MSNBC Olbermann Attacks Tea Parties

Keith Olbermann, hosting his “Countdown” show on MSNBC on April 14, smeared the nation-wide movement Tea Parties by comparing it with a sexual act usually associated with homosexual culture. MSNBC generally and Olbermann in particular have been criticized for a continuing descent into becoming a biased propaganda arm for the radical far left.

Readers should be warned that it is impossible to report Keith Olbermann’s grossly offensive reporting without discussing his offensive content. On April 15, Rush Limbaugh broadcast a similar discussion of the same smear made on-air by CNN’S Anderson Coooper without giving such a warning (which he normally gives), and Rush read from an urban dictionary to make his point.

Invoking the historical example of the “Boston Tea Party” which helped spark the American Revolution, a tsunami of spontaneous grassroots protest has swept across the nation. Americans of many different political views are protesting against government’s over-spending, bailouts, and refusal to listen to the people on such issues as illegal immigration.

The first modern “Boston Tea Party” was a spontaneous event in Seattle, Washington, on February 16, 2009. Then on February 19, financial reporter Rick Santelli gave his famous “rant heard round the world” on CNBC in which Santelli suggested holding a Chicago Tea Party in July and throwing tea into Lake Michigan. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA] To some extent, the enormous public opposition to the massive bank and corporate bailouts starting last Fall has evolved into the tea party movement.

Public sentiment against both George Bush’s and Barack Obama’s bailouts of mind-numbing size, using borrowed money, have swamped the Congressional switchboard at several points since last Fall. One of the most poignant scenes of the tea parties is a very young girl holding up a sign “Sorry, Daddy, I don’t have a trillion dollars to loan you.”

The idea of holding tea parties on tax day, April 15, emerged as too obvious to ignore. Following this example, hundreds of conservative organizations and tens of thousands of individuals seized on this very obvious opportunity to protest. With the internet and talk radio making the organization inexpensive and easy, hundreds of rallies were scheduled. Some of the tea parties are so spontaneous that conflicting rallies have been scheduled at the same time without coordination. Tea parties in Fairfax, Virginia, were scheduled for both the Merrifield Post Office and a nearby Reston shopping mall in conflict with each other.

However, Keith Olbermann used every opportunity – on national cable television – to compare the tea parties to a sexual act most Americans would consider perversion. “Teabagging” is street jargon that is impossible to explain on these pages with the remotest level of decency. The term originated within the homosexual community.

In fact, no one in the tea party movement has ever used the terms “teabagging” or “teabaggers.” Indeed, most of the modern tea parties have not involved any actual tea at all, and have not focused on either tea or tea bags. (The tea in the Boston Tea Party in 1773 was in crates.) The one defect of the modern tea parties is their distinct lack of any tea. (The EPA might object if tea were thrown into lakes or rivers these days.) Therefore, not only has the term never been used by the tea parties, but tea bags play little or no role in these re-enactment of a pivotal event in American history.

Olbermann admitted that his many double entrendres were intentional. Olbermann laughed “That’s the only thing that wasn’t intentional in the last five minutes,” after his British guest expressed discomfort at being an Englishmen asked about tea parties. Later, Olbermman then again explicitly mentioned double entrendres about tea parties, such as “Dick Armey teabagging the nation" and asked if Howard Stern had invented the protests.

His segment was aired over the titles: “GOP bones up on teabagging" and “Teabaggers’ seminal moment." Olbermann claimed that Republican talking heads like Newt Gingrich have pushed their own version of teabagging “down the throats of the original teabaggers.” He claimed that “Cincinnati teabaggers were down in the mouth about taxes.” He predicted that the teabagger movement would blow up in Fox’s face. According to Rush Limbaugh, CNN’s Cooper Anderson made a similar comment that “It is hard to speak while you’re teabagging.”

Olbermann managed to get almost every fact wrong in his report, showing incompetence as a journalist. Olbermann claimed that the tea parties were started by libertarian supporters of Ron Paul. In fact, the initial promoters of tea parties, following Rick Santelli’s on-air rant, were Citizens Against Government Waste, Americans for Tax Reform, the National Taxpayers Union, American Solutions, and Americans for Prosperity.

The “Countdown” report falsely portrayed the movement as manufactured by corporate interests and the Republican National Committee. Most of Olbermann’s interview with British MSNBC analyst Richard Wolffe focused on fantasizing about what might happen if the tea parties were a flop because people don’t show up.

He falsely portrayed the tea party movement as involving Republican officials such as John Boehner and Dick Armey. In fact, some tea parties have banned elected officials from participating. While it is true that many elected officials and political leader have tried to “run out in front of the parade” and become part of the action, a hallmark of the tea party movement has been disgust with every level of government regardless of party. Complaints include the fact that both Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of both massive over-spending borrowing money from our children and ignoring the voice of the people. Some are even discussing the creation of an independent political party based on the tea party rallies. Much will depend now on what happens on July 4, Independence Day, and whether the protest movement can again marshall a strong voice on July 4th.

"TEA PARTY" Protestors Couldn't Wait For Tax Day

Taxpayers couldn't wait to protest for April 15 to arrive here in Wilmington, North Carolina. Catching the growing "tax day" revolt, approximately 700 angry citizens rallied at the Federal Building in Wilmington on April 7. Across the nation, almost 2,000 modern "Boston Tea Parties" are now expected on April 15. The intensity and number of events suggests a massive groundswell continuing to build. Leaders are urging Americans to "Party like it's 1776," to take back America.

The favorite chant of the crowd on the steps of Wilmington's Federal building was "Throw the bums out," along with "Who do you work for? WE THE PEOPLE!" The crowd was filled with yellow Colonial flags -- large and small -- proclaiming "Don't Tread on Me" along with many American flags. A gentleman dressed as a Colonial officer of the Revolutionary War waved an enormous Red, White, and Blue flag.

Hundreds of home-made signs attacked out-of-control spending, socialism, taxes, bail-outs and Obama policies. One sign simply said "NYET !" over the hammer-and-sickle sign of the Soviet Union (Russian for "No"). Many signs are becoming standard tea party items, such as one saying "Obama Motors" crossed through and another spelling out "OBAMA" as an acronym for "One Big A** Mistake America." Others decried the burden of debt imposed on children and grandchildren. Another proclaimed "If you like socialism, move to Europe."

However, a major theme of the protest here in Wilmington and nationwide is the arrogance of elected officials who simply don't listen to the voters. More than any particular issue, the crowd was infuriated by the general attitude of Washington and local politicians in seizing people's rights and money without caring what the voters want. This anger is directed at all levels of government: Federal, State, and local.

In Wilmington, the crowd marched from the Federal building to the City Council building, where they accidentally caught the Mayor, Bill Saffo, walking out the front entrance. The surprised Mayor, looking like a deer caught in headlights, was forced to cheerfully acknowledge the angry, yelling voters before racing back inside. Then their chants on the front steps could be clearly heard by the City Council meeting going on inside. The crowd broke out singing "God Bless America," after being informed that the City Council could hear them. Chants of "Throw the bums out" then resumed.

Dozens of organizations are calling for a national day of protest on April 15 -- the deadline for filing Federal tax returns. The protests invoke the memory of the famous tax protest of the Massachussetts Colony against the British as a key moment in American history. In 1773, Colonists fed up with the many taxes imposed by the English King, threw British tea into Boston harbor, rather than pay the tax on the tea. (The protestors disguised their identities by dressing as Indians, but announced that they were in fact Masschusetts Colonialists.)

Today, the massive tea party movement is being "organized" by almost every conservative or libertarian political group imaginable, of every kind. There are so many unrelated organizations involved that essentially no one is actually organizing this movement. The idea materalized after a now-famous, impromptu "rant" by CNBC reporter Rick Santelli [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp-Jw-5Kx8k] on February 19, when he called for a Chicago Tea Party throwing tea into Lake Michigan.

At first, a coalition led by Americans for Tax Reform and the National Taxpayers Union staged tea parties in February. They were tracking plans for 170 more on April 15. Then Don Wildmon's American Family Association upped the ante by promising to organize 1,000 more. Soon afterward, almost every organization that exists jumped on board the movement. Organizations that normally never talk to each other, or don't even know the other exists, were suddenly working together to set up tax-day tea parties. Now, tracking of events suggests the total will approach 2,000 events on April 15.

The Wilmington event was sponsored by half-a-dozen groups, including Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Fair Taxation (Fairtax.org). However, local talk show host Curtis Wright turned out many listeners not connected with any organization. Such spontaneous involvement by citizens is often hoped for, but rarely achieved. This time, the movement appears to be a chain reaction exploding nation-wide. Even beyond April 15, tea parties are already being discussed for tea party rallies on July 4 -- Independence Day.