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Party Over? Tea Baggers Losing Strength

The tea baggers are starting to remind me of my ex-mother-in-law,
who always used her bags at least twice. No matter how long you let it
steep, the product is weak and watery. The same could be said for trying
to recycle the grassroots angst of the tea baggers. Reusing those same
patsies over and over, as the astroturf string-pullers are doing, is
beginning to lose its potency.

Witness the the defeat of Conservate Party candidate Doug Hoffman in New
York and the fizzle of Operation House Call, an effort led by Rep.
Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.). It was to begin at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov.
3, lobbying 13 lawmakers with phone calls, emails, and faxes protesting
their plan to produce meaningful health care reform.

…a quick survey of some of the 13 targeted senators’ offices
suggests that the “attack” has barely registered on the Hill. Kimberly
Hunter, a spokeswoman for Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) says that at a little
after 3:30 on Tuesday, her office hadn’t seen any uptick in calls or
visits. If the tea partiers do call, she adds, “We’re happy to listen
to their opinions.”

Likewise, a spokesman for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), another target on
the patriots’ list, says the office has fielded a few calls from people
saying they are coming to Thursday’s press conference—but overall the
volume has been “nothing unusual.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the official tea party website indicated
that only 25 patriots were on hand for “Operation House Call.”

While the press is busy thinking of new ways to proclaim the two
Republican victories in this year’s governors’ races a referendum on
Obama, there is less focus on the referendum on Sarah Palin and the far,
far rightwing that took place in New York’s District 23 race.

The scary-looking Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman was defeated
by a Democrat, despite people like Palin and Fred Thompson lending their
famous support, and despite Republicans holding that seat since it was
created 16 years ago in 1993.

The big bucks continue to flow to the tea party movement but it might
have to morph into something that appeals to people with higher than
grade school reading skills if it has a future. Sites like
DontKillGrandma.com can only keep manipulating the little people for so
long.

The site is professionally produced by FreedomWorks, headed by lobbyist
Dick Armey, who appeared on the campaign stump with Hoffman. Other
aligned groups are equally well-funded.

Americans for Prosperity, which has taken the lead in the current
fight against reform, is a front group for oil billionaires David and
Charles Koch, co-owners of the world’s largest private oil and gas
conglomerate.

On the other hand, as the deaths by gunshot of the gun-totin’ soccer mom
attest (and a local killing that looks pro-gun related), the frontline
little folks might be their own worst enemies.

As one of the patriots on DontKillGrandma suggested, “Can we hold
sit-ins across the country in the middle of America’s busiest highways.
That might get their attention.” Brilliant idea! The tea baggers should
be gone in no time with tactics like that.

Links here:
http://www.pensitoreview.com/2009/11/04/party-over-tea-baggers-losing-strength/

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