April 2009. The Atlantic, among others, documents the AstroTurf-style support for the teabaggers being provided by FreedomWorks:
FreedomWorks and dontGO seem to have taken ownership of the bulk of this coordination. The homepage of FreedomWorks' website now offers visitors a Google map of protests taking place across the country. They say they know of 600 Tax Day protests for which they are providing resources. The group has used its e-mail list to augment the work of dontGO, which created the website www.taxdayteaparty.com in February. dontGO, which was formed as an online rapid response team during the House of Representatives oil drilling debate last year, says it is "tracking" 700 events under its aegis.
August 2009. FreedomWorks haz a sad. Chairman Dick Armey lies in claiming MoveOn.org ran the infamous "Hitler ad," expressed his shock and dismay that such a "horrible" thing could find its way into the public sphere. (Reality: the ad was one of thousands submitted in a contest. The ad didn't win, and it never ran anywhere.)
July 2010. Northern Iowa teabaggers go out of their way to actually marshal resources and publicly display in the name of their organization everything their fellow teabaggers and FreedomWorks backers have spent the last year insisting they never do:
A new billboard in downtown Mason City features a photo of President Obama, flanked by pictures of German dictator Adolph Hitler and Communist leader Vladimir Lenin.
The billboard features phrases like "Live Free or Die" and "Radical leaders prey on the fearful and naive."
It’s the same spot where a billboard last fall featured the phrase "Obama-Nation, Live Free or Die" with the Communist symbol of a hammer and sickle. The billboards were paid for by the North Iowa Tea Party.
But gosh, isn't it really just all the same?
Pre-publication UPDATE: The teabaggers, rightly embarrassed, have papered over the billboard. Light on cockroaches, people.