Playboy article: How They Stole Our Tea Party

[legion]

If you want to understand the time line and know the names and backgrounds of the people that tried to steal our movement, look no further than this article by Playboy magazine. Unfortunately, playboy took the article down right after it was published on their website.



Last week, CNBC correspondent Rick Santelli rocketed from being a little-known second-string correspondent to a populist hero of the disenfranchised, a 21st-century Samuel Adams, the leader and symbol of the downtrodden American masses suffering under the onslaught of 21st century socialism and big government. Santelli's "rant" last-week calling for a "Chicago Tea Party" to protest President Obama's plans to help distressed American homeowners rapidly spread across the blogosphere and shot right up into White House spokesman Robert Gibbs' craw, whose smackdown during a press conference was later characterized by Santelli as "a threat" from the White House. A nationwide "tea party" grassroots Internet protest movement has sprung up seemingly spontaneously, all inspired by Santelli, with rallies planned today in cities from coast to coast to protest against Obama's economic policies.

...

Within hours of Santelli's rant, a website called ChicagoTeaParty.com sprang to life. Essentially inactive until that day, it now featured a YouTube video of Santelli's "tea party" rant and billed itself as the official home of the Chicago Tea Party. The domain was registered in August, 2008 by Zack Christenson, a dweeby Twitter Republican and producer for a popular Chicago rightwing radio host Milt Rosenberg

...


Click link for more... (http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/03/playboy-dips-a-toe-into-investigative-journalism/4770/)

[angelatc]

Wow - and I thought the Truthers were conspiracy theorists!

[legion]

Wow - and I thought the Truthers were conspiracy theorists!

I don't understand why you call it a conspiracy theory.

How else do you think the tea party evolved from a Ron Paul primary campaign moneybomb to a 350$ a plate dinner with Sarah Palin as the main speaker?



In the face of several electoral challenges from tea party-connected candidates, Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul cautioned in a recent interview that "neocon influence" is "infiltrating" the movement he is often credited for creating.

http://rawstory.com/2010/02/paul-cautions-neocon-influence-infiltrating-tea-parties/

By posting the article I wanted to help connect names and organizations with the "influence."

[angelatc]

Using your logic, you're claiming that Ron Paul was part of the conspiracy too.

If not, why not? Guilt by association? And in one case, there isn't even an association! Some guy who used to fund a group that used to be related to Freedom Works is probably behind it, even though the guy never contributed to Freedom Works and left the parent organization in a huff before the Tea Parties or Freedom Works even existed?

Obviously, several special interest groups are now wrestling for control of the Tea Party, but the Playboy article that Playboy pulled is laughable, and Megan McArdle outlines the reasons why in her response.

The Sam Adams Alliance scrubbed an ex-employee's name off their web page? Most companies actually do that. When they don't, it looks like they don't maintain their web pages. Ron Paul says the neocons are infiltrating, but he certainly doesn't say they created them by giving Rick Santelli a script.


I'm more curious about the people that used racial slurs and spit to make their point. That seems like something that the Republicans would do if they wanted to discredit the TEA party.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

I don't understand why you call it a conspiracy theory.


conspiracy theory has been hijacked as a negative term describing a person that believes in aliens on earth :P

[speciallyblend]

conspiracy theory has been hijacked as a negative term describing a person that believes in aliens on earth :P

or the fact humans are the smartest thing in the universe and we are all alone in the vast universe!!

I always like the statement if the human race is the smartest thing in the universe. then the universe and the earth is screwed!!

the tea party has been hi-jacked by neo-cons. the anti-war left has settled for bush pt 2 =obama! A Liberty Party is sounding better every day;)

might as well start campaigning obama/cheney 2012 bring our troops home!!

[phill4paul]

LOL. Conspiracy theorist. I hate that term. EVERYTHING is a theory based on our current perception and abilities. Anything other than a flat earth was considered at one time a theory.

[phill4paul]

or the fact humans are the smartest thing in the universe and we are all alone in the vast universe!!

I always like the statement if the human race is the smartest thing in the universe. then the universe and the earth is screwed!!

I like the old axiom about knowing just enough to be dangerous. ;)

[speciallyblend]

the tea party has been hi-jacked by neo-cons. the anti-war left has settled for bush pt 2 =obama! A Liberty Party is sounding better every day

might as well start campaigning obama/cheney 2012 bring our troops home!!

[legion]

Using your logic, you're claiming that Ron Paul was part of the conspiracy too.

If not, why not? Guilt by association? And in one case, there isn't even an association! Some guy who used to fund a group that used to be related to Freedom Works is probably behind it, even though the guy never contributed to Freedom Works and left the parent organization in a huff before the Tea Parties or Freedom Works even existed?

Obviously, several special interest groups are now wrestling for control of the Tea Party, but the Playboy article that Playboy pulled is laughable, and Megan McArdle outlines the reasons why in her response.

The Sam Adams Alliance scrubbed an ex-employee's name off their web page? Most companies actually do that. When they don't, it looks like they don't maintain their web pages. Ron Paul says the neocons are infiltrating, but he certainly doesn't say they created them by giving Rick Santelli a script.


I'm more curious about the people that used racial slurs and spit to make their point. That seems like something that the Republicans would do if they wanted to discredit the TEA party.

Megan McArdle's boyfriend works for FreedomWorks, and she's wrong about every point she made.

FreedomWorks is the same organization as Citizens for a Sound Economy, the organization that the Koch family started. The only reason for the name change to 'FreedomWorks' is that Citizens for a Sound Economy got caught attaching membership to peoples insurance policies without their knowledge. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200683.html