If you thought the battle over health care reform is going to be over soon, think again.
This week, we've seen the true face of the Tea Party.
Take a look:
Help us push back against the outrageous behavior of the Tea Party protesters this week. Sign our petition calling on the GOP to apologize for the hateful behavior of their Tea Party supporters, and help us fight back against the Tea Party's petition drive to repeal health reform.
As health care reform legislation moved toward passage this week, the Tea Party's mask slipped. We recognized the face of a persistent rage and bigotry that has haunted our country for decades. The face of the Tea Party is the face of a demonstrator spitting, shouting words "nigger," "wetback," "faggot," and "Death to the communists!"
This toxic rage was put in its place years ago by the calm courage of men John Lewis, and the calm courage of people like John Lewis are in the process of doing so again. But one of the lessons we have to learn from this week's events is that we face a persistent, virulent opponent in the sentiment that drives the core of the Tea Party, and we have to be vigilant and persistent in combating it.
The Tea Party is already pushing a petition to repeal the health reform bill. They're aiming to get 100,000 signatures, and they're already at more than 70,000 in just 24 hours. People who still think it's acceptable in 2010 to shout racial slurs in broad daylight are nothing if not persistent, and this petition drive shows it. We can't let this or any attempt to roll back hard-won gains for all Americans go unanswered.
We've put together a petition calling out the GOP for encouraging, baiting, and pandering to the most extreme and hateful elements of the Tea Party. After egging them on for months, after seeking to benefit from the reactionaries at the fringe of American political life, after legitimizing their violent rhetoric, the Republican Party can't claim innocence when their extremist supporters cross the line. The Tea Party got more than 70,000 in 24 hours, but we've got more than 20,000 in just two hours. We need to keep it going to show the Tea Party we won't back down, and we won't let them or the Republicans hide behind the mask of fake patriotism anymore.
We don't have the luxury of letting up now that the votes have been taken. What's been won could be lost again if we lose focus. Please sign our petition today.
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We must get fired up and ready to go come November and defeat this bunch of crazies.
I suggest that you go out and volunteer. This will show you that indeed YES YOU CAN! Don't join an organization. Don't tell anyone (very important). Just help one person without agenda and do it consistently..
Your feelings about yourself will improve and you'll begin to trust others because of it. I think you'll also begin to understand the tenants of the tea party as well.
Best of luck!
Is that the latest spin? Anybody with a radio or television, minimal consciousness, and two brain-cells to rub together can readily observe where the hate and anger has originated. Here's a clue: Of the poli-tainment show headliners, who's making the big bucks fanning the flames of anger? WHO gets paid to tell people, repeatedly, that the U.S. government is the enemy, and that a certain party (currently in power) is bent on destroying them so they better clean out their guns and stand ready?
You're not fooling anyone. Save your condescension for people stoopid enough to have already bought what you're selling. When these chickens come home to roost, they will be pooping on you and yours.
In my experience with tea parties and their constituents, I have met and witnessed only genuine people and very concerned people. I have never met a person that I would consider a racist nor have I seen racist expressions.
As I reflect the article, my feelings of attachment to the tea party's mission increases substantially; what has the "progressive"/"liberal"/"democratic" movement become? From my point of view it is not good.
The tea party has stolen the "progressive" mantra from the 1960's "Question Authority" and it appears the progressives have supplanted this with "Embrace and Extend Authority".
It is extremely saddening (actually depressing) to me to see so many people suddenly embrace the growth of government with complete faith.
If these people were sincere, they would have been raising he{} when Bush was creating a 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit while not creating any jobs, but in fact losing 730,000 jobs a month.
Why no problem with that, but suddenly they have a problem when it is necessary to spend money to create jobs and prevent an economic meltdown?
What I like about the tea party is that they'd be out there protesting if McCain were proposing so many solutions with government at their center. The tea party is (D) and (R) independent.
One of my great disappointments with Bush was his creation of the department of Homeland Security. We could have made the CIA and FBI work together to get the same result.
On the economic meltdown, it's clear that it was due to government medding in interest rates through Freddie and Fannie. To Bush's credit, his team pleaded and pleaded to get them to stop, to no avail. There are many videos of this pleading on the net.
The financial people, well, they demonstrated the "kool-aid" "everything is fine" virus that I am afraid the progressives have contracted as well.
Best of luck to you.
Were you out there protesting the increase in deficit spending for needless wars? Did you care to speak out against conservatives who were committing this "generational theft"? If not, why not?
NOBODY said ALL or even MOST tea partiers are reacist, but for nobody to put down the racists within the ranks impunes ALL OF YOU.
lol, how priceless
whatever it is they pay you guys, it's way too much
I would even go as far to say that the leaders of the republican party actually do feel as much disdain for these people as we do...but they sold their souls to them decades ago and are are now interdependent.
So for the foreseeable future they will just plead ignorance, "I didn't hear anybody call anyone the n word" or deflect "but left wingers were mean to Bush!"
I would sorry for the republican leadership if their cowardice wasn't so obviously damaging this country.
http://washingtonindependent.com/73036/n-word-sign-dogs-would-be-tea-party-leader
Who do you think you're influencing??
While I applaud your effort and agree with your principles, it is long past time for the hatred that is the engine of the conservative movement to be on full display.
I prefer to let the GOP/Tea Party commit suicide. Let them continue their devolution and destruction.
The Tea Party IS a threat to public safety and civil order on that level. It's about time we start treating it as such.