there be re-education camps?

Err, no. Also: cheapening to the memory of victims in the tens of millions.

Will deviationists face the Enhanced Interrogation Technique of being forced to listen to the wit and wisdom of Glenn Beck, at ear-splitting volume, for days on end?

Err, no. (more…)

Well, actually it’s from a Beltway Special sent to Jane Hamsher by Jesse Lee. For those who don’t know, Lee’s job is to collect the urine of Rahm Emanuel, dump it on the Left blogosphere, and then tell them that it was actually precipitation. He admirably does his job here:

The quote in question displays a disdain for bloggers, and while I’ll unequivocally give my word that I do not hear this sentiment from virtually anywhere inside the White House, this is difficult to disprove one way or another.

You can actually see the semantic content of that sentence drain away if you keep watching it for long enough.

Moe Lane

PS: This is one time where throwing gasoline on the fire seems… superfluous.  I mean, what can I say that hasn’t been said already?  Except that possibly some left-bloggers should be kicking themselves right now over their slavish attacks of such a libertarian-friendly group as the Tea Parties.

Oops?

Crossposted to RedState.

This is not going to be a link-fest; this is going to be a scolding.

Speaking as a former Democrat: August was a personal humiliation for me.  I would never have believed that the Democratic party could have produced such a crop of perpetually-terrified, start-at-their-0wn-shadow, two-for-flinching scaredy-cat politicians as the ones that showed up on our television screens and monitors, usually moving at high speed away from the cameras.  Note that I did not use the term ‘old women.’  They were running away from old women.  Extremely annoyed (and for good reason) old women, true: but you’d have thought that the Democratic party was facing the combined specters of the Mongol Horde, the bubonic plague, and Skynet, the way that their politicians stood not on the order of their coming, but went at once.

Yes, I know that the level of vitriol and projection on the people opposing health care rationing grates on a lot of people.  I’m one of them; probably the most teeth-gnashing aspect for me was watching the Speaker of the House call people who disagreed with her Nazis, particularly since (as somebody else pointed out) a goodly number of the people who she was slandering actually fought Nazis.  The casual sexual slurs and projection of motives weren’t particularly welcome, either.  But what highlighted it for me was the way that  the Democrats hid while they did all of that.  Telephone town halls.  Attempts to hold meetings without telling constituents.  Last-minute changes in venues.  Rigged question-and-answer periods.  Bussed-in ’supporters.’  Some of them didn’t even dare hold a town hall – and more would have tried that trick, if they hadn’t been pressured into doing it by their Republican challengers.  And the ultimate item?  They’re going to hide behind a dead person and try to pass health care rationing that way.

Which, by the way, won’t work.

All in all, this was just… embarrassing.  I used to identify with this party.  Most of my family still does, in fact – and from now on, when political topics come up, it’s going to be awkward for everybody involved.  Them, for being stuck with a bunch of wimps representing their interests – and me, because I hate seeing my family distressed.

Incredible.  Simply incredible – in the more archaic sense of the word.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Hold out the hope that a national third party – i.e., continued control of the federal government by the Democratic party – will be the end result.  Personally, I think it’s cruel to get their hopes up like that.

Which should not be taken as a request to stop doing it, of course.

(Also via Instapundit – heck, the same post, even.)

Crossposted to RedState.

[UPDATE]: I’ve had a copy of the image sent to me that includes the URL.  The Google cache for the site is here; as you can see, not only did the image originate from the site, but the author him/herself was present at the Reston Town Hall, writing posts about it.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I think that we’ve established that the flier found below represents a deliberate attempt by the Left to incite racially-motivated hate against the Right.

I apologize in advance for the ugly and graphic nature of the image that will be available for viewing after the fold: I would prefer not to show it, but unfortunately somebody decided that it was suitable for distribution after the Reston, VA Town Hall – and I can’t actually talk about it without showing it. (more…)

Via RS Reader izoneguy comes this heartwarming story of lowered expectations in the health care rationing wars. Yesterday, it was a nascent national movement dedicated to bringing The Audacity Of Hope And Change That You Can Believe In to the huddle masses; today, they’re trying to get enough people together for a decent potluck. And how is it working out for them?

“We had 10 people. Not a huge number, but good,” said Ms. Adkins, 55, who has been an Obama volunteer since the first day she saw him during a stop here on March 11, 2007.

Not that there’s anything wrong with potlucks; in fact, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Tea Party folks to start planning to have them after the town halls. Save some money on takeout that way.  Of course, given the number of people who show up to the town halls it’d probably make sense to split them up into multiple potlucks, but that’s a logistical issue. (more…)

Or at least an answering machine.  It looks like the folks over at MoveOn.org and the AFL-CIO decided to send some calls over to FreedomWorks, and with the usual result: slurs, profanity, sexual obsession, histor… actually, there is a lot of sexual obsession in the sample phone calls that Freedomworks have posted; it’s kind of interesting, actually. Anyway… historical inaccuracies, and of course everyone’s favorite: threats of violence.

In other words, pretty much par for the course.  We get sent this stuff all the time, over at RedState.  Heck, I get sent this stuff on a fairly regular basis here, and I blog about zombies.

…a Senator who is barely known for defeating Michael Steele in the 2006 election (honestly, Maryland does not have particularly interesting Senators; sorry about that) – anyway, if you can’t get Ben Cardin to sign off on your ‘astroturf’ rhetoric, well, you have a branding problem.  Watch as he manfully attempts to avoid sweating on national television over the mess that his higher-ups have landed him in:

Cardin probably saw this poll (via @RobertBluey). 71% of adults want to attend a town hall involving health care, and are currently pegged at 50% for, 45% against. Turn those numbers into likely voters… and now you know why Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) suddenly doesn’t think that health care rationing protesters are ‘un-American‘ after all. Not that she’s planning to actually face all those protesters; even if they are also 2010 voters…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

It’s actually not that hard.

1. Figure out which professional agitation group typically runs faux-populist demonstrations in your area.
2. Subscribe to their email list and/or website.
3. DO NOT ENGAGE THEM IN CONVERSATION AND/OR DISCUSSION.  You merely want to keep up with what they’re doing.
4. When they announce a protest, note the time and date.
5. Contact your local, actual conservative grassroots group.
6. On the day of the event, swamp them ten to one. (Via Instapundit)
7. Nicely.
8. Politely.
9. Smile a lot.
10. Bring cameras.  Because they’re going to violate 7, 8, & 9 themselves, and you want that recorded.

These groups use strategic camera shots, a largely disinterested local press looking for local color, and a general lack of counter-protesters to come across as more powerful and effectual than they actually are. Right now they can get away with getting twenty people out to a local event and calling it “grassroots activism.” Make it clear that they’re ridiculously outnumbered, and they’ll have to start spending more and more resources to accomplish their goals, such as they are.

Moe Lane

PS: None of this should stop people from having their own protests, of course. But counter-protests are much easier to put together… if you have the people to do it. We do. They don’t.

Crossposted to RedState.

Hey, guess what? This show up en masse stuff works!

PORT ST. LUCIE — After a week of complaints about a sign at Freedomfest on July 4, city officials apologized to the Treasure Coast Tea Party.

“It was not our intent to interfere or cast dispersions on the tea party,” said City Manager Don Cooper, who took responsibility for what he called a “bone-head decision.”

About 75 members of the anti-tax group attended the City Council’s Monday night meeting looking for an apology.

Via Instapundit. I have to say, this ‘getting out and marching’ thing is jolly good fun, isn’t it? We should do it more often. As in, ‘whenever we get annoyed at something.’  It certainly seems to get results.

Moe Lane

PS: Still think that it was a good idea to give the American Right a taste for activism, kids? – because ‘high inertia’ is a double-edged sword.

Please, by all means: laugh.

Crossposted to RedState.

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.” – M. Gandhi

[UPDATE] “Say what you will about George W. Bush, he had a skin whose thickness wasn’t measured in Planck lengths.” I really wish that I had written that.

Because he’s sounding just a little bit self-conscious on the subject:

Obama targets tea bags at town hall

At his 100th-day town hall meeting in St. Louis Wednesday, President Barack Obama took direct aim at the anti-tax “tea party” demonstrations that have cropped up over the last month and took a veiled shot at the Fox News Channel, the cable news network closely associated with the protests.

[snip]

“Those of you who are watching certain news channels on which I’m not very popular, and you see folks waving tea bags around, Obama said, “let me just remind them that I am happy to have a serious conversation about how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long term, how we are going to stabilize Social Security.”

See also (originally noted via FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog) the video below the fold: (more…)

[UPDATE] Welcome, Instapundit readers. The video that the quote’s from is at the bottom, and via Hot Air. And it’s why we love ‘Zo so.

—–

While the GE shareholders meltdown is interesting – see here for the basic story (H/T the Rhetorician), Ace of Spades for an observation on how the market is voting, and Hot Air for what was either a prescient or instigating Bill O’Reilly segment – we’re going to segue over to Little Miss Attila instead. Mostly because she has what was really the proper take on the Garofalo interview that might have spawned this mess for GE:

Janeane Garofalo is absolutely right: the tea parties are racism straight up. Because if it had been racism on the rocks, PJM would have gotten someone else to do interviews that day, instead of asking Zo to do two jobs. And if it had been racism-and-water, the organizers of the event wouldn’t have imposed upon Alfonzo by asking him to the podium. If it were racism-and-soda, they wouldn’t have recruited Zo to work for PJTV at all, but would have allowed him to continue commenting on events from his living room in the SoCal desert.

(more…)

You probably remember Susan Roesgen from yesterday: she was the one who got so peeved when the person that she interviewed turned out to be not on-script. Voluntary propagandists often aren’t, when dealing with messy reality.

Anyway, she’ll probably be lionized by CNN for her “bravery” to standing up to people yelling back at somebody with a video crew trying to browbeat them, so watch this clip while you still can:

See also AoSHQ and The Other McCain.

…because I bet you that Jon Stewart isn’t going to think that this example of hysterical “reporting” is going to be nearly as funny as her reporting of the Fargo flood was. Or overwrought. Or even as silly journalism, although that depends largely on whether he forgot to take the clown nose off. After all, floods are one thing, but at the end of the day voluntary propagandists have only got each other to cling to.

Possibly even ‘bitterly.’

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

… as Houston the Raven would say, hold it, peruse it, read each rune of it.

Classical reference.

See you on the flipside.

Crossposted to RedState.