While we’re on the subject, the GOP is in the sad position where only negative things can benefit it. This is the true essence of Rush’s “I hope he fails” comment. If the economy comes back big time over the next year, the GOP is toast.

So go ahead and tea party all you want. I’m just sitting back and laughing my butt off.

The message coming out of the parties was very disjointed. It lacked a clear message other than some people are pretty darn upset. Some upset with just Obama and some upset with the past several administrations overall. I think that goes towards the mostly organic nature in which this came about (organic=good). I don’t think it was primarily astroturfing. But it also lacks the gravity of the Boston Tea Party and should try to find it’s own identity.

If you’re trying to frame this as some kind of populist mad-as-hell-and-I’m-not-going-to-take-it-anymore uprising, you’re deceiving your readers as much as yourself. This was partisan up and down. From its inception by right wing organizations, its promotion by Fox, and its participants. I read the signs– Obama portrayed as h[tler. Called a fasc’st, well, “because he is.”

My arguments are not weak as you claim without any followup. They’re apt and full of fact, jack. Taxes are a ginned up non-issue– the same-sex marriage wedge of 2009. All this f*scist this, socialist that bs has no basis in anything having to do with this administration– it comes about 6 years too late from people who sat by and did nothing when the *real* affronts to our Constitution were happening.

This was not anything close to a centrist grievance of an “American issue”. This was a much-hyped, loosely-attended partisan hour of hate that’s as much corporate as it is populist. It certainly doesn’t reflect anything close to the beliefs of “average Americans”, as national polls make very clear.

In fact I have to say the turnout had to of been more than what was expected because of the organization and physical layout of the protest was very amateur. No one could see or hear the feature speakers. It was almost like being in a big ‘flash mod’ or tweetup. The stage craft was horrible.

A funny observation, I saw a lot of disabled people.. like people in wheelchairs and scooters, at the protest. I *loved* watching them scoot down walkways and ramps that were ONLY there because bleeding-heart libruls made that possible. If the DFH didn’t succeed in getting those access points mandated, the disable people would of been left out.

Finally, since our local right-wing radio station is owned by Clear Channel.. you could see Clear Channel vans and gear everywhere. I know they haven’t been the main suspects in this astroturf exercise but it was almost comforting seeing an old corporate stand-by pulling the strings.