How Conservative Media Responded To Jeb Bush's 2016 Presidential Bid Announcement | Research | Media Matters for America

How Conservative Media Responded To Jeb Bush's 2016 Presidential Bid Announcement | Research | Media Matters for America:

"LIMBAUGH: Do you want to know why Jeb Bush is thinking of running? I'll give you a poss -- including the fact that he may actually want to be president, he may actually want to do this -- but he's also being looked at as a savior by the big money donor class and the consultant class, the establishment of the party, to head-off the Tea Party. They're going to pull out all the stops to make sure that a Tea Party-type conservative doesn't get the nomination. And if that means -- somebody like Jeb -- it could be a sacrificial run just to make sure that a conservative doesn't get the nomination in 2016. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 12/16/14]"

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The Governing Party - NYTimes.com

The Governing Party - NYTimes.com:



David Brooks believes the "Palin spasm" of the GOP is finally over - that a return to sanity is imminent judging from those elected during midterms.

 "During the Palin spasm, Republicans seemed to detest the craft of governing. Hothouse flowers like Senator Ted Cruz preferred telegenic confrontation to compromise and legislation.

But current party leaders are talking about incremental progress, finding areas where they can get bipartisan support: on trade, corporate taxes, the XL oil pipeline, the medical devices tax, patent reform, maybe even tax reform generally."

Has the tea party finally run its course? One can hope.  But inevitably there had to be an end, because without Barack Obama to identify against, there is no Tea Party ala Palin and Cruz.



When we started this project in 2009, one big question I had was where does the GOP end and the Tea Party begin?  For a long time, Republicans themselves didn't understand the difference - or even the question.  It has puzzled me time and time again why the GOP didn't jettison their crazies and take back their party - and while that answer isn't a simple one, and there were multiple advantages to letting the Tea Party run rampant, the GOP does now seems poised to let them go - to push them out if necessary.



Now they're talking Jeb Bush for President (ahem - see my analysis of his speech to CPAC two years ago - I called that one) and Jeb is most definitely NOT a tea party yahoo.  In that speech then he called for GOP values of exactly the type of thing Brooks wrote about today - they aren't the crazy policies of the Tea Party - and it doesn't involve Sarah Palin - at all.



But for those of you who miss Sarah, I saw on my Roku the other day an ad for the Sarah Palin channel.  Don't know anything else about it, but I'm willing to bet it isn't a free channel.







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The Liberal Media’s Guide To Covering A Tea Party | Southern Beale

The Liberal Media’s Guide To Covering A Tea Party | Southern Beale:



Hilarious. From Nashville political blogger, Southern Beale.



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bennydiego on Twitter: "Tea Party Rally. #UniteBlue #teaparty #tcot http://t.co/2tbLVevcr4"

Classic.  Picture is of marquee for Tea Party rally to vote Obama out in 2016.



bennydiego on Twitter: "Tea Party Rally. #UniteBlue #teaparty #tcot http://t.co/2tbLVevcr4":



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Bill Maher: Why Do ‘Tea Party People’ Vote Against Their Own Interests? | Americans Against the Tea Party

Bill Maher: Why Do ‘Tea Party People’ Vote Against Their Own Interests? | Americans Against the Tea Party:



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Identity, not ideology, is moving the world - The Washington Post

Identity, not ideology, is moving the world - The Washington Post:

It is a strange mixture of insecurity and assertiveness. People worry that their society is changing beyond recognition and that they are being ruled by vast, distant forces — the European Union in Brussels, the International Monetary Fund or the federal government in Washington — that are beyond their control. And by people who do not share their values.
In the United States, we do see one parallel: the rise of the tea party. Scholars Vanessa Williamson and Theda Skocpol concluded thatimmigration is a central issue — perhaps the central issue — for tea party members, something that has been reinforced by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s loss in his primary election in Virginia. I don’t recognize my country anymore, say Mike Huckabee, Glenn Beck and many others on the right. The same line could be repeated by every one of those European nationalists who won in the polls in May.
In an age of globalization, elites have discussions about political ideology — more government, less government — but, as Samuel Huntington noted many years ago, the bottom-up force that seems to be moving the world these days is political identity. The questions that fill people with emotion are “Who are we?” and, more ominously, “Who are we not?”

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Here Are the Psychological Reasons Why an American Might Join ISIS | Mother Jones

Here Are the Psychological Reasons Why an American Might Join ISIS | Mother Jones:



Note the similarities of the explanations here with Hoffer's original insights about how people are attracted to mass (fanatical) movements.  The researchers note:

According to University of Maryland psychologist and
terrorism expert Arie Kruglanski, who has studied scores of militant
extremists, part of the clue may lie in that Twitter tagline of McCain's. Not
just its content, but the mindset that it indicates—one that sees the world in
sharp definition, no shades of gray. "These extreme ideologies have a
twofold type of appeal," explains Kruglanski on the latest Inquiring Minds
podcast. "First of all, they are very coherent, black and white, right or
wrong. Secondly, they afford the possibility of becoming very unique, and part
of a larger whole."  (See Hoffer - corporate whole)   That kind of belief system, explains Kruglanski, is highly
attractive to young people who lack a clear sense of self-identity, and are
craving a sense of larger significance. In fact, Kruglanski and his colleagues
have found that one important psychological trait in particular seems to define
these militants who leave their own culture and go off to embrace some ideology
about which they may not even know very much. (We recently learned that Yusuf
Sarwar and Mohammed Ahmed, two British jihadis who went to fight in Syria last
year, ordered Islam for Dummies and The Koran for Dummies from Amazon before
they departed.)  Arie KruglanskiThese young people seem to have what psychologists call a
very strong "need for cognitive closure," a disposition that leads to
an overwhelming desire for certainty, order, and structure in one's life to
relieve the sensation of gnawing—often existential—doubt and uncertainty. (See Hoffer - the disaffected believers)

 According to Kruglanski, this need is something everyone can experience from
time to time. We all sometimes get stressed out by uncertainty, and want
answers. We all feel that way in moments, in particular situations, but what
Kruglanski shows is that some of us feel that way more strongly, or maybe even
all the time. And if you go through the world needing closure, it predisposes
you to seek out the ideologies and belief systems that most provide it.

Fundamentalist religions are among the leading candidates  (emphasis throughout, mine)

Compare this to Hoffer's description of the "disaffected" - which includes rootless youth.  This also echoes the Tea Party need for "security" - the fear that drove them together in the first place - here describted as "gnawing...doubt and uncertainty."





























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Laura Ingraham Tells Radio Listeners That Obama Considers Them, Not Islamic State, The "True Enemy" | Video | Media Matters for America

Another Tea Party darling . . .



Laura Ingraham Tells Radio Listeners That Obama Considers Them, Not Islamic State, The "True Enemy" | Video | Media Matters for America:



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These Wacky Facts About Goats Are A Bleating Good Time

Goats!!

These Wacky Facts About Goats Are A Bleating Good Time:



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Study: Are some people born conservative? - Salon.com

Study: Are some people born conservative? - Salon.com:



Research outcomes in political science study finds that the more fearful people are the more likely they are to be conservative.  Eric found in his study of ideographs that a primary motivator of Tea Party membership was fear and an overwhelming need for "security" - both economic and homeland.  So those results make sense in line with our studies of the rhetoric.  Neat!





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It’s time to stop calling Rand Paul a tea partier - The Washington Post

It’s time to stop calling Rand Paul a tea partier - The Washington Post:



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I Watched Sarah Palin’s Channel So You Don’t Have To | Vanity Fair

I Watched Sarah Palin’s Channel So You Don’t Have To | Vanity Fair:


Author Bruce Handy recounts his experience paying for and perusing the new Sarah Palin channel ($9.95/month or 1 year for $99.99).  In summary of the content he notes that Palin's identity is constructed primarily in anti-thesis to Barack Obama.

"In that regard, as Ian Crouch points out on newyorker.com, Obama is her ultimate foil, what with his Ivy League degrees, his slender, vaguely metrosexual airs, and his condescending habit of speaking in diagrammable sentences. Palin needs him the way the Harlem Globetrotters need the Washington Generals, except that Obama is the one who usually wins, which is his greatest service to Palin. Because imagine an alternate universe in which Palin wins. She herself did, which is why she’s no longer knocking around the Alaska statehouse, and why, it says here, she’ll never run for president. Crusades are more fun than governing, plus you can’t monetize the latter, not legally, anyway. There is a clock on the S.P.C. homepage counting down the days, hours, minutes, and even seconds to the end of the Obama administration, an allegedly blessed day."

Eric and I noted in our review of Palin's keynote speech for the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, TN (spring of 2010) how well it portrayed Obama as the symbolic devil Hoffer describes.  4 years later, that anti-thesis - and I would argue clear fanaticism - it still driving and defining Palin.

Handy's review and observations fit and illustrate the theory of fanatical rhetoric I've presented elsewhere.



A countdown clock.  Seriously.





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Sarah Palin Gives Conservative Response to Elizabeth Warren's Progressive Commandments

via Breightbart.com:



Sarah Palin Gives Conservative Response to Elizabeth Warren's Progressive Commandments:



WOW.  Just . . . wow.  Seriously?   (= my response to Palin's response)







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Joe Carr vs. Lamar Alexander: The Tea Party's Last Stand in the Senate

Joe Carr vs. Lamar Alexander: The Tea Party's Last Stand in the Senate:



From Breitbart.com:



 Outlines the political capital at stake in this election on the morning of the TN GOP primary.  Includes video of Palin endorsement.

(update:  Carr loses to Alexander by a significant margin).



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The Tea Party Pushes Democrats Towards Victory By Declaring National Impeach Obama Week

The Tea Party Pushes Democrats Towards Victory By Declaring National Impeach Obama Week:


According to PoliticusUSA:

Robert Ogden writing in the conservative Western Journalism (via Talking Points Memo) reported that “National Impeach Obama Week” is coming on August 23! They even have a website titled “Impeach Obama.” Just in case you didn’t hear them the first six years. They claim their effort is “bi-partisan”, even though polls and reality say otherwise.

Here’s the list of reasons why they want to impeach the President (see if you can find the few that have even a remote relationship to reality and then vow that no matter what side of the aisle you are on, you will never only read what you want to hear):
● Governing by dictatorial fiat with lawless executive orders targeting Amnesty, Obamacare, gun regulation, etc.
● Waging illegal wars without the constitutionally-required approval from Congress
● Assassination of three American citizens without due process via drone bombings
● Bald-faced lying to the American people about the Benghazi attack, Obamacare, etc.
● Supporting Al Qaeda and other Jihadist terrorists in Syria and elsewhere
● Encouraging massive numbers of illegal aliens to enter the US for his own political reasons
● Bizarre and erratic behavior, which implies psychological pathology
● Forgery of his identification documents to make it appear that he is eligible for office
● Overall radical and subversive anti-American background, which is confirmed by his actions in office
● Constitutional ineligibility for the office that he holds

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US Sen. Alexander Fends Off Tea Party in Tenn. - NYTimes.com

US Sen. Alexander Fends Off Tea Party in Tenn. - NYTimes.com:



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Fanatical definition of the Tea Party

Fanatical definition of the Tea Party - "Hated President Obama":

"Tea party-backed David Brat on win over Cantor"

David Brat, a professor from Randolph Macon college, primaried incumbent Eric Cantor - and won.  This is his victory speech.



via:

There's a lesson for the GOP in Eric Cantor's defeat - CBS News:



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Opinion: What drives anti-government extremists - CNN.com

Opinion: What drives anti-government extremists - CNN.com:



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Tea Party politics this week - is the GOP (finally) taking back their party?

What's interesting about this emerging shift is that this is where we first began investigating the Tea Party 5 years ago:  wanting to know where the GOP ends and the Tea Party begins.  For a long time, there was little difference, since the "devil" of the Tea Party (Barack Obama) was the target of GOP campaigning, too.

But now (theoretically) that we are moving to midterms and a new Presidential election cycle, the "devil" is no longer running, so the Tea Party is losing influence and the GOP seems to be taking back the party from them, perhaps realizing they have no identity once Obama is gone.

They will need something positive to be for because what they were against is no longer an issue.  (or they will need a new anti-thetical trope, but I doubt anything will ever match the fanatical opposition to Obama).

GOP mainstream politicians such as Jeb Bush began this shift years ago (see his 2013 keynote to CPAC).  In that speech, he never mentioned Barack Obama, but instead spoke of what the Republican party stands FOR, not what they stand against.  He noted "we have to stop being against everything."

In essence, the Tea Party needs a new anti-thesis and devil to survive rhetorically. So far the new antithesis seems to be "Benghazi" which is an anti-Hillary (+ Obama) trope.  But Hillary rhetorically turned that back on them in her book recently, accusing them of playing politics "on the backs of dead Americans", which I think significantly weakens for a future anti-thesis.

Not surprising, however, Tea Party leaders such as Sarah Palin and legislators like Ted Cruz are still fixated on Obama and "Obamacare" as a primary problem in the U.S. and still calling for repeal; others such as Rand Paul are slowly backing away from that position.  

Dave Weigel - Slate
The Tea Party vs. the Establishment, in Two Newspaper Front Pages

David Freelander - The Daily Beast
Conservative Senator Kicks Tea Party to the Curb

Stephanie Grace - The Advocate
The GOP keeping the Tea Party at bay.

Jonathan Martin - The New York Times
On Win Streak, Mainline G.O.P. Takes Tougher Stance Toward Tea Party

Jake Sherman - Politico
John Boehner’s friends plot tea party crackdown

Dan Balz - Washington Post
At Republican Leadership Conference, the struggle over the GOP’s future continues

Sean Sullivan - Washington Post
The tea party and GOP establishment are happily married in the Iowa Senate race

David Montgomery - The New York Times
Slowed Elsewhere, Tea Party Still Wields Considerable Sway in Texas Races

After Threatening Eviction, This California City Lets Surfing Goats Stay | TakePart

Random goat moment . . . who knew they surfed, too?



After Threatening Eviction, This California City Lets Surfing Goats Stay | TakePart:



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From Death Panels To Death Spirals: The Right-Wing Media's Epic Five-Year Health Care Disinformation Campaign | Research | Media Matters for America

It's been a long 5 years . . .



From Death Panels To Death Spirals: The Right-Wing Media's Epic Five-Year Health Care Disinformation Campaign | Research | Media Matters for America:



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Sean Hannity Asks Sarah Palin: "Is The VA A Death Panel?" | Video | Media Matters for America

Seriously?  *sigh*





Sean Hannity Asks Sarah Palin: "Is The VA A Death Panel?" | Video | Media Matters for America:



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POLL: Tea Party Members Really, Really Don't Trust Scientists | Mother Jones

POLL: Tea Party Members Really, Really Don't Trust Scientists | Mother Jones:



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The Dark Side Of Cliven Bundy's Conservative Media-Approved Militia | Blog | Media Matters for America

The Dark Side Of Cliven Bundy's Conservative Media-Approved Militia | Blog | Media Matters for America:



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Tea Party Scammers Have Media Accomplices | Blog | Media Matters for America

Tea Party Scammers Have Media Accomplices | Blog | Media Matters for America:



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Cliven Bundy Destroys Fox News and Sean Hannity By Claiming They Support His Racism

Cliven Bundy Destroys Fox News and Sean Hannity By Claiming They Support His Racism:



Jason Easley at politicususa.com says:

 "Cliven Bundy is destroying Fox News and Sean Hannity by claiming that they “understand him.” In this respect, Bundy is just like Fox News’ audience. They watch Fox, and shows like Hannity, but those programs reinforce their beliefs. Bundy thinks that Fox believes exactly what he does, because this is exactly the message that the network delivers to their viewers every single day." (emphasis mine). 

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The Money Behind Fox's Promotion Of Cliven Bundy's Battle With The Feds | Blog | Media Matters for America

The Money Behind Fox's Promotion Of Cliven Bundy's Battle With The Feds | Blog | Media Matters for America: 

"Hannity's Koch-affiliated funders have a long history of promoting the privatization of public lands and condemning the federal ownership of land. Tea Party groups have supported local efforts to transfer federal lands. Heritage has advocated shrinking the U.S. government's control by selling its physical assets such as "huge swaths of land (especially out west)." Heritage was also a loyal promoter of the Federal Land Freedom Act of 2013, advocating for the transfer of federal land management to state regulators for energy resource development. 

Giving airtime to an issue that is obscure but significant to his conservative funders makes perfect sense for Hannity. Politico reported that Heritage began sponsoring Hannity in 2008 and in 2013 Hannity began advertising for the Tea Party Patriots, "lending his name to fundraising drives, hosting its leaders on his radio and Fox News shows, and even using the Fox airwaves to promote the Tea Party Patriots website.""

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Why Was the Right Caught Flat-Footed By Cliven Bundy's Cranky Racism? | Mother Jones

Why Was the Right Caught Flat-Footed By Cliven Bundy's Cranky Racism? | Mother Jones:

 "They seem to have spent so long furiously denying so much as a shred of racial resentment anywhere in their base that they've drunk their own Kool-Aid."

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Media Matters Launches 'Mythopedia' Fact Check Tool Ahead Of CPAC

Media Matters Launches 'Mythopedia' Fact Check Tool Ahead Of CPAC:



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Senate passes debt-ceiling plan in blow to tea party - CNN.com

Senate passes debt-ceiling plan in blow to tea party - CNN.com:



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Tea Party Group: Obama's State of the Union Address Will Be "Hitlerian" | Mother Jones

Tea Party Group: Obama's State of the Union Address Will Be "Hitlerian" | Mother Jones:



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Obama's Tea Party Cousin Who's Running for Senate Compared President to Hitler | Mother Jones

Obama's Tea Party Cousin Who's Running for Senate Compared President to Hitler | Mother Jones

Tea Party Senators Introduce ‘You’re Not Married Anymore’ Bill To Nullify Same-Sex Marriages | ThinkProgress

Tea Party Senators Introduce ‘You’re Not Married Anymore’ Bill To Nullify Same-Sex Marriages | ThinkProgress:



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U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says most Republicans agree Earth is warming; tea party accounts for most denial | PolitiFact Rhode Island

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says most Republicans agree Earth is warming; tea party accounts for most denial | PolitiFact Rhode Island:



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Challenged by Tea Party, Veteran Mississippi Senator Seeks 7th Term - NYTimes.com

Challenged by Tea Party, Veteran Mississippi Senator Seeks 7th Term - NYTimes.com

Michelle Malkin | Tea Party Must Tone Down Violent Rhetoric (Also, Lefty Charged for Threatening to Kill Wisconsin GOPers) «

Michelle Malkin | Tea Party Must Tone Down Violent Rhetoric (Also, Lefty Charged for Threatening to Kill Wisconsin GOPers) «:



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