Not that I really have a problem with a tea party organization getting ripped off. But damn, the tea party rank and file really need to open their eyes to how they’ve been buffaloed and jerked around by the Republican establishment.
Here’s the story:
Someday, someone’s going to say “You and what army?”
And, I’m going to say DICK ARMEY!
Laugh? I thought I’d surely die! Freedom Works was already totally hollowed out, they are nothing more than a merkin, pretending to represent millions of people as they issue press releases. And Cancer Treatment Center’s ads make me seriously stabby.
My sympathy meter isn’t exactly twitching over this one.
Is there some sort of criteria for the Washington Post to call a group a “grass-roots organization,” or do they just let anyone call themselves that? Because I don’t really see anything particularly grass-roots about any of this.
Maybe I’m just hopelessly optimistic, but I think we’re reaching the start of a trend, as the professional right-wing in this country devolves into an ouroboros of grifters trying to outscam each other.
Fine with me as long as they keep chasing bad money with good money. Spend yourselves into oblivion you idiots, it’s good for the economy. Carly Fiona, Meg Whitman, Linda McMahon, the Koch brothers, the Tea Party and the rest of them . . . keep the money flowing. You are doing a fine civic duty.
How could you tell?
Freedumb was a scam from the git-go. Armey made it up on the spot and then declared themselves the official Tea Party. Then started staging Tea Party events with sound trucks, stage handlers, the whole professional event team. Signs that they had a substantial pile of donations before they started asking for donations. Then, a couple of other groups said, No, actually, we are the official Tea Party. Then Freedumb tried to bring pressure to bear on some legal matters, declaring that the Tea Party was solidly behind Comcast/Verizon in their struggle for liberty. Struck a deep chord in all those patriotic Americans who love the cable company. They were both very impressed, I am told.
For starters, they would no longer show any interest in the governance of the country. Hmm, I think I see what you’re saying. I suppose that seeing big players cashing out like Armey will be more common. I wonder how much of his own cash Karl Rove blew in the 2012 election. Or if Sheldon Adelson will be as generous in 2016. The Koch brothers seem to be staying in the game, but they also seem to want Cato to be more firmly under their control (I haven’t heard any news on this dispute for a while).
But, more generally, I think the Republican coalition has stopped growing, and is, in fact largely composed of declining demographics. This is a problem for those who make their living by supporting right-wing ideology. As an example that’s gotten recent media attention, the number of gun owners in the country has been steadily declining, even as gun sales have increased. The NRA’s rhetoric has become increasingly aimed more at convincing a small subset of the country to stockpile large numbers of weapons.
Is that the official collective noun? Because if it ain’t it damn well ought to be.
How are they supposed to go Teabagging without a Dick Armey?
This is more than a little amusing coming from people who said Republican corporate spending was going to destroy America (and I’m one of them).
Not necessarily believing this, yet, myself. All reports trace back to one article in AP, which mentions some vague, secret document.
While I’m sure we’d all love to have this windfall ourselves, it’s not that unusual in the realm of business or sports.
It’s $400k/year payable over 20 years. He’s 72. Do the math.
It’s likely a good chuck of this will go to taxes, so maybe the headline should he TPer donates money to Uncle Sam.
A Testicle Armey?
I for one am glad to see that those wishing to carry off a coup like this can walk around DC openly carrying firearms.
Yay for Heller.
This sort of thing might make the Speaker of the House vote more interesting.
Fair vengeance for what the TP has done to the Republican establishment.
Hell, we knew it for years. That the unholy alliance between Republican leadership and the Troglodyte Right would sunder, it had to. They kept saying, just one more election, just one more big push, and no more abortion, evolution, or gays. Surprising thing is not that it happened, but that it took so long. Personally, I blame cognitive dissonance, but I’ve very nearly said enough about that,
Is my reading comprehension off, or is this the most poorly written article I’ve ever seen?
From what I understand, Dick Armey walked into the Tea Party offices with a gun (what?) and after six days (did he sleep there?), some employees left, then they came to terms or something, then he left with the promise of some funding and the employees being reinstated, or something?
In other words, dafuq did I just read?
I also just realized that this article was written by a close personal friend of mine IRL. I could just ask her.
When come back bring clarity?
