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Rachel Maddow: Tea Party Movement Already Falling Apart?

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Here is further proof that the Tea Party movement may be a great brand, which has been lately “elevated by the media into a political force to be reckoned with in 2010″ — as I noted yesterday — but is suffering for lack of leadership and organization.

On last night’s show Rachel Maddow highlighted yesterday’s thinly attended, badly organized Tea Party protest at the Detroit Auto Show (it was reported by Politico in advance). She goes on to note that one of the reasons (other than the temperature) the protest may have lacked attendees is that another Michigan-based Tea Party group had asked people not to attend. Chaos ensued! Not really, but this is just a small example of the national problem the movement (such as it is) faces: they have a great brand and no leader (or bank account). Combine that with a Republican party desperate for platform to get behind and the likely result is ten months of establishment politicos exploiting the brand to the best of their ability. Maddow video on Tea Party “hijacking” below.

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  • The Real Royal King

    I don’t see Teabaggers ever becoming anything but a divisive coalition of disaffected, poorly educated, angry people feebly promoting their own narrow self interest.

  • http://mediaite.com Steve Krakauer

    Starting to ban commenters if they are inappropriate…

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Hogan/179500970 Stephen Hogan

    Well, Chuck, not only have you revealed yourself to be a homophobe, but also antisemitic. Antisemitic, anti-hollywood rhetoric coming from a man that uses the image of a Jewish actor as his avatar.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-Adkins/1585417987 Bill Adkins

    The Republoteabaggerists are imploding and have been for sometime They’ve developed factions, there are feuds over who is in charge and hundreds of thousands of dollars are unaccounted for. Take that and add the thin disguise that is Dick Armey, the Koch Foundation, the Ralph Reed element and the nut cases that are Bachmann, DeMented and Palin – Maddow’s got it right. The movement was ill fated anyway, useful in the early days, but subject to the Long Knives in the end. (look it up – and is one of their leaders named Rohm?)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Hogan/179500970 Stephen Hogan

    Thanks, Steve. Now my reactionary comment has no context. :-)

  • roxsteady

    I’m still trying to understand how these teabaggers are able to embrace Palin when she’s attending the convention in Nashville where they’re charging $549.00 per person to hear her speak? This sounds more elitist than anything. How do these phony fiscal conservative types square the actions of this cash whoring grifter? Is she really of the people or the rich people? It’s looking more and more like Levi was right about her wanting to simply cash in. These tea party groups have all been ripped off by the Republicans. They pretend to be with them to get their donations which are funneled back to the GOP.

  • http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

    @ roxsteady – Not a fan of Palin’s, but is there something wrong with “cashing in?”

  • same2u

    What rox, you don’t buy the fact the teabagging tea party movement is a grassroots movement?

    Guess what, neither do I.

  • roxsteady

    It is if you’ve told your state that you’re quitting to help them. She constantly talks about the media elite but, now, she’s one of them. How does greasing your pockets help them? By the way, even the cooks are skeptical about this upcoming heist.

    Erickson: It “Smells Scammy”
    RedState’s Eric Erickson isn’t sold on this “National Tea Party Convention” either:

    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.

  • puck30

    First I was told the Tea Party movement was nothing, obscure. Those people that showed up at town hall meetings. They were just angry nutbags. Washington Rally? Well that had a dark undertone, wait! Was that a Obama is Hitler poster?

    Yes, large crowds were showing up and people like Maddow were telling me, move along, nothing to see here.

    Now, a Tea Party decides to have a protest at the Detroit auto show (it seems the weather might have had hand in this) and no one shows up.

    Now Maddow is screaming for me to pay attention, because the big bad Tea Party is falling apart? Sort of reminds me of that line from ‘Forrest Gump’.

    And there is a rouge tea party sham going on out there as Ron Paul had mentioned to Anderson Cooper on 360 the other night. Ron Paul stated he was going to speak at GOPAC that weekend.

    One has to laugh, we have been giving money (taxes), freedoms, and other rights to that Sham orginization inside the I-495 Beltway for decades.

    Got to love as (roxsteady would say) the media elite.

  • The Real Royal King

    If the weather quashes such an important gathering, the gatherers must not be all that motivated. I mean, it’s not as if this group is going to look and worse wet and windblown. It’s not as if they have anything better to do with their lives.

  • puck30

    There is nothing wrong with cashin’ in. I’m all for Palin making money. But one has to ask themselves, if you are going to show up only if a six figure purse is givin’ to you. Is she selling herself out to the party elite?

    Let’s see what shows she goes on at FNC and which ones she doesn’t. Remember, one show Dick Cheney would never go on at FNC was O’Reilly’s show.

  • puck30

    How do you know what they do for a living?

  • The Real Royal King

    I hope Palin rakes in millions and millions of dollars. It underscores her only key value. Herself.

  • Jim R

    I’m just curious where all these fiscally conservative scolds were when Bush and Cheney were giving away the store to their “base”, otherwise known as the wealthy elites.

    Not a peep when the surplus was being squandered, non-stimulative tax cuts for the wealthy went down, perscription drug legislation was being passed in the middle of the night by legislators being given envelopes filled with cash by Tom Delay, or the energy industry getting still unknown secret benefits from Cheney.

    Nice selective outrage there that always manages to stay dormant until a Democratic Administration is in charge.

  • puck30

    Yes, John Edwards was such a man of the people.

  • roxsteady

    The only thing Rachel has been waring teabaggers about is the scam that they’ve bought into. As she repeatedly says when discussing them, the organizers have every right to do what they’re doing. Just know that it’s not a grasroots movement. It’s been hijacked by corporatists of the GOP. What’s most notable is that each time the media covered one of the rallies, they never asked anyone there who they voted for in 2008. They may not have answered honestly, if they answered at all but, when Liberals and Progressives listen to the participants speak and read their signs, it’s obvious that they’re not Democrats. Many of us feel that these people are indeed angry but, it’s because Obama won. It has nothing to do with government spending.
    If it did, they should have been protesting during the Bush years.

    After all, they’re the one’s who gave 2 tax breaks to the rich, who didn’t create any private sector jobs over their 8 year reign. So much for trickel down economics. They dragged us into 2 wars and didn’t pay for either of them, adding to the deficit. Hell, their patron saint, Ronnie Regan tripled the deficit.
    I dare anyone to try and convince me that any of these teabaggers make more than $250,000 a year. People who make that kind of money don’t show up at tea party protests. The people that do got a tax cut last year and organized a tea party tax day protest. Why? Do they think that, despite winning the election by a huge margin that the Dems don’t have the right to legislate because a minority of people who didn’t vote Democratic should control the direction of this country? Perhaps they should change their name to the Sour Grapes Party!

  • hkyplayer

    Everyone of you are so scared of anyone with opposite views. What is a great country without different views? All of you are close minded liberals that attack by saying personal hatred comments Like Quote from the royal King ” poorly Educated or the original tea bagging comment.

    I think its great that people on either side stand up for what they believe in. Even If I dont agree with them… at least they are doing something.

  • roxsteady

    Didn’t you hear? Edwards is gone but, what about Ensign and Sanford. If you’re going to try and change the subject you should be better prepared. Not to mention the loonie Republicans and Dems involved in that creepy society of “Chosen One’s” at C Street who have bastardized Christianity.

  • RazorsEdge

    You may want to look closer at what Rachel Maddow may be really trying to tell us:

    I think she may be playing the role of Paul Revere for the Democratic Party. “GOP’ers are coming, GOP’ers are coming”

    She’s very smart and she may think there’s a problem here, and I think she’s letting all of us in on that problem with the notion that the Tea Party beginning to fall apart.

    Maddow’s argument has included that the Tea party movement has been toxic for the GOP party. In-fighting, extreme conservatives pushing out just conservatives from the party. Far right conservatives through tea party actually making GOP party smaller. She’s done several shows quoting NYTimes reporters that moderate GOP’ers are being pushed out by Tea party movements in states like Florida.

    She’s on the record to state that Tea Party cost GOP the special election NY 23rd seat by splitting the GOP vote via Doug Hoffman. She’s on the record for stating her analysis is Tea Party/conservative party nothing but good for Democratic party using Hoffman, Rubio, Christ as case studies.

    With her notion about tea party falling apart, that’s a pivot from her arguments all along. That the tea party falling apart contradicts her arguments that it helps Democratic party.

    Maddows Tea Party existence helping Democratic party evidence.

    a target=”_blank” title=”Tea Party In-Fighting good for Dems” href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#33814709″>Tea Party In-Fighting good for Dems

    Tea Party Fighting Othe Tea Parties

    How Democrat Won NY-23 1st time since civil war

  • RazorsEdge
  • puck30

    I’m just curious where all these fiscally ‘blue dog’ Democrats were when Obama sent the budget through the roof to the largest in history, while putting people in charge of the IRS that do their best to cheat the system so they can keep more of their millions.

    A Health care bill that was passed either in the middle of the night or on Christmas Eve and is now being redone behind closed doors where not even a C Span camera is allowed to tread. Not a peep while giveaways and kick backs were being handed out for one’s soul and votes.

    A minimum wage bill that is thrust apon Mon n’ Pop stores throughout the land, unless you happen to be a Congress person who happen to have ties with a certain company that does buisness in your district. Then it’s slave wages for everybody! Bring your kids too.

    And while anti-war protesters and the great Jim Webb go back behind the curtain the foreign policy stays the same weather it be Bush or Obama in the White House.

    Nice selective outrage there that always manages to stay dormant until a Republican Administration is in charge.

  • roxsteady

    There are no sides to facts. Facts don’t have a counter weight. To us Liberals, it’s like saying you disagree that one and one is 2. It doesn’t makie sense. As an example, the underpants bomber vs the shoe bomber. Several Republicans have claimed those were different. They’re not. There aren’t 2 sides to that and Republicans have been repeatedly called out for this.

  • puck30

    Edwards is gone because he got caught comming out of the Hotel.

    Spitzer is gone because he didn’t take lessons from Tiger Woods.

    Bill Clinton? you want to play the name game? go ahead.

  • roxsteady

    It’s simple math. If you take a party that’s 20% of the voting population and subtract the teabaggers who will no longer vote for candidates in the GOP establishment, you’re going to make it easier for the majority party to crush both of you. Why do you think Michael Steele is sucking up to them?

  • roxsteady

    Actually, I’d prefer to stay on topic. I don’t like false equivalencies. It’s your side that pivots when they can’t dispute the facts.

  • puck30

    It depends where ‘Facts’ come from. If it comes from Huffington Post or World Net Daily then it’s distorted facts.

    When people take one set of facts as Truth and don’t even bother to look at the other side of the argument before coming to a conclusion, it’s called ignorant.

  • RazorsEdge

    Roxsteady.

    Maddow stating Tea Party could be falling apart. Your argument that the [the teabag[[[gers]]] who will no longer vote for candidates in the GOP establishment].

    Is this your on the record claim that the Tea Party is in fact not falling apart but still powerful enough to make a difference when it comes time to vote? Tea Party lives?!!!

  • puck30

    “It’s your side”.

    “Stupid People should be shot in the back of the head”.

    Why you sound so enlightened. I haven’t heard such stimulating talk since I read a KKK pamphlet that was left in my mailbax.

  • roxsteady

    At least the protestors left their guns home! And I don’t recall them showing up with signs that read “Niggar” That’s right, they can’t even spell the slur. I also don’t recall the posters of bodies stacked up at Dachau. As for CSPAN, after watcing the Republicans grandstanding and reading the same “Government Take Over” crap endlessly, I’m glad the final negotiations are behind closed doors. Republicans are just pissed because they’ve finally been shut down by the Dems. They’re not upset because it’s not on tv. They’re upset because they’re not on tv. Republicans lied to their supporters all of last year when they kept raising money from their supporters with the promise to stop healthcare when anyone who could do the math 40-60 should have known that there wasn’t a damn thing 40 Republicans could do to stop anything! Sheep!

  • Jim R

    Also, don’t anyone tell the Tea Partiers that only 10% of the current account deficit can be attributed to Obama.

    Putting the wars on budget and irresponsible tax cuts by the former administration make up the bulk of it, but that wouldn’t fit in with the narrative Republicans and their minions like the Tea Partiers have carefully crafted.

    For the rest of us paying attention it’s clear that responsible budgeting is something only Democrats need to worry about. Republicans can and do blow the hell out of the budget and just blame Democrats when the bills come due – what could be sweeter than that?

  • roxsteady

    The tea party isn’t large enough is what I’m saying. Even if they stayed in the GOP, they’re still not large enough. That’s why their party lost last year.

  • roxsteady

    Unlike me the KKK has a tolerence for stupid people. I still think they should be shot in the back of the head! If you expect me to retract that you’re even dumber than I thought!

  • roxsteady

    The teabaggers showed their humanity when they showed up with the “Bury Obamacare with Kennedy” signs right after his death. I found that to be extremely tasteless.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-Adkins/1585417987 Bill Adkins

    “Jim R says:
    January 12, 2010 at 12:39 pm
    Also, don’t anyone tell the Tea Partiers that only 10% of the current account deficit can be attributed to Obama.”

    And they don’t want to hear that Bush doubled the national debt between 2001 and 2009 and that, in addition, $1.2 trillion of the $1.42 trillion FY 2009 budget deficit is Bush’s, too. All in all,the Repulicans’ brand is on about $7 trillion they added to the national debt since the turn of the century.

  • http://lnsmitheeblog.blogspot.com LNSmithee

    roxsteady wrote:

    The teabaggers showed their humanity when they showed up with the “Bury Obamacare with Kennedy” signs right after his death. I found that to be extremely tasteless.

    After having written SIX MINUTES EARLIER:


    Unlike me the KKK has a tolerence for stupid people. I still think they should be shot in the back of the head! If you expect me to retract that you’re even dumber than I thought!

    Do you even know the meaning of the word “humanity?”

    With your attitude, if you were born Caucasian, you would probably BE a member of the KKK!

    There’s something seriously wrong with you, rox. Seek help.

  • RazorsEdge

    So Roxsteady does believes the Tea Party lives! And obviously ‘large’ enough for roxsteady to comment on as part of the formula in taking away GOP votes. Otherwise I don’t think roxteady would find it necessary to include the Tea Party into that equation.

    Ohh, roxsteady here’s the link to look up meaning of bigot:

    Roxsteady becoming aware they are a bigot

    The fact that you don’t retract your really ignorant comment is a GOOD thing. It makes more clear why you become irrelevant in most of our minds. No subtly to make it difficult for most of us to see how irrelevant your arguments are. You over-reach and that makes any useful arguments you have obsolete.

    People just end up quitting you.

  • http://lnsmitheeblog.blogspot.com LNSmithee

    Bill Adkins wrote:

    And they don’t want to hear that Bush doubled the national debt between 2001 and 2009 and that, in addition, $1.2 trillion of the $1.42 trillion FY 2009 budget deficit is Bush’s, too. All in all,the Repulicans’ brand is on about $7 trillion they added to the national debt since the turn of the century.

    Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, blah blah blah blah. Enough with backward finger-pointing — Obama WANTED the maddog job, and now he’s gotten it. He’s got the Congress. HE’S in charge. What’s HIS model for fiscal health in the future? Does he have an answer besides, “Hey, at least I’m not Bush!”

  • puck30

    RazorsEdge says:
    January 12, 2010 at 12:58 pm

    You know Razor, you just have to lighten up on Rox. How can the Tea Party Movement ever hope to win anything while Harry Reid is pushing the people’s agenda in Congress.

    http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=110-s20070709-56

    You should thank ‘The One’ (because Harry doesn’t believe in God) for not making an enlightened liberal like Harry Reid step down.

    Shame on you bad Republicans & Tea Party baggers!

  • RazorsEdge

    puck30,

    I need more time to get used to your “commenting style”. Are you stating rox might not be a bigot or that Harry Reid is actually the head of the Tea Party?

  • Ted

    I hope the teabaggers stick around. They’re good for the Democrats and cheap entertainment.

  • puck30

    Did you get the link between Harry & the watermellon?

    It’s funny you should mention Harry being head of the tea party. If this guy in Mass. pulls off the upset of the year. Maybe Harry & The Democrats will start their own version of a liberal Tea Party. Or Watermellon Party.

    I think bigots come from ignorance. Doesn’t matter, you will always find those two words hangin’ with each other.

    I hope this helps with my ‘commenting style’. I’ve been an Independent since 04′. I do have issues with both parties.

  • http://lnsmitheeblog.blogspot.com LNSmithee

    roxsteady wrote:


    As for CSPAN, after watcing the Republicans grandstanding and reading the same “Government Take Over” crap endlessly, I’m glad the final negotiations are behind closed doors.

    So you’re glad that, in the words of CNN’s Jack Cafferty (not a right-winger!) the C-SPAN coverage promise was just “a lie to get elected.”

    It’s funny when people who don’t care when “their” politicians lie FOR them never consider that they might also being lying TO them.

    Enjoy your Kool-Aid, rox.

  • puck30

    I hope Harry Reid sticks around, I can’t wait for ‘National Kiwi Month’.

    Harry Reid, doing the work of the people, it just get funnier.

  • RazorsEdge

    To be factual Bill Adkins:

    Bush really accounted for $3.2 – $3.4 trillion to total debt. Not $7 trillion. That’s if you do include the $1.2 trillion of the $1.42 trillion FY 2009 budget you stated.

    But using your formula to include FY 2009 towards Bush then you would need to subtract another $150 from Bush onto Clinton. So $3.0 – $3.25 Trillion

    Historical Annual Fed Budget Deficits from OMB

    Point is BOTH parties really bad with your and your families tax dollars. Realistically only about 8 years since WWII has the WH or congress had a budget surplus.

  • BJL411

    “..they have a great brand ”

    Really Glynnis ? what is your educational (and political) background to assert such a statement ?

  • Pat Doherty

    I understand Mediaite’s liberal, but you guys do a pretty good much of analyzing both sides regarding the cable news spectrum… except when it comes to Rachel Maddow. Everything this woman says is taken as gospel. Any article concerning Maddow usually begins with a sentence like “When will somebody give Rachel Maddow her own Sunday talk show?”. She’s a lesbian, she’s a Rhodes Scholar, from what I’ve heard she’s a very nice person. We understand she’s unique and smart and cool. I don’t think she needs the breathless fan club Mediate provides. I understand that Jon Stewart says you should like Rachel Maddow and call attention whenever possible to whatever wacky thing Glenn Beck is doing, but it’s gotten to the point where I believe Maddow could devote a segment to berating a 5-year-old regarding the truth about Santa Claus and Glynnis would headline “Rachel Maddow Owns Under-Educated, Short Claus Cultist.”

  • TfT

    Yeah, the turn out was very small — most likely due to that global warming we are all experiencing. Funny though, there were some pictures posted of those who were there….and…..brace yourself Chris Matthews….there was one picture with two individuals who were holding up their signs — and fancy this, they were both minorities, braving that global warming to be there.

  • m

    >most likely due to that global warming we are all experiencing

    Lame joke that everyone has heard a thousand times. It’s called “climate change”, not “weather change”.

  • pyrope

    If the liberal cannot prove a thing about a person or a group, they tend to make up lies and slander to marginalize them. This is right out of Alansky’s playbook. There were ZERO signs at the rally in DC that made racial slurs. Even the bit about the tea baggers depicting -Obama as hitler are lies.

    As for the mental acuity of the tea baggers, I must take exception: From what I could see and hear, the attendees were vastly more intelligent than those who depend on government for their “entidamits.”

  • ImNotBlue

    m says:
    January 12, 2010 at 11:04 pm

    Lame joke that everyone has heard a thousand times. It’s called “climate change”, not “weather change”.

    Well, it’s only recently been called “climate change,” after “global warming” became an obvious joke. And while there is a difference between “climate” and “weather,” explain why whenever there is a bad hurricane, Al Gore’s name gets brought up, and one of his supporters triumphantly exclaims, “See… we told you!”

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