Baggers and Birthers, Milk and Cookies
Is it any surprise at all that the Tea-Bang (as I've taken to calling the National Tea Party Convention) would attract some visitors from Birthistan?
Joseph "Mr. Mustache" Farah of Whirled Nut Daily got to get up and talk, and you can see that speech here.
(He gets into the Birther boilerplate at 4:57 if you don't feel like listening to him pat himself on the back or tell recycled jokes)
He seemed to be preaching to the choir, based on all the cheering. But apparently, not everyone was happy to hear the hue and cry. Andrew "Disco Baby" Breitbart was apparently most unhappy, and had a rather lengthy and heated conversation with Mr. Farah about what did and didn't belong in the Tea Party.
“I was talking to her,” said Breitbart. “She was asking me if I thought it was wise to bring it up, and I said, no. We have a lot of strong arguments to be making, and that is a primary argument. That is an argument for the primaries that did not take hold. The arguments that these people right here are making are substantive arguments. The elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts were all won not on birther, but on substance. And to apply to this group of people the concept that they’re all obsessed with the birth certificate, when it’s not a winning issue–”
“It is a winning issue!”
“It’s not a winning issue.”
“It is! It becomes even more of a winning issue when the press abrogates its responsibility–”
“You don’t recognize it as a fundamentally controversial issue that forces a unified group of people to have to break into different parts? It is a schism of the highest order.”
“Nothing exposes the president’s–”
“Then prove it!”
“The press isn’t asking the question–”
“Prove it!”
“Prove what?”
“Prove your case.”
“I should prove, what, a birth certificate that may or may not exist?” Farah had gotten irritated. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t even understand the fundamental tenets of what journalism is about, Andrew. It’s not about proving things. It’s about asking questions and seeking truth.”
Breitbart tensed up after that insult. “Right.”
“I know you’re not a journalist, so that’s fine. But don’t diminish people who’ve been doing this for 35 years.”
Audio is here, and it's kind of comforting to know that Mr. Breitbart talks over his friends, too.
But that quote from Mr. Farah is pretty telling, and could explain a lot of what happens at WND, which is absolutely notorious for throwing up outrageous half-truths and disproved "facts" in order to make its points. It's just too bad that the truth they seek is being thrown under the train in order to ask questions.
Speaking of throwing truth under the train to find the facts, Orly Taitz was, indeed, in attendance. She did not get to address the convention, but she did do some talking on its behalf to Russia Today:
Having Orly talk to them about the Tea Party Convention is almost as bad as having David Horowitz talk about the late Howard Zinn on NPR, but it a whole lot funnier. Orly claims that 99% of the "tea party movement" wants Obama to show off his documents.
Is she right? Judging from the applause Farah got, I'm not doubting that her percentage is probably pretty close.
And given that some of the other speakers had equally troubling messages, according to TPM, one has to wonder what was going on at that convention, and how it bodes for America's future.
Tea Party leaders had worked hard to keep the public face of the movement focused tightly on a small government, anti-tax message, largely steering clear of social issues, and appeals based explicitly on race. But this weekend, from the podium at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel, convention speakers espoused birtherism, anti-immigrant nativism, homophobia, Christian fundamentalism, and an apparent nostalgia for racially discriminatory barriers to voting.
But then, we know that Dale Robertson, who founded teaparty.org in the first place, likes to go out with signs like this. Why then should we be surprised by anything?
Joseph "Mr. Mustache" Farah of Whirled Nut Daily got to get up and talk, and you can see that speech here.
(He gets into the Birther boilerplate at 4:57 if you don't feel like listening to him pat himself on the back or tell recycled jokes)
He seemed to be preaching to the choir, based on all the cheering. But apparently, not everyone was happy to hear the hue and cry. Andrew "Disco Baby" Breitbart was apparently most unhappy, and had a rather lengthy and heated conversation with Mr. Farah about what did and didn't belong in the Tea Party.
“I was talking to her,” said Breitbart. “She was asking me if I thought it was wise to bring it up, and I said, no. We have a lot of strong arguments to be making, and that is a primary argument. That is an argument for the primaries that did not take hold. The arguments that these people right here are making are substantive arguments. The elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts were all won not on birther, but on substance. And to apply to this group of people the concept that they’re all obsessed with the birth certificate, when it’s not a winning issue–”
“It is a winning issue!”
“It’s not a winning issue.”
“It is! It becomes even more of a winning issue when the press abrogates its responsibility–”
“You don’t recognize it as a fundamentally controversial issue that forces a unified group of people to have to break into different parts? It is a schism of the highest order.”
“Nothing exposes the president’s–”
“Then prove it!”
“The press isn’t asking the question–”
“Prove it!”
“Prove what?”
“Prove your case.”
“I should prove, what, a birth certificate that may or may not exist?” Farah had gotten irritated. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t even understand the fundamental tenets of what journalism is about, Andrew. It’s not about proving things. It’s about asking questions and seeking truth.”
Breitbart tensed up after that insult. “Right.”
“I know you’re not a journalist, so that’s fine. But don’t diminish people who’ve been doing this for 35 years.”
Audio is here, and it's kind of comforting to know that Mr. Breitbart talks over his friends, too.
But that quote from Mr. Farah is pretty telling, and could explain a lot of what happens at WND, which is absolutely notorious for throwing up outrageous half-truths and disproved "facts" in order to make its points. It's just too bad that the truth they seek is being thrown under the train in order to ask questions.
Speaking of throwing truth under the train to find the facts, Orly Taitz was, indeed, in attendance. She did not get to address the convention, but she did do some talking on its behalf to Russia Today:
Having Orly talk to them about the Tea Party Convention is almost as bad as having David Horowitz talk about the late Howard Zinn on NPR, but it a whole lot funnier. Orly claims that 99% of the "tea party movement" wants Obama to show off his documents.
Is she right? Judging from the applause Farah got, I'm not doubting that her percentage is probably pretty close.
And given that some of the other speakers had equally troubling messages, according to TPM, one has to wonder what was going on at that convention, and how it bodes for America's future.
Tea Party leaders had worked hard to keep the public face of the movement focused tightly on a small government, anti-tax message, largely steering clear of social issues, and appeals based explicitly on race. But this weekend, from the podium at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel, convention speakers espoused birtherism, anti-immigrant nativism, homophobia, Christian fundamentalism, and an apparent nostalgia for racially discriminatory barriers to voting.
But then, we know that Dale Robertson, who founded teaparty.org in the first place, likes to go out with signs like this. Why then should we be surprised by anything?
posted by J. Edward Tremlett at 6:57 PM
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