Tea Parties Were Created as a Republican Political Ploy – The Tea Party has been billed as an organic grassroots operation, but a newly uncovered document obtained by Politico suggests the movement has been successfully co-opted as a Republican fundraising ploy.
GOP political consultant Joe Wierzbicki floated the proposal a year ago today to create the Tea Party Express, a nationwide bus tour to “give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus.” His idea eventually became one of the best known brands in the Tea Party movement.
The document cautioned planners to be careful when discussing the ruse to use Tea Parties for political gain. “We have to be very, very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include ‘outside of the family’ because quite frankly, we are not only not part of the political establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently a part of the ‘tea party’ establishment,” Wierzbicki wrote.
Wierzbicki, who works for the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, went on to outline how conservative media including Fox News could be leveraged to hype the Tea Party Express. He recommended using “mentions and possibly even promotion from conservative/pro-tea party bloggers, talk radio hosts, Fox News commentators, etc…”
Ohio Tea Party Leader Calls Hispanic Immigrants “Spicks”; Asks “Where’s My Gun?†– CNN host Rick Sanchez described the leader of an Ohio Tea Party group as “a bigot and a liar” on Tuesday, after he had first referred to Hispanic immigrants as “spicks” and then attempted to defend himself by claiming he had merely been quoting a 1960’s Bee Gee’s song.
Several weeks ago, during a march supporting immigration reform, Tea Party leader Sonny Thomas had tweeted, “Illegals everywhere today! So many spicks makes me feel like a speck. Grr. Where’s my gun?” That original tweet appears to have been scrubbed from Thomas’s Twitter feed, although a few retweets calling it “disgusting” can still be found.
UnitedHealth Group CEO’s Income Increases by 973 Percent – Health insurer UnitedHealth Group managed a 28 percent profit growth and rewarded CEO Stephen Hemsley by increasing his total compensation by 178 percent (2.78 times what he got last year).
An Associated Press analysis found that the 57-year-old executive received 2009 total compensation valued at $8.9 million from the Minnetonka, Minn., company, up from $3.2 million the year before.
But that doesn’t include the exercise of his stock options. When options are added in, the top dog at the nation’s largest health insurer by market capitalization made a cool $102 million vs. $9.5 million the previous year (a 973 percent increase or 10.73 times what he made last year)
John McCain Says U.S. Should “Pull the Trigger” on Iran – Senator John McCain said the United States has been backing away from a brewing fight with Iran, while that country moves ever closer to having nuclear weapons. McCain opened a Senate hearing Wednesday by saying that Iran will get the bomb unless the United States acts more boldly. Speaking figuratively, the Arizona Republican says the U.S. keeps pointing a loaded gun at Iran but failing to “pull the trigger.”
Conservative Pundits Say Obama Nuclear Summit Logo is a ‘Muslim Crescent’ – For the second time in the past few months, conservative commentators see something sinister in an Obama administration logo.
Following a controversy in February over what some said was a “Muslim crescent” in the logo of the US Missile Defense Agency, some commentators are saying they see the same thing in the thin, white crescent that borders the logo of President Barack Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit.
The administration says the logo is a stylized hydrogen atom symbol, but wait…
Did you know that the Rowan County, NC Republican Party has a CRESCENT Republican Women’s Club? Why crescent when there are so many other shape names available? What’s the real message there?
Then, of course, the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference was held in….the CRESCENT City, aka New Orleans. With all the cities in America to choose from, they went to the CRESENT City?
And that’s not all. Over and over again, the Republicans associate themselves with things Crescent. The Greeneville, NC Sun newspaper noted in 2008, for example, that The Greene County Republican Women were hosting a McCain/Palin Rally and barbecue supper at….the CRESCENT School on West Main Street.
And several Republican events have occurred at Crescent Sheraton hotels.
And, millions of God-fearing Americans are duped every day into eating croissants!
Oh yes, it’s true! The tasty but sinister breakfast pastry is in the shape of the Moslem holy symbol!!! Even worse, it is named in the treasonous French foreign language!!
The ISLAMO-FASCIST EURO-SOCIALISTS are trying to SUBVERT MY BREAKFAST!!!.
And think how evil mechanics must be, since they use CRESENT wrenches!
Bill O’Reilly Lies About What Was Said on Fox News and Even His Own Show – A couple of weeks ago, Republican U.S. Senator Tom Coburn warned a town hall audience in Oklahoma against “being biased by Fox News,” telling his constituents not to believe everything they hear on the network.
Yesterday, Coburn appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s show to give Fox a chance to respond to his criticism. In the interview, O’Reilly repeatedly slammed Coburn for saying that Fox News had claimed that health care reform would send people who don’t buy insurance to jail. O’Reilly adamantly denied that anybody had ever said any such thing on Fox and accused Coburn of launching an unfair and untruthful attack on FNC.
I’m sure you’ll be stunned to learn that O’Reilly was lying through his teeth. Not only was Coburn completely accurate — Fox News has repeatedly broadcast the false claim that health care reform would send people who don’t buy insurance to jail — the claim has been made on Bill O’Reilly’s own show!
Tea Partiers Are Confused – While some say the Tea Party stands for “Taxed Enough Already,” most Tea Party supporters – 52 percent – say their taxes are fair, a new CBS News/ New York Times poll shows. Just under one in five Americans say they support the Tea Party movement.
Americans overall are more likely than Tea Partiers to describe the income taxes they’ll pay this year as fair – 62 percent do, according to the poll, conducted April 5 – 12.
The Maddest of Mad Tea Parties – Seated, from left: Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Bill O’Reilly. Top: John McCain (out on a limb), Rush Limbaugh, Ayn Rand, and William Kristol.
In Wonderland, Alice found a contract saying “Sign me,†and got her own tea party on Foxy News. “Did you know Obama wants to socialize the gene pool?†confided Glenn the Mad Hater. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!†explained Bill O’Hare. “Everybody’s mad here—aren’t you?†asked Glenn the Mad Hater. “Say, I just remembered I’m really mad!†said John McCaterpillar. “I’m so mad I could bite my cigar,†said Rushy Dumpty, falling off the wagon. “Well, you’re all mad and I shall be your president!†said Alice. “And I’ll show you just how to win,†purred the Kristol Kat. With that, he vanished. “Socialist tyranny!†cried the Mad Hater. “Off with her hairstyle!†yelled Queen Ayn of Hearts. “Will you all just shut up!†said Bill O’Hare.
Regards,
Jim
Andy Hailey