Odd Silence From A Loud Bunch

[babylonsister]

They didn't study it? :wtf:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_04/023447.php


ODD SILENCE FROM A LOUD BUNCH.... How Wall Street operates would seem to be of interest to the Tea Party crowd. After all, this is a matter at the core of many of their ostensible concerns -- powerful elites, acting irresponsibly, ignoring the needs of the American mainstream, generating devastating consequences for everyone.

The legislative fight over reforming Wall Street, then, should be of great interest to the so-called "movement." But as Benjy Sarlin explained, Tea Partiers seem to be taking a pass on the major legislative fight of the day.

Tax Day rallies last week in Washington, D.C., were devoid of signs, slogans, and speeches on the finance bill, and influential right-leaning websites like Red State and Hot Air have all but ignored the issue this week, despite major movement on the Democrats' legislation. There are some exceptions ... but by and large there's been no high-profile campaign to defeat the bill, and a number of conservative activists concede that the grassroots are inactive.

Dick Armey, president of Tea Party organizer FreedomWorks, acknowledged in an interview that his group has yet to make its mark on the debate.

"We haven't had a chance to study it," Armey said.

What an interesting response. The Tea Party crowd didn't study the health care bill, but the activists opposed it. They didn't study tax policy, but they're still whining incessantly about tax increases that haven't happened. They didn't study budget policy, but they still think Obama is responsible for huge deficits (he's not).

But when it comes time to bring some accountability to a financial industry that pushed the global economy to the brink, Armey and his band of confused followers "haven't had a chance to study it"? Since when does that matter?

Steve M. takes a compelling stab at explaining what's up:

What's really happening is that the GOP/teabag complex is having a little trouble getting the messaging on this one right. The big kahuna leaders can read a poll, and they know that, even as skepticism about affirmative government increases, Wall Street reform remains popular with the public at large. So they're a tad reluctant to send a big ol' tea party bus out there with anti-reform slogans -- that might hurt the movement's indie cred. They're reluctant to urge the rank-and-file teabaggers' Pied Pipers on Fox News to go full bore into transmitting anti-reform talking points -- at least not until really solid talking points can be developed.

—Steve Benen

[TwilightGardener]

1. I agree with this: Their masters just haven't gotten the talking points passed down yet.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. Their masters want the teabaggers to sit down & STFU

where Wall Street or financial regulations are concerned. Their masters are capos and consiglieri in this WASP-run cosa nostra, after all, and the last thing they want is a bunch of boorish loudmouths whose every utterance gets picked up by the corporate media to start bloviating about fat-cat financiers & outlandish Wall Street bonuses.

[TwilightGardener]

3. I agree--The minute they start to demand REAL populism, they will be

either re-directed back on message, or disbanded/fragmented.

[jenmito]

4. They neve study anything. They parrot whatever the RW "leaders" say, and they have

nothing they can say this time.

[Sheepshank]

5. I guess this means

teabaggers know very well that Mitch McConnell was talking out of his ass.

Now....how to say that using 3 syllable words to sound all high brow?

[Nikki Stone1]

6. I both studied the health insurance bill and opposed it.

Just because tea partiers didn't, doesn't mean it wasn't done by others.

[impik]

7. I doubt they study anything at all their entire life

[FrenchieCat]

8. Now, isn't that Special!

Will the Corporate media mention this?

Doubt it!

[JNelson6563]

9. They haven't been fed their lines yet.

Beck and Limbaugh are slackin'.