Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
- The Rise of the New Economy Movement
- Preying on Poverty: How Government and Corporations Use the Poor as Piggy Banks
- The Organic Watergate: Alarming Report Reveals USDA's Cozy Relationship with Corporate Agribusinesses in 'Organics'
- Updated: Under Pressure, TED Releases 'Income Inequality' Talk
- Are JPMorgan's Losses a Canary in a Coal Mine?
Popular content
Today's Top News
04.15.09 - 4:26 PM
Tea Parties? This is What Astroturf Looks Like
$ave the Rich is exposing the truth about today's Tea Parties:
"Astroturf." Fake grassroots. It's what you get when big business and rich zealots hire pricey consultants to manufacture public outrage.
With big budgets, limitless manpower, sophisticated targeting, and a sympathetic media channel, it's not difficult to generate anger.
We will spend the next days documenting exactly who these people are. They are pushing a message out to the press, and with the press. It's going to take information and work to push back.
The evidence of astroturfing is everywhere:
- Corporate lobbyists and their consultants are organizing behind the scenes. Many of the events are being run by staff from think tanks like Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Works and American Solutions for Winning the Futures (ASWF) an organization run by former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
- Fox News is encouraging turnout, sponsoring, and covering "Tea Parties" across the country. They're coordinating much of the information for organizers on-line. Fox News hosts -- Beck, Cavuto, Hannity, Bruce, Van Susteren, Malkin and Gingrich -- are featured guests at some of the largest gatherings.
- Protesters have no idea what they're talking about. At Tea Parties that have taken place over the last few days, attendees are more concerned with Obama's birth certificate than high taxes or government spending. Fringe gun groups, secessionists, anti-immigration activists and neo-Nazis are out in force.
- Republican officials are driving turn out. Sen. David Vitter is even sponsoring a bill to honor the protests. At least 12 Republican members of Congress will be featured guests at the Tea Parties. 11 of the 12 Members of Congress attending the events voted against limiting excessive bonuses just two weeks ago.
Comments are closed
45 Comments so far
Show AllFascinating idea......it makes me think again about who Obama serves......could he be a turfy in disguise?
What is interesting about this whole episode is the anger of the Ron Paul crowd at the apparent hijacking of their idea by corporate Republicans (whom the Paul acolytes regard with as much disdain as Obama). It will be interesting to see if any discord breaks out in the open, as there is much behind the scenes already. Considering the Paul types are the only ones with anything resembling original ideas in terms of publicity and web savvy on the right wing in the USA, this episode may well permanently divorce the Paul crowd from the GOP. If so, they just lost their best propagandists.
Hopefully, the GOP and their ilk will have created a Frankenstein's Monster that will grow beyond their ability to control ...
I just wish Fakes News would have used all this bluster to get people to protest the war, or the Patriot Act, or torture, or encourage impeachment, let alone protesting homes being foreclosed while money gushes to the wealthy elite.
This is weak. As if lefty rallies are the result of spontaneous generation.
ACORN, George Soros anyone? Pick any large leftist rally and you'll also find every imagineable "fringe" group handing out fliers or manning a both.
Quite true, but what difference does it make anyway? Both sides do the same thing? Yep.....so its a non event.
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
To Thomas More: Once again you leap in blaring your usual ignorance and lame slurs.
Dick Army has already publicly asserted his pride in helping to front these latest corporate funded, professional PR promoted right-wing rabies rallies. Newt Gingrich has his stench all over them and don't be surprised if more info on that soon surfaces. Newt recently proclaimed his intent to run for the presidency in 2012 and this is probably his opening shot across the bow of the DLC: Showing them and reminding the GOP that he knows how to rouse the right-wing rabble. Oodles of them can hardly wait for his latest Contract for (on) America, no doubt.
Shortly after his Republican pals Hank Paulsen and Duhhbya threatened the DLC with martial law if they didn't pass the first round of bank bailouts, Newt publicly pronounced that the solution to the housing crisis was MORE deregulation of the financial industry (this was just before the big investment banks collapsed).
That's the way Newt works: He pops up out of his hole, takes a big loopy shit, declares it's solid gold, circulates talking points for all his colleagues in the media and Congress to repeat, then vanishes like a bookie's burnt flash paper when the shit hits the fan--to await his next low-brow stage-crafted shit fest for all the program zombies in Republican duper land to lap up like crack.
These rallies are identical to the pro-Iraq invasion rallies staged by Clear Channel radio and supported by Faux News back in Duhhhbya's first term and neither have ANY similarities to left-wing protest gatherings. Speaking as a left-wing street activist, the most infuriating thing we had to face in '05 and '06 was the LACK of any organization among so many disparate issue & age groups and the lack of any pools of money to COMMAND "mainstream media" attention the way these "Teabaggers" and their PR greasers have so easily and quickly manufactured a "national movement." Try as she could, even Cindy Sheehan couldn't organize a consistent anti-war movement because of the lack of an organized Left and the fact that corporate media wouldn't touch her except with oblique references and 2 second sound bites. I never saw her invited to a single solitary sit-down interview with even ONE "mainstream" corporate media personality. Bill O'Reilly and any right-wing goon you care to name get more air time with Jay Leno and David Letterman. That sorry sack of shit Dennis Miller got more pro-Bush air time than Cindy Sheehan ever got to protest about anything.
As I type this the "Teabagger Movement" is all over EVERY channel on local TV McNews receiving "team coverage" featuring footage of live speeches by Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich in front of our State capitol. I defy ANY of you right-wing gits to name even one remotely similar example of blanket coverage of ANY left-wing protest in the last 9 years. The last time left-wingers received anything like this kind of coverage was the WTO protests in Seattle back in the late '90s.
It's pathetic that you right-wing apologists don't know the difference between the pre-packaged rallies of the fascist Right and the rag-tag rallies of the vastly more ideologically diverse Left and it's even more pathetic that you don't care what this difference means to your country. You would rather have corporately staged phony rallies attended by brainwashed ignoramuses advocating viewpoints that simply keep SOME of your own wallets (and the portfolios of the super-rich) fat than REAL grassroots protest around real issues affecting the lives, liberty and future of normal average working-class Americans if it might mean you can't afford a new car every other year.
Where was all the righteous right-wing rage about the economy when George W. Bush was passing historically unprecedented, massive tax cuts for the super-rich during wartime? I don't remember nationwide, simultaneously timed, media-saturated GOP rallies about the tens of millions of high-paying American jobs lost to the free trade regime. The Newtzis backed that regime along with DLC poster boy Clinton. Where were the Republican outcries about the ongoing bi-partisan federal tax subsidies for U.S. corporations to offshore factories and jobs that have been in place since Reagan?
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
The current housing bubble/derivatives crisis aside, Duhhbya had already taken Clinton's operating budget surplus and dug a $10 Billion dollar hole leaving behind two open-ended wars that will ultimately cost between $3 to $5 TRILLION dollars (according to former head of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz) and counting with no end in sight. Ask two or three war-injured military vets in your community how they were being treated at the VA hospital under Duhhbya and still today under Oboreo to see the true ruling class attitude toward our vets.
Bush II, Paulsen and Bernanke were the ones who initially arm-twisted the DLC Congress into betraying us all to the big banks, the Fed and AIG. Republican hypocrites are now taking advantage of the fact that President Oboreo is simply doing the same thing McCain and his buddy Phil Gramm would've done--only Larry Summers and Geithner are trying to out-Republican the Republicans. They've fallen right into the GOP think tanks' political trap taking DLC corporate step-n-fetchit Oboreo with them: Blast the Dimocrats for cuddling up to corporate Amurka and the big banks--for doing corporate Amurka's and the big banks' dirty work for them--and present only half the economic argument to their legions of right-wing goons in Republican la-la land. Meanwhile they laugh their asses off behind closed doors and pile up the "socialist" $Trillions for THEMSELVES. "Socialism! Socialism!" their dupes are screaming--too stupid to realize that socialism for the rich has been business as usual getting gradually worse for 40 years now.
Not a single Republican I've ever met can quote any valid statistics on the change in the distribution of wealth in America--due to corporate de-regulation, taxpayer subsidies, kick-backs & giveaways to the upper-class over the last 30 years--and what happened to the middle- and lower classes even before Duhhbya stole office in 2000. The old argument for socialism for the rich was "they are the ones who create new good jobs." That was a Big Lie by 1990. There has been no real argument for it ever since. The upper-class has exported far and away more high-paying middle-class manufacturing jobs than it EVER intends to rebuild or replace. They despise the middle-class and their open contempt for it should be obvious by now to anyone with two brain cells to rub together. Behold the Republican "Teabaggers"-- flocks of chickens with their heads cut off clucking with their assholes.
Herd-think rules, sadly, in both the GOP and DLC now. It rules in the "Republican heartland." Liberals and liberal progressives outside the Democratic Party in Congress have thousands of little special interest groups but they don't automatically all goose step together like Republicans whenever their Party Bundists give them and Big Media their marching orders. They don't have special interest groups with massive corporate and private funding in anything like the numbers of plutocrat-driven Republican think tanks and interest groups: American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institute, AIPAC, NAM, NRA, US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, etc. "Big Labor" hasn't been big as a percentage of the workforce in over 20 years. For every George Soros or Ted Turner there are four times as many Republican billionaires pushing their agenda globally. The leadership of the Democratic Party has been capitulating to the sheer over-concentrated economic power of that agenda by degrees since the era of Iran-Contra.
Now the American people have no other organized alternative to that agenda and we see the sorrowful spectacle of what was once our great and respected nation before us: The vultures and idiot mocking birds of the Right screeching gleefully at their own country's cultural and economic demise.
Your post must not be left unnoticed. I didn't hear a better expressed outrage in quite a long time.
To compare left orgainzatons like UFPJ, ANSWER, Peace Action, Code Pink, Local "peace and justice centers" etc. - with annual budgets no larger than a few tens of thousands of dollars with these slick multi-million dollar corproate funded organizations is just preposterous.
Well said. Protests, and even more, direct action, are the best tools progressives have. There are some protests, yes, which have been very large and sponsored by the bigger liberal organizations - but in the end it is grassroots organizing, education, and most importantly, truth, which drives such actions.
This "protest" is powered by ignorance, misinformation and propaganda. When's the last time you /ever/ heard of a television station actively sponsoring and promoting a protest? Unheard of...
Direct action, even more so, is a truly grassroots enterprise. This is not direct action, it's not even a protest - it's idiocy en masse.
I wonder what these folks will be thinking when they do their taxes next year and realize they don't have to pay as much... Their fanatic zealot-ism will probably continue to blind them, and they'll take whatever BS Hannity feeds them on talk radio.
"Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow"
I wasn't as self-aware back then as I am now (I'm fairly young), but I may disagree with you in the case of the anti-war rallies around the start of the Iraq war. And those for sure were not done by rightists.
Let's have a referendum on FOX's lease of the public airwaves.
Most Americans are too stupid to get out of the rain. This type of mindless stampeding will undoubtedly get the Christer's out in droves so their next move can be a run on the banks. Their faith requires chaos in order to drive the apocalyptic vision they need for their "salvation".
michael jordan
http://sites.google.com/site/apolloguide/
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! the whole of our culture war is going to turn into a weight loss convention!!
Send in JENNY CRAIG!!!!
Tea Bag BS (from Times ‘pitchforks and pistols’):
Charles Blow (OpEd columnist NYT) has already torn through the phony ‘grass-roots’ scam of Murdoch’s ‘Tea Party’ propaganda in his oped of April 3rd, “Pitchforks and Pistols)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04blow.html
Charles raises some very disturbing points about this guileful distortion and propaganda by the radical right peons of empire.
When I first heard of the 'tea bag' revolution I thought it might raise an interesting historical analogy, but then I watched the whole of this poisoned propaganda.
I found that the most dangerous aspect of this crude propaganda video is the comparison of US revolutionary history with a call to revolt against government today.
Fortunately, for anyone with even a passing understanding of US history, and the progressive enlightenment views of our founding fathers this ersatz history lesson is obviously bogus.
The seminal deception of the 'tea bag' video as an analogy to today's situation is that its rant about government guilefully ignores the core element of our American Revolution --- that it was a revolution against EMPIRE ---- and today's 'tea party' phonies say nothing of a revolt against Empire, because their hidden sponsors ARE the ruling-elite corporate Empire.
The intent of the deceptive video is to imply that a second American Revolution today against our government would be valid, but ignores the fact that such a populist revolution is not targeted against Empire, because no empire is identified, but only against the remnants of our own weakened democratic government --- which has been weakened precisely by the ‘corporate financial Empire’ that Murdoch’s propaganda aims to hide and serve.
This crude and thinly veiled 'slight of hand' in the radical right propaganda is both essential to their deceit and patently false for the simple reason that the ruling-elite 'corporate financial Empire' controlling our country by hiding behind the facade of its own 'Vichy' sham of democracy (and aided by its equally 'Vichy' corporatist media) IS PRECISELY the EMPIRE that America was founded to confront and rebel against.
As any student of empires understands, Empire is always at heart an 'economic empire', although empire always controls the indivisible political economy (power) of a society that it captures, dominates, oppresses, and controls ---- which of course is precisely true of today's global ruling-elite 'corporate financial Empire' which has captured and controls our country through its control of its nominal headquarters country --- the only super-power today --- the US.
Therefore, the truth of the 'tea bag' revolutionary video would be that Americans should rise up against the non-democratic EMPIRE which guilefully controls their own country though a 'Vichy' facade, that would bring tears of admiration from Goebbels' dead eyes in comparison to the Nazi Empire's crude version of this ploy in 'Vichy' France.
However, such a real and revealing truth would totally defeat the purpose of this crude 'tea bag' propaganda, because the very EMPIRE that produced this video IS PRECISELY the valid and essential target of citizens of the US (and the citizens of the world), the global ruling-elite 'corporate financial Empire' that destroyed the US economy, that destroyed the global economy, that controls the remnants of the our US government, and that is now trying to give the rest of the remaining 'social democracies' of the world the bums rush to take over the entire world.
David Korten wrote a prescient book in 1995, "When Corporations Rule the World", which unfortunately now nearly completely true --- and the outcome of their 915 (09 'second shoe' shock doctrine) financial disaster will determine whether our whole world will collapse like the cheap suitcase of our US government under the treasonous hands of Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush jr, or whether Obama can arrest (literally and figuratively) the EMPIRE that has looted American and the world almost to death.
— Alan MacDonald, Sanford, Maine
Thanks for your cogent, entertaining, and informative comment.
Do they hold these events in “Free Tea Zones” located a ½ mile from themselves? Maybe we should help keep the Astroturfers safe during their Tea Party protests… by renting them a secure chain link steel fence to be teed behind.
I cannot even find any kind of consistent analysis behind these "tea parties".
Beyond a vague and utterly nonsensical "big government taxes and regulation are our ruin" what the hell are these people upset about?
Any tax increases proposed by Obama are tiny and consist of letting the Bush cuts expire. The mass givaway of tax dollars to corrupt capitalists is certainly something to be angry about - but is that due to "Big Government" or a government that is weak and has been utterly cowed into giving monopoly finance capitalist anything they want.
But at any rate, they don't seem to be mad about the bailout, they seem to be mad about the comparatively tiny amounts going to roads and highways, passenger rail, mass transit and a utterly flawed health care plan that relies on, big private insurance.
It is complete madness...
I spent 3 hours at today's Tea Party in SF. Most everyone was from out of town. About 500 people were there, about 95% White. This is actually a bit MORE integrated than last Saturday's left New Way Forward rally against the bailouts.
The leaders were all about the stimulus, "pork," lower taxes, and "socialism." There were also strong anti-immigrant speeches and signs, frequent singings of the national anthem and chants of "USA, USA."
My sign said "Left and Right unite. Stop the Bankers' Takeover. Jail, not Bailouts!" I got many nods and thank yous for this message, and no criticism, although one person stood behind me with a sign that said "Infil-traitor." There were several of us there from New Way Forward and other Leftists, and we got some good conversations going. The one thing everyone agrees on is no bailouts for the banks.
The action was bigger than recent Left rallies, which in SF is discouraging. But the event was promoted heavily on right-wing radio and on Fox, and advantage we never have. I do think we should continue to try to connect with these people as much as possible.
David
That's true. Sometimes we forget that most of those tea baggers out in the streets have more in common with us than they do with the folks who are stroking their outrage, namely Rush, Michelle, Glenn, Sean, Bill, Newt, etc. And that's what these purveyors of hot air want to hide.
If you can engage some of them in constructive dialogue, then that's the start of a new way forward already.
Many of them were claiming they wanted a 3rd party, and were equally upset at Democrats and Republicans. I am willing to bet though that in a year and a half they will pull the R lever.
Edit: But then, pretty much all of them were cheering for all the Fox people at the events.
I see a lot of angry white people at these astroturf events. It's nice to see the diverse support the conservatives have. Where were these clowns when Reagan tripled the national debt and W. doubled it ? What a joke !
What is with all the negativity on this website? Do you all hate America? What's with all the "stupid Americans" stuff? Do you guys even live in the States?
Why is it that even though Obama got elected, Americans (you know, the ones who elected him) are still looked at as stupid to you people? Isn't the fact that Obama is president a good thing?
Why is it that there are still people who think America is being controlled by "corporations"? Why would they let Obama get elected? Why is it that any protest that doesn't match your views (like the Tea Parties) are instantly assumed to be controlled by some "slick, well-funded machine"?
Obama won, and you guys are still not happy. What do you guys want? What will it take for you to say good things about America? Will this country ever measure up? Are other countries measured with the same yardstick? From what I've read on this website so far, it sure doesn't seem like it. Every single problem is looked at as something that America can be blamed for. America is not perfect, and should be held to a high standard, but are you sure the standard that you have set is not impossible?
I'll reply all all your questions, for myself, one by one.
"What is with all the negativity on this website?"
Disappointment, and sometimes despair over the situation the world is in.
"Do you all hate America?"
I don't.
"What's with all the "stupid Americans" stuff?"
Feel free to search YouTube for videos of Obama and McCain supporters done by the opposite side.
"Do you guys even live in the States?"
Yep, born in Florida and lived there all my life till I moved to DC 3 months ago.
"Why is it that even though Obama got elected, Americans (you know, the ones who elected him) are still looked at as stupid to you people?"
Not all Americans voted for him, and many of those that did, well, again, look at those YouTube videos.
"Isn't the fact that Obama is president a good thing?"
Yes, I think so.
"Why is it that there are still people who think America is being controlled by "corporations"?"
Bailouts. TARP. TALF. PPIP. Etc...try buying anything at a store or using a service that is not made or provided by a corporation.
"Why would they let Obama get elected?"
Because they think they can control him with their campaign donations.
"Why is it that any protest that doesn't match your views (like the Tea Parties) are instantly assumed to be controlled by some "slick, well-funded machine"?"
Because in this case it seems to be true, I will have to check the links provided in this article later this week, I have no time now. Another equally or more famous campaign, which did not involve protesting per se on its side, was the "slick and well-funded" disinformation campaign on global warming, which has been thoroughly exposed.
"What do you guys want?"
We want Obama to do better, and live up to his duties under the Constitution and federal statutes.
"What will it take for you to say good things about America?"
I do say good things about America, when it does good things. Just like I say bad things about America when it does bad things.
"Will this country ever measure up?"
Possibly. It will take genuine leadership and courage though, and not just from the President.
"Are other countries measured with the same yardstick?"
It depends. Few other countries equal our global influence, importance, or sense of self-righteousness and entitlement, but in most cases yes.
"America is not perfect, and should be held to a high standard, but are you sure the standard that you have set is not impossible?"
I'm pretty sure. America has a knack for doing the impossible, both in good and bad ways.
Enjoy.
I have tried to find any article on this website that does NOT consist of disparaging America. You wrote that you say good things about America when it does good things, but seriously doubt it. The impression I get from this website is that there is never going to be anything that America does that will make you guys happy.
I will make all of you a deal. Find me ONE article on this site that only says good things about this country, and I will donate $500 to this website. I am so certain that such an article does not exist, and everyone that writes for this website does nothing but criticize this country no matter what Americans do.
The conditions for the article (if it exists) are as follows:
It highlights accomplishments of America's foreign policy.
It talks about how America is one of the best countries to live in.
The author writes about how happy he is to be in America.
These are just some examples of what I'll be looking for. I don't want to see any articles that talk about America's "potential", which really means that you think America's not that great, or any article that talks about patriotism for a few sentences but then goes right into Bush-bashing, or Iraq, or other stuff like that. Maybe there's one in the archives that was written around July 4th or something? I'd even accept something along the lines of "you know, as much as I don't like the direction this country is going, there are a lot of things I like about America". Stuff like that.
I think you guys get the idea of what I'm looking for. I'm serious about the $500 donation. I look forward to seeing what anyone can come up with.
There was a recent one that pointed out how our foreign policy changed under FDR and it generated such goodwill in Latin America that it helped us rise to the top following WW2, and it could happen again...I'm not sure we'll find an article meeting all 3 of those criteria, considering we just had 8 years of neoconservative governance which pissed off everyone, including most Americans. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/15
The thing is that many articles on this site are rather brutally honest, and don't sugarcoat things...to do so I think is a disservice to our intelligence. Also, articles posted from YES! Magazine are generally positive, but not that many are posted. Some post election articles were also pretty optimistic..
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/05-4
However, you may yourself have impossible expectations. What, under the Bush neoconvervative rule (because they sure as hell didn't govern) of the last 8 years would you consider to be an accomplishment of America's foreign policy? How, in the last 8 years has America been one of the best countries to live in, when we imprison more people than any other country and many people who lose a job also lose their healthcare, benefits, and eventually their homes? There is no real safety net in this country. And not all authors whose articles appear on this site live in America. What do you think helps America more, drives people to make America better...brutally, nonsugarcoated criticism, or completely uncritical praise? Because you seem to view CommonDreams as a provider of the former, but you seem to want the latter...for that, watch Fox under the Bush administration. Naturally, now Fox is leading the way in brutally, and in my view dishonestly, criticizing the Obama administration on absolutely everything.
I don't want uncritical praise. But even in your response, you can't seem to bring yourself to say anything good about America; in fact, you pile on more criticism. America's history, as you know, is more than just the eight years under Bush. The point of what I said was that most liberals on this website cannot bring themselves to praise America even a little bit. You even helped me prove my point by mentioning a different website! I am only talking about this website.
How do I have impossible expectations? I am merely asking you liberals to back up your claims that you criticize America because you love America. I don't see that at all. All I see is criticism on top of more criticism. Even in your "praise" you criticize. Loving your country does not prevent you from seeing any flaws. You can criticize the things you don't like about America and hope things will change, but it's starting to look like you guys just don't like anything this country does.
I'm not asking for an article to meet all three criteria, I'm asking for an article that praises America. The two articles you gave me don't match what I'm looking for. The one about Obama talks about how horrible we all had it under Bush, and the hope that things will change under Obama. The other one tries to bring up something good about America's foreign policy, but still can't help bashing the overall general foreign policy, then and now.
We all heard about how Bush was a fascist, but since when do fascist and totalitarian governments relinquish power? As bad as liberals made Bush sound, one could have expected him to just say he was going to remain President and cancel all the elections! But, no. We have a new ELECTED President. I know everyone has heard of what happens when some other countries have elections under a real dictator. America is nothing like those countries. Yet I read more praise about Cuba then I do about America. Why is that?
Recent praise I have made about America, only since Obama's inauguration mind you, I can't think of anything good Bush has done for us: Ordered closure of Gitmo, suspension of secret military tribunals, executive order banning torture, lifting of the Mexico City Policy on reproductive health funding, announced policy of easing up on medical marijuana raids (you can count that as states' rights I suppose), effort to genuinely regulate and stabilize financial sector, new EPA and Interior policies, the White House organic vegetable garden, pursuing diplomacy with Iran, lessening restrictions on Cuba, facing the reality of having to deal with Pakistan, planning to wind down in Iraq, engaging with allies in Europe again, requiring a certain amount of agriculture funding go to organic and/or family farms, pushing for funding for clean/renewable energy, mass transit, etc.
And as for Bush relinquishing power, I doubt you will find commenters on this site that believe Bush won the 2004 election without election fraud, specifically in Ohio...and I had the opportunity to speak to someone last election season who knew one of the ways the GOP rigged the Ohio election (they also tried it in Pennsylvania, by disguising themselves as radical activists getting college students to sign a form indicating their support for legalization of marijuana, and the GOP then using those forms to challenge all their votes at polling sites, claiming they had changed their address...he and others in Pennsylvania managed to stop it there, but they didn't catch onto it in Ohio).
I'm at work right now so I really can't type at length much more about this or search the site for an article you'd like. Maybe somebody else could.
Is there a message board or something that I could post my offer on? I understand that perhaps I won't get many replies since this is only a comment section. I'm willing to extend my offer of $500 to Tuesday the 21 of April at noon.
The thing is, if there were a lot of "patriotic" articles on this website, they would be easy to find, right? I mean, shouldn't there be liberal writers reminding others about the greatness of America? Shouldn't there be a reminder of what you guys are "fighting" for? Otherwise, why bother complaining all the time? Unless you guys are struggling towards an ideal. Well if that's true, then liberals are not pro-American, since the America that exists is not the "ideal" America that liberals want. In fact, that America has never existed. Are you guys struggling for something that, all this time, has been a dream?
Just some thoughts. I will try to check back on the comments as much as I can, and check out any articles anyone sends me. I hope I am clear as to what I'm looking for. Good luck!
I almost found what I was looking for: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0701-03.htm
Three fourths of that article were excellent, and exactly what I was looking for. It was almost beautiful. But what made me put my checkbook back was the last bit. The author should have stopped while he was ahead. It was written in 2003, the first 4th of July after the start of the Iraq War. There was no shortage of protests and criticism then. Couldn't the author leave all that behind for just ONE article?
Then there's this one: http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0703-23.htm
It's even worse. But there are a few sentences that, to me, sum up the liberal view of America: "America is by definition unfinished, because it forever falls short of itself." Note the word "forever". To liberals, this means that America will NEVER measure up. In the previous article the author wrote: "America, by definition, continually falls short of itself." Now, how does that demonstrate love of country? Can't liberals give it a rest for ONE DAY? Or do you guys need to continually remind yourself that America always falls short? What would happen if someone on this website were to write an article that consisted of only the GOOD about America? It's only an article? It doesn't mean that that person is blind to the country's failures. That person won't all of a sudden forget his convictions. Is it even possible for liberals?
I'm still waiting...
So what's the conservative view of America? It always seemed to me to be the fictional 1950s TV show family of a working father coming home to his homemaker wife who already has dinner cooked and two children have already done their homework and had baseball practice. And of course they're white, and there are never any problems in society. Only problem is, that America never existed either.
You are absolutely right! That version of America never existed. That America is actually the liberal view of conservative America. It's what liberals think conservatives want America to be. It's only on television that such an America exists. Did you ever think that maybe those shows were popular because they were fantasy? "Leave It To Beaver" was not a documentary! ;)
So then kindly inform us what the conservative ideal of America is.
I can't speak for all conservatives so I'll just say what my view of America is. I think that this country was founded on principles, and always tries to do the right thing. Americans are hard-working people; they are problem solvers and have a strong sense of right and wrong. Americans are not dumb, fat or lazy. They are proud of this country and all of its accomplishments.
I don't believe that America uses other countries for resources and power; I believe we went into Iraq to get rid of Saddam, not for its oil. I tend to view America's actions as done with the best of intentions, and not for "empire". As far as this nation's problems, I think we try our best to solve them. As much as liberals like to continue to scold this country because we used to have slavery, hardly any mention is made that the issue nearly destroyed this country and many lives were lost over it. And also: the North won! Slavery no longer exists, remember?
I don't know why there's so much anger and hostility at America when there are so many worse nations out there. Where's the outrage over the Castro regime? Or how about North Korea's stifling of dissent? China? Iran? So many more countries to list, but from the left: silence. Why?
I don't why you have such hostility to viewpoints that are different then yours? Take a valium.
I'm not hostile. I welcome viewpoints different than my own. This whole conversation started because I wanted to understand why this website is so hostile towards America.
I don't why you are singling out this website as being hostile to America, as you put it. Have you bothered to ask Rush Limbaugh the same question? He says he wants President Obama to fail again and again. Have you bothered to ask why Representative Michelle Bachman of Minnesota is hostile towards America? She's calling for seditious acts against America. Have you bothered to ask Governor Rick Perry of Texas why he is hostile towards America? It was Perry that hinted at seceding from the US. Unless you ask these people the same question, you are barking up the wrong tree.
He's a dawg al' rite an' he's a'humpin' yore leg there lil' fella!
michael jordan
http://sites.google.com/site/apolloguide/
"I don't know why there's so much anger and hostility at America when there are so many worse nations out there. Where's the outrage over the Castro regime? Or how about North Korea's stifling of dissent? China? Iran? So many more countries to list, but from the left: silence. Why?"
We're not citizens of those countries, that's why. Most of us are American citizens, and can only try to change America through our political and social participation. I criticize American government because it represents me. North Korea, Iran, and Cuba do not. I may loathe many things they do to their citizens, but they aren't going to give a crap about it. My representatives here in America however should give a crap about my grievances.
The orginal 'tea party' in Boston was against the British EMPIRE --- specifically the British royal chartered East India CORPORATION which monopolized the price of tea and screwed the American colonists, as CORPORATE ELITES always do.
The beginnings of American self-government stood up to the elite power of the crown and these royal CORPORATIONS.
Question: what do these phony CORPORATE FUNDED 'tea parties' today have to say about using the popular power of a self-governing democracy of the people against CORPORATE/Elite/EMPIRE power???
Answer: nothing!!!
They say nothing about fighting against EMPIRE, because they don't even know that they are being screwed by a CORPORATE EMPIRE.
They say nothing about self-governing democracy, because they know nothing about democracy.
Because these dopes today in 'tea parties' are stupidly revolting against self-government and FOR THE CORPORATE OVERLORDS.
Talk about working against your own self-interest and democracy?
These slack-jawed idiots are agitating FOR the CORPORATIONS that are enslaving them and pauperizing their children, and they don't even have the brains to see that self-government is in their own self-interest.
Talk about "What's the Matter with Kansas" being so stupid that they vote against their own economic self-interests? These guys are even stupider. They go out and protest to protect the CORPORATIONS that are screwing them blue.
They are truly 'useful idiots for corporations'.
They give new meaning to Jay Gould's pledge that he would "hire half the working class to kill the other half".
But they are doing it for nothing --- to prove how stupid they are!!
Alan MacDonald
Sanfrod, Maine
What happened to the neocon slogan of not protesting against the Commander in Chief at a time of war? Oh, that only applied to Bush.
While corporate interests may be driving these protests we are missing the point of the general public's anger at what has happened to our country. These folks are sick of the process. It is a good time to start a third party similar to the United We Stand bunch formed in the early 90's. All that's needed is a leader, one without the clay feet of good ole Ross.
Boy! There's nothing like a little "manufactured pulic outrage," is there?
It is really amazing to comprehend how much money the Republicans have to subvert the process of freedom and responsibility. They called me this afternoon thurs apr 16 and must be calling everyone in America with robo-calling devices. That must be enormously expensive.
michael jordan
http://sites.google.com/site/apolloguide/