Amid harsh criticisms, 'tea party' slips into the mainstream

Christian Science Monitor ^ | April 3, 2010 | Patrik Jonsson

[Lorianne]

Their faces sometimes twisted in anger, 'tea party' followers have been called neo-Klansmen and knuckle-dragging hillbillies.

To be sure, angry town halls, the N-word thrown at black congressmen, and signs comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler play into the hands of the movement's critics. And demonizing tea party activists tends to energize the Democrats' left-of-center base.

But political experts say that many such criticisms are near-sighted, if not outright inappropriate – and ultimately may miss the point. Indeed, polls suggest that tea party activists are not only more mainstream than many critics suggest, but that a majority of them are women (primarily mothers), not angry white men.

What's more, the release this week of the top three planks of the "crowd-sourced" Contract From America project, to some activists, shows a maturation from sign-wielding protesters to a political reform movement grounded in ideas.

The top three vote-getters among 360,000 respondents on the Contract From America website: Calling for an enumerated powers act to force lawmakers to check the constitionality of new laws; requiring a two-thirds majority in Congress for any tax hike; and a legislative backstop to prevent the EPA from "backdoor regulating."

Tea party: 'Intellectual reform movement?' "[The ideas in the tea party-coined Contract From America] takes our protest movement and really sets forth a real kind of intellectual reform movement," says Ryan Hecker, a Tea Party Patriots activist in Houston, and a founder of the Contract From America website. "It's a response to the idea that the tea party people don't know what they're fighting about, and it shows there's a real intellectual center to this movement and that we really do have ideas."

[Dr.Syn]

the N-word thrown at black congressmen

Even the CSM is spreading this lie???

WTF!

[outofstyle]

This is going to generate some angry letters to the editor for this liberal publication.

[cripplecreek]

Their faces sometimes twisted in anger

This is the start of a friendly article. LOL

[SmokingJoe]

To be sure, angry town halls, the N-word thrown at black congressmen

This worthless rag ceased to be “Christian” long ago. They need to drop the word "Christian" from their name, and just call themselves “Science Monitor”, whatever the heck science they are monitoring.

[2ndDivisionVet]

A) It’s NEVER been proven that ANYONE yelled racial slurs at any congressperson and (B) There’s no such thing as a card-carrying “Tea Party” member, so how do we know that someone misbehaving isn’t an SEIU/ACORN/OfA/DUmmy plant?
The Left has done everything in their power to destroy the Tea Party Movement and they just keep getting bigger, more popular and stronger as time goes on. It reminds me of the Romans persecution of the early Christians, which was the best thing that ever happened to the Church.

[ArmstedFragg]

if not outright inappropriate

Not to mention outright lies.

[Shermy]

“Even the CSM is spreading this lie???”

Same thing happens every time Obama does something liberals fear they should not like. It is not the first time they have made up racist accusations.

They imagine themselves as victims and the opponents as racists. They also hate visuals of protesters that look like “the little guys” but do not support their side.

[jessduntno]

Their faces sometimes twisted in anger, 'tea party' followers have been called neo-Klansmen and knuckle-dragging hillbillies."

Not by anyone standing near me...meet the "twisted angry mob"...

[culpeper]

Keep pissing us off, the Tea Party is a runaway train that cant be stopped. We are so past the race baiting, white guilt tactics, they won’t work on us...suckas...

[Balding_Eagle]

Someone should reiterate the $100,000 reward for proof of the N word.

[WKUHilltopper]

Isn’t that something! They too are dancing the idiot’s dance.

[Paleo Conservative]

the N-word thrown at black congressmen,

Have any proof of that? Andrew Breitbart is offering $100,000 to anyone with an audio or video recording of tea partiers at the incident in question saying the N-word.

[Lorianne]

I think their plan is to repeat it so often it becomes ‘true’.

[Gaffer]

We will show these pretenders who in this country are “knuckle-dragging hillbillies” come November. We are legion.

[timestax]

Here is one "angry" Tea Party lady

[WilliamofCarmichael]

The Tea Party's angry town halls, the N-word thrown at black congressmen

The 1960s Marxist-Alinsky campus/street revolutionary rabble and their ideological issue scum excoriate us for the (often not true) actions of a very few out of tens of millions. We can play too.

All the Rat scum in what's left (no pun) of the Democratic Party should explain their glaringly obvious stupid feeeeeeeling that Guam will tip over and sink if one more person steps ashore.

Headline?

Urgent! Democrat Party: life preservers for world's islands, now!
Guam Could Tip Over, Sink
Witness said to overhear Democrat express fear

[piytar]

LSM STORIES OF angry town halls, the N-word thrown at black congressmen, and signs comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler play into the hands of the movement's critics.

Apparently the CSM has become a full fledged member of the LSM...

[timestax]

Some more "scary, angry" Tea Party people @ Tea Party event Cincinnati , March 20th.

[Paleo Conservative]

I think their plan is to repeat it so often it becomes ‘true’.

Of course it is. There are video tapes showing congressional aides carrying digital recorders close enough to record anything yelled at the congressmen. If there were anything to the allegations, those aides would have released the recordings.