Posted on 10/31/2015 11:04:24 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
Prior to February 19, 2009, CNBC was an obscure niche network watched mainly inside Merrill Lynch offices ...
At the same point, in February 2009, the term tea party was only a vague memory out of middle school history - with no particular relevance to politics today - with the exception of a few mentions by Ron Paul that never resonated widely.
Meanwhile, crony capitalism (or crony socialism or cronyism if you prefer) was a problem, but it ... was kind of practiced in the dark and certainly not celebrated openly.
That all started to change shortly after 9 am EST that day, and it's no coincidence. These dynamics are connected dominos in a media/political continuum. So how did this all happen?
Enter a dude named Rick Santelli. The then obscure CNBC commentator and Chicago Mercantile floor trader had a small following for his morning rants, primarily among traders and investors who shared his libertarian small government bent - who also happened to watch Squawk Box. Small universe.
But on Thursday the 19th, with the Obama administration promoting a plan to force mortgage payers to bail out deadbeat mortgage clients, Santelli just went off from his post at the Merc. His 4:53 second soliloquy - carried live on Squawk Box - was met with raucous cheering from other traders on the floor. Santelli's sarcastic ire was aimed at a government that was too big, too powerful and too corrupt - and actively picking winners and losers. (snip)
... the money line was an off the cuff threat to "hold a Chicago Tea Party on Lake Michigan."(snip)
That audio was then picked up by those connected to the Rush Limbaugh Show ...
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
No, it started earlier than that.
I was there. So were many others.
I was there too. Which is the first one you attended?
Santelli rant on 02/19/2009, first tea party rallies that I know of were 02/27/2009 and more on 04/15/2009.
September 2008 ... but I was kind of late to catch on ... wasn’t paying attention. I think some of the protests started in Spring 2008
Well they started earlier. I was there.
Santerelli gave it more national attention, but it started well before him.
My Mom called it "the stock channel."
Started much earlier with the Bear Stearns bailout in Spring 208
FedUpUSA Bear Stearns/JPMorgan Bailout Protest, April 25, 2008
https://www.facebook.com/FedUpUSA/videos/1908440465029/
There were many more protests leading up to the Oct 1 2008 TARP vote. I went to one and I know others in other states who attended them as well. in September 2008
What were they protesting in spring of 2008? Couldn’t be TARP because Bush didn’t sign it until October 2008. It’s not worth arguing over, but if you look at the actual dates of rallies that were called tea party rallies they started in February 2009 right after Santelli rant.
Spring was the bailout of Bear Stearns
Later the protests were about the IMPENDING tarp vote on October 2008. People were protesting before the vote, calling emailing their congressional reps ... some of the highest volume of calls email that they ever received BEFORE the vote.
We were talking about tea party rallies not other protests.
Bailout foes hold day of protests
Grassroots groups and online activists rally against the proposed taxpayer rescue of Wall Street.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/25/news/economy/bailout_protests/?postversion=2008092517
Yes there were protest, but they weren’t dubbed TEA PARTIES then.
This was the impetous of the tea party. These same people were later called “tea party”.
If you want to celebrate people protesting AFTER THE FACT that’s fine but it is not acknowledging those who were paying attention much earlier and getting involved.
The tea party movement would not be what it is today without those earlier protests. They are still a big part of the tea party movement.
no the were not called that yet, but they were the same people with the same grievances
Yes I was involved in that too, but they weren’t TEA PARTIES
yes they were and still are. It is the same people with the same grievances.
With that line of reasoning, the Tea Party movement did begin in the Boston Harbor.
Movements have beginnings before they get a name attached to them. I don’t understand why people writing about tea party history want so desperately for it to have started in 2009.
boston harbor was not about bailouts
Thanks for the kind words....and FTR, I know exactly how Rush got the audio of Santelli and sent it to Drudge. But if I told ya.......
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