Anger Over Fiscal-Cliff Deal Fires Up Tea Party

[DonViejo]

by David Freedlander Jan 3, 2013 4:45 AM EST

Word had it that the Tea Party was on the decline, but the Republican cave on taxes is galvanizing furious grassroots members, who are vowing to root out recalcitrant GOP lawmakers in 2014—a year they say will make the 2010 wave look like a ripple.

Until last night, the conventional wisdom in Washington was that the Tea Party was on the wane. Congressional leaders of the nascent movement, like Allen West and Joe Walsh had lost reelection, or, like Jim DeMint, had decided to leave politics altogether. House Speaker John Boehner had stripped some of the more outspoken members of the Tea Party caucus of their congressional leadership posts, a sign that the GOP establishment was no longer going to be led by its ultra-conservative tail. The big money groups backing the Tea Party were falling apart in a spate of post-election season squabbling.

But after 85 House Republicans joined Boehner in raising taxes without spending reductions during the end game of Monday night’s fiscal-cliff negotiations, Tea Party leaders and conservative activists from around the country are dusting off their tri-corner hats and “Don’t Tread On Me” signs, and now say that their members are as energized as they have ever been since the first Tax Day protests in 2009. And the Republican Party, they add, had better beware.

“We now have 85 members of the House who have shunned their noses at us,” said Dustin Stockton, a Texas- and Nevada-based operative and the chief strategist of The Tea Party.net. “Our job now is to recruit and inspire and motivate people to run against those Republicans who did it.”

For Tea Partiers and fiscally conservative Republican rank-and filers, the Congress that ended its term this week was at last a chance to get federal spending under control. Hopes were high that this class, which more than doubled the number of members in the House’s Tea Party caucus on their first day, would repudiate previous Republican tendencies to reverse campaign promises and open up the spending spigot as soon as they had their hands on it. And if these newly minted members failed, the Tea Party promised to rally its energy behind new challengers who wouldn’t.

-snip-

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/03/anger-over-fiscal-cliff-deal-fires-up-tea-party.html

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Where do they FIND these people?

“We now have 85 members of the House who have shunned their noses at us,” said Dustin Stockton, a Texas- and Nevada-based operative and the chief strategist of The Tea Party.net.

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. "Shunned their noses"...this is what passes for effective communication for a Tea Party "operative"

What a buffoon.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. That's why I thumb Teabagger operatives.

[JoePhilly]

2. Crack-pots Unite !!!

[Sunlei]

3. Koch must have funded them some more.

[Fresh_Start]

4. why doesn't the tea party do something effective about the fiscal cliff.....

for example, they can decline to accept social security and medicare payments....oh wait a minute, that affects their pocketbooks so not much chance of them making a sacrifice.

[RomneyLies]

5. In both 2010 and 2012, the GOP should have taken control of the Senate

Teabagger Senate candidates insured the GOP did not.

As far as them taking out 85 current GOP Congresspersons via the primary process I have only two words to say...

PLEASE PROCEED!

[WeekendWarrior]

6. Well, since the Tea Party was actually never real...

And was, in fact, a phony and cynical "grass roots" invention of the GOP money men praying on a handful of wackos for political gain, I can't see how they expect to do much of anything without the backing of their donors.

But the media needs a story of conflict and turmoil to get viewers, so I imagine these "threats" will be played ad nauseum until the next bullshit story comes long.

Imagine how boring life would be without the news media to entertain us.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. Pffffffffft

That's the sound of these idiots' balloonish and cartoonish clout disappearing into thin air.

Whatever complaints you might have about Obama, he's managed to define these idiots as extremist obstructionists who are not serious about governing.

[Filibuster Harry]

10. So the tea baggers are mad at the 85 Rs that voted for the bill; and yet Grover was in favor of the

bill because if nothing happened all tax rates would rise but by voting for the bill they decreased taxes on everybody including the top rate because that affects only $ 400,000 / $450,000 whereas it would hit those incomes above $ 398,350.

So the teabaggers are mad at those who voted for it; Grover should be mad at those who voted against it.
Who are these people???

[we can do it]

11. Oh NOES!!! another tempest in the teapot

[Brother Buzz]

12. The Porta Potty lobbyists are rejoicing

[Amonester]

13. These tearorists want More Money.

Looks like donations have dried out.