Shuster: If You’re Planning Tea Bagging Across The Country, ‘You’re Going To Need A Dick Armey’
Shuster: If You’re Planning Tea Bagging Across The Country, ‘You’re Going To Need A Dick Armey’
Tomorrow, a bevy of anti-Obama “tea parties” — organized by corporate lobbyists and endlessly promoted by Fox News — are slated to take place across the country. One of the organizations spearheading the effort is Freedom Works, which is chaired by former Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX).
Last night, MSBNC’s David Shuster took Fox News — and particularly Neil Cavuto — to task for so relentlessly pushing the tea parties, noting that “the tea bagging is not a spontaneous uprising“:
The people who came up with it are a familiar circle of Republicans, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, both of whom have firm support from right wing financiers and lobbyists…Then there is the media, specifically the Fox News Channel…But most amusing of all is Neil Cavuto…Cavuto, defending his network’s promotion of tea bagging said, “We are going to be right in the middle of these teabaggers because at Fox we do not pick and choose these rallies and protests. We were there for the Million Man March.” [...] Of course the Million Man march occurred, as newshounds.org points out, almost a year before Fox News was on the air. We can only speculate why widespread tea bagging made Cavuto think of the Million Man march, unless he got them confused with Dick Armey. And in Cavuto’s defense, if you are planning simultaneous tea bagging all around the country, you’re going to need a Dick Armey.
Watch it:
Schuster not only pointed out that the supposed “grassroots” tea parties are a lobbyist organized sham, but he also correctly noted that, in all likelihood, most of the protesters rallying against higher taxes and government spending just received a tax cut, courtesy of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package.
Do those attending tea parties truly oppose Obama returning the top marginal tax rate to where it was under President Clinton? Are they really concerned that multi-national corporations may have to pay taxes on profits they earn overseas? Or are they simply following Fox News’ cheerleading, straight into the waiting arms of Dick Armey?
40 Responses to “Shuster: If You’re Planning Tea Bagging Across The Country, ‘You’re Going To Need A Dick Armey’”
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It takes a Dick Armey . . .
April 14th, 2009 at 11:50 amWhy do Republicans now insist on placing their testicles on people’s faces (which is what “teabagging” means)… it’s disgusting.
I’m surprised Michelle Malkin is fine with this.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:29 pmOr army of dicks…
April 14th, 2009 at 12:29 pmI swear this meme keeps getting funnier.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:22 pmAw, nuts.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:54 pmOh no he didn’t!
April 14th, 2009 at 2:00 pmMaybe Cavuto was thinking of Public Enemy.
It takes a nation of millions to hold us back.
Bring the noise!!!
April 14th, 2009 at 2:02 pm.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:04 pmNeedless to say . . . you beat me to it.
No bones about it, that deserves an Emmy.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:07 pmI say we counter with a “Pay Your Taxes” day. After all, the American Revolution’s war debt was paid for with taxes.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:08 pmHow do you find out if Glenn Beck is ticklish?
(You know the answer.)
April 14th, 2009 at 2:19 pmWhoever wrote that segment could easily get a job at The Daily Show.
I tip my hat to you, Sir or Madam. Just my hat, not not my teabag. :P
April 14th, 2009 at 2:21 pmIn the original tea party in Boston, they in essence stole tea and threw it from ships into the sea. Very rebellious.
At these anti-tax tea parties in 2009, they are selling t-shirts and mugs and all the tea that gets dumped is purchased for the purpose of dumping it. Not very rebellious.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:30 pmI’m sure the teabaggers are going to have a ball.
“Swing low… sweet chariot…”
April 14th, 2009 at 2:33 pmI’d love to check out some tea-baggers’ balls.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:41 pmAnd after a long, hard day of teabagging, the protesters will get together and have some tossed salad for lunch.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:06 pmA tip for all those teabaggers out there:
Breathe through your nose.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pmWho’s his wife, Vagina Coastguard?
I doubt that’s obscure.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pmThese people are getting more hilarious, do they really have no clue about what “teabagging” is?
April 14th, 2009 at 3:28 pmI’m hoping everyone else realizes that this entire piece is filled with dick and ball jokes, right?
Kudos for Shuster
April 14th, 2009 at 3:37 pmcorrection: the teabaggers won’t be experiencing a ‘tax cut’ for the 2008 taxes they are about to pay, those are the tax rates (as pointed out shortly after this segment or before it, by Lawrence O’Donnell) established by the teabaggers’ hero – George W. Bush. they are literally protesting HIS tax rates, while on the verge of getting tax BREAKS, from Obama.
dear nonexistent lord, these people are too stupid to live.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:57 pmGOP
Genitals on Parade
April 14th, 2009 at 4:00 pmI’m glad you picked up on this, because after I saw it I thought I maybe had imagined it.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:19 pmIn recognition of the institution he has become (a la ‘The Donald’ Trump), Dick Armey shall henceforth be known as The DickArmey
April 14th, 2009 at 4:32 pmHe really took the ball and ran with it.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:46 pmthe teabaggers won’t be experiencing a ‘tax cut’ for the 2008 taxes they are about to pay, those are the tax rates (as pointed out shortly after this segment or before it, by Lawrence O’Donnell) established by the teabaggers’ hero – George W. Bush. they are literally protesting HIS tax rates, while on the verge of getting tax BREAKS, from Obama.
I don’t understand this talk about “tax rates,” but I want to buy your rock.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:47 pmDick Armey has a cousin, you know.
Her name is Incontinentia. Incontinentia Buttocks.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:54 pmAll this tea bagging is showing me and the rest of the world is that the right winged, conservative, republican Americans are wasteful, and ignorant..
Me I am 50% conservative, and 50% liberal, witch means I am a 100% individual, and I don’t understand what the hell they are complaining about when in fact Obama is giving them, me and the rest of the country a better tax break than what even Regan gave them like 10% better, and hell of a lot better than what Bush Laden gave them… boo yeah
April 14th, 2009 at 7:25 pmstraight into the waiting arms
Not arms, exactly.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:54 pmDick Armey himself remarked ‘yeah, my name does sound like a gay rock band.’ Let’s give him some credit.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:00 pmAnyone else seen Olbermann’s own coverage of this nonsense? It is phenomenal. And, certainly better than CNN’s live coverage of Obama’s dog being delivered to the White House.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:46 pmhilarious piece, but some of the comments made me sad. I think that the state of america right now would help us move past the tired republican vs. democrat accusations and let us focus on bigger issues. for example, do I like getting an extra $44 a pay check? hell yes I do. but you know what i’d like even more? a gov’t that wasn’t burying my countrymen under insurmountable debt of a weakening dollar. bad debt management decisions are what got us here in the first place, and runaway keynesian economics is going to further bury us. just wait. and that’s what I am hearing from a lot of the tea baggers–besides offers to put the tea bags on chins of various folks–is that they are pissed not about tax cuts or tax increases, but they are pissed off about craziness like taking those tax dollars and giving billions away to companies that have demonstrated a complete lack of fiscal responsibility. I don’t care if you are an elephant, or a donkey, or a tea bag–paying taxes so they can be funneled to unscrupulous business types is just plain dumb.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:04 pmActually, the only place I’ve seen the word “teabagging” used in reference to these protests was in Shusters piece and on websites opposed to these protests (e.g., Huffington Post, Daily Kos, etc.). It also looks like the Tea Party protesters aren’t griping about taxes so much as they’re pissed about the deficit for 2009 being more than four times what it was the previous year, as well as how most of that money was spent (i.e., the typical Congressional pork projects and earmarks).
April 15th, 2009 at 1:19 amBrad – the “teabaggers” need to just STFU, because it was their support of the wasteful policies of the Bush administration and “conservative” politicians who gutted the regulatory arm of the financial industry that is mostly responsible for getting us where we are today. If they were really pissed about gov’t giving away billions to “unscrupulous business types” they wouldn’t have voted the robber barons’ handmaidens into office for two electoral cycles. These folks *are* the problem; they have no room to complain and I have no stomach for their hypocritical bullshi*
April 15th, 2009 at 9:08 am‘
Most of you have been scammed by the media. The majority of today’s protests have nothing to do with the Republican Party (although they have tried to get on board since they saw it gaining ground). Most participants are independent conservatives or libertarians. They are not anti-tax completely, but are upset about hideous levels of wasteful spending (including that done by Bush as well). Most prefer a fair tax that would not allow the wealthy to find all the loopholes and avoid paying tax at all. They are also sick of heavy government intervention into every little piece of our lives.I would think you would agree with at least some of these concerns.
April 15th, 2009 at 3:38 pmThe media has worked hard to paint this as a secret Republican-fundamentalist-nutcase movement because it has gotten too big and they don’t like it. Check the local tea parties and you will find that no big entity is funding any of this.
Whether you agree or not, I would hope you would support people’s right to express their views.
I’m taking homeless to the teabagging event here. They plan to swoop in like kids at an Easter Egg hunt and gather the free tea bags. They can make hot tea on their campfires in the ravine camp near here. Free tea is nothing to overlook!!! It seems uncharacteristically generous for the rich repubs; though they didn’t like to feed the poor.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:43 pmYour coverage of the tea parties was ridiculous
This isn’t a Fox news issue or a republican issue– as you may have noticed, Dennis Kucinich, a democrat is against the bailout and many republicans were for it
I voted for Obama, I attended the tea party in Boston and there were many people from both parties there
Your claim that tea baggers didn’t complain when Bush had a bailout is ridiculous, most complaints were about TARP which Bush passed — many attendees were Ron Paul supporters, a republican who was against the bailout
On a bigger picture- instead of making unsubstantiated attacks against people who you obviously didn’t talk to– how about you debate the merits of this bailout plan, which you obviously seem to think is a great idea
I’m an economic strategist, would be glad to debate about it any time
April 16th, 2009 at 11:39 amFirst: Mr. Shyster, using his gutter-spawned sense of humor, is referring to the “Tea Parties” as “Tea Bagging”. And while it is worth a small laugh from those how have tea-bagged others, it takes a lot away from his point. Things like relevance, accuracy, intelligence and honesty.
This is the left’s version of “reporting” when they recognize something that goes against their preconceived notions and/or makes their politicians look bad. All of which the Tea Party Protests accomplish.
As far as Fox News’ involvement goes. They are reporting a major protest story occurring in the USA that shows a turn away from what has become the norm in this country: Taxing and spending with no care of what its consequences may be.
The legacy media and their cable outlets, such as MSNBC, are carrying the water for the left and their chosen politicians in this country. The seem to like the idea of dragging everyone down instead of propping everyone up. This is why Mr. Shuster is trying to mock the protest. It is his way of attempting to marginalize the protesters to make their position a wacked out extremist position held by neanderthals and mouth breathers. Of course, these protesters are the people who pay those excessive taxes and can recognize the direction this country is headed: Complete collapse of capitalism, the engine of freedom, and institution of top down hierarchy that suffers no dissent (Much like how Rep. Pelosi commands the US House).
So have a laugh and mock the average Janes and Joes in the street, while your chosen ones continue to represent only themselves and their big dollar supporters in their effort to subjugate all others.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:20 pmThe tax hikes aren’t here yet so any claims that taxes are lower are moot (we will pay for this), the reason these weren’t done under Bush is because we didn’t start bailing out businesses and putting through 700 billion dollar stimulus/economic recovery bills until late in his term. I guarantee if Bush would have put the same 800B economic recovery plan + a humongous budget (on top of our already humongous budget) we would be seeing the same tea parties (except we’d have a few more dems).
April 16th, 2009 at 12:40 pmRegardless of my opinion towards these demonstrations, I’m disappointed to realize that the sophomoric double entendre might seem a reasonable commentary, or even a snappy putdown to any network anchor on a major news outlet. What’s next…the old favorite “mom” joke? This is filth! I feel that this is exponentially more offensive language than that used by Don Imus ever was. Where’s the outrage now?? Don’t let your narrow mindedness cloud your sensibilities. I didn’t like having to explain what teabagging was to my kids, thanks.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:48 am