MediaMatters:"Fox spent weeks promoting apparent tea party scam."

[Baculus]

Remember those debates on this forum last year on whether or not some of the Tea Party groups were astroturf in nature? Well, this is what some of us were talking about.

"Fox spent weeks promoting apparent tea party scam.

December 31, 2009 4:00 pm ET by Matt Gertz

TPM Media's Zachary Roth reported earlier in the week that the political action committee that organized the Tea Party Express -- Our Country Deserves Better PAC -- funneled almost two-thirds of its spending from July to November back to the political consulting firm from which it was spawned, Russo, Marsh, and Associates. More than $850,000 of the money the supposedly grassroots PAC collected went to the firm of GOP political operatives who ran it."

Click the below link for the rest of the article:

http://mediamatters.org/blog/200912310008

The original TPM article:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/majority_of_tea_party_groups_spending_went_to_gop.php?ref=fpa

Thanks, Fox News, for your "Fair and Balanced" reporting. :doh:

And these are the people who want to defeat health care reform?

[Larry]

Uh, to me, the term "AstroTurf" implies that the money comes from the GOP. Not goes to.

(If the money goes to the GOP, then it's a front, but I wouldn't call it AstroTurf.)

[Baculus]

Uh, to me, the term "AstroTurf" implies that the money comes from the GOP. Not goes to.

(If the money goes to the GOP, then it's a front, but I wouldn't call it AstroTurf.)

Not true. It is still an astroturf group, because it is a front group created by certain interests above and beyond the original stated intention and nature of the organization. Astroturf groups are often corporate in nature, though they are sometimes political front groups as well -- the end result of the money isn't the final determination.

Astroturf groups are fronts -- that is the issue.

[Baculus]

Here is another article on this group:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/13/tea-party-group-accused-o_n_319443.html

[Bang]

No no no ,, the liberal media is just taking things out of context blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

It's the same old story, same old song and dance. The fact that people can actually believe anything that comes from the purely propagandist political shill that is Fox News is downright sad on one hand, and disturbing on the other.

And the only ones who don't seem to notice are the locksteppers who bleat what they're told and when they're told.

~Bang

[Burgold]

It was pretty obvious bull. They were having protests against tax raises as taxes were being cut (surely, not as much as anyone liked), but there was such a dissociation with reality. Making the news, is probably one of the worst thing a news station can do. For all those tens of thousands who were honestly trying to protest out of control spending and espouse an honest conservative viewpoint I feel sorry that you were duped and just wound up funding the status quo.

[polywog999]

I don't think these are valid sources. I'll wait before I pass judgment.

[twa]

If you believe the Tea Party movement is simply astroturf you will find out different before long.:evilg:

It is the result of pissed off people.

And for the record,I have nothing to do with them or Fox.

[GoSkins561]

It must be true if TPM is reporting it, btw, who is TPM?

[Bang]

I don't think anybody is saying it's purely astroturf.. there's no doubt there's plenty of people out there who are genuinely and suddenly pissed off about a problem that has been here for 30 years. (Don't bill my grandkids! My first exposure to the fact that we're leaving a huge debt to our future generations was during Reagan's 1980 campaign. Interesting it is suddenly a "new" problem causing people to get up in arms, when they spent the 80s, 90s and most of the 00s spending their fool heads off.)

But the notion that Fox is just a detached bystander who covered it is and always has been a sham. Fox is more a political organization than a news network. The fact they try to deny this and their legions of followers argue tooth and nail against the very idea is and always has been a complete joke that everyone seems to get but them.

~Bang

And now for your regularly scheduled misdirection arguments

[polywog999]

It must be true if TPM is reporting it, btw, who is TPM?

If Its a right-wing blog, there's a huge ruckus for sure and I'm the first one to say B.S. I'm also glad to say it here!

[SkinsHokieFan]

Man, I got ripped off! Nobody paid me ****

[Hubbs]

It must be true if TPM is reporting it, btw, who is TPM?

Talking Points Memo. I'm surprised that a politically-interested guy like yourself hasn't heard of it.

Anyway, I miss the days when the whole "tea party" thing was just an idea thrown out there by Rick Santelli.

[twa]

Man, I got ripped off! Nobody paid me ****

Amateurs...gotta love em:silly:

[Rex Tomb]

Say what you want, but that "astroturf" will become as real as a bent-grass fairway on a golf course. It will become truly apparent ten months from now when the Democrats are shaking their heads wondering how they lost the majority in both the House and the Senate. They tried to do way too much in such a short amount of time, similar to the Republicans in the mid-90s. Change is coming; the American people are pissed off and they will voice it in the upcoming elections.

[Baculus]

If you believe the Tea Party movement is simply astroturf you will find out different before long.:evilg:

It is the result of pissed off people.

And for the record,I have nothing to do with them or Fox.

No one ever said that the entire tea party movement is astroturf -- there are certainly some people who are earnestly invested with their efforts. But I've said all along that libertarian roots of the movement have been coopted by the right-wing, in particular Fox News and big money interests. That is why libertarians who talk at tea party rallies get booed whenever they step outside of the "neo" tea-party rhetoric.

[ACW]

No one ever said that the entire tea party movement is astroturf -- there are certainly some people who are earnestly invested with their efforts. But I've said all along that libertarian roots of the movement have been coopted by the right-wing, in particular Fox News and big money interests. That is why libertarians who talk at tea party rallies get booed whenever they step outside of the "neo" tea-party rhetoric.

Ain't that the truth :mad:

[Baculus]

Say what you want, but that "astroturf" will become as real as a bent-grass fairway on a golf course. It will become truly apparent ten months from now when the Democrats are shaking their heads wondering how they lost the majority in both the House and the Senate. They tried to do way too much in such a short amount of time, similar to the Republicans in the mid-90s. Change is coming; the American people are pissed off and they will voice it in the upcoming elections.

Folks like you ignore the entire point of the article. I have no idea why you seem to ignore the reality that some people are exploiting, for financial and political gain, the frustration of some American citizens.

I guess you don't care who gloms onto the "movement," eh?

Americans have been pisssed for a long time. That is why Democrat won many seats in Congress in 2006; that is why Obama won the Presidency.

Oh, I forget: You are talking about right-wing anger over Obama winning office. Those "American people," right?

I guess everyone else don't matter, do they?

Sorry, but there is more to America than right-wing populist anger.

And it would take A LOT of seats for the Democrats to lose a majority in Congress. You are really investing in some wishful thinking. And thank goodness -- we saw what happened when the Republicans had power in Congress and the Presidency.

How quickly we forget.

[robotfire]

Given Rush Limbaugh's recent health problems, can't we just put politics on hold for a while? I mean, the man almost died.

[twa]

No one ever said that the entire tea party movement is astroturf -- there are certainly some people who are earnestly invested with their efforts. But I've said all along that libertarian roots of the movement have been coopted by the right-wing, in particular Fox News and big money interests. That is why libertarians who talk at tea party rallies get booed whenever they step outside of the "neo" tea-party rhetoric.

The GOP attempts to coopt it out of self defense and in hopes of harnessing it and deflecting it from it's targets..

They ain't just pissed at the Dems:evilg:

The Libertarian agenda is not the focus of the Tea Party either and attempts to use it for their whole agenda is no different than the GOP's.

God I love Chaos:)

added

Bac ...you are priceless

[GoSkins561]

The thing is, baculus lives next to a small town where the tax day tea party was organized by a yocal local radio host by the name of Blaine Young. Seemed pretty grass roots if you ask me.

[SkinsHokieFan]

The thing is, baculus lives next to a small town where the tax day tea party was organized by a yocal local radio host by the name of Blaine Young. Seemed pretty grass roots if you ask me.

It is.

This whole "astroturf" nonsense is a lame attempt to silence legit criticsm of the President. Quite frankly its been insulting

[jnhay]

The thing is, baculus lives next to a small town where the tax day tea party was organized by a yocal local radio host by the name of Blaine Young. Seemed pretty grass roots if you ask me.

Frederick's considered a small town?

[Rex Tomb]

Folks like you ignore the entire point of the article. I have no idea why you seem to ignore the reality that some people are exploiting, for financial and political gain, the frustration of some American citizens.

I guess you don't care who gloms onto the "movement," eh?

Americans have been pisssed for a long time. That is why Democrat won many seats in Congress in 2006; that is why Obama won the Presidency.

Oh, I forget: You are talking about right-wing anger over Obama winning office. Those "American people," right?

I guess everyone else don't matter, do they?

Sorry, but there is more to America than right-wing populist anger.

And it would take A LOT of seats for the Democrats to lose a majority in Congress. You are really investing in some wishful thinking. And thank goodness -- we saw what happened when the Republicans had power in Congress and the Presidency.

How quickly we forget.

Okay, fine. We'll agree to disagree, but your completely ignoring the fact that many moderates and independents have jumped from the Obama-bandwagon. I think the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races (a GOP sweep in the top 3 positions for VA) speak for themselves. Virginia had voted Democrat a year earlier by a fairly large percentage. McDonnell won in Fairfax, for crying out loud! Any GOP success in NOVA should surely tell you something. But, just keep pretending that doesn't matter.

Your last point also sounds a bit contradictory and play right into the point I was making. The Democrats have overplayed their power and are ignoring the wishes of the people to further their own political agenda. Fortunately, history will repeat itself again.

Do I think it's right that some people are profiting from the misfortunes and anger of others. Not on your life. But do I for one second believe that all of the tea parties were not genuine? Not at all.

[Baculus]

The thing is, baculus lives next to a small town where the tax day tea party was organized by a yocal local radio host by the name of Blaine Young. Seemed pretty grass roots if you ask me.

How many times do we have to say this? No one ever said that all the tea party groups and organizations were astroturf. But that doesn't change the realty that some are, indeed, astroturf in nature, whose motives are questionable.

Again -- I guess some of you don't care if the movement is being exploited. But I guess that isn't surprising, judging by the neo-Tea Party tendency to veer from one direction to another.