Ever wonder how the Tea Party got such traction?
How they came out of nowhere -- to become an influential presence on the National Stage?
Me too.
Yes people are mad. I'm mad.
I'm mad about Wall Street Banks, the pinnacle of capitalism -- not be subjected to the corrective forces of that same capitalism.
I'm mad about endless Wars -- killing and maiming in OUR name -- against a Concept, NOT against a real Enemy, that is an immediate Threat.
I'm mad about a Revolving Door of Lobbyists -- that protects the forces of Greed, while crowding out the real Voices and real Needs of the real people -- The Actual Citizens of America.
Yes, I'm Mad, about the painfully slow pace of Progress -- But pick up a Gun and go to Rally to imply a Revolution?
I'm not THAT Mad -- yet. I prefer non-violent forms of action.
But apparently a LOT of People are THAT MAD ... all they needed was a spark. a little push.
and some Puppet Masters to corral their anger ... (and to corral the cameras too.)
America, meet the Puppet Masters who tapped that wide-ranging Citizen Angst and Outrage -- and turned it into a Movement:
Tea Party
sourcewatch.org
While promoted as a spontaneous "grassroots" movement, many of the activities of Tea Party groups were organized by corporate lobbying groups.
[...]
Reports indicate that the Tea Party Movement benefits from millions of dollars from conservative foundations that are derived from wealthy U.S. families and their business interests. Is appears that money to organize and implement the Movement flows primarily through two conservative groups: Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks.
In an April 9, 2009 article on ThinkProgress.org, Lee Fang reports that the principal organizers of Tea Party events are Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works, two "lobbyist-run think tanks" that are "well funded" and that provide the logistics and organizing for the Tea Party movement from coast to coast.
Americans for Prosperity? sounds harmless enough.
But when you look behind THAT Curtain -- you'll find the Billionaire Liberarian Corporatists, who were raised under the principles of John Birch.
The Koch Brothers -- who's political reach and intent, is startling to say the least:
The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.
by Jane Mayer, NewYorker -- Aug 30, 2010
The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry -- especially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests.
In a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States. And Greenpeace issued a report identifying the company as a "kingpin of climate science denial."
The report showed that, from 2005 to 2008, the Kochs vastly outdid ExxonMobil in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change, underwriting a huge network of foundations, think tanks, and political front groups. Indeed, the brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policies -- from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus program -- that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus.
How many "arms" does an Octopus have? At what point, does its reach become too far-reaching? At what point does it become a Danger to all smaller creatures, within reach. Who, in this scary world does the Octopus, have to fear?
Kochtopus
The Kochtopus is a group of minarchist organizations founded by Charles G. Koch. They include the Cato Institute (which plays a central role in the Kochtopus), Reason Foundation, Property and Environment Research Center, Students for a Libertarian Society, The Libertarian Review, Institute for Humane Studies, Council for a Competitive Economy, Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. [...]
Keith Olbermann has focused on the reach of Koch Brothers a number of times --
The Koch Brothers Million(s) Dollar effort to Halt Progress, by jamess -- Sep 18, 2010
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
K.O.
The Tea Party Moment,
This Grassroot movement is brought to you by Big Oil!
[...]
They are out to destroy Progressivism.
[...]
Lee Fang, ThinkProgress.org:
They [the Koch Brothers] helped fund the "summer of rage" last summer.
What's the harm? That Billionaires can now fund Citizen Action groups like the Tea Party? It's just Free Speech, right? Money IS Speech. Corporations ARE People, too. Right!?
Koch Industries are just doing what Corporations Do -- manipulating the Hopes and Dreams of others. Tapping the energy of actually, living, breathing, often-desperate People.
Well thanks to Citizens United, such Billionaire Front Groups can now fund anonymous Political Ad Campaigns too. A serious Object Lesson that we should have learned in the last election:
Corporate Donations Buying U.S. Elections - Countdown -- Keith Olbermann
http://www.youtube.com/...
Fact Checking no longer matters, apparently -- only the choice Madison Avenue Ad templates, [and several Millions of Dollars to run them, constantly] are Now the New Keys to winning Elections, in this brazen new Age of Wealth Empowerment.
Is THIS really what the Founding Fathers had in mind, when they crafted our novel Representative form of Government?
I seriously doubt it.
But be careful, however, if you dare look too closely at the inner workings of a Front Group Enterprise, like the Koch Billionaires have created. It's their Reality -- mere Citizens should not dare to challenge it.
Because if THEY have the means to move the masses, if THEY can steer Elections -- then THEY also have the means to smear your reputation too, as Jane Mayer found out, soon after her Koch article was published in the NewYorker.
Who Tried To Smear Jane Mayer?
by Joe Strupp, MediaMatters -- Jan 14, 2011
Someone has engaged in an organized effort to smear the reputation and credibility of Jane Mayer, a prize-winning journalist at The New Yorker, according to a New York Post reporter's published accounts and his subsequent statements to Media Matters.
Last week, the New York Post's Keith Kelly reported that The Daily Caller, a right-wing news site run by Tucker Carlson, had spent "several weeks" pursuing false allegations that Mayer had committed plagiarism in at least two articles. One of the allegations involved Mayer's landmark expose about Charles and David Koch -- billionaire brothers who have funded conservative organizations tied to the Tea Party movement.
But, after weeks of digging, the site [Tucker Carlson's] found no merit to the story, and backed off.
Surprise, Surprise. No Worries, though. The seeds of Doubt, The seeds of Defamation, were already planted, as their backers intended.
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Yes people are mad. I'm mad. ... If you're not mad -- you're not paying attention -- as the saying goes.
I'm mad about Front Groups funded by Billionaires -- who get to paint Reality, anyways they like -- without the routine challenge of a Fact Check, by our complicit Corporate Media.
I'm mad about Corporatists, -- Outsourcing OUR Jobs -- for the sake of Quick Profit, WITHOUT a care, or a constraint, about the long-term consequences, it IS having on OUR Economy ... on the Ideal, of the once-vibrant American Dream.
I'm mad about OUR status-quo Political System -- that caters to the generous Donations of Lobbyists, while finding ever more creative ways, to downplay the real Voices and real Needs of the real people -- The Actual Citizens of America. The People that they are "supposedly" representing.
No wonder, the Tea Party movement has HAD Legs -- its backers, found a way to channel and focus, this desperate desire to finally get Real Representation.
It used to be a truism
Corporations don't Elect People -- Citizens Elect People!
(Lately though, We have to start questioning that.)
Anger is a powerful motivator. It's long past time to turn such anger, into Action. It's long past time to put Real People, back in charge. To address Our Concerns. Our Issues. Our Voices.
Congress, are you Listening? ... are you really? Or is it simply more Faux Concern, that you all are so skilled at.
Afterall, it's only the Planet, and the Green Jobs Opportunities of the 21st Century, that hangs in the balance:
The Fear Campaign being waged for Oil Industry Independence, by jamess -- Sep 11, 2010
Remember People, it's "YOUR" Planet --
It's your Future.
Don't let the Big Oil Front Groups win the Debate -- the Climate Change Facts are in, and they prove Climate Change is real. Case Closed.
EPA's Climate Change Indicators in the United States -- 2010
We CAN do better. We MUST do better. It's OUR Future. ... Or at least, it should be.