Teabagging

[Lemur]

I'm sorry to bring it up again, but I just can't stop laughing. Every time some red-faced, sweaty person yells about "teabagging" I burst into a fit of schoolgirl-worthy giggles. They really, truly don't know what it means (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teabagging).


https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/teabagsignsmall.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/teabagonteevee.jpg

Watch this clip (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30145811#30145811) and try not to laugh. When Ms. Cox starts going on about "Who wouldn't want to teabag John McCain?" you have to made of stone to not emit a chuckle, if not a guffaw.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I managed to hold on until she said "Stormfront endorses teabagging."

:laugh4:

[Lemur]

"You could say that there's a split between the teabags. The social teabaggers and the fiscal teabaggers are really starting to move apart from each other."

Can't see ... laughing too hard ... tears streaming down cheeks ....

[Tribesman]

Come on Lemur , you knew the very vocal "republicans" were really hiding some little sexual quirk , now they are out of the stress of running up huge defecits they can finally teabag to their hearts content as a way to empty the heavy load from their sack of despair .

[HoreTore]

I'm confused. What other things than the one involving testicles does "teabagging" mean?

And what do people think they mean when they say "teabag"?

[seireikhaan]

Don't forget that a good teabag is an excellent complement to one's breakfast. Always a guarantee to perk one up in the morning.

[Lemur]

And what do people think they mean when they say "teabag"?
Here's a website (http://teabagparty.org/) for the teabag movement. From the site (try not to laugh when you read the words, "Need a Tea Bag? We'll Send You One!"):


What are we protesting, exactly?

There are so many things that could be protested that it is hard to settle on any single one. Here's a partial list of some candidate issues. Choose the ones that matter to you, and write to your representative about them.

Forced bailout of mortgages for those who made bad or risky investment choices by those who were more careful.
Massive federal spending on government social programs that are likely to become entrenched interests.
Increasing taxes on small businesses and their owners, who are the engine of the economy.
Massive deficit spending that will take many generations to recover from.
Ineffective throwing of hundreds of billions at financial institutions with no discernable positive result.
Reduction of tax breaks for home mortgages and charitable contributions.
Not allowing details of "spendulous" plans to be seen, read and comprehended prior to a vote.
Massive "Cap and Tax" on the same kind of air molecules that we breathe out every few seconds.
Wealth transfer that discourages industry and promotes laziness.
Lack of concern for the trillions of dollars of personal savings that is being lost in the stock market.


Fox News is promoting the events heavily, and Glenn Beck's 912 project is somehow tied into it. Pardon me if I'm not 100% on how all of this fits together, but the movement itself seems a bit chaotic. As you would expect from a bunch of teabaggers.

Here's a video of a teabag meeting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwdOwgD5OsY) (posted it in another thread, but it deserves to be viewed again).

Also, if you watch the hi-freakin'-larious video in the OP, you'll hear a pretty good summation of why all of these people are engaging in mutual teabagging.

[Xiahou]

I'm confused. What other things than the one involving testicles does "teabagging" mean?

And what do people think they mean when they say "teabag"?As far as I know, the only people calling it "teabag" parties or "teabagging" with any sort of regularity is Maddow herself. The protesters themselves are referencing the Boston Tea Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_tea_party) by calling their gatherings "tea parties".

Her news show is a joke, so if she gets a good chuckle out of mischaracterizing the protests, good for her. :shrug:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

As far as I know, the only people calling it "teabag" parties or "teabagging" with any sort of regularity is Maddow herself. The protesters themselves are referencing the Boston Tea Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_tea_party) by calling their gatherings "tea parties".

Her news show is a joke, so if she gets a good chuckle out of mischaracterizing the protests, good for her. :shrug:

:yes:


It was still very funny though.

[Tribesman]

I'm confused. What other things than the one involving testicles does "teabagging" mean?

Well thats because you get confused with history , back in the early 1900s the colonials had this kinda revolution where they did a pre-emptive strike against the evil King George V before he gained the throne as a protest about the invention of tea bags , they rebeled against the tyranny of the German royals . The introduction of the tea bag had given rise to doubts about the percolative effects of the bag on the tea which might weaken the resolve of the american colonial upstarts in the morning withtheir cuppa . They bravely rallied round the table cloth and said no percolation without representation and tipped the offending tea into Boston harbour , unfortunately after they won their heroic struggle their new leaders under the malignant influence of the vested interests of the bevarage industry sold out the revolution and convinced the people to have coffee instead , which of course has that evil percolation thing with it .

[Lemur]

Her news show is a joke [...]
And in this instance, a hilarious one. Come on, Xiahou, even you must crack a smile now and then. Did you even watch the video?

Fox News has repeatedly referred to "teabagging" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mwbR9gYc7Q). The Facebook groups are variously called Tea-bags for D.C. (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php#/group.php?sid=c9ae271299d8d54f3c9b905a6ad4aefd&gid=154116905424&ref=search) and In the Interests of Teabagging Congress (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php#/group.php?sid=c9ae271299d8d54f3c9b905a6ad4aefd&gid=62165717036&ref=search).

Here's a Tea-themed blog for meeting fellow teabaggers that quite un-ironically calls itself Teabag Obama (http://teabagobama.blogspot.com/) ("One more time... Teabagging is for everyone - it's not a left right conflict"). Here's the Twitter feed for Teabag Obama (http://twitter.com/TeabagObama) (warning, profanity). Here's another website called millionteabags.org (http://www.millionteabags.org/) ("What’s this tea bag thing all about?" Indeed! Tell us!). None of these groups appear to be anything but sincere.

I'd love to hear some sort of back-up for your assertion that "teabagging" is a creation of Rachel Maddow's.

Here's another comedian enjoying the teabagging (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsnBiJfWlhs).

-edit-

P.S.: You forgot to claim that the images in the OP were photoshopped. Folks, who you gonna believe, Xiahou or your lying eyes?

-edit of the edit-

Oh. My. God. In further unintentional sexual slang news, The National Organization for Marriage (http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/c.omL2KeN0LzH/b.5075687/apps/s/content.asp?ct=6877701) has dubbed their campaign "2 Million for Marriage". Or 2M4M (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=m4m). "I don't think that means what you think it means ...."

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/2m4mscreengrab.jpg

[Tribesman]

I'd love to hear some sort of back-up for your assertion that "teabagging" is a creation of Rachel Maddow's.

Your links prove nothing , everyone knows that the expression in that context is an invention of the liberal media .

[Lemur]

Ladies and (especially) gentlemen, I give you Phil Gingrey (R) of Georgia, holding up his teabags on Fox News (http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001139/). No wonder he looks pleased.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/Teabags.jpg

[Splitpersonality]

My girlfriend's mother is a teabagger. It's pretty funny being told that by anyone

"Oh you know those teabaggers? My mom does that!"

[Reverend Joe]

Fox News has repeatedly referred to "teabagging" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mwbR9gYc7Q).

Stupid, pointless symbolic protests consisting of a vague message and a lot of shouting?

Sounds like hippies to me.

[Lemur]

And now a host on Fox News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpy0Bv2HNc) has declared that it is his "great duty to promote the tea parties." It's cool when they don't even bother to pretend to be a news network anymore. I'd call them the American Al-Jazeera, but that would be degrading to Al-Jazeera, which sucks up most of its staff from the BBC anyway. Maybe the American Pravda?

[Seamus Fermanagh]

And now a host on Fox News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpy0Bv2HNc) has declared that it is his "great duty to promote the tea parties." It's cool when they don't even bother to pretend to be a news network anymore. I'd call them the American Al-Jazeera, but that would be degrading to Al-Jazeera, which sucks up most of its staff from the BBC anyway. Maybe the American Pravda?

Why don't we ban all media outlets considered "biased" by one of the top 5 political parties in the USA. Certainly would free up a lot of bandwidth....:laugh4:

[Lemur]

I think that is an excellent proposal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pvqYiXoIE8) to air at the nearest Teabag Party. No doubt they'll love it!

[Gregoshi]

I think that is an excellent proposal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pvqYiXoIE8) to air at the nearest Teabag Party. No doubt they'll love it!
Or it could land you in hot water with the people who give a squat about such things.

[Lemur]

Don't dilute the message, Gregoshi; don't water down the issue. Seamus is referring to the model in which the media is a bag or sack, in which there is a leftist ball and a rightist ball. He's suggesting that both balls should be amputated, which will leave our public discourse quite gelded. I prefer a full, open-mouthed discourse in which both the left ball and right ball are chewed over and spit out as necessary.

[Gregoshi]

I prefer a full, open-mouthed discourse in which both the left ball and right ball are chewed over and spit out as necessary.
Well, then... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH12Xxt2hBw&feature=related)

[Xiahou]

Well, then... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH12Xxt2hBw&feature=related)I thought for sure that this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W-fIn2QZgg) would be where the link pointed. :clown:

[a completely inoffensive name]

...

[Banquo's Ghost]

Well thats because you get confused with history , back in the early 1900s the colonials had this kinda revolution where they did a pre-emptive strike against the evil King George V before he gained the throne as a protest about the invention of tea bags , they rebeled against the tyranny of the German royals . The introduction of the tea bag had given rise to doubts about the percolative effects of the bag on the tea which might weaken the resolve of the american colonial upstarts in the morning withtheir cuppa . They bravely rallied round the table cloth and said no percolation without representation and tipped the offending tea into Boston harbour , unfortunately after they won their heroic struggle their new leaders under the malignant influence of the vested interests of the bevarage industry sold out the revolution and convinced the people to have coffee instead , which of course has that evil percolation thing with it .

No, no, no, old chap. George V was our object of affection.

You see, he was a small, even tiny person, as was his Prime Minister, Lloyd George. It turned out that De Valera, who was trying to arrange a meeting between the three, was also quite small of stature.

So we sent Michael Collins over, who was not known as "The Big Fella" for nothing, and Ireland won her independence.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Everything I know about American history I learned from Fallout 3, my teacher was named Abraham Washington and he told me:

"On July the 4th 1776, a group calling themselves the Second Judgemental Congress got together at For McHarry in Maryland. After a ceremony which ended with Paul Revere singing the famous battle hymn known as the National Anthem, the document was signed. From there, it was sent to England by plane presumably and presented to King George himself. Thus began the Evolutionary War."
- Abraham Washington

He told me this after I managed to blast my way through DC and retrieve the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence for him.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I'm hoping to attend one of these things in Piscataway Wednesday. If successful, I will post my experience.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I'm sorry to bring it up again, but I just can't stop laughing. Every time some red-faced, sweaty person yells about "teabagging" I burst into a fit of schoolgirl-worthy giggles. They really, truly don't know what it means (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teabagging).

Watch this clip (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30145811#30145811) and try not to laugh. When Ms. Cox starts going on about "Who wouldn't want to teabag John McCain?" you have to made of stone to not emit a chuckle, if not a guffaw.

Why, exactly, must we let every vulgar pop-culture meaning dominate discussion?

Since when does a news network air a segment that's based solely on making fun of widespread protests by changing the name (from tea parties to 'tea bagging') and then laughing at the vulgar double meaning? Is that supposed to make me laugh and inspire confidence in the direction of discourse in this country?

Instead, we have here a national news network anchor laughing at a widespread movement against increasing government by using a term connected to what the organizers are using. They're using that to ridicule and dismiss these people without even touching on the issues.

Sure, I'll laugh a bit at the people who actually say they're going to 'tea bag' people. But it just isn't that funny if this sort of discussion is what dominates.


Ladies and (especially) gentlemen, I give you Phil Gingrey (R) of Georgia, holding up his teabags on Fox News. No wonder he looks pleased.

He said he's holding tea bags. Give me a ******* break. He didn't even say he was going to tea bag anyone or go tea bagging. He said he had tea bags. Can a person now never even refer to the ************* containers of tea without some snarky jerk (http://kos.dailykos.com/) laughing? Are we in middle school?

I'm getting sick of letting every urban dictionary definition, or anything close to an urban dictionary term, dominate discourse like this. But instead of having a short laugh, we have national networks and liberal blogs aiming to take down a whole movement.


I'd call them the American Al-Jazeera, but that would be degrading to Al-Jazeera, which sucks up most of its staff from the BBC anyway. Maybe the American Pravda?

Pravda, arm of the state? How could you miss the network you linked in the OP, msnbc?

CR

[a completely inoffensive name]

CR, I sympathize with the statement they are trying to make, but even I can laugh at this.

[Fragony]

So teabagging isn't humping the corpse of the clueless newbie you just fragged :dizzy2:

[CountArach]

Oh my god Lemur, that is gold! :laugh4:

[Strike For The South]

You're supposed to do this to women? Well...heh....ohhhhhhh

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Everything I know about American history I learned from Fallout 3, my teacher was named Abraham Washington and he told me:

"On July the 4th 1776, a group calling themselves the Second Judgemental Congress got together at For McHarry in Maryland. After a ceremony which ended with Paul Revere singing the famous battle hymn known as the National Anthem, the document was signed. From there, it was sent to England by plane presumably and presented to King George himself. Thus began the Evolutionary War."
- Abraham Washington

He told me this after I managed to blast my way through DC and retrieve the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence for him.

Proof positive that Vin Deisel's "XXX" character was correct.

[Lemur]

I'm getting sick of letting every urban dictionary definition, or anything close to an urban dictionary term, dominate discourse like this.
Indeed, I am sick and tired of my workplace hand-safety campaign, "Americans Against Fingerbanging", being mocked on the interwebs. And what about that wonderful group, the Motorway and Interstate Law Forum? Why does everyone titter when I say that I'm going to meet with my MILFs?

Disgraceful. What is this world coming to?

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Indeed, I am sick and tired of my workplace hand-safety campaign, "Americans Against Fingerbanging", being mocked on the interwebs. And what about that wonderful group, the Motorway and Interstate Law Forum? Why does everyone titter when I say that I'm going to meet with my MILFs?

Disgraceful. What is this world coming to?

Any time now, some enterprising searcher for recreational internet "video" will input the term MILF and tumble across this thread as one of the "hits." No doubt he'll be disappointed that you didn't provide a linkee to the Motorway homepage.

[Gregoshi]

Then I'll just add the word Halo to this thread so we get some hits for those "halo + teabagging" searches. Here's an Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 thrown in for good measure. Wii, this is fun.

On topic: actually, I think the Republicans are just sandbagging at the moment...which sounds a lot more painful than teabaggin'.

[Lemur]

I hate to burst anyone's bubbles, but to the best of my knowledge Google does not index the Backroom. It's invite-only, so their spiders can't crawl back here.

There is no way to search the Backroom. People never believe this, but it's true. If you want to find an old thread you have to do it the old-fashioned way, page by painful page.

[LittleGrizzly]

I can confirm what Lemur said... makes it hard to find things... and what makes it even harder is when you imagined whatever your looking for in the first place.... that was a fun day...

ohhh and this topic is full of awesome...

Teabagging FTW!

[Gregoshi]

Lemur, Destroyer of Dreams... :shame:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Indeed, I am sick and tired of my workplace hand-safety campaign, "Americans Against Fingerbanging", being mocked on the interwebs. And what about that wonderful group, the Motorway and Interstate Law Forum? Why does everyone titter when I say that I'm going to meet with my MILFs?

By ignoring all of his post except that specific part you seem to have just proven his point...

[Lemur]

By ignoring all of his post except that specific part you seem to have just proven his point...
Would it be safe to say he teabagged me?

[KukriKhan]

It would be safe, in my little deluded world, to think that 'teabagging' and 'MILF', terms now accepted for usage in my politics-religion-and-culture-backroom...

were tolerated. And laughable.

But hey, I'm just an old guy, out of touch with the cool, hip kids.

Next up: 'corn-hole-ing', 'douche-ing', 'felch-ing'. Hey, It was on TV, so it must be OK, right?











I accept my deserved warning points, standing.

[Fragony]

Good thing you don't know about plompzakken and swaffelen.

[KukriKhan]

Good thing you don't know about plompzakken and swaffelen.

You Whacky Canadians and your crazy cabin-fever remedies.

LOL

[Banquo's Ghost]

Gentlemen,

Let's not test the limits of international double-entendre too far, please.

Remember, we're a PG-13 site and there might be Republicans reading. :wink:

[Fragony]

But it is our word of the year! To swaffel is to hit an object with a top-heavy penis, made famous by a dutch student who swaffeled the Taj Mahal.

[Lemur]

Okay, that may have been the best tebagging pun ever. Some talking head on cable just said, "And in Cavuto's defense, if you are planning simultaneous teabagging all around the country, you‘re going to need a Dick Armey."

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

You owe me one, Lemur (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-OWDjOQfI). And that guy goes way above and beyond the call of duty.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Gentlemen,

Let's not test the limits of international double-entendre too far, please.

Remember, we're a PG-13 site and there might be Republicans reading. :wink:

Thanks for the smelling salts, Banquo, I'd gotten woozy after those posts. I didn't know there WERE such activities, much less words to describe them. GOP does stand for God's Own Politicians of course, so we simply cannot countenance anyone even thinking in that fashion.












:wiseguy:

[Don Corleone]

:laugh4:

I just want to know if the real Lemur's going to be upset when he finds out that Keith Olbermann has hijacked his .Org account. All I need is a few baseball references to come sneaking in and I'll have enough to go the police. :laugh4:

[Gregoshi]

Gentlemen,

Let's not test the limits of international double-entendre too far, please.

Remember, we're a PG-13 site and there might be Republicans reading. :wink:

Don't teas me, bro. :clown:

[Lemur]

I just want to know if the real Lemur's going to be upset when he finds out that Keith Olbermann has hijacked his .Org account. :laugh4:
Now wait a cotton pickin' minute, I haven't watched an entire Olberman show (just the usual YouTube clips) but isn't he really serious? Every time I see him he's barking on about how someone is a liar and dishonorable and should fall on their sword if they have any decency, and so forth.

No, no, if you're going to conflate me with an MSNBC character, I'll take the lesbian, please. At least she's funny. And she was the first to really give teabagging a good going-over.

Anybody attended one of these events today? Looks like the ones in D.C. never got the proper permits to do much of anything.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Looks like the ones in D.C. never got the proper permits to do much of anything.

Thats epic fail right there.

[Gregoshi]

Anybody attended one of these events today? Looks like the ones in D.C. never got the proper permits to do much of anything.
It's a good thing those Bostonians back in 1773 had enough foresight to get their permits. :yes:

[KukriKhan]

Anybody attended one of these events today? Looks like the ones in D.C. never got the proper permits to do much of anything.

Just got back from one of three(!) in my town. About 60 people, outside the Post Office (safely off federal property), hand-made signs, a little chanting. No speaker.

There's another planned in about a half-hour. I'm thinking of going - it may be larger, being after folks' work-hours, and it's gonna be in what we loosely call "downtown", outside city hall. Wifey took the still-camera with her to her Mom's, so all I can get are cell-phone photos, but I'll try to pull them off that device via bluetooth.

signed,
your intrepid reporter
Kukri

[Lemur]

Cool stuff, Kukri.

Meanwhile, somewhere n America, a dump truck full of tea (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041500943.html?hpid=topnews) is driving down an empty road toward an uncertain future ...


Protesters, using a rented truck to haul the million tea bags, began unloading their cargo at the park this morning but were told by officials that they didn't have proper permits and must move the tea . They complied with the order but are still considering what to do with the load.

What will become of the tea truck? Nobody knows. It's like the Flying Dutchman. But full of tea. (I think Lipton's is making out like a bandit on all of this.)

[Gregoshi]

They can't toss it into the harbour either - that would be littering. Trouble is brewing...with cream and two sugars.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Ok-

1. Partisan political organizations "spontaneously" generate an organized and planned event where thousands (not millions) turned out in protest of an increase in taxes of 3% for the richest of Americans, which obviously did not include them. Turns out, the people at these events were ordinary people whose taxes would actually be cut or remain the same under Obama.

2. People show up with signs that say Obama=Hitler and show images of Obama's face over an image of Hitler, and one that said that taxpayers were the "Jews" for Obama's "ovens".

3. Fox News, in its fair and balanced coverage, promotes the event and greatly exaggerates how many people showed up, and dedicated many of their top "journalists" to cover this propaganda and present it as legitimate news. Fox News, today, (not just today...) was nothing more than a political advertisement with commercial sponsorship.

4. MSNBC, the liberal network, poked fun at Fox News and their single minded coverage of a Republican political stunt with their usual journalistic objectivity.

Why is it called news, when the news is generated by the noise organizations themselves and presented as news? It's nothing more than childish taunting and some taunting which crosses the line of being not just REALLY STUPID, but uncivilized hate speech. I particularly liked the Nazi references and the "lynch Obama" references. I also loved Rush Limbaugh's flip flopping on the issue... first Obama didn't do enough, then Obama did his job, and now Obama, IF HE WERE WHITE, would have been a racist killer of innocent black teenagers on the high seas.

Rush Limbaugh makes me gag. MSNBC makes me laugh, but at least I know it isn't news, it's commentary. I hope no one takes Fox "NEWS" as anything more than political commentary from the Republican party, because it has nothing that even remotely resembles news on it.

[KukriKhan]

Well, this is the best I could get with the cell-phone: my sidewalk "neighbors":

https://jimcee.homestead.com/0415091808a.jpg

This event was larger, about 1,500* people by my unofficial estimate (the PD guy I asked said 2,500; I think he doesn't know how to count a crowd; it was about a mile of city sidewalk, with people 2-deep), with lots of enthusiastic car-horn honking by drive-bys. Plenty of American flags, about a dozen "Don't Tread On Me" flags.

Pretty diverse crowd age-race-sex - wise. More younger folks than I expected. All well-behaved and orderly. The guy with glasses in the above pic made up a hand-held sign for his son that read: "I DIDN'T KNOW A SECOND GRADER COULD BE IN DEBT!"; there were mostly hand-made signs, and a few 'professional'-looking ones. I didn't see any signs displaying "hate" slogans, or hear any such talk or chanting.

I was there for about an hour. I have other pics, but they're mostly cars in the foreground that the cell-phone focused on - I'll try to enhance/edit them with my ancient PaintShopPro software, so you can get a better feel for crowd size.

-edit-
*for reference, Escondido's population is about 125,000

[Lemur]

Yeah, Kukri, from what little I read today, it sounded like the protests in Cali were bigger than in Washington.

Meanwhile, the saga of the ghost tea truck (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/1-Million-Tea-Bags-but-No-Place-to-Dump.html) continues. Somebody really ought to write a ballad about it:


"We have a million tea bags here, and we don't have a place to put them because it's not on our permit," said Rebecca Wales, lead organizer of D.C. Tea Party. [...] A local think tank, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said it would allow the dumping of the tea bags in its 12th floor conference room instead. Not quite the same impact, though.

[Banquo's Ghost]

1. Partisan political organizations "spontaneously" generate an organized and planned event where thousands (not millions) turned out in protest of an increase in taxes of 3% for the richest of Americans, which obviously did not include them. Turns out, the people at these events were ordinary people whose taxes would actually be cut or remain the same under Obama.

It doesn't matter, this is democracy. Ordinary people feeling so strongly about something that they march out on the streets.

Just what I was bemoaning the lack of a week or so back. It's wonderful.

:bow:

[Askthepizzaguy]

It doesn't matter, this is democracy. Ordinary people feeling so strongly about something that they march out on the streets.

Just what I was bemoaning the lack of a week or so back. It's wonderful.

:bow:

Hey, people can do what they want. But when Fox News tries to pass it off as a "grassroots" movement that they didn't champion and sponsor, and objectively covered as news... I gotta say, that's a...

well, was going to say new low, but it's Fox News! There is no bottom to that canyon of shame.

[CountArach]

A sign at one of the rallies:
https://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r44/CountArach/FoxNewsInformed.jpg

But seriously... it seems like (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/how-many-attended-tea-parties.html) there was quite a significant turnout overall. About 112,000 in the major rallies across the country.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Hey, people can do what they want. But when Fox News tries to pass it off as a "grassroots" movement that they didn't champion and sponsor, and objectively covered as news... I gotta say, that's a...

well, was going to say new low, but it's Fox News! There is no bottom to that canyon of shame.

I couldn't care less about Fox News, especially since I don't have to watch it. :2thumbsup:

But they, and this movement, must have hit a nerve otherwise the protesters would stay at home. If people like Kukri are organising and marching, that's democracy and whether I agree with them or not, it's great to see.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

The permit thing amuses me.

Didn't bother going to any baggin' ceremony though.

[Xiahou]

Hey, people can do what they want. But when Fox News tries to pass it off as a "grassroots" movement that they didn't champion and sponsor, and objectively covered as news... I gotta say, that's a...

well, was going to say new low, but it's Fox News! There is no bottom to that canyon of shame.What would qualify as a valid grass roots movement in your mind? If it immediately becomes tainted the moment it receives and support (or exploitation) from media outlets or politicians, I'd wager we've never had a true "grassroots" movement. These people aren't professional protestors- most of them are organized via blogs, social networking sites, etc. So what if Fox News promotes them or politicians try to hitch their wagons to it? Why the disdain?

You're also completely missing the point if you think they're only upset about Obama's tax increases on the top bracket.

[Askthepizzaguy]

I just find it interesting they are up in arms NOW about fiscal irresponsibility and taxes and budget deficits, when many of them just LOVED the previous administration. Some of the same people who said that opposing Bush was unpatriotic are now saying "lynch Obama".

Sure, there's plenty of normal people who attend and have a problem with taxes, and that's great. I'd like for there to be lower taxes too. But when the country is bleeding huge amounts due to budget deficits, and we're deep, deep in debt to foreign nations, and people aren't willing to give up their social services or raise taxes, one has to wonder; exactly what solution do they want for the problem? Print some more money and de-value the dollar? Sell arms to violent regimes? Stop fighting AIDS in Africa? Perhaps they'd like to get rid of earmarks, which account for what percentage of the budget... was it 1%? Of course, we can't cut the no-bid contracts and open-ended wars... that might be unpatriotic.

:inquisitive:

I want to hear opposing viewpoints and solutions from the opposition, so the Democrats don't go crazy with power, which they will. However, the opposition has no leadership, an abysmal alternative budget proposal, no energy or healthcare plan, no end to the overseas conflicts, and their main issues seem to deal with gay people, as if everything would go away if we just made sure that gay people couldn't have equal rights as straights. Even if they dropped the gay issue, they would turn around and blame immigrants for the problem, or people on welfare. There's always a scapegoat, and never a solution. Just pandering to partisan and special interest groups, and of course, lots and lots and lots of money for states like Texas, who "oppose" the federal government but sure love taking the grand majority of what they send to Washington right back in Congressional spending.

(must, control, rant. Don't say Limbaugh... don't say Limbaugh... don't say Limbaugh...)

And Xiahou-


The tea parties were promoted by FreedomWorks, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington and led by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, who is now a lobbyist.

And Fox News sponsored it and sent all their talking heads out there to promote it. Sounds like it wasn't something that happened spontaneously. It's a political rally, but it was not a grassroots movement. But we could debate all day and I doubt we would see each other's point of view.

Democracy yes, grassroots, no, and Fox is not News.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Why limit alternatives to the "opposition"? Actual alternatives to the two party system support things like balancing the budget, either through higher taxes and/or cutting spending. But that's obviously stuff and nonsense...

[Askthepizzaguy]

Why limit alternatives to the "opposition"? Actual alternatives to the two party system support things like balancing the budget, either through higher taxes and/or cutting spending. But that's obviously stuff and nonsense...

No, that makes sense. All of the above. But it would draw huge protests sponsored by Fox. :laugh2:

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Nah, Glenn Beck would probably just call them domestic terrorists. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg8M2JBIoqo&feature=related)

[Askthepizzaguy]

Nah, Glenn Beck would probably just call them domestic terrorists. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg8M2JBIoqo&feature=related)

I will say this; I never stooped so low as to accuse Republicans of being terrorists. Granted they did that overseas, and some anarchists and left-wing wackos did, but I've condemned such behavior every single time I've seen it. Would be nice to hear something similar; to be fair to McCain I heard him condemn that stuff against Obama. Palin sure didn't though, she encouraged it. That was a rather dubious duo.

Ok, now it's other people's turn. Show me clips of Biden saying something which directly contradicts Obama. After that line, I deserve it, and I'll cop to it.

[Xiahou]

I just find it interesting they are up in arms NOW about fiscal irresponsibility and taxes and budget deficits, when many of them just LOVED the previous administration. Some of the same people who said that opposing Bush was unpatriotic are now saying "lynch Obama".Your hyperbole aside, you're very mistaken if you think conservative voters were happy with spending under Bush. Conservative exasperation with the GOPs spending played a significant role in their ouster.

Additionally, the scale of the deficits is also worth noting. Obama's deficits are completely dwarfing those of the Bush administration- and Bush's deficits were bad enough already.
https://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3023/wapoobamabudget1.jpg
If people were upset over Bush's deficits, how do you think they'd feel about what's coming down the pipe? Ten years from now, even using the White House's pie-in-the-sky estimates, the deficit will never go below what it was in even the highest of Bush's time in office. The CBO's projections are much more gloomy, and sadly, more realistic. A sobering thought, don't you think?

Do you think it's possible that people are so disgusted by this that they're moved to protest without being given marching orders by the vast right wing conspiracy?

[a completely inoffensive name]

Why does that chart show the deficit rising after 2016 which would be Obama's last possible year in office if he was elected to a second term? There could be an actual fiscal conservative in office at that point.

[Tribesman]

If people were upset over Bush's deficits, how do you think they'd feel about what's coming down the pipe?
The thing with Bushes defecits is he went down from the surplus ofthe clinton years , while Obama inherits georges mess .
As for what people will think down the line , them CBO charts project Obama doing a deficit like Reagan had (even though he is starting in a worse position), and the "conservatives" still love Reagan .

[Strike For The South]

The thing with Bushes defecits is he went down from the surplus ofthe clinton years , while Obama inherits georges mess .
As for what people will think down the line , them CBO charts project Obama doing a deficit like Reagan had (even though he is starting in a worse position), and the "conservatives" still love Reagan .

Nukes are cooler than sick people.

[KukriKhan]

I couldn't care less about Fox News, especially since I don't have to watch it. :2thumbsup:

But they, and this movement, must have hit a nerve otherwise the protesters would stay at home. If people like Kukri are organising and marching, that's democracy and whether I agree with them or not, it's great to see.

I was dismayed to hear on radio beginning Monday, how politicians and pundits were turning this little 'germ' of an idea into a media event, complete with notable speakers, entertainment, and all the foo-foo of a partisan political clamor-fest. So, to be honest, I expected to see either a huge, staged "event", or a small group of mostly retirees - all bashing Obama, and blaming him for all their ills.

To my happy surprise, I saw neither; just my neighbors, with hand-made signs, kids-in-tow, lining my main street, and people driving by and honking approval, and about 10% of them parking nearby and joining, in a snowball effect. I saw three of my five city councillors wading through the crowd, being mostly ignored - "Good", thought I. They should see this with their own eyeballs, while not trying to exploit or lead it (I think the crowd would have shouted them down, had they tried).

For me, it wasn't about the money. There's enough blame to go 'round several times on that. Or about our wars.

Instead, this was a baby-step towards a realization that "I am not alone." Kind of a re-enfranchisement. That what I think and say and do, matters, and can have a positive effect on my civil society, and that my employees (the city, county, state & fed folks we elect) ought to pay heed.

I think, even more important, was the way the thing came together, informal, low-cost, internet announcements. I hope we can continue this kind of thing ala The Committees of Correspondence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_correspondence) in revolutionary days.

"Trickle Up" republican democracy, if you will.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Instead, this was a baby-step towards a realization that "I am not alone." Kind of a re-enfranchisement. That what I think and say and do, matters, and can have a positive effect on my civil society, and that my employees (the city, county, state & fed folks we elect) ought to pay heed.

I think, even more important, was the way the thing came together, informal, low-cost, internet announcements. I hope we can continue this kind of thing ala The Committees of Correspondence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_correspondence) in revolutionary days.

"Trickle Up" republican democracy, if you will.

Damn right! Frighten the government, not with guns, but with an organised citizenry refusing to be governed save with consent.

Kudos to you and your fellow citizens. :bow:

[Lemur]

I think, even more important, was the way the thing came together, informal, low-cost, internet announcements.
I'm glad you had such a positive experience, Kukri. And from what I've read, the whole tea party concept was put together by a libertarian group in Chicago.

That said, I would feel a lot more positive about this phenomenon if it hadn't been co-opted by Rupert Murdoch's propaganda arm. It just makes my skin crawl to see "reporters" on a "news channel" openly advocating a political event. There's a certain class of people who became libertarians on January 20th, 2009. For them? Nothing but contempt.

[KukriKhan]

I'm glad you had such a positive experience, Kukri. And from what I've read, the whole tea party concept was put together by a libertarian group in Chicago.

That said, I would feel a lot more positive about this phenomenon if it hadn't been co-opted by Rupert Murdoch's propaganda arm. It just makes my skin crawl to see "reporters" on a "news channel" openly advocating a political event. There's a certain class of people who became libertarians on January 20th, 2009. For them? Nothing but contempt.

No argument there - I turned on Faux News (Hannity was on) when I got home, and thought I was watching a re-run of the Dem or Repub National Convention, LOL. Buncha weiners trying to piggy-back, as far as I'm concerned. And I just watched the vid clip from the Madeaux MSNBC show; if I'd seen anybody at my rally with signs/shirts advocating hanging Congress-critters, or Obama=Hitler and the other crazy stuff she showed - I never would have gotten out of the car.

And yeah: I've heard/read Chicago, Seattle, NYC and Tampa as the originating locations of these secretly-funded by the vast right-wing conspiracy events. Bah... my check from D. Armey still hasn't arrived; stupid mailman probably kept it for himself. :laugh4:

I guess time will tell if this was a mere tempest in a teacup, as it were, or a consciousness-raising exercise.

[Askthepizzaguy]

I have every reason to believe your first-hand experience, Kurki, but word from many, many different media sources is that these events were not as genuine and family-friendly as your experience was.

That being said, I've nothing to prove here, and I'd rather be wrong than right in this case. I'd prefer honest protests for a change, because I happen to agree that we need to balance our budget and soon. I think that Murdoch and Armey and Hannity poisoned the legitimacy of this event, from my perspective. But I am glad you had a good time.

[Tribesman]

Damn right! Frighten the government, not with guns, but with an organised citizenry refusing to be governed save with consent.

Yeah but would these fruitcakes be more frightening to the government or ordinary people .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwdOwgD5OsY
Brainwashing digital boxes????? oh and burn the books:laugh4::laugh4::laugh4:

[LittleGrizzly]

Lol, the commies!

Thats better than teabagging anyday ~;)

It starts off a little slow, I wondered where the comedy was at first, the libertarian party guy and constitution party guy where not the best speakers but not crazy... but wait until the guy after them starts speaking...

[Hosakawa Tito]

We the People Stimulus Package. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA)

[a completely inoffensive name]

We the People Stimulus Package. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA)

That guy gets crazy though when he starts asking for mandatory service and English as an official language.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

That guy gets crazy though when he starts asking for mandatory service and English as an official language.

Sorry, what's wrong with English as an official language?

[Proletariat]

I've never understood the people who want it as an official language for the US. What difference would it make? This isn't France, let's speak whatever we like here.

It totally skirts the issue of illegal immigration anyway.

[Lemur]

A sample of some of the signs being shown at the Tea Parties. I certainly don't blame the attendees for a few fringe lunatics with bad taste, but would you say these are better, worse or equivalent to the stuff being paraded at the anti-war rallies in '03?


https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/WhiteSlavery.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/ObamaVampire.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/ObamaSaudi.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/ObamaHitler.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/JewsOvens.jpg

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I'd say a little better, if only in terms of quantity. You've also got only one or two signs there, rather than, say, a whole crowd bearing them prominently. If you can find me a mass rally with everyone bearing a carbon copy of those signs, we can say equivalent.

[Lemur]

I'm not sure I understand your comment, EMFM. I watched the anti-war protests in '03 from my office window, and I never saw people carrying identical signs. If anything the protesters were a hodge-podge bunch, with little sense of unity or theme.

Could you, I don't know, source what you're saying, or clarify it in some way?

-edit-

Also, I posted five pics. How does five become "one or two"? You're really confusing me.

[LittleGrizzly]

The only one I find really shocking out of those is the bottom poster...

The first one could very well have a racist base, he could also be speaking about taxpayers having to pay for these huge defecits and it being a form of slavery, so he made it short and catchy... though obviously other races pay taxes as well so it wouldn't just be white slavery, so possibly racist possibly stupid...

The second one could come across as looking kind of racist, but what the picture is showing (in an obviously exagerated kind of way) is kind of true in that obama is spending alot of money and taxes will have to pay for this...

The third one has sexual conatations, but the message in it is basically true for the last few US presidents, as in keeping Saudi's sweet... for oil rather than jewels though... though they kind be trying to infer thats he's a muslim and thus takes instruction from the Saudi monarchy (which is slightly convuluted thinking but these people aren''t usually the clearest thinking bunch...)

Number four, who doesn't like a good hitler comparison... we use plenty here in the backroom... OTT and extreme but not wacked out crazyness... Well he could be crazy but may just be OTT and extreme...

Number 5 is completely out of line...

Something to remember people usually do exagerate with posters, they want something short, catchy and in the case of these shocking in an attempt to make thier point...

Not that that makes it right, just not nessecarily a loony behind everyone...

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I'm not sure I understand your comment, EMFM. I watched the anti-war protests in '03 from my office window, and I never saw people carrying identical signs. If anything the protesters were a hodge-podge bunch, with little sense of unity or theme.

Could you, I don't know, source what you're saying, or clarify it in some way?

I'm talking about those big, organized anti-Bush protests. Like this. (http://londonist.com/attachments/London_Lindsey/randydandy-PROTEST.jpg) There were all kinds of examples like this all over the world, with signs comparing Bush to Hitler, the Republicans to Nazis, and so on. It seems to me that signs like that appeared with much more frequency comparing Bush to Hitler than comparing Obama to Hitler.

[LittleGrizzly]

Theres only one poster there comparable to the ones Lemur showed, the hitler one, the rest are pretty tame, worlds number one terrorists is the worst after that... but hardly shocking...

So is your problem the amount of posters rathers than whats on them ?

[Strike For The South]

A sample of some of the signs being shown at the Tea Parties. I certainly don't blame the attendees for a few fringe lunatics with bad taste, but would you say these are better, worse or equivalent to the stuff being paraded at the anti-war rallies in '03?


https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/WhiteSlavery.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/ObamaVampire.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/ObamaSaudi.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/ObamaHitler.jpg https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/JewsOvens.jpg

Simply recycled hate rhetoric for the masses.

I was able to get Nazis and jews in the same poster.

https://img13.imageshack.us/img13/7333/pic1jqf.jpg

Where's my gold star?

[Vuk]

You know what Lemur? I think your attacking these people is very imatture on your part. Who cares what a bunch of perverts use the word for? Half the words in the English language have been given a sexual meaning (it is called a hyperbole people). If I say someone is nuts, am I being a pervert or an idiot? If you say you love to eat eggs, are you being a pervert or an idiot? They are using an innocent word in an innocent way, and people who do not like them are being perverts. Don't be so obsessed...

And FYI, I do not agree with this 'teabagging' nonesense they are doing, or with what they are saying (no matter how good thier intentions may be), but I think that the way you and others are acting about it is even worse, because it is not well intented in the least. And before you say it is partisanism, do you honestly thing that if Democrats had went 'teabagging' when Bush was elected that people who disagreed with them would be going on obessively in more than one topic about how what they say can be take sexually? If you think of it that way, that is your...affair. It is not how they are using it, and you are taking it completely out of context when you irrelevently go on about the sexual implications the words could have.

I mean no offense Lemur, I know that this stupidity aggrevates you (as I find many of these people's stupidity aggrevating myself), but you hardly do any good for an argument against them when all you can ever post about concerning them is the joy you get from revelling in the sexual undertones you see in their use of an innocent word. Do you see what I mean?

[Lemur]

Do you honestly thing that if Democrats had went 'teabagging' when Bush was elected that people who disagreed with them would be going on obessively in more than one topic about how what they say can be take sexually?
Trust me, if a bunch of far-left liberals decided to protest President 43 and called it "teabagging," or some equivalent phrase, I don't doubt that everyone else would have a good laugh.

Not every combination of letters makes for a double entendre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_entendre). Also, you might want to check the definition of hyperbole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole). That word doesn't mean what you think it means.

[Veho Nex]

Lol Teabag obama.

[Vuk]

Trust me, if a bunch of far-left liberals decided to protest President 43 and called it "teabagging," or some equivalent phrase, I don't doubt that everyone else would have a good laugh.

I see nothing wrong with seeing it an chuckling when that thought enters your mind, because it can be funny if taken out of context. It is something esle entirely to obsess over the sexual meaning the word COULD have, and treat them like idiots because of the sick associations we make in our own minds. They are doing plenty of things for you to pick on them for being idiots, you do not need to obsess over imaginative referrences to male genitals.




Not every combination of letters makes for a double entendre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_entendre). Also, you might want to check the definition of hyperbole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole). That word doesn't mean what you think it means.

I said half of the words in the English language which is:

a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated.
I used it:

to create emphasis.

I fail to see how I used it wrongly.

[Lemur]

I fail to see how I used it wrongly.
Um, a secondary (probably unintentional) meaning for a word or phrase is a double entendre. Hyperbole, as you can tell from the Greek roots (υπερβολή) means extreme and/or deliberate exaggeration for emphasis. A word can only be hyperbolic in its usage, never its meaning.

So when AC/DC sings that "we've got big balls" they're engaging in a double entendre. When Kiss says "I want to rock and roll all night and party every day" they're using hyperbole. When Scorpions sings "I'm gonna rock you like a hurricane" they're using a simile, and when Led Zepplin says "And she's climbing a stairway to heaven" they're using a metaphor.

I could go on, but in the interests of public health I won't.

[Vuk]

Um, a secondary (probably unintentional) meaning for a word or phrase is a double entendre. Hyperbole, as you can tell from the Greek roots (υπερβολή) means extreme and/or deliberate exaggeration for emphasis. A word can only be hyperbolic in its usage, never its meaning.

So when AC/DC sings that "we've got big balls" they're engaging in a double entendre. When Kiss says "I want to rock and roll all night and party every day" they're using hyperbole. When Scorpions sings "I'm gonna rock you like a hurricane" they're using a simile, and when Led Zepplin says "And she's climbing a stairway to heaven" they're using a metaphor.

I could go on, but in the interests of public health I won't.

The hyperbole I was referring to was:

half the words in the English language
The part that came right before I said it was a hyperbole. Sorry if it was confusing, I meant it to be obvious. "Half" is the hyperbole, as not half the words in the English language have been given sexual meanings (or are even commonly known :P).

[Ironside]

The one thing that really show that it's hysteria imo is that this happens in april 2009 and not 2011 or 2012. Your new president has barely been into power.

Simply put, Obama doing his election promises are enough for the opposition to reclaim the spirit of the revolution. Anything else than Republican isn't American?

And while the concern about the incread debt is a real one, I suspect that if Obama didn't do it now, he wouldn't be able to so until after the next election and that's usually not a good thing. But if he doesn't do anything more about it during the next years he deserves a good kicking.

[Vuk]

The one thing that really show that it's hysteria imo is that this happens in april 2009 and not 2011 or 2012. Your new president has barely been into power.

Simply put, Obama doing his election promises are enough for the opposition to reclaim the spirit of the revolution. Anything else than Republican isn't American?

And while the concern about the incread debt is a real one, I suspect that if Obama didn't do it now, he wouldn't be able to so until after the next election and that's usually not a good thing. But if he doesn't do anything more about it during the next years he deserves a good kicking.

I disagree with you. I find the illogical presentations and assumptions to be offensive. The time is not something bad. Their dislike of his principles comes from a different philosophy that they strongly believe in, and according to that philosophy, what he says he is going to do (and has started to do) is going to ruin America, so they NEED to do something about it now, not after it is too late to reverse. In that respect, I am of the exact opposite opinion as yourself. If they really believed that about it and decided to wait until what they believe the destruction of America is already being put into place, THEN they would be stupid. I think they are simply doing what they believe in, and as long as they are being peaceful and not common criminals (like the protesters at the RNC) destroying property, injuring, and killing people that they should be commended for standing up for what they believe in. What I think is stupid and completely discredits them though is the stupid fashion in which they do so, and the ridiculous claims and assumptions that they make.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Theres only one poster there comparable to the ones Lemur showed, the hitler one, the rest are pretty tame, worlds number one terrorists is the worst after that... but hardly shocking...

Exactly, but now imagine (or Google Image) a parade filled with those.


So is your problem the amount of posters rathers than whats on them ?

Lemur said:


I certainly don't blame the attendees for a few fringe lunatics with bad taste, but would you say these are better, worse or equivalent to the stuff being paraded at the anti-war rallies in '03?

I said it was worse at the anti-war rallies, because they (not all, but a fair few) were positively filled with signs of that nature. The signs were the same, but there were more nutjobs wielding them, making the phenomenon worse.

[Lemur]

I said it was worse at the anti-war rallies, because they (not all, but a fair few) were positively filled with signs of that nature. The signs were the same, but there were more nutjobs wielding them, making the phenomenon worse.
Just curious: You're in Germany. I assume you were still there when the '03 protests happened. On what are you basing your quantitative assessment?

[Ironside]

Vuk, first, by doing this now, you are moving to bypass the democratic principle, while sometimes it may be the correct choise, it's a very dangerous path to walk.

Second, what will happen to this movement? Obama is slightly more left than Bush, whom did have the power for the last 8 years. Thus if this is enough, then you weren't a fan of Bush's policies.

Why is this important? Because this is already simply an attack tool on the democrats, while it would need to be onto American politics in general to bring the actual change. And as long Fox News and other Republicans that prefer politics simular to Bush will guide the path nothing will change.

It could of course become a gale, storming through the politics and leaving change through it's wake. But alas, the conditions aren't right, not enough part of the populace are willing for it now. If Xiahou is right, then it would have it's strongest time by the end of Obama's presidency. A strong determination with the realisation that a big change is needed (for example an election were the main issue is about who will fix the mess) is the time were this movement needs to be strongest.

Now, it will probably wither and die or possibly end up as a Republican pet dog barking around and somewhere deep in it's mind wondering what went wrong.

I might be wrong and would actually be pleasantly surpriced if I was, but usually movements lose thier strength pretty fast and I'll doubt it last long enough to have a large inpact on the next senate election let alone the next presidental election.