NY Times
If you are a citizen in political consonance with the nation's populist Tea Party movement, watch your wallet.
In his Sunday op-ed piece for the NY Times, Frank Rich calls Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele and Sarah Palin "buckrakers who are exploiting the party's anarchic confusion and divisions to cash in for their own private gain." He writes, "Hustlers like Steele and Palin take the money and run. All their followers get in exchange is a lousy tea party T-shirt. Or a ghost-written self-promotional book. Or a tepid racial sideshow far beneath the incendiary standards of the party whose history from Strom to 'macaca' has driven away nearly every black American except Steele for the past 40 years."
Rich isn't the only one sounding alarm bells.
Last week, the national Tea Party convention scheduled to take place in Nashville next month ran into controversy when a key volunteer announced he and others had quit the group in protest to the $549 ticket price, which they felt was designed to make a profit off the popularity of the grass-roots campaign. (The price doesn't include the cost of hotel and lodging.)
Judson Phillips, a local attorney, said he founded Tea Party Nation as a for-profit company mainly for philosophical reasons, but if you establish yourself as a for-profit corporation, it lets you avoid disclosure requirements that might have forced Phillips to reveal the identity of donors.
Phillips denies allegations of profiteering.
As is often the case in our "shoot the messenger" culture, it didn't take long for the media to discover that Phillips has had his own financial troubles in the past.
This came in addition to the decision by convention organizers to grant media access to only five outlets, all of them conservative.
Prominent RedState blogger Erick Erickson worried about the credibility of the conservative movement's most prominent figure:
I am afraid Sarah Palin is going to harm herself unintentionally over this tea party convention in Nashville....That's not to say it is in every case. I have much good to say about groups like Tea Party Patriots, but I think this national tea party convention smells scammy.Let me be blunt: charging people $500.00 plus the costs of travel and lodging to go to a "National Tea Party Convention" run by a for profit group no one has ever heard of sounds as credible as an email from Nigeria promising me a million bucks if I fork over my bank account number.
With Erickson's post, one of the Nashville convention's top sponsors, the American Liberty Alliance, pulled out. The Alliance said in a news release it was concerned with how Tea Party Nation was organized. Those who signed up for the convention paid for their tickets through a PayPal account set up through Phillips' wife's e-mail address.
Rich wonders if such concerns are lost on the likes RNC chair Michael Steele and Sarah Palin:
Both Steele and Palin claim to be devotees of the tea party movement. "I'm a tea partier, I'm a town-haller, I'm a grass-roots-er" is how Steele put it in a recent radio interview, wet-kissing a market he hopes will buy his book. Palin has far more grandiose ambitions. She recently signed on as a speaker for the first Tea Party Convention, scheduled next month in Nashville — even though she had turned down a speaking invitation from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, the traditional meet-and-greet for the right. The conservative conference doesn't pay. The Tea Party Convention does. A blogger at Nashville Scene reported that Palin's price for the event was $120,000.The entire Tea Party Convention is a profit-seeking affair charging $560 a ticket — plus the cost of a room at the Opryland Hotel. Among the convention's eight listed sponsors is Tea Party Emporium, which gives as its contact address 444 Madison Avenue in New York, also home to the high-fashion brand Burberry. This emporium's Web site offers a bejeweled tea bag at $89.99 for those furious at "a government hell bent on the largest redistribution of wealth in history." This is almost as shameless as Glenn Beck, whose own tea party profiteering has included hawking gold coins merchandised by a sponsor of his radio show.
In short: Protest the rip-off of our nation by attending a rip-off so protesters can get ripped off.
And Rich suggests that Steele knows he can get away with his behavior because he's protected from any disciplinary action by that old bugaboo, race.
Fire him? Steele knows better than anyone that his party can't afford what Clarence Thomas might call a "high-tech lynching" of the only visible black guy it has in even a second-tier office. Steele has said that white Republicans are "scared" of him. They are. He loves to play head games with their racial paranoia and insecurities, whether he's publicly professing "slum love" for the Indian-American Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, or starting a blog on the R.N.C. site titled "What Up?," or announcing that he would use "fried chicken and potato salad" to recruit minority voters. As long as the G.O.P. remains largely a whites-only country club, Steele has job security. But he had real reason to fear some new restraints on the cash box; last year the party was driven to write a rule requiring him to get approval for expenditures over $100,000.On Jan. 9 The Washington Post ran a front-page article headlined "Frustrations With Steele Leaving G.O.P. in a Bind," reporting, among other embarrassments, that the party had spent $90 million during Steele's brief reign while raising just $84 million. Enter "Game Change," right in the nick of time for Steele to pull off his own cunning game change. On Jan. 10 he stormed "Fox News Sunday" and "Meet the Press" to demand [Harry] Reid's head. There has been hardly a mention of Steele's sins since. He can laugh all the way to the bank.His behavior is not anomalous. Steele is representative of a fascinating but little noted development on the right: the rise of buckrakers who are exploiting the party's anarchic confusion and divisions to cash in for their own private gain. In this cause, Steele is emulating no one if not Sarah Palin, whose hunger for celebrity and money outstrips even his own. As many suspected at the time, her 2008 campaign wardrobe, like the doomed campaign itself, was just a preview of coming attractions: she would surely dump the bother of serving as Alaska's besieged governor for a lucrative star turn on Fox News. Last week she made it official.
What appears to be taking shape here is a movement of honest passion that's being galvanized for the purposes of exploitation, all to make a buck, and it's being done not just by marketers, lobbyists and corporate interests, but by Republican Party leaders.
In a great American tradition, a movement driven by emotion is being exploited by the careful calculation of crafty capitalists.
Those in consonance with what they believe to be the Tea Party movement are becoming the latest in a long line of dissatisfied, disillusioned and disenfranchised individuals lured by the siren song of hope and change only to be turned into tools of the plutocrats. The tea baggers are getting a tea-bagging.
They're symbolism is useful for the politically opportunistic and their passion --sometimes rabid-- is useful to the news channels muckrakers who work endlessly to create pseudo-events that hype their ratings. Meanwhile, the Republicans are interested in anything that will give them the limelight and the Democrats will do anything to retain power in Congress.
There is populist hope in Massachusetts, where a special election may yield what was heretofore unthinkable, but even if we're visited by a Republican on Tuesday, who long before that politician becomes the next to be co-opted by special interests who have no interest in any constituent hailing from the Commonwealth.
In their joint op-ed raising the call for help in Haiti, Presidents Bush and Clinton note how the American people respond in the face of calamity and how "crises have the power to bring out the best in people."
What would we give for some of the sense of unity, hope, and purpose that permeated our affairs just one year ago, or just after 9/11? The buckrakers and the muckrakers, the corporations and the news channels, seem to be winning as Americans are driven into fear mongering, division, frustration, and impatience. The ideals of bipartisanship, cooperation, and teamwork seem to have already become passé, much to our great detriment.
Comments
American's and their children have more to fear from being "ripped-off" by the government allocating taxpayers money for Haiti, Israel's wars, or other foreign aid than a bunch of tea bag parties. The money being sent to Haiti and other places should be vouluntary instead of jeopardizing our own children's future at the expense of helping someone else. If these people want to spend a exorbitant amount to attend one of these tea-bagging get togethers that's their bidness. As long as someone makes their own bread daddy-O it's theirs to do as they please, but the gubmint needs to check itself cuz.
Peace Out
420
The Dude says: American's and their children have more to fear from being "ripped-off" by the government allocating taxpayers money for Haiti, Israel's wars, or other foreign aid than a bunch of tea bag parties.
Sounds like just the kind of argument that makes one ripe for being duped. The irony is that the tea party is promising an end to being ripped off by the government. You can't make that promise while ripping off the people to whom you're making the promise, though admittedly, it sure seems easier to do.
The Dude says:
"American's and their children have more to fear from being "ripped-off" by the government allocating taxpayers money for Haiti, Israel's wars, or other foreign aid than a bunch of tea bag parties. The money being sent to Haiti and other places should be vouluntary instead of jeopardizing our own children's future at the expense of helping someone else. If these people want to spend a exorbitant amount to attend one of these tea-bagging get togethers that's their bidness. As long as someone makes their own bread daddy-O it's theirs to do as they please, but the gubmint needs to check itself cuz."
wow, started off sounding white and ended sounding like Poop Daddy
Wow! The Alinsky tactics are coming into play so soon! I'm surprised. Just a little though.
Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.
Bruce says: Sounds like just the kind of argument that makes one ripe for being duped.
Nothing like Saul huh?
Immediately belittle the poster portraying them as easily dupe able and therefore not as bright as you believe you are.
This is a running theme by this Examiner.
Come on "Larry Soetoro" don't you know Brucie is ABOVE childish insults or partisanship.
Well the libtards are smarter than everyone else just ask them. Look at their record for goodness sakes. Look at our wonderful educational system, our inner cities, our crime rate etc. the list just goes on and on.
Larry Soetoro says: "Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon."
No it's not; it's the least productive and the product of the unimaginative, the incurious and the immature. Make a contribution and you'll get the respect you deserve. Act like a 5-year-old and you'll be dismissed as one.
Let's not forget the GOLD STANDARD for the Liberal Socialist Way, and that is the nanny-state of Haiti, it don't get no better than that.
Look At The Stats Jim says...
Well, you didn't say anything. The SMART person would comment on the subject of the article. Perish the thought. All your response does is fuel an unfortunate myth. It's no skin off my nose if you want to keep pour gas on your own fire.
Don't Forget says: Let's not forget the GOLD STANDARD for the Liberal Socialist Way, and that is the nanny-state of Haiti, it don't get no better than that.
Why is helping other nations facing insurmountable odds a liberal phenomenon?
Bruce says: Act like a 5-year-old and you'll be dismissed as one.
As much as I would like to emulate you Bruce it is not in my makeup top act like a child like you do with posters all the time. I will leave acting like a 5 yo to you and your leftists cohorts.
Bruce says: "Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon." No it's not;
Tell that to the man who TAUGHT it as such when he reached his peak as a community agitator, er, I mean organizer.
This show you how out of touch some so-called hip multicults like Brucie are when they claim "fried chicken and potato salad" were used to entice "minority voters" hehe. Dude since when is "potato salad" described as soul food and by the way what is considered soul food from white bread libtards is southern cuisine white or black. Cajun mac & cheese, collard greens & neck bones, pinto beans, catfish etc. but "potato salad" hahahahaha your funny Brucie. Hey what about little Jose there Brucie they're not serving Verde Chicken Enchiladas with refried frioles rancheros.
Ease up there "Larry S" Brucie is just "baiting" commenters rather lamely I might add, but he's trying to get the ching-ching going. If he was all that and a bag of chips he'd get commenters without the OCD approach at trying to "ridicule" every commenter who doesn't march lock and step with his uber leftist politics. To me it's fun to see/prove how hypocritical these leftwing elitist are and as far as "ridicule" that antiquated 1965 crapola don't work here brah.
No Can Do says: Ease up there "Larry S" Brucie is just "baiting" commenters rather lamely I might add, but he's trying to get the ching-ching going. If he was all that and a bag of chips he'd get commenters without the OCD approach at trying to "ridicule" every commenter who doesn't march lock and step with his uber leftist politics. To me it's fun to see/prove how hypocritical these leftwing elitist are and as far as "ridicule" that antiquated 1965 crapola don't work here brah.
But isn't it interesting that the initial infantile comments from people hiding behind the cloak of pseudonym anonymity are never baited. The juvenile never need no prodding, and I'd sooner not get a dime than to see their comments again, but more than that, I'd happily take your comments for free, regardless of pseudonyms, if they were thoughtful, insightful, evocative and mature. I'm still waiting.
Didn't I say this was going to go down? The grass roots folks who started this thing back in 2007, (Ron Paul supporters, older Perot supporters, younger Americans, mainly libertarian leaning folks), are going to jump ship. This convention will be full of hard-line right wing Republicans blaming it all on the Democrats and Obama. Dick Armey, Palin, Steele, Bachmann, and the founder, Phillips, (he’s a lawyer by trade), are are not Tea Partiers, they’re GOP. The Tea Party Nation, which went on line about a year ago, ENDORSED Scott Brown! This is not what we started; the usurpation is complete. Tea Partiers would never back Brown. The guy is Joe Kennedy, the Independent. The movement started taking off when Ron Paul was running for the nomination, the GOP laughed at Dr. Paul and made fun of the Tea Partiers. Hannity used to go nuts over it, now he acts like he’s a member. Make me puke. Well, good luck Mass, pick Crook “A”, or Crook “B”, and insert into Senate Seat “C”.
Murph
Murph says: "Didn't I say this was going to go down?"
I do believe you did, Murph, and this development is troubling to me. Tea party people should be us uncomfortable with Dick Armey as they are with a guy like Phillips and maybe even this guy in MA. If he beats Coakley, you'll hear lots of gloating and cheering and forecasting about the end of Democrats (same crap we heard when Obama won) only to be disappointed a year later (sorta like Obama now). American voters are SO easy to snooker. All it takes to get snookered is a little hate for one side and a little hope for the other. Maybe what's needed is to pull back the curtain of hucksters on both sides for people to finally figure it out --a tall order for ideologues.
"In his Sunday op-ed piece for the NY Times, Frank Rich calls Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele and Sarah Palin "buckrakers who are exploiting the party's anarchic confusion and divisions to cash in for their own private gain." He writes, "Hustlers like Steele and Palin take the money and run."
I will take this as the hit piece it is from uber leftist Frank Rich.
I will take this as the hit piece it is from uber leftist Frank Rich.
There's always a certain breed of ideologue that thinks their side can do no wrong. Even if the very person they champion admitted to improprieties like hustling the public for book sales, they'd make excuses for for that person. It's always easier to shoot the messenger by saying he's of an opposite political bent. And if the critic is of the same political lean, it's equally easy to call that person a traitor. Maybe you're an ideologue, maybe you're not, but dismissing someone outright because you don't agree with their politics seems to me, a missed opportunity for reflection. The alternative is that you end up learning the hard way when the person you put your faith in ends up being a colossal disappointment. I guess most people have to learn the hard way. And some never learn at all.
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