The 14 Most Ludicrous Tea Party Moments

When we say "wild," you say "how wild?" To commemorate this weekend's National Tea Party Convention, take a look back at some of the seminal moments of the movement's short history and vote for nuttiest.

CNBC's Rick Santelli gave an animated tirade from the floor of Chicago's Board of Trade in which he railed against bailouts, the stimulus package and Obama's mortgage plan. Many say this was the rant that launched a thousand more.

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Comments

[WOODSTOCKER51]

09:23 AM on 02/08/2010

...my favorite interview was with this slow talking guy with a huge drawl....said "he dint want no goverment tellin' him to wear a seatbelt!".......wow.................lol......i almost fell over laughing so hard...this.says it all about these "true americans"..

[exPatPatti]

06:40 AM on 02/08/2010

These teabaggers antics are the vilest of the vile. Their rhetoric is full of hatred and fear, bigotry and intolerance. Their popularity says a lot about the American mindset and it isn't good.

[Jack78]

10:01 AM on 02/08/2010

Really?
My sign read;
DC = District of Corruption

How exactly is that hatred, fear, bigotry or intolerance?

[TooLooze]

10:11 AM on 02/08/2010

Because you were next to a person with a sign that had words that started with N and ended in R. Not all tea baggers are racist, they only support people who are.

[Smithn]

06:11 PM on 03/22/2010

The age old axion: "You can tell all about a person by the company he keeps."

FYI: A steady realization is rising to the top that a large percentage of the Tea Party is racist. This won't go away--form your own protest group recognizing the principles you hold dear. Tea Partiers have been manipulated by the "Sons of Reagan" Dick Armey, Gingrich, Tancredeo, Abramoff since Obama came in office, if not before.

[roannamac]

08:59 PM on 02/07/2010

I don't care what these people say, there was not a single person of color in the room. This is a bunch of racist, old white people who are upset that all their beliefs about America has been shattered by the election of a black man. Progressives, Dems, Independents, you need to get it together before one more of these clowns end up running your country.

[exPatPatti]

06:42 AM on 02/08/2010

Well said and bound to fall on deaf ears and fail to enter the thoughts of closed minds.

[Jack78]

10:02 AM on 02/08/2010

Your race card is expired.
Try again.

[onecaguy12345]

07:01 PM on 02/07/2010

Yes, Bush had deficits. But why is it OK that Obama's are 400% of Bush's?

Bush's average deficit/GDP was 3%, which is high but acceptable.

Obama's are 10-11% which are not acceptable.

[roannamac]

08:57 PM on 02/07/2010

lol.. you people really are this stupid aren't you?

[tnkeating]

09:12 PM on 02/07/2010

now whos racist

[onecaguy12345]

09:49 PM on 02/07/2010

What do you not understand? Do you understand what our GDP is, and what the ratio of GDP to deficit is?

[exPatPatti]

06:43 AM on 02/08/2010

There is no such figure over 100%. But you knew this already, right?

[imfedup]

11:07 AM on 02/08/2010

Sure there is.

[onecaguy12345]

11:34 PM on 02/08/2010

If Bush spent $100 billion, and Obama spent $400 billion, Obama spent 400% of what Bush spent.

[fromdnorth]

02:03 PM on 02/07/2010

...add to this Palin's crib notes on her hand at a Q&A which she was coached for.....

[VickyLester]

01:01 PM on 02/07/2010

But they wanted taxation with representation. Didn't these people take junior high history?!?!?

[skepticalindenver]

05:34 PM on 02/07/2010

I recall learniong that in grammer school.

[skepticalindenver]

05:34 PM on 02/07/2010

woops, typo...should be learning

[Eddie01HP]

11:21 AM on 02/07/2010

The Tea Party movement facts:

Not affiliated with either Democrat or Republican parties - both suck, however alignment with the GOP is the best chance we have to save our freedom and liberty.

How anyone can dissagree with the idea of a limited government by the people and for the people is beyond me.

How anyone can dissagree that the National debt Obama just jacked has mortgaged our childres and their childrens futures is immoral and beyond me.

I see a lot of petty remarks on this forum, but nothing that addresses the message of the Tea Party.

I would strongly encourage all who have not yet viewed the Sarah Palin speech last night to view it with an open mind. You will agree with her.

The rest of the "stupid", "racist" and "hate filled" charges are said by people who want to disuade you from seeing and hearing the truth.

Go watch the speech.

[umatim]

12:42 PM on 02/07/2010

fear based rally cry to the folks who just will never reach the level of millionaire, so they project their shortcomings on the man keeping them down...ps..how did the GOP limit government in the last administration?.... crickets.....

[hm1342]

03:55 PM on 02/07/2010

"how did the GOP limit government in the last administration?"

I agree that's part of the problem. The GOP has failed to live up to the rhetoric of lower taxes, less spending and small government. No GOP administration has ever succeeded in accomplishing the last two items on that list. So I can see where a large part of Tea Party followers would be disaffected GOP members. But that should make the Dems happy as things go forward. Whether the Tea Party becomes a faction of the GOP or a third political party it splits the conservative vote. So it would not be in the Dems' interest to denegrate them too much.

[RobinSeattle]

12:45 PM on 02/07/2010

"How anyone can dissagree that the National debt Obama just jacked has mortgaged our childres and their childrens futures is immoral and beyond me."

Of course, that ten trillion bucks that Reagan and the Bush's ran up kinda got us to where the Chinese already have us by the short and curlies.

"see a lot of petty remarks on this forum, but nothing that addresses the message of the Tea Party."

What message is that? The one crafted by GOP pol Dick Armey, now a professional lobbyist, or the ones attacking Jews, blacks, hispanics, gays and the legitimacy of Obama's election?

[exPatPatti]

06:44 AM on 02/08/2010

Exactly!

[jerryatthebeach]

07:42 AM on 02/07/2010

TEA PARTY, Lets vote every Democrat Senator out of office in 2010. We'll do more in 2011

[umatim]

12:43 PM on 02/07/2010

your remarks only embolden me to work harder against you..thanks.

[skepticalindenver]

11:07 PM on 02/07/2010

If the Tea Party really meant what they said, they would work hard to oust every incumbent. Perhaps even singling out GOP incumbents for removal over Dems. However, it's quite clear that, they (you) are full of......(fill in the blank-and it isn't brains).

[Tim303]

03:48 AM on 02/07/2010

I reckon their existence as such is the most ludicrous moment.

[Lulubelle1]

11:13 PM on 02/06/2010

Wow. Who was on the committee with the unenviable task of narrowing it down to a mere 14? And how many months did it take?

[gonzie46]

09:53 PM on 02/06/2010

I just saw a sign from a teabagger that said "BANKRUPT AMERICA, YES WE CAN"

[Goodeye]

04:55 AM on 02/07/2010

That is exactly what Obama intends to do.

[gvscmr]

08:21 AM on 02/07/2010

No George Bush and his buddies handed over the country on the brink and Obama and company kept it from slipping over the edge and into the abyss... It takes more than 1 year to undo 8 years of wars and carnage.

[Hirnlego]

09:38 AM on 02/07/2010

Are you also one of those that discovered fiscal conservatism (a joke btw, because it hasn't happened for years despite rhetoric) as soon as Obama stepped into the white house?
Well then, now you know why people like you are hard to take seriously.

[MIKEBC]

09:20 PM on 02/06/2010

Put together some of their video clips and run them at a fast speed and play the theme song from the Benny Hill show!

[Lulubelle1]

11:12 PM on 02/06/2010

That would be "Yakety Sax" and yes, it's the perfect soundtrack for the Tea Party!

[onecaguy12345]

06:01 PM on 02/06/2010

There is no evidence the stimulus saved anything about the economy; it has had ZERO effect. We only spent some $100 billion last year of the total $787 billion, what effect did that have in a $11 TRILLION economy?

That $100 billion represents just 0.9% of the economy, you think that saved us? An extra 0.9% of spending over the year?

It's ridiculous. First you guys claim the stimulus had all these wonderful effects, then when we talk about the deficit you remind us that only a fraction of the stimulus has actually been spent.

Clearly the stimulus has done nothing.

[quillsinister]

11:15 PM on 02/06/2010

From a strictly logical standpoint, that entire comment was utter nonsense.
:-)

[umatim]

12:43 PM on 02/07/2010

Fanned!!!

[Tim303]

03:49 AM on 02/07/2010

"Wake up morans!"

[Goodeye]

04:57 AM on 02/07/2010

Spell check. Did you mean to say "morons"?

[Subversive]

03:32 PM on 02/06/2010

Only 14???????

[onecaguy12345]

02:02 PM on 02/06/2010

The whole impetus of the Tea Parties was the Stimulus bill and the proposed homeowner bailout. That's why you had Rick Santelli had his outburst, and a lot of people just took it from there.

Yes, Bush had deficit spending, about $300 billion/year. It was just unfathomable that we had such a huge debt problem and Obama wanted to increase it by $787 billion as well as bailout homeowners that bought too much home.

People in Feb 2009 thought Obama would increase taxes.

That is what started the Tea Parties. When news came out that the deficit in 2009 would be $1.4 trillion, that only added fuel to the fire.

Yes, Bush started many of the bailout policies, and fiscal conservatives weren't happy with those either.

But the $787 billion stimulus along with the other bailouts is what broke the camel's back.

[justplainfedup]

02:15 PM on 02/06/2010

Uh, no. The first impetus to the Teabaggers was the election of a Black guy as president.

[tnkeating]

09:21 PM on 02/07/2010

No man, I thought he was born in Hawaii, that makes him Hawaiian.

[tiredofthesameoldstuff]

02:27 PM on 02/06/2010

Ah bush had a several trillion dollar deficit. He kept the spending off the bucks. He was the first president in US history to not raise taxes during a time of war.

Other leaders in history who did the same often destroyed their country.

"People in Feb 2009 thought Obama would increase taxes."

On the top five percent who could afford it.

"2009 would be $1.4 trillion, that only added fuel to the fire.
"

90% of which belonged to Bush. The deficit comes from the year before not the same year.