Really, how is it possible that these people are so clueless? And how in the world did we let them ever be in charge????

"It's hard not to get the impression that very little thought went into these far-right festivities."

These are not-very-much-thought kinds of people. They are dangerously stupid.

The Stupid Rebellion.

Catchy, no?

They could dump tea bags in a 12th floor conference room? So did people troop up the stairs or take the elevator in shifts? Or did they just decide not to bother?

It's hard not to get the impression that very little thought went into these far-right festivities

Damn, it worked so well in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Had it truly been a grassroots effort, they would've had local people planning the events, and they would've known about these things.

Again, ample evidence of the know nothing party, knowing nothing.
Proper planning, who needs it?

Must be more of that famous trickle down, nothing upstairs, therefore nothing for the bottom-feeders.

But why should I need a permit just to dump a bunch of tea bags in the park? This is America - I should have the right to throw my tea bags wherever I want! Damn fascists!

Guaranteed, Malkin, Beck et al. will claim that the group not having permits and having to be evacuated were all somehow part of Obama's fiendish plot to silence them.

But their plans were thwarted after National Park Service officials said protesters didn't have the proper permit to dump the bags, NBC affiliate WRC TV reported.

Are we sure they weren't ACORN workers posing as National Park Service officials? Or maybe ACORN has been slowly infiltrating the National Park Service over the past several years in order to thwart the inevitable mass anti-Obama demonstrations that would follow his inevitable election to the presidency.

Well played, ACORN. Well played.

All that tea, so little time...

I'm glad the commenters arent focusing on the dummy who threw the box over the fence. I mean, yeah, s/he's an idiot, but any group like this is going to attract some idiots. I saw plenty of leftist idiots when I attended anti-war marches, so let's not go nutpicking.

> protesters had planned to dump a million tea bags
> in Lafayette Square and even promised to put the
> bags on the tarps and clean up afterward. But
> their plans were thwarted after National Park
> Service officials said protesters didn't have the
> proper permit to dump the bags

"didn't have the proper [GOVERNMENT AUTHORIZED-] permit to dump the bags"?? Gotta love the irony:-)

MARCU$

I just checked The Corner, where Jonah Goldberg writes, "Secret Service Breaks Up D.C. Tea Party." Let the conspiracy theories commence: http://tinyurl.com/daflus

how about Rick Perry threatening to secede? now THAT's good rhetoric. Sure, the last time we did this is was because we wanted to own them negroes (oh, I mean we felt the Feds couldn't tell us NOT to own Negroes, my bad) but this time we really mean it again!

the governor of a state is actually making a secessionist argument on tape. this is frankly a bit frightening. They want Lincoln? well what made Lincoln was his response to jackasses like this.

Well, it's a bit difficult to pin down who is responsible for spontaneous, dispersed gatherings.

Generally to require a permit, there has to be someone controlling the permit, but if twenty people agree to meet some where, who of the twenty is responsible for getting the permit? Is it the person with the idea, who may or may not attend? The person who described it to another? The people who arrived first? Who?

That's the whole problem with requiring permits altogether for protests to rallies. There is no method by which to deal with such red tape at the speed of talk.

But...but...they spent so much money on it! They paid so many good, green dollars on getting such top-flight talent! Community organizers? Aw heck, those. guys work for free.

To TG Chicago: I've attended many, many marches myself. Not sure what you're talking about when you say lefties do dumb things, too.

And Fixed News will report all of this as a grand, smashing success.

That's exactly what is so unnerving and frustrating about these "tea parties." The right-wing villified all the anti-Bush/anti-war protests during the Bush years. Hell, they considered protesting the government unamerican not very long ago. Suddenly street protesting is totally OKIYAR.

What the people who are new to protesting don't seem to realize-- something that most leftists figure out at some point-- is that protesting might feel like you're doing "something" but it really doesn't accomplish anything. It's alot of energy and very little return, it mostly just makes people feel good. Does it actually convince anyone who isn't on their side already of anything?

So let them have their teaparties, they risk looking like fools and having the whole thing characterized by people carrying signs equating Obama to Hitler.

That is one well behaved patriotic uprising against government tyranny!

I guess it's a damned good thing that the Redcoats never asked to see the colonists' permits before dumping the tea in Boston Harbor, or we would still be singing "God Save the Queen."

If these things were *real* protests, wouldn't their answer have been something along the lines of "Permits? We don't need to stinking permits!"?

"It's hard not to get the impression that very little thought went into these far-right festivities."

All the thought and effort went into promoting them, getting people to show. A clearer rationale could have been problematic in that regard.

It looks like FOX et al. were supposed to spin and promote, and the grass roots were supposed to organize. If they had logistical help, they'd have permits?

Weak tea parties will be cited as evidence that the broader establishment was not substantially involved, but this is not necessarily so.

D'oh!

Make that "Permits? We don't need no stinking permits!"

also, it's kind of amusing to see a bunch of people who 'refuse to accept the authority' of government meekly walk away when told they couldn't do their protest. I thought they REALLY cared about this issue? they're not willing to break a few minor rules? do a little civil disobedience? they offered to CLEAN UP after themselves! what kind of anti-government protest is this?

Rich 2506-

Re: Chicago's comment about lefty protests, I know exactly what he's talking about. I lived in DC from '98 to '06, so I've been to a lot of lefty protests. The bigger the protest the more lefty fringe people came out-- unless you can explain to me what "Free Mumia" has to do with protesting the Iraq war or marching for women's rights? Yes, I think Mumia should have a new trial, but it had nothing to do with the protest. I also remember plenty of signs calling Bush a fascist, etc.

All that being said, I think a lot of the teabaggers are fringe folks-- heavily populated by Obama "birthers" and anti-immigration zealots and people who still love Sarah Palin.

But their plans were thwarted after National Park Service officials said protesters didn't have the proper permit to dump the bags, NBC affiliate WRC TV reported.

They should have just dumped them all over the place, as the attendees of the Inauguration did.

"The bigger the protest the more lefty fringe people came out [...] All that being said, I think a lot of the teabaggers are fringe folks"

Yeah. These tea parties needed the fringe element to boost numbers. But the massive antiwar and immigration protests, or the March for Womens' Lives, didn't need the "free Mumia" folks etc. It's tempting to say the tea parties were nothing but an assemblage of fringes.

Well, it's a bit difficult to pin down who is responsible for spontaneous, dispersed gatherings.

If that's a joke on the astroturfed nature of these "grassroots" events, good one.

Since the whole point of these gatherings is to protest the inarguably bullying hand of government, it's hard to see how the Secret Service breaking up a peaceful protest in front of the White House won't hurt the Democrats in the midterms. Obama may have just overplayed his hand.

It's hard not to get the impression that very little thought went into these far-right festivities.

Not to belabor the obvious, but these folks aren't capable of thought. All they can do is mindlessly follow the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck.

I hope they get a lot of press coverage, so the country can really see them in the light of day. Perhaps after this they'll have the sense to slither back under their rock.

Um, is MRQ a faux troll?

I know the right-wing is new at this protesting stuff, but if you protest outside the White House you don't throw things over the fence without getting the attention of the secret service. What dumbasses.

I'm not sure that I see the "Free Mumia" protesters as bad folks. What I was thinking of especially was bad behavior by protesters, stuff that provokes legitimate reactions from police. I grant you that I wasn't around for a number of protests where the police really reacted strongly.

I'm with Northzax, @17:27. What kind of a dedicated anarchist cares more for permits than principles? And disperse without a boo and a hiss? Whatever happened to "I'm gonna lie down in the middle of the road and you'll have to remove me, with undue, oppressive governmental force, for the TV cameras to see"? Back in Poland, when I went a-protestin', I'd display my black and blue baton badges of honour *for weeks*, hard as it was to wear sleeveless clothes in the middle of winter. My only regret was that I never managed to get arrested... Wimps.

exlibra, you are such a treasure.

I really don't see not having permits to be that big a thing.

I mean, those guys (or the people they worship) have been in power for the last 8 years, they haven't had to protest anything since the Brooks Brothers Riot......they are bound to have some rookie mistakes....

How's the old saying go?

"Pace Your Rage"

Rich-- I wasn't saying that the "Free Mumia" folks were in any way bad, I'm actually pretty sympathetic to their cause, BUT they have a way of inserting the issue where it doesn't belong. (Iraq war protests, March for Women's Rights, etc.)

What kind of a dedicated anarchist cares more for permits than principles? And disperse without a boo and a hiss?

That's your clue as to which side the tea partiers are really on. Whether they are aware of it or not.

Random thoughts:

You know if Bush were still in the White House, no freakin' way would any protest be allowed in Lafayette Park.

And DC cops rounded up and arrested not only protesters but innocent bystanders one year during the annual IMF/World Bank protests.

Also, bet this gets more coverage in the mainstream press than the first Iraq War protest, which drew 50-100,000 or Women's March to Save Lives, which drew similar numbers and caused mayhem with cell phones.

What I was thinking of especially was bad behavior by protesters, stuff that provokes legitimate reactions from police.

It's been awhile, but the Seattle WTO riots got pretty nasty. Garbage cans thrown through windows, cars set on fire, city shut down under curfew, the whole nine yards.

I think that lefty protest organizers have figured out since then how to spot and weed out the anarch-kiddies who just want to break shit in the name of politics, because there hasn't been anything major since then that I can think of.

I drove by a "tea party" at a park in my town this afternoon (I had no time to stop and check it out). There were maybe 300 people there. The population of our town and surroundings is about 100,000.

In contrast, when Obama came to town to campaign last spring, over 2,000 tickets (the max at that venue) to the town hall were given out in two hours. Bill Clinton came to town to campaign for Hillary a few weeks earlier and also drew standing room only in just a couple of hours. Both Obama and Clinton would have drawn bigger crowds had the venues been larger.

I have to conclude that the tea party was a bust. I just laughed at them as I drove by.

I forgot to mention that our town is in the "red" part of Oregon. I thought there would be more "baggers" than there were.

I forgot to mention that our town is in the "red" part of Oregon. I thought there would be more "baggers" than there were. -- Oregonian, @21:01

All in all, weak tea (what we used to call "piss tea", for the colour), despite its nutty overertones.

Oh, and for those who love language -- as a concept -- and its vagaries... In Poland, we refer to teabags as "tea on a leash" (and are very apologetic when we serve it at home, because it just doesn't taste "right"). Seems particularly appropriate for today's exercise in futility, given how much money (the leash) the fRight has spent on promoting it.

Mind you... I was equally amused by TPM's Beutler pointing out that, in 1773, they didn't dump teabags in the bay... Hello? For all I know, it may have been tea "bricks" (rather than loose leaf), but does anyone, *really*, think that they had teabags then?

MatthewR, I'm glad you mentioned the inauguration. Now THERE was a display of genuine, grass roots passion! I've never seen such a sea of humanity on the Washington Mall, nor had the Park Police. No one had organized that turnout; it was entirely spontaneous. And that huge crowd stood patiently in the bitter cold through the entire ceremony because it was so important to them to be there for an historic event.

As one of my colleagues remarked after she came back from D.C., she and her friends decided that if people in the past had endured fire hoses and police dogs, they could take a little cold without complaining. And nobody threw anything at either the old or the new President, although at least a few people must have been in shoe-range of Bush.

You still don't understand. These are spontaneous events and not "planned." Axelrod is the astroturf expert and he is otherwise occupied. There were 500 people at the tea party in Mission Viejo, a city of 90,000. Pretty good turnout.

There were 500 people at the tea party in Mission Viejo, [...] -- Mike K, @22:33

Were *all* your wives there, to swell the numbers?

I'm with Rich on "leftist" rallies. I've attended a number of peace rallies, and a rally held on Bush Jr.'s first inauguration day back in 2001. I never saw any sort of violence or even a threat of it. Sure, there were signs that called Bush a fascist, but there were also many signs which just protested the war. A few used crude words.

The crowds were very amiable, although I'll admit that we shouted back at drivers passing by who yelled insults or flipped us off. We also made a point of thanking police officers who were assigned to monitor our rallies, knowing that they would probably rather be someplace else doing something else. While some looked surprised at our thanks, they were always most gracious in their replies.

I also just want to say that these rallies were MOTLEY. People of all ages and ethnic groups. Attire wildly varied as well. And I'm proud of hanging out with MOTLEY!

They ran the Washington demonstration just like they ran the country.

You still don't understand. These are spontaneous events and not "planned."

They're just spontaneous? I listen to Limbaugh and Beck for a few hours a week so I can personally attest to the fact that they've been talking them up for the past month or more. I don't watch FoxNews but it's well known that they've been doing very heavy publicity for them for the past few weeks. This was a coordinated effort by rightwing leaders and GOP leaders (Newt, Dick Armey, etc.) to give the impression that there is simmering populist rage out there. America is not surprised or impressed that conservatives are angry that they are out of power.

The teaparties are a manufactured movement promoted by people who make tens of millions of dollars a year and who get paid for publicity and controversy. (Is it any wonder why they think their taxes going up 3% is "fascism"?) Most of the people at the teaparties are McCain and Paul voters who are still mad that Obama won, fair and square. Get over it already.

Since the right-wing is new to this they don't seem understand what real grassroots movements look like or how they work-- teaparties are not it.

Mike K: These are spontaneous events and not "planned."

mike k..

out of the loop...

or fabrication...

or both !

Heartland Institute was the first organization on board for the first tea parties of February 27th, and we are integrally involved in the April 15th Tax Day Tea Party here in Chicago.

http://www.heartland.org/full/25048/Chicago_Tax_Day_Tea_Party.html

ouch

There's a higher than average percentage of idiots in Orange County. Who knew?

Mike K, your ignorance knows no bounds; it's good for you that you're unable to feel embarrassment. You don't read enough to be aware of the national organizations directly funding and organizing these "spontaneous" parties, but you have FOX on all day long, so there's no excuse for your being unaware of their role. Wouldn't be surprised if you were an always-Rush-in-the-car man, too--it'd explain how you manage to be so wildly uninformed about every major issue.

Since the right-wing is new to this they don't seem understand what real grassroots movements look like or how they work-- teaparties are not it.

Mike K thinks a "grassroots movement" is paying his undocumented lawn man in cash to avoid the tax responsibility, then, hours later, bitching about illegals over a gout-enhancing meal of grease with a side of butter and a soupcon of sour cream.

I also just want to say that these rallies were MOTLEY. People of all ages and ethnic groups. Attire wildly varied as well.

I've never seen a whiter, squishier, bad-hair-ier, comical mustachier, gray skin tonier bunch than these fools with their Maobama shirts stretched over their swelling beer guts and their smirking non-replies to questions they don't even understand. They're a totally depressed-looking bunch, but they're an incredibly homogeneous bunch, too.

I was wondering what the total national attendance was for this "spontaneous" demonstration that had been heavily funded, organized and promoted non-stop for weeks. 25,650. My god, the pathos.

Nate Silver's got it at 260,000-something. Where were the millions? After all that? NYC alone got 300,000 plus for an antiwar demo in 2003.

I just love that this massive anti-government protest failed because they didn't have a government-issued permit. True civil disobedience, of course, would ignore such things- the protesters would allow themselves to be arrested to make a point. I'm laughing at the thought of Sam Adams showing up disguised at the ships in Boston harbor ready to strike a blow for liberty- only to turn around and go home when he realized the British governor of Massachusetts never issued him the proper permit.

Man, this grass roots stuff is HARD!

Can we go back to that thing where we just stand around and cheer while a leader tells us what we should think?

Please? Damn, I need a beer.