After reading a line of 27 mostly disgusting comments about me on the Rockford Tea (party) Facebook page, I commented on their name-calling. Here’s my main message to the Rockford Tea Party:
“You folks will brook no criticism, and you make up your own version of truth. And you call people names.
We have seen movements like this before. The outcome hasn’t been good.”
This is too bad. Now, I should say that there are some fine folks associated with the Tea Party Movement.
I am sure there are fine folks in other extreme movements. But I would warn some of my friends, and my mother-in-law, who have been involved in Tea Party events: You should re-think your involvement. The tactics of intimidation and ad hominem attack used by some Tea Party members and leaders are not only un-American, they are dangerous to the continuation of a free republic.
Mr. Gaulrapp was asked at an event some months ago whether he supported concealed carry. He said he wanted to talk to law enforcement professionals before he took a position. He did talk to them, and he came out in support of concealed carry. And while he did say when I asked him Friday that he may have said Tea Party members are angry, is not anger with current government policies the chief characteristic of the movement? It certainly is.
This is all so, well, I need a new word …. I’ve got it! This is all so glennbeckian.
The local conservative politicians have been trying to tie their carts to the Tea Party horses lately. This link shows Dave Syverson was scheduled to appear at one of their gatherings. By their wording it’s unclear to me whether they watched the movie “Don’t Tread On Me” by Guy Franchi (and William Lewis) with Syverson or not.
http://www.rockfordteaparty.org/CALENDER.html
This movie appears to be connected to Alex Jones of “Prison Planet” and “InfoWars.” I would lump these in the conspiracy theory sites. Does Syverson believe this stuff?
http://www.donttreadonmemovie.com/
Hmmm, Chuck. It occurs to me that I could switch the name \"Tea Party\" in in your commentary with the name \"Main Stream\" press and advise you to take your own advise.
That’s advice, with a “c.”
Chuck – So now you’re going to bicker with someone over their spelling? You know the context of what his comment was. If you disagree with his thoughts, then have some back-and-forth on the context of his comments. Otherwise show some class and don’t pick on someone’s spelling.
“The tactics of intimidation and ad hominem attack used by some Tea Party members and leaders are not only un-American, they are dangerous to the continuation of a free republic.”
– Ok, Spiro Agnew. What irony. I’ve heard this characterization before, in Argentina.
Chuck,
For the most part I think you are full of crap. I will back you up on the tea bagger thing. These are a bunch of people who claim to represent Middle America. They do not. Am I happy with the direction of the current president…no. I think the bailouts should have helped Americans losing their homes instead of bailing out the banks who messed it all up. That would have made a bunch of the bad loans come off of the books and saved some banks in the process. We have 2 presidents to thank for that. Well enough of my soapbox on that. Back to the tea baggers. They are a group of people who tend to try and say they represent the great middle…the regular guy. I have always said that the great elector of our government was not the red of the blue, but the folks in the middle that are swayed one way or another by whatever the parties put up for us to vote for. In the beginning of the tea party movement I did agree with some of what they said. As time went on I saw more and more of a group who only wished to hear their point and no other. As one of them said, they wanted to hear both sides of the story from you. As an opinion columnist I would never expect that. They only want to hear their side. When they don’t get it they attack. They make Fox News look like a bunch of communists. Until they purge themselves of the far right and wish to enter real discussion they are nothing. As far as their tactics are concerned, I am reminded of history. God forbid they get an eloquent speaker and slowly force themselves into control of the government. We really aren’t that far from having the brown shirts beating people on the streets for not agreeing with them. They didn’t get their way in the last election and aren’t getting their way with much of anything…so like a bunch of cry babies they scream and cry. There are good people in that movement, I know some. The ones that get them their news coverage are the nut jobs. Until they purge they do not deserve the holy name of tea party…just tea baggers. If you don’t get invited to another meeting…good. The less news coverage they get the better. And exactly what do they expect inviting an opinion columnist? Like I said Chuck, most of the time…ok most all of the time you are full of crap. I will however die for your right to be full of crap.
It’s ironic.
This nation was created by a bunch of people so angry at their government that they dumped a boat load of tea into Boston Harbor. Sometimes only anger is powerful enough to affect real change in the face of an entrenched and powerful system.
And I have to wonder about the extent of name-calling and ad hominem attacks that pervaded the American revolutionary movement but got lost in history. My hunch is if Facebook existed back then, it would have been just as bad. Facebook (and anonymous blogs like this one) seem to be magnets for people who have no other audience because no one wants to listen to them.
As far as making up their own version of truth, well, the tea party folks didn’t exactly invent that tactic, either.
Two things are certain about the tea party movement. First, they need real leadership. They need a few folks who can do more than just get a crowd fired up. They need leaders who command enough respect to squelch those few in their ranks that are spewing hatred and undermining their cause.
Second, they need to realize that standing on a street corner, shouting and waving signs will not bring about positive change. There are no simple solutions to the problems we face. When Lynn Martin first ran for the Winnnebago County Board, she said “I felt I needed to stop complaining and start working.”
The Tea Party folks could learn a thing or two from Lynn Martin.
I hope I spelled everything correctly.
My Gaulrapp said he did not support Conceal Carry. He said it only with the addendum after he was pressed very hard that he didn’t support it until he got more information about the issue. He never let anyone know that he had changed his mind or researched the issue. You on the other hand Mr. Sweeny are doing the exact thing you are accusing the Tea Party of doing. I David Hale made a mistake about his former party affiliation and was corrected and apologized, you have made a number of mistakes (potential lies) about that meeting and have refused to apologize. You gaffed big time over his remarks that we were Mad and Confused. You have refused to recant that and apologize for that. It would seem to me that you have a platform and a pen with which to act like a bully and that would be much more reminiscent of a regime in last century’s history. Demonize a group of people, isolate them, and then they are open targets. You don’t like the Tea Party because we called you our on your mistakes which could potentially be outright lies. The headline of your first blog characterized me as a liar. Who is it calling names and spitting out ad hominen attacks sir? You never contacted me for my side of the story. You ran with a bunch or mischaracterizations and falsehoods straight to a blog to defame me and the Tea Party. So who is it that more closely represents history sir? It certainly isn’t the Tea Party.
Hey Curtis…thanks for the critiques however we will probably never have the sort of leadership you are talking about. We are leaderless for a reason. Most of us just want to get to this next election and then spend time enjoying life which is the way it should be. We should not have to fight our government for our freedom. That fight was prosecuted 223 years ago, but we understand that we have to defend our freedom and maintain it diligently. We don’t want to become a PAC or a Party we just want to tell Elected Officials that we are here and that we will call them out on their garbage and we will network and share information and vote them out of office if they won’t follow the Constitution. We are not looking to control the nation. We are looking to have control over our lives without the intrusions that we have seen in the last 2 years and yes to a great degree in the last 10 years and even beyond that in the last 100 years that our freedoms have been eroded. On to Shawnews…we bring out some information that we feel may be useful and neither support or exclude people like Alex Jones or Gary Franchi. They have brought forward some and I emphasize some interesting and important information. We cannot vouch for most of what they say and we have never made policy statements out of any of their works or words.
Unfortunately, you are making the TEA party the issue, rather than addressing the important reason for it’s existance: A bloated, over-spending and over-reaching Federal nanny-state government, who’s growth has gone on steroids, thanks to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi regime.
If we don’t curb this voracious beast, our Country faces a financial meltdown that will make our current situation look like “the good old days”. The TEA party’s mission is to restore a LIMITED Federal government, as the Constitution established. How do any of you argue with these tenets of the Contract From America?
Protect the Constitution
Reject Cap & Trade
Demand a Balanced Budget
Enact Fundamental Tax Reform
Restore Fiscal Responsibility & Constitutionally Limited Government
End Runaway Government Spending
Defund, Repeal, & Replace Government-run Health Care
Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy
Stop the Pork
Stop the Tax Hikes
On a side note, if any of you are interested, Pat Cunningham is throwing a hissy-fit, by deleting all my previous posts on Applesauce, and putting any new posts in Limbo, with a “Your comment is awaiting moderation” note. He is a true Far-Left Liberal weenie, and a bigger hypocrite than I ever imagined.
David, I was not at the meeting with George Gaulrapp (and I wouldn’t ever go to one of your meetings or associate with your organization). Having said that, if you are for changing the status quo and claim no party affiliation, couldn’t you have at least told these people to be courteous and listen to him? Whether or not you or your organization agree with him, he seems to be a mild mannered gentlemen. What I’ve seen locally and nationally with the “Tea Party” events is nothing but screaming, ignorant anger, which will scare people away and will also get nothing accomplished.
Curtis,
Your right the Tea Party lacks effective leadership. They need to focus their anger, dissatisfaction, discontent, whatever one wants to call what brought them together into some focused goals…In Illinois, there’s a high sale tax.. upwards of nearly 10% in some areas.. Where the hell is all that money going? The people should begin with expecting an accounting of expenditures and demanding a plan to reduce the sales tax by 4-5% within 2 years. There’s lots of areas the Tea Party could focus their energy on with effective leadership.
Snuss, theres nothing wrong with pork… its what get communities those things like improved roads and bridges and other services and features that the entire community can reap benefit from. As far as government run healthcare, are you saying get rid of Medicare? The plan that Obama put out is not government run healthcare… I wish it was.. Its a gift to the large for profit healthcare industry… I wish we had a more European presentation of healthcare services..I’d like my taxes to go for services that I can benefit from and I don’t buy all that garbage about long lines like Canada.. That’s FOX news garbage being spewed as facts.. Instead we have a huge amount of propaganda being done not only by the for profit helath care industry against Medicare for all type serivces, but a small but vocal minority vices such as yourself that argue for the insurance companies…
As far as taxes go, Im with you.. but I dont want government services done away with in their entirety… for instance, I had a gripe about a gas station recently that I didnt believe was giving me a full gallon.. who would I turn to for resolution of that problem if the not the Weights and Measurements agency of the state government? We need oversight 3rd party agencies, agenices in place to protect the people because we’ve seen how errant over-zealous and greedy corporations can ruin an economy and the trust of the American people.
And lastly, I don’t want to see what I read on another Rockford website, a woman with a grocery cart full of food being paid with a Illinois state benefits LINK card (over $500), taking all those groceries to her late model Cadillac. Yes, welfare queens still live on in Illinois and if you can afford a late model Cadillac you can afford to pay for your own groceries. That’s one of the reasons the taxes are so high in Illinois…
Kate you were not there. We were not rude to him. Sweeney wasn’t there so how would he know? Gaulrapp spoke his peace obfuscated on answers and was done. He was treated with deference. He is making an issue of it so that he can capitalize on the tea party name. Rather convenient. If you were not there and will never go why make statements about that which you don’t know?
The TEA Party is only a component of a larger grassroots movement in America right now. The majority of Americans (independents, democrats and republicans) are rejecting and strongly opposed to the far left radical policies of President Obama, the Democrats in Congress, and people like George Gaulrapp. The media is trying hard to marginalize the TEA Party. The folks I know in the Rockford TEA Party are very intelligent, nice people, who are very concerned about what the Democrats are doing to the nation and state. Thank you David for calling Gaulrapp out on his flip flopping and lying about his true positions, which are very far left.
Sunlight. So, IN YOUR OPINION, his positions are “far left.” That doesn’t mean your group should be so callous toward a guy who threw HIMSELF into the fray. Yes he did change his mind, after he spoke to policemen. In my mind, that is an informed decision, not “FLIP FLOPPING.” I saw a short video of that meeting and I was appalled.
David — From what I know about Alex Jones his business is taking whoever is in power in the presidential office — whatever party — claiming that the official is going to to lead us into some sort of dictatorship, build FEMA camps and be a a real tyrant. He then makes money selling videos warning people of this supposed impending danger.
Of course, if there was a conspiracy to take away all our rights I suppose people blowing the whistle on the conspiracy would be rounded up first, like in other countries. However, Jones has a website, daily radio show and is free to conduct business within the law — just like everyone else.
Jones appears to me to be a secular version of an end of the world preacher. When none of his predictions come true, he finds a new villain. I think if you want to listen to the things you agree with, it would be better to find another person saying the same thing who doesn’t make his money off fiction marketed as fact.
Hey Shaw news I agree with much of what you said and have had many debates with jones acolytes. Like I said I have heard a small portion of his info I find intriguing but not most of it. It would also behove you to just ask me first rather publish something based on conjecture.
Sunlight, please explain what are the “far left radical policies of President Obama? in your own words please….
There IS an alternative to the radical Tea Party hooligans: http://www.rockfordcoffeeparty.org.
“Snuss, theres nothing wrong with pork… its what get communities those things like improved roads and bridges and other services and features that the entire community can reap benefit from.”
– That is a different message than 2006 and 2008. Hm… What you state is not true, though. An infrastructure bill builds real bridges and highways, not new windows on Mt. St. Helens.
The Tea Party is doing a magnificent job making itself a laughingstock. Bring out the John Birch Society playbooks and the propeller hats.
Goldwater was right.
Hey Sweeny…har har har. LOL. We love to laugh. And when we have a chance to laugh at ourselves we do.
“Stop the Pork” refers to “earmarks”, items that are stuck into unrelated bills, to sneak them through without debating their merits, or the lack thereof. We an’t afford to do everything for everybody, so INTELLIGENT choices MUST be made. Many of these earmarks don’t pass the “smell test”. For examples, see: http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_porkbarrelreport
In case the spellcheck police are watching, it should have been ” We CAN’T afford to”, not “an’t”. Sorry.
I don’t think Sweeny is looking to make intelligent choices, just those choices that his media brethren thinks are the good choices. Sweeny thinks that anyone that thinks taxes should be cut, spending decreased, government downsized, free enterprise promoted and the Constitution followed is part of the John Birch Society McCarthy era pogroms. Anyone that doesn’t think like he thinks is a racist, bigoted, fascist pig.
Ok..for journalistic integrity, which would you pick?
The Onion or Infowars.com?
and remember….death is not an option.
Sweeney has been eating too much rotten applesauce
Chuck, I’ve been reading these exchanges, and all I can say to your contribution to the dyolog…..ooops I spelled it wrong, is ” I believe I used a stick to get you out of my boots waffle tread today” You don’t look so good Chucky!
Still waiting on your article on Sotomayor voting against “settled law” aka her testimony before the Senate Judicial Panel on the 2nd amendment. And you call yourself a political columnist. Who’s the JOKE Chucky
Since when is voicing an opinion part of an extreme movement? It really irritates me when either so-called (political) side labels the other side like this. So what you are saying is the Tea Party is extreme like the Black Panthers or the KKK? Where I come from, that is extreme. Where I live, that is in America, there is freedom of speech and thought, not freedom of speech and thought as long as I agree with you. What is occurring in today’s media and in our government, led by nonsense like this distortted, incorrect and inflammatory (yet OK to say where I live) point of view, is truly what is fueling this divisivenss in our society today. If you are willing to put nonsense like this out there, then be willing to take the heat. We appeciate your right to say it but don’t think for as minute we will not dispute it. As far as a few bad apples in the Tea Party and your crying about some bad comments on a Facebook page, do you bother to look at the nasty comments written, spoken and verbalized daily from those who believe as you do? This holier than thou, elitist mentality is no longer going to go unchallenged…..
The people of the Tea Party do not use the streets as their bath room. No they go home at night and take a shower and put on clean clothes. Then they come back the next day. And they are from all ethnic backgrounds black, white and everything in between. They pick up after themselves like civilized people do. Contrary to the Occupy Wallstreet people who are using the street as bathrooms so that you have to be careful where you step so yiou don’t step where some one had crapped in the street. And the smell of body odor mixed with the smell of pot is over powering. And amazingly the loargest percentage of people are white. You see very few black people in the groups. And they want more government controls. They want a socialist country.