Randi Rhodes Forums

So I work at the newspaper here at my school and we've been doing election coverage for the upcoming board of trustee elections. We have five candidates for two slots, three Republicans and two Democrats one proud tea party member and two that are afraid to say they're with the tea party.

Our news editor has tried time and time again to get straight answers to SIMPLE questions about their positions on issues, and to get them to answer questions about why they have certain stances on issues and obviously more in-depth background information that they have been out demanding from current board of trustee members.

Time and time again they have been avoiding our phone calls, avoiding interviews or have skipped out on our editorial board endorsement meetings all together. Completely afraid to stand up for who they are and present their ideas.

This is at the county level, not state, not national, just a county level community college board of trustees election these tea party candidates are afraid or just as hypocritical as any of them.

Granted most of you on this board are not surprised by this, so I guess this is more for the lurkers or browsers who think it's simply a national mainstream media conspiracy or bias against the tea party or any other level of manufactured crying that the Tea Party screams about in the media. Nope it's a local level problem that even a student newspaper at a community college can get straight answers from Republicans.

First of all YoungProgressiveMind, when not dragging their knuckles on the ground, it's hard to get any of these Teabaggers to form or complete a sentence, or express a thought without a Frank Luntz talking point. Second of all, you know they only talk to FIXED NEWS and people who are dead in the soul like they are. And third, THEY HAVE NO PLAN, NO IDEALS, NO HEART, NO SOUL, NO LOVE FOR THEIR FELLOW MAN, AND THEY WANT ALL OF YOUR MONEY! And after 30 years of their Special High Intensity Talk aka SHIT, we seemed to have heard it all, from men and women who are pathological liars. And just maybe, those millions in the streets all over the country protesting at state capitols and other places, MAY JUST HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT TOO!

Unless it's your family member, anybody who votes for Republican these days, might as well put on a mask on, and rob their own wallets! GET YOUR HAND OUT OF MY POCKETS REPUBLICANS, YOU THUGS!

The Truth:

The real party is on the golf links among the rich. Those who claim they are tea party members are nothing but manipulated by the rich golfers (the real tee party) and never will be allowed on the golf links but they are allowed to graze on the astroturf.

I think they're actually something a bit worse than just scared. They're scared AND ignorant.

Especially because they can vote, they do remind me of the toddler wandering through a crowded room waving the .45 they found in daddy's nightstand drawer.

Here is another example of stupid teabagger supporters. The same people out at the teaparty rallies where those who needed their social security, but they helped elect people who now are doing this.

Stop these teaparty people by calling in.


On March 28 and 29, join the Social Security coalition in a National Call-In to protect Social Security. To reduce the federal deficit, some in Washington are proposing deep cuts to Social Security benefits. We need to stop them. Social Security belongs to the people who pay for it in every paycheck. Don’t let Congress cut benefits, raise the retirement age, or reduce the COLA.

Senators Sanders (I-VT) and Reid (D-NV) have introduced the Social Security Protection amendment to block cuts to Social Security. Call your U.S. Senators on March 29th and 30th, by dialing 1-866-251-4044. Tell them: Hands off Social Security! Vote YES on the Sanders-Reid Social Security Protection Amendment!

I didn't want to start a new "tea party" thread so I'm going to stick this great Thom Hartmann video I got in my mail this afternoon here.



It's about fifteen minutes long but well worth the time...full of ammunition when you chat with tea party folk.

In my experience, "ammunition" is utterly useless in dealing with Tea Baggers. Facts mean absolutely nothing to folks who believe "the founding fathers" were Christians who created this nation premised upon "Christian Principles and a love of God." Citing history books, autobiographies and other easily available documentation does not dissuade them from believing those same founders fought diligently to end slavery, or that one can be a fascist AND a Socialist. Since their opinions are voiced only after the thoughts have bounced around their own heads, for them that's proof enough that it's ludicrous to claim they are ignorantly and inadvertently working to the benefit of corporate titans.

Those I've talked (and swapped posts) with are perfectly comfortable dismissing any assertion that conflicts with their views, or their versions of history, as the product of liberals manipulating the media and all education. Cite a scholar and that alone is reason to dismiss the point being asserted. Scholars are "ivory tower elitists!" Bing, bang boom - done.

To my mind, talking with them is very much like talking to Truthers. They promote "controlled demolition," and you slice through their evidence. They move on to barrels of diesel fuel, and that's easy to answer. They leap to pools of thermite, and the lies are easily documented. From there it's on to the "video of the tower being instantly turned to dust," and that's handily debunked. Before you know it, they're back to controlled demolition, acting as if they'd never mentioned it before.

And just like Truthers, when they finally grow frustrated and still insist on their fanciful contortions of known facts, tea baggers ultimately resort to, "You're one of THEM!" to dismiss or explain away any inconvenient assertion of fact.

Personally, I think the best way to respond to tea baggers is to ignore them. (Not incidentally, it drives 'em nuts.) I try to only invest time in talking to those who seem to be open to listening to tea baggers. They're the one who seem to me to still be receptive to hearing a different version of the history and current events being claimed by TBs.

Totally agree. I might be wrong, but within that so-called "movement" (incomplete term without the word "bowel" added) there must be a handful of folks out on the margins who might be shoved against the wall (figuratively) and have reality explained. Those are the only ones, who, I have to believe exist, are worth the time.

Wow! That was great. I am gonna spread the word. The Boston Tea Party was about corporate control over pricing and the British empire doing their bidding.

Now, what did we fight the British for again?

I loved reading articles of folks running in the last cycle for local positions (mayor, city council, county commissioner) talk about illegal immigration, gun control, abortion, school vouchers, etc, and wondering to myself just how exactly does this guy think he is going to fix illegal immigration as a junior city council member? Why does she think she will affect the unemployment rate if she is elected to the school board?

When confronted with facts it resorts to sarcasm and empty pointless rhetoric. It knows nothing and therefore teaches nothing.
Clearly facts have a marked liberal bias.

A city council candidate in a community I covered some years ago won my fervent and long-running support when, at a council candidate forum, a woman stood up and demanded to know her position on abortion. The candidate said there was no possible intersection between her feelings on abortion and the job she was applying for, and so she refused to acknowledge the question any more than she already had.

A short time later ANOTHER woman stood and cited the candidate's resume wherein she's listed American Association of University Women as one of her memberships, and the audience member asked if that didn't PROVE she was a supporter of abortion?

It became pretty clear this forum - hosted by a citywide women's group - was going to be premised ONLY on questions about abortion and religious beliefs, and the hosts were clearly anti-abortion. The candidate who twice refused to even address the questions finally said her time was being wasted. She gave out her home number and said anyone was welcomed to call her with questions about city business, and she walked out. The rest of the candidates stayed.

The walk-out ended up winning handily, and was re-elected twice more. While there were a few times wherein I bitterly disagreed with her council votes - and her positions indirectly protecting council colleagues caught with their hands in the cookie jar - for the most part she showed the same integrity and principle throughout her 3 terms, at which time she retired.

But, Bill, what you're noticing is EXACTLY how Tea Partiers see themselves amassing power across the board, very much the way religious fundamentalists did it, starting in the early 80's. They ran for these offices, promoting themselves as religious zealots, and their own kind and local churches backed them to the hilt (rules against political involvement notwithstanding). School Board, to city council, to state assembly, to the House, and maybe then the senate - - It takes about 15 years to make the circuit to Congress. That's how it works, and it worked exceptionally well for the religious fundies.

Hey, guess what elected office Michelle Bachmann first held...

Young, when you say 2 won't admit to being tea party, maybe they are not, maybe you just assume they are, it's an odd post really, doesn't make sense. The response in here so far seems to paint tea party with a broad brush that defines tea party members in bumper sticker phrases.I consider myself tea party and have gone to a couple of events. We are a broad assortment of people with one main belief, gov is too big and too involved in our lives, it waste tax money and comes back for more, thats about it really. All the other things attributed to us as a group are false. Hope I helped you understand us a bit.

It's sad, people actually stood up to bullies back then in America. I'm going to take a stand right now. First, I got to make a run to Carl's Junior. Hey, some of my buddies are on the PS3.

This post is satire, right?