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Posted: September 28, 2010 10:15 AM

On yesterday's episode of @katiecouric, Katie Couric responded to a question tweeted by Arianna: "Katie, we hear a lot about hard times leading to Tea Party anger. What about Americans who re-direct their anger into solutions?"

Couric's response:

"First of all...I think the Tea Party is not a monolithic organization. It's not an organization, it's a movement. I think anger in and of itself isn't a negative force necessarily, sometimes out of anger and outrage great things can be accomplished."

WATCH Couric's full response below:

 
On yesterday's episode of @katiecouric, Katie Couric responded to a question tweeted by Arianna: "Katie, we hear a lot about hard times leading to Tea Party anger. What about Americans who re-direct t...
On yesterday's episode of @katiecouric, Katie Couric responded to a question tweeted by Arianna: "Katie, we hear a lot about hard times leading to Tea Party anger. What about Americans who re-direct t...
 
 
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Axekick
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolve
01:31 PM on 10/05/2010
So Katie Couric is attributing "individual acts of kindness" to the tea party. . hmmm . . which came first?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
TXOBAMAGIRL73
We got the down,but not the trickle~ RevAl
01:28 PM on 10/01/2010
There is no denying about how real the anger is, but there is this overtone of hate that is woven into the very fabric of the tea party!! If you take that away what would this so called movement be...gas or a hiccup??
11:17 PM on 09/30/2010
How can people who despise government govern? Why would you put someone in charge who hates government? Anger is meaningless until and unless ideas come with it, and whatever social conservative ideas they do have would take this country back 50 years and leave the future to the Chinese. Certainly not us.
BlackTantalus
Historian/ex-ad-exec/liberal/Lexus-driver
08:15 AM on 10/01/2010
People who despise government cannot govern; they have proven, however, to be adept at providing income for themselves from the government, and making their friends rich at public expense. Since at least the Bush/Cheney regime they haven't even tried to be subtle. George Bush's recreational wars were nothing more than unfunded entitlement programs for White House friends such as Halliburton, Xe (Blackwater), etc.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JohnBryansFontaine
Liberal Democrat
10:45 PM on 09/30/2010
Tea Party: Old Whine in New Bottles
Memo to Obama: Bill Clinton, LBJ, and FDR know how you feel.
By Kevin Drum

"...IN A WIDELY READ essay about the tea party movement [2] published earlier this year in the New York Review of Books [3], historian Mark Lilla [4] provided a now-familiar explanation about what motivates the tea partiers. They are, he reckoned, angry about the recession; angry about health care reform; angry about President Obama; and angry about educated elites forever telling them what to do. "A new strain of populism is metastasizing before our eyes," he said, and he described the movement this way:.."

http://motherjones.com/print/73156
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
exile
12:18 PM on 09/30/2010
no teason to piss off the worlds richest brothers huh
oops
make that...
reason.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
09:41 AM on 09/30/2010
Misdirected anger can also lead to holocausts. Plenty of Germans were angry and we all saw what Hitler did with that anger, he employed "ballot box or bullet box" remedies. The Teaparty openly despises the US Constitution except for the right to bear arms and the right to "free" speech for right wingers only. The Teaparty anger is attempting to violate the rights of Muslims to build mosques anywhere in the US, is attempting to violate rights of Hispanic US citizens in Arizona and is threatening "2nd amendment remedies" if the Teaparty does not win the election. Constructive anger is shown by those who criticize the dangerous terroristic rhetoric coming from the fringe Right, and if Katie were honest, accusing Obama of being born in Kenya is not a constructive use of anger.
02:27 PM on 09/30/2010
I believe its not only the rightwingers that have free speech but corporations as well.
10:18 PM on 09/30/2010
While corporations have freedom of speech...they shouldn't have it..because they are not people.

They are a group devoid of human promotion...they cannot vote yet, now have very limited amounts of money they can bribe politicians with..also ..they cannot die. They can continue to accrue money for hundreds of years..and have more power, yet no mortality.

It is very dangerous to have such power. Eventually ALL monies, credits and policies will be in the hands of the corporations. and YOU will have none.

This is why corporations should have NO power and should be heavily regulated.

Ever see the movie or read the book "1984"

Hmmmmmm.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
AgedButNotDead
03:11 PM on 09/30/2010
Agreement here, 100 percent! There is nothing constructive about bigotry of any sort, be it racial, religious, or gender oriented. Bigotry will never, never make this a safer world and only elevates a culture of terrorism.
08:20 AM on 09/30/2010
The movement is tainted by neocons. I can't get behind any movement where the main headliners are Palin, Beck and Joe the Plumber.
01:38 AM on 10/01/2010
That's true... but really sad that it even needs to be stated... I am SO tired of the media feeling like they have to treat everyone equally... NO. You can be stupid, mis-informed, easily manipulated or a liar... it doesn't entitle you to broadcast time or validate your opinion. Dumb is dumb.

And there is nothing wrong with being elite or intellectual... snobbery is bad...bigotry is worse.
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01:00 AM on 09/30/2010
Katie, you neglected to answer Arianna's question. The TP folks are over-represented simply because they're loud and morbidly entertaining. It may help ratings, but it doesn't really help the country.
02:30 PM on 09/30/2010
Exactly. Also if they are truly TB'ers, how were they taken by nut cases like Bachman from my home state of MN?
12:22 AM on 09/30/2010
I try to think outside of the box with TP members, but it's hard, when i see what they do and say.

They say something that is SO against the majority of positive ideas and then audaciously try to act on those imposed ideas.

Time and time again, i see this from them and it's hard to see their side. it's enough trying to swallow how they feel, it's even harder to understand their convictions, because they don't seem to have enough focus in what they say.

trying to act out that same ideal, as far as they are concerned, is difficult. I find it hard to believe there are americans that are like that. Then again, there was Dahmer (not to connect him to them).

He was from america.
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09:43 AM on 09/30/2010
Instead of Dahmer, I think Koresh, McVeigh, the Olympic park bomber, etc, are better examples, and you would have every right to connect the aforementioned to the Teaparty, one only has to read the Teaparty signs threatening violence to see the similarities.
10:09 PM on 09/30/2010
Hey pass the pipe I'm ready for a hit. To my detriment I read your post 3 times and still for the life of me cannot figure out what the heck you are talking about. The Tea Party is actually pretty simple, lets have our federal government actually stick to what they are supposed to do. The constitution is pretty clear that federal powers are limited, the power is supposed to be with the states. We need to quit having the d's and r's spend money we don't have. I don't care if it is Bush or Obama, quit spending my money like a drunken sailor. Does that help in your understanding?
03:03 PM on 09/29/2010
I am the founder of Peas for Prosperity, the company Katie referenced during this interview. I am honored, overwhelmed, and very thankful to Katie for her kind words about me and my company. Actually, I didn't get laid off from my job, I was fired. At first it hurt, really bad, but it made me realize I was on the wrong path....and that I needed to recreate my life.
I had the crazy idea to sell Peas a little less than a year ago. It was supposed to be a temporary holiday "project" - a way to spread the message of Good Luck and Prosperity associated with Black-eyed Peas and the Southern New Year's tradition, show potential employers my "stuff", and raise money for charity. I figured I would have a new job by January.
Now, almost a year later, I'm still at it. I also recently launched ecoREcreations, a collection of handcrafted jewelry made from recycled materials. The past year has been crazy! But, I am living proof that sometimes you do get a Second Chance. I hope to continue to help others in my community who need a Second Chance....and to stay of the cubicles forever!
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siamao
12:09 PM on 10/01/2010
Inspiring!  Good Luck to you.  Fanned and faved.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
WarriorLemming
Willard Romney, "runs-with-scissors".
06:55 AM on 09/29/2010
No, Couric, it's not a "movement" it's astro turf. The fact that she and CNN generally enable and validate the far right is the reason I won't watch them anymore--it was this same treatment of Bush and "his war in Iraq" that has cost our country trillions and the lives of thousands of Americans fighting over there. CNN never asked the hard questions which should be a tenet for any journalist endeavor.
07:28 AM on 09/29/2010
Astro turf? It's a lot of things, but to deny the fact that it is real is quite perilous.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ouroboros Rex
10:54 AM on 09/29/2010
It is real. It was really started and is continually bankrolled by corporate interests and takes its orders from them. If Dems don't get the vote out this time like they did in 2008, the Republican Tea Party will become the new shovel from taxpayer funds to corporate pockets.
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ibsteve2u
Someone who cares - to his unending regret
01:37 PM on 09/29/2010
The Tea Party is real; unfortunately for them, their leaders are not. I feel for the real members of the Tea Party. If the day comes that they realize how badly they have been used, they will either be crushed or infuriated.

I suspect many will tend towards the latter, which is why I also think the power structure on the right is so far gone - has grown so arrogant - that they don't even understand that they're playing ping-pong with nitroglycerin.
12:15 PM on 09/29/2010
Yeah, no one really cares that our debt is approaching 100% of GDP and last year's deficit was the highest since WWII.

Nothing to see folks; move along.
02:18 PM on 09/29/2010
you can thank the bush administration spending like drunken sailors for that: 2 wars, tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, and a pharmaceutical plan --- all went unpaid.
03:47 PM on 09/29/2010
I care. But I also care that we acknowledge how we got there. Perhaps then people will realize the awesome power of a few people to take us into financial oblivion when the rest of us are too apathetic or duped to take meaningful and timely action. Here's a graph that should be required reading before anyone comments on the deficit. Let's all acknowledge how we got there. It's our only hope of getting some constructive engagement on how to respond. Senior Citizens getting Social Security payments or unemployed workers drawing Unemployment Insurance payments are not the reason we're in financial distress.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3036
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kite38
Low down and high flying.
04:56 AM on 09/29/2010
Agreed, Katie. Anger does have it's attributes. It can fuel activism and good things can come from that. However, the opposite is also true. Misdirected anger without the banner of truth as it's guide can be destructive and lead to suffering. The Tea Party's problem isn't it's passion. They have plenty of that. It's that it's message is disingenuous, uncouth and illogical. It's that many of those that advocate on it's behalf themselves are dependent on the very entitlement programs and government assistance they say they despise. Their own actions contend with their apparent ideology which makes them difficult to believe. True activism really does spawn from a "lived" perspective.



For example: Poor people who complain about "poverty" endorse policies that work towards alleviating their conditions. Their anger is first inspired by living within the confines of the conditions they protest. Those who support them take up their banner from the outside in, realizing and identifying with their plight. This is the true definition of "grass roots". Yet, even the signs Tea Partiers hold up are more indicative of talking points and not a genuinely inspired movement, nor a desire for solutions that would solve problems for all Americans. Messages like, "Keep your government hands off my Social Security" are just ridiculous. They make sandwiches from the same government cheese they complain about.
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
Chris1962
NYC
02:55 AM on 09/29/2010
Tea-Party Movement Gathers Strength
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575520252928390046.html#project%3DWSJNBC_POLL09%26articleTabs%3Darticle

This part is rather interesting:

The poll found that tea-party supporters make up one-third of the voters most likely to cast ballots in November's midterm elections. This showed the movement "isn't a small little segment, but it is a huge part of what's driving 2010," Mr. Hart said.

The survey also found growing energy among some core Democratic voting blocs, such as African-Americans and Hispanics—a tightening that is common as an election draws closer, according to pollsters.
12:51 AM on 09/29/2010
BTW, Hoover did 3 things after the 1929 stock market crash to try to stem the recession. What he did was bring about the Great Depression. The 3 things Hoover did:

1 Massively increased taxes
2 Set up government stimulus programs (which FDR continued)
3 Set up trade protectionism

Gee, how many things can we emulate?
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
editorjuno
Musician, wordsmith, accidental mystic, etc.
01:17 AM on 09/29/2010
Everything FDR did effectively combated the Great Depression -- the recovery stalled when he listened to the deficit hawks and scaled back the programs, which is why it took WWII to finally end the ordeal.
12:08 PM on 09/29/2010
Right....except unemployment never went below 13% the entire 1930s. How is that being "effective"?

Even FDR's Treasury Secretary said they failed.

And WWII did not end the GD, it was in 1946 when FDR's economic controls were ruled unconstitutional.
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creatifvision
my micro-bio is empty;-)
02:09 AM on 09/29/2010
Actually, we were already deep in the depression when Hoover raised taxes in 1932. He had previously cut taxes on the wealthy from 73% to 24% just before the depression. Raising taxes was one of the last things he did, along with recovery/stimulus spending, to try to recharge the economy. By that time it was a global depression and out of control. As posted above, FDR continued his policies despite using them against him in the election. BTW, did you know that there had already been a depression in rural America for over a decade before the financial crash? Millions of americans were already living in the worst conditions before being joined by those in urban areas. So, how many things can we emulate? Cut taxes for the wealthy before the depression. Ignore the desperate condition of millions of Americans for a decade. Sounds like he was emulating the republicans and Bush to me.
12:10 PM on 09/29/2010
It's true, FDR railed against Hoover for taxing and spending. What a hoot.
12:49 AM on 09/29/2010
If Tea Party anger actually led to policy proposals any more substantial or creative than the same old Republican 'cut taxes for the rich and keep gays out of the military' nonsense, maybe they would be worth listening to.
02:25 AM on 09/29/2010
Cutting taxes are the only real way to give the economy a chance to get going again. Taxes are a huge drag on the industrial engine. If it is already sputtering, the last thing you want to do is add a bigger workload on it.

As for a stimulus, you can't tax yourself into prosperity.
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AmericanDreamWarrior
My progressive liberal site www.foksociety.com
04:42 AM on 09/29/2010
Didn't you get the memo? Trickle down economics has been disproven repeatedly! Especially over the last 10 years has been a tax xmas for the wealthy. Where are all the jobs and confidence again?

When you allow the rich the permission to horde and then give them not just permission but incentives to outsource American jobs, exactly where's the incentive for them to do their patriotic duty?

If you raise taxes on the rich and then give them incentives towards tax cuts for hiring and creating American jobs, then its win/win for everyone! They get to keep the same amount of money as a tax cut with no incentive to actually spend that money vs tax increase and having to hire people to get the tax break!

For decades the middle class has been carrying the tax burden of this country until the republican controlled govt gave the rich everything they paid for when getting these folks elected and in their infinite greed, they decided to destroy the middle class so their bottom line went from $300 million to $400 million. All we want is for them to take their turn up to bat.

But hey, guess when you have enough money to live where ever you want to and you don't have an ounce of care or pride in your country or for your fellow man... then rock on I guess.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Veratruth
08:39 AM on 09/29/2010
I agree ... KEEP the tax cuts for those making less than $250,000 yearly. That DOES NOT include the RICH. What have those tax cuts for the rich done for this country so far?