We need a tea party of our own.

[Pab Sungenis]

You have to admire one thing about the teabaggers: they've taken over their party very cleanly and very nicely. They turned their anger and enthusiasm gap around, and made themselves a force to be reckoned with in their party.

What we need in the Democratic Party is the same thing that the tebaggers did, but in the other direction. We need to turn our anger around and oust the Blue Dogs, Pink Tutu-ers, and apologists who used our energy and enthusiasm in 2006 and 2008 to advance their agenda, which turned out to be 180 degrees away from what we wanted and needed.

We need to spend the next year organizing local Real Democratic clubs and groups. We need to start going to the town halls of both the Democrats and Republicans who have abused us and voted against us and raise the roof the way the teabaggers did. We need to start recruiting candidates and get them on primary ballots to oust the conservatives who are infecting our party. And we need to start winning those primaries.

The time has come. As much as I hate to say it, the teabaggers have shown us the way. Now let's use their tactics for good and take back not only our party, but our country.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. The teabaggers' way is lying and making racist demands

No thanks.

[Pab Sungenis]

3. But their tactic worked.

We can do the same with the truth.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I say we wait till Nov 2 to say this worked.

If they win their elections, they can be called a success. Otherwise, they are merely noisy wingnuts.

[Pab Sungenis]

7. It worked.

Their goal was to take over the Republican party and they did. Hopefully they won't win in the general, but you have to admire their success at the party level.

[frazzled]

2. Yeah, nice role model

You can't "use their tactics for good." No good ever comes of narrowness and intransigence, no matter whether right or left.

But go ahead, knock yourself out with delusions of creating a party of the 2%.

[TBF]

5. I agree with you, but it may be too late

The revolution appears to be coming from the right and I'm beginning to think that the most we can do is get ready for it.

[kentuck]

6. Sh-h-h-h-h....

This is not the time for such talk.

[brewens]

8. That would mean we'd have powerful people that secretly

wanted to impose a Stalin style communism on the us, fool us into believing we were just getting single payer health care and a few other reasonable reforms. Then we'd be just like the teabaggers with no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

[UTUSN]

9. We have it already: D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y n/t

[Pab Sungenis]

12. You mean the Democratic Party

that is continuing the wars? And actively fighting against gay rights in court? And gave away the store on "health care reform?" And passing even more tax cuts for the rich?

Those are not things the Democratic Party should be doing. That's why we need to take the party back and change its course.

[area51]

18. +1 n/t

[UTUSN]

26. Neh, your suggestion only leads to Rethugs/'Baggers taking the elections/power.

Sometimes you have to go steps/increments at a time. There was '06, '08. Throwing back to the Rethugs/'Baggers ain't it.

Even a Dem administration that doesn't give you everything at once is solidifying appointees up and down the whole power structure for years to come, and ANY Dem is better than any Rethug/'Bagger.

[cccourt]

10. Sharia Law Cities in USA//Dearborn and Frankford

There IS NO FRANKFORD, TX

[marmar]

11. The Soy Latte party

[Uben]

13. Teabaggers have taken over the party?

Cleanly and nicely? I beg to differ. Tea baggers account for only thirteen percent (Quinnipiac poll)of American voters, hardly a takeover by any standard, but they have made significant strides of late. Since FUX news gives them 24/7 support and free political coverage, they are a force to be reckonned with in the republican party. I think the tea party has fractured the republican party, just like the progressives have to the democratic party. I really feel they copied the progressives in the dem party moreso than started anything new. Both the tea partiers and the progressives are fighting for control of their respective parties, but neither have the numbers to significantly change things right now. Both movements will have to expand exponenetially to gain enough momentum to execute real change in their respective parties. Only 12% of Americans label themselves as progressives.

[stuntcat]

14. I went to some Coffee Party meetings!

Of course everyone there was very rational, quiet and calm. No rabid Fear and Hate that's excited the crowds of scared white folks. So Coffee Party hasn't been as big and loud, and hasn't made it onto everyone's TV sets :(

[northoftheborder]

15. thanks for the video link to the W. Va. mountain destruction

[stuntcat]

17. cool! share it!

The coal from mountaintop removal ends up powering homes all over the East but most people have no idea where their power comes from, they just switch on the lights and don't know.

One day a man started a fight with me about mountaintop removal, he said the people in the mountains were just DUMB and that's why they let that happen (he knew I was from western NC so he was trying to get to me) but he was dumb enough to have no idea that that's the power he's using everyday.

[bigtree]

16. hmm

I don't think we achieve anything by dividing our party - except a divided party. The only way we have any chance of advancing our concerns into action or law is to coalesce with enough like-minded folks to rival the republican organization of voters. Can you be certain that your new movement will achieve enough support from voters to be an effective political vehicle to actually enact your ideals and initiatives? When it does, folks might take it seriously. Until then, it's just removing a vital plank of support from the majority we've just achieved with no apparent lever to success.

[BeFree]

19. heh

Y'know what some of the party is doing?
They are supporting a republican in Florida's senate race.
Talk about dividing and division and lack of vision. Insanity is what I call it.

What do you think, bigtree?

[bigtree]

22. these politicians entrench themselves in office

. . . so the chess-like strategy of electing republicans to generate a Democratic backlash is a dubious and dangerous one.

[krabigirl]

20. I agree..the corporate part of the democratic party is just horrible and i want no part of it.

[obxhead]

21. I would say we need to unite and get the Dems back to what

they used to stand for and who they used to stand up for.

[pansypoo53219]

23. and get the attention of the gnews.

kill zombie reagan!!! and the banksters!

[Stevenmarc]

24. Yeah, OK, here's the problem with that.

It's not that difficult to get teabaggers to buy into the bullshit, they aren't exactly the critical thinking crowd. Progressives on the other hand are like herding cats, sure there are big issue concepts that bind us but it's the nuance that inevitably takes center stage and the big issue gets left in the dust.

Here's what Republicans and teabaggers do well, they can distill an issue down to a bumper sticker sized snippet and sell it while Progressives explanations of issues start to look like the iTunes Terms Of Service page.

[Urban Prairie]

25. Sucessfully creating a significant liberal "grassroots" movement aping the Tea Party could backfire

The MSM and RWer leaders would dearly love to use it to point out elements of liberal/progressive dissatisfaction with how poorly many Democratic leaders are performing for their constituency, and twist, clip, or spin the grassroots movement into claims that it instead champions and supports conservative causes and objectives. They could also "fauxly" claim that the Tea Party and the progressive/liberal version share membership, attempting to validate the Tea Party's bald-faced lies about having a "diverse" racial and ideological membership in their state and national groups, IMO.