A Multitude Of Insignificance

Photo Courtesy Of SleeplessByTheSea

Perhaps it should be a surprise at all that the mainstream media is even mentioning yesterday's huge protest in D.C. by the Tea Party Express, but the manner in which they're characterizing the march is no surprise.

Two different headlines tell the story:

Thousands Rally in Capital to Protest Big Government - New York Times

Up to two million march to US Capitol to protest against Obama's spending in 'tea-party' demonstration - UK's Daily Mail

Thousands, or two million? Since our friends across the ocean have no political stake in all of this, I will take their word for it. I am also relying on people who were actually there and part of that massive crowd and who heard from park police on the scene that the unofficial estimate was closer to two million than "tens of thousands", as the Times, NPR, and the AP would have us believe.

How strange that these outlets would try to deceive the readers. Stranger still is the Times' complaint that "as they sang verse after verse of patriotic hymns like 'God Bless America,' sharp words of profane and political criticism were aimed at Mr. Obama and Congress." Profanity? At an angry rally? Good Heavens, no! While I have no specific example, I muse that this is the same newspaper that would cover a violent liberal protest, in which a police car is burned, and characterize the event as "anger at George Bush boiling over".

The most stunning reaction, however, comes from the vegetative state of Congressional Democrats, who have decided to dismiss the mood of the people altogether. According to the Washington Post,

"The White House declined to comment on the demonstration, but Democrats said the rally and other protests in recent months represent a small minority of voters and will not slow Obama's proposals."

Such contempt certainly is not endearing to a constituency that holds the pink slips sure to be distributed in 2010. What is most puzzling is why the Republicans have not seized upon this movement, as they are equal targets of voter ire next year. It seems that both sides of the aisle are determined to help us set the record for most freshman representatives in a single year.

We shall see then just how insignificant we really are. That is, of course, provided that ACORN is not counting the ballots.

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Drinking Their Milkshakes

Why didn't we think of this much sooner?

Oh my, how the left of every stripe has gone utterly apoplectic over the "Tea Parties". It is quite a spectacle to behold as they writhe and squirm and whine over the dastardly conservatives stealing their bread-winning strategies. Why, how dare we exercise our rights as citizens to protest, even though we build the roads and fund the weak? What further forms of gall could we possibly exhibit, continuing to donate to charities even without the tax deductions? That would be like Holy water on a vampire's skin. The horrors.

Last night and today has been a time for not only the mainstream media and their congressional cohorts to reveal themselves as the spoiled children they have tried mightily to conceal, but also a time to expose their concerted agenda to the rest of society. There is a deliciously colloquial term for such a happening: busted.

What has been most evident in the past twenty four hours is a sense of embarrassed discovery amongst the liberal elites, something akin to being caught in a closet teabagg...well, we don't need to stoop to that level now, do we? I think I will leave such innuendo to the Anderson Cooper's of the world. The same Anderson Cooper who declared on national television that, "It's hard to talk when you're teabagging". Far be it from me to challenge such an authority on that subject.

What has really struck me, however, is the level of derision and vitriol being hurled by elected members of congress in the matter of the Tea Parties. Nancy Pelosi has referred to the demonstrations as "astroturf", an obvious dismissal of the movement's claims of being of the "grass roots" variety. Pelosi insists that the events were orchestrated by "corporations and the rich", as though that is condemnation enough. To be sure, in her circles it would be; her ilk believes that the rich - other than themselves - are inherently evil.

Never mentioned in their glowing praise of virtually every left wing protest is the fact that those events have been funded in large part - and organized to a slightly lesser degree - by people like George Soros and outfits like MoveOn.org and Code Pink. Nor does the covering media ever mention some nefarious agenda when anti-war protesters block recruiting centers. The focus in those situations is usually on the treatment of the protesters at the hands of police who try to allow a legal operation to continue unfettered by misguided ideologues.

It gets better, though. Not to be outdone by Speaker Pelosi, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) has ratcheted up the rhetoric dramatically, labeling the activities of the Tea Party demonstrators as "despicable and shameful."

"It’s despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt," she said. "Not a single American household or business will be taxed at a higher rate this year. Made to look like a grassroots uprising, this is an Obama bashing party promoted by corporate interests, as well as Republican lobbyists and politicians.” Forgive me, but I do remember a time, in a capitalist America, when such statements would have been considered so far outside the mainstream that they would have been cause for legal scrutiny. How times have changed.

The good news is that it appears the times are a-changin' again. Conservatives have raised heads and eyebrows alike in the last day and, more importantly, have made a connection that has shaken the liberal establishment to its core. We have drunk their milkshakes, stolen their cookies, and kicked their dogs. We have awakened.

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Conservatives Finally Protest, Like It

This is a slide show of the Oklahoma City Tea Party today, courtesy of my friend, Marway.