Wednesday, April 15, 2009
News CNN's Anderson Cooper on why Republicans can't find their voice
Posted by Andisheh Nouraee on Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 10:09 PM
I think CNN's Anderson Cooper has summed up the silliness of tea party phenomenon rather tidily:
DAVID GERGEN: "They still haven't found their voice. This happens to a minority party after they've lost a couple bad elections."
ANDERSON COOPER: It's hard to talk when you're teabagging.
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I have to admit astonishment whenever anyone posts a comment like Frank's to our – or any – website. If I don't like a website, I typically stay away entirely. It would never occur to me, for instance, to bookmark Newsmax.com or WorldNetDaily just so I could troll them. I'm not suggesting Frank get lost; we welcome all comers. I'm simply expressing genuine puzzlement at this behavior. And, yes, Dale, Anderson knows from teabagging.
Andisheh it is pretty irresponsible journalism to dismiss the anger of a million people nationwide. It's the kind of thing that will definitely bite you in the ass. If you don't believe that a $10 trillion debt is an abuse of governmental authority then I really feel bad for you. The tea party had nothing to do with Republican agendas. God knows they are the ones who got us into this mess. Please get your facts straight before just lazily touting your party line. It's really embarrassing.
It's not a magazine. It's a weekly newspaper. And thank you, CL, for what you do. I think you have a grip on reality.
Paul, you seem to be confused about some very basic facts. 1. There were probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 250K participants yesterday -- not one million, as you state. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/tea-parties-appear-to-draw-at-least.html 2. I am not dismissing serious concern about federal debt. I am dismissing the tea party gatherings because they are profoundly unserious. The very newspaper company that employs us both features a story this week in which I shine an unflattering light on the Fed's spendingest department. Something else to consider, by the time long-term veteran's health benefits are paid out, the total cost of the Iraq war will be in the neighborhood of $3 trillion. http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/what_has_the_iraq_war_cost_/Content?oid=428363 Atlanta Tea Party headliner Sean Hannity not only backed the Iraq invasion, but he criticizes attempts to draw it down. Additionally, he has spent much of the last two weeks complaining that Obama's Pentagon budget is too small, even though it's the largest ever. He's not against federal debt. These are just some of the reason I can't take the event seriously. 3. To state that the tea party had "nothing to do" with Republican agendas is blatantly false. Visit AtlantaTeaParty.Net and scroll down the right-hand side of the page to see the events donors. You will see a dozen or so top state Republican leaders , including the speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, and several more Republican groups -- including THE GEORGIA REPUBLICAN PARTY. I'm sure they'll be surprised to learn that, according to you, they have "nothing to do" with the Republican Party. Read the interview I linked to on Monday for a prominent local Libertarian's take on how the event was co-opted by Republicans.
One more time.... it isn't taxes, but excessive taxes AND excessive spending. It isn't debt but excessive debt.
How can you protest a tax increase when there hasnt been a tax increase? Believe me, people making 250k + were not the ones out their protesting and they're the only ones subject to the expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts. Not even a tax increase. that's why the event was ridiculous.
Are these tea parties new? If not, where were these people when the Bush Admin was spending through the roof?
Victoria - please see the post immediately above yours for the answer to your question. S Dekalb Voter - we were upset about the spending, but now we are about 7 - 10 times more upset. There are also some new riders on the bandwagon.
It's all about spending, the taxes will come later. Do you think that the upper 5% can pay for everything? This Obama math doesn't add up! These businesses and manufacturers will pass along the additional operational costs to consumers....you and me so, yes, your taxes haven't gone up yet but your cost of living will. You may not agree with these Tea Parties but it is pretty easy to see that the current imbalance in government is causing problems. How many social programs can they pack into these spending bills and still call it “stimulus”….that’s the new game in town. Folks have every right to protest and you hippies can scoff all you want but this country was founded by a group of protesters. Anyone still talking about Bush needs to pull their heads out of the sand and anal orifice. Obama was a voting member of Congress so saying he “inherited” this ain’t going to cut it. He’s spending MY money on social programs and welfare. Cap/Trade is going to force more jobs overseas because it will be too expensive for manufacturers to operate here in the U.S. All this in a time when we desperately need manufacturing jobs because a service based economy is not the road to longevity and stability. Moscow, Tehran, Pyongyang & Beijing can all smell blood. Obama and his idealistic, child-like view of the world is going to get us in a lot of trouble. Rhetoric will do nothing to curb Iran and N. Korea from further developing their nuclear programs - how about those consequences for N. Korea’s missile testing…WHAT CONSEQUENCES, JUST EMPTY TALK. Moscow is working hard to try and get the U.S. out of Western Europe - remember Moscow talking Kyrgyzstan into closing our Air Base. Don't forget about the attempted to coup to take over Georgia in response to the missile defense system that is supposed to be built in Poland. China is investing a ton of money in Venezuela and Peru (two very anti-American & anti-democracy countries) securing oil deals in exchange for power plants further weakening the our position in the Western Hemisphere. These aren’t just a string of coincidences. We needed a strong leader and all we got was an inexperienced car salesman pushing changes we don't need. You keep drinking from the fountain of hope and change, I'm not thirsty. The government is too large and will only grow under this administration. Tom Jefferson had the right idea but all of the sheeple have forgotten. "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty" "A government big enough to supply you with everything you need is a government big enough to take away everything that you have.... The course of history shows that as government grows, liberty decreases" I guess I'm a right-wing extremist now because I believe in the Constitution. Pretty soon folks with the wrong bumper sticker will be targeted for their political views and their freedoms will disappear. I can read the writing on the wall...CAN YOU?
Having a bumper sticker on your car after an election should make you a target. A target of people who do not like assholes. My Obama sticker was removed from my car the day after the election. No sense rubbing it in. And if you are putting stupid slogans on your car then.... well there is a special place in hell for those people. Right or left.
I swear i read that exact same rant on a different post on CL. What did you just copy and paste?
Go back to sleep edgewood adam. Your attention span is too short for this conversation.
Dale, Have you ever seen the movie Unbreakable? We are kind of like that. We are on opposite sides of the spectrum but still on the same line. I get to be the Bruce Willis character though. Actually on second thought i think i would rather be the villian....
You guys missed my point and for the record my vehicles stay bumper sticker free. It's not about bumper stickers.
I got your point. I just didnt care. I thought the bumper sticker aspect was more interesting than blathering, long winded conspiracy theories that you had already posted on a previous thread.
John J Fed seems to have at least thought his position through. $11 TRILLION or so CANNOT EVER be paid back the way we are set up now. Our great-grandchildren will be wondrering what kind of stupid fools we were to allow this. If anyone noticed, Obama promised just about every voter in the country some "FREE" something; college education, tax reduction, jobs, jobless pay, preschool, etc. The lemming voters of this country jumped off the cliff believing every word and thinking they were going to get something for nothing. The pathetic ignorance of the voters of this country amazed me then and that a majority of those fools now want trillions of dollars of debt added to the problem gives me consern for our country. I love my country, but keep in mind that nations, over known history, DO NOT last forever; They all F up something, at some time. Has President Obama taken a poison pill and we are just not aware of it yet? Straight Thinker
long-winded conspiracy theory? Try watching the news edgewood. You can verify everything I posted through the news, that's not stuff I just made up.
Edgie: Do you have an opinion or do you just criticize others with nothing constructive to add and then blindly follow the catchy slogans on the campaign and vote with the uneducated masses who have never run a business or been fiscally responsible? Straight Thinker
Pardon my zinger. PS I do run a business and am a young homeowner with stellar credit.
I want to make a clear point here. After reading the article and all the comments, I have come to one conclusion: All news is subjective and you can twist it in any manner you want. Also, poop stinks.
Whaaa? Who do dat is dat sayys dat mess??!! Georrge Bushie done smoked me out of house n ma homes, homes!
Edgie A: It sounds as if you are a budding liberal and socialist looking for the "5%" to support you. Can I just write you a check directly, or would you like the government to turn each dollar we give them into ten cents, hire a couple of useless workers, and then require you to stand in line to get my dimes? Please tell me ONE government program that is well run? Do you want your family reliant upon a health care system run by the government? How about the school systems, how are government agencies doing there? Social Security (a misnomer)? I have paid in 30 years of significant amounts of money; will I ever see any of it? Some non-essential government worker can work that same 30 years and retire making the same amount of money for the rest of his/her life doing nothing, yet I have have contributed more to the system. If you are a young business owner you should re-think the government's role right now. Go to Canada for some medical help. Earn some money in England and see more than 50% of it go to government. Your generation needs to turn this around right now or you are in trouble. President Obama and the Democratic Congress have the potential to cause financial ruin for our country. How does your business run when you spend much more money than you know you can ever repay? This is why comments such as Comrade Cooper's mocking the "Tea Party" is so ignorant. CHANGE should happen, but not the way it is going now. Wake up Edgie! Straight Thinker
Right thinker: The sky is falling The sky is falling And i will take your check. I am all out of beer and crack and could use some more. My address is 5758 Suck My Dick Lane Atlanta, Ga 30316
"I do follow the news. Just not Fox news." Funny how liberals throw the right-wingers-and-Fox-News canard out. Pew Research surveyed and learned that more Dems and Independents watch Fox News than do Republicans. I watch them all and know how biased they ALL are, except McNeil-Lehrer. case in point the CNN reporterette who, when not asking leading questions, argued with the Teabagger in Chicago. Edgewood Adam is a smart guy and reasonable, but he is strongly liberal and can be frustratingly dismissive. Get to know him. He will likely be more respectful and you will like him better.
Edgie A: You are proving the point that Obama attracted the lowest common demonator of voters. You do live in the right neighborhood....give Comrade Cooper a call and you can tea bag each other. Straight Thinker
Edgewood Adam - on CL (and GriftDrift and Tondees and Atlmalcontent and...), I am the villian. Ask anyone.
@John Jay - "These aren’t just a string of coincidences." You are correct, they have been playing out under the watch of every President since Clinton took office. You aren't seriously going to blame Obama for the problems you listed are you? If he screws them up, then fire away.
Dale and Right Thinker: Honestly i was going to write an actual response but being as time was of the essence i went with a joke instead. One that i am still giggling to myself about. He did prove a long standing theory of mine though. Give them enough time and they will show they are predjudice: "You are proving the point that Obama attracted the lowest common demonator of voters. You do live in the right neighborhood…"
Oh yea, and then i will quit flooding the Loaf with my bullshit. I get my news from NPR. Those do-good-nicks might lean slightly to the left but i feel it is pretty fair coverage. No CNN or Fox news for me.
Edgewood Adam @ 2:58 wins best comment o' the day. DaleC, I've got to disagree with you on being a Fresh Loaf villain. You and I disagree on some issues, but most of the time I can see where you're coming from. There's always room for debate.
DaleC: An intelligent interchange will usually separate the informed from the people who just like to hear themselves talk, or in this case write. I have not seen anything "smart" from him at all. I would like to see his logical reasons that he believes creating TRILLIONS of dollars of debt that we can't pay back and bigger government is a good thing to do. Granted, Bush and the Democratic Congress were asleep at the wheel. I would like to see ALL of them removed and a massive "Tea Party" is a great idea to make that point to them. The Dems and Reps are for the most part both corrupt (by definition), and simply operate our nation in the manner they have been accustomed. Obama promised to eliminate "pork" but there are billions and billions of dollars of prok in HIS recovery plan. I say we flush the toilet and start over with some good Americans with the country's best interest in mind, not the politician's. As for Edgie, he just needs to write down his true beliefs right now and then follow that up with the reasons that his beliefs make sense. It is easy to bitch about someone else's opinion but when you run out of steam these shallow thinkers usually resort to insults. Insults are a sign that you lost the debate and don't have a defensible position. That I'm afraid is your "smart and reasonable" friend Edgie. I hope that he takes me up on my suggestion to write down his beliefs and reasons that support them. It may be enlightening to him. Straight Thinker
Somehow it doesn't surprise me that Anderson Cooper even knows the meaning of "teabagging". Sounds like a term that would apply more to his friends than the "right".
Thomas - just read the responses from other readers. You get it. Ken got it. Andisheh gets it, but forgets it occasionally :-) Ask Tara-Lynne hat she thinks of my comments :-)
Edgie A: Please don't misunderstand me. Predjudice is really not one of my faults. The fact of the matter is that the average educational level of those who voted for Obama was less in years than those who voted for McCain. Look it up. And, whether you want to admit it or not, with higher education comes higher income; another fact. These being facts, it would appear that the promise of free goods and services appealed to more people at the lower end of the socio-economic scale, thereby making my statement about the lowest common demonimator absolutely coorect and substanitated by facts. Please prove me wrong....but don't just insult me. Staright Thinker
Edgewood Adam - since you gave a bogus address, how can Right Thinker's response that you "live in the right neighborhood" be prejudiced? I think what he meant was that anyone who would reply with "Suck My Dick Lane" is a Lowest Common Denomintor kind of person. Besides "Suck My Dick Lane" is in 30308 and 30309, aka My Neighborhood. :-)
DaleC: I will give you the credit for being "smart" where you tried to give the compliment to Edgie. "Predjudice" was not even the correct word the way Edgie used it, let alone in the right context, but he was busy giggling at his own "joke" that contained no punchline or humor. Thomas W seemed to like Edgie's joke, but I would bet I can guess his age and who he voted for. Straight "Right-Center" Thinker
I feel so much better now that you have given me credit for being smart. Imagine what that means to me. I bet you can't get within 3 years on Mr Wheatley.
Haha. Nicely played Dale. But have to disagree with you on the neighborhood comment. Why would my neighborhood be a lowest common denominator neighborhood? My display name is edgewood adam so obiviously i reside in Edgewood. The implication is that lowest common denominator people live in Edgewood. I might have a lowest common denominator sense of humor but that was not what was being said.
True, the handle, which is the MOST obvious part of your persona here, eluded me. Maybe he was referring to the fact that Obama voters tend to be lower income, as do Edgewood residents? I'm trying to give benefit of the doubt, rather than think him a dick right away.
Dale C, this is what I think of your comments: Highlights. Of. My. Day. Except today. That honor goes to Edgewood Adam.
DaleC: It is good to see that you can turn on anyone equally well. Sorry for the compliment; I was mistaken. If Mr. Wheatley thought Edgie's "joke" was funny I would say he is 14. That is about the time when dick-sucking jokes were funny to little boys. Edgie: Believe it or not, it is not that obvious where you live or what "Edgewood" is. The world does not revolve around you and there is no way to make your original "predjudice" comment make any sense whatsoever. You had better resort to insults another time because your position has fizzled....again. Straight Thinker
Though, DaleC, I do sigh at your ability to waver between logical interpretation of supposed facts and appreciation of humor, to entirely lacking a sense of humor and simply parroting party lines.
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