Althouse: "2300 show up for St. Louis Tea Party..."

March 13, 2010

"2300 show up for St. Louis Tea Party..."

"... only 30 show up for St. Louis 'Coffee Party.' And that 30 includes the 'tea party infiltrators.'"

69 comments:

Adam said...: Well, latte-da.; 3/13/10, 6:47 PM
kent said...: Politically, the leftist faux "coffee party" is 110% decaffeinated.; 3/13/10, 6:49 PM
Mick said...: I will be attending a Tea Party in Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow at Oakland Pk. Rd. and University Dr. I love the fact that they make the Libs and the media nuts. Their pitiful attempt to copy the phenomenon is laughable. It can't be copied because it was a Natural uprising. My sign? "The Constitution is not a suggestion".; 3/13/10, 6:53 PM
Lincolntf said...: They just don't get it. The Tea Partiers are real people with real ideas about the real world. The "Coffee Parties" are just an artifice designed by Dem Party schlubs to assuage the various Lefty boobs and nitwits who make up the Dem "base".

When the Party that invented "astro-turfing" can't even get three dozen stoners to show up and "stick it to the man" over a latte, then you know the fat lady has already sung.; 3/13/10, 6:54 PM
Anonymous said...: I still think there should be a Me Party to complete the set.; 3/13/10, 6:57 PM
Chennaul said...: Honestly they bothered to infiltrate?

One is a dilution of a brand and the other is a delusion.; 3/13/10, 7:00 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I liked this comment..

I wonder if they [Coffee Party] got time and a half, this being a Saturday? Oh, and I’m sure their expenses were reimbursed, too.; 3/13/10, 7:03 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: The coffee sippers would like you to pay for their health care... so they can sit around and sip more lattes.; 3/13/10, 7:05 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Does it make any sense to compare this TP turnout to the turnout at the BHO thing that this TP turnout was meant to counter?

The coffee thing (based on what I heard from a "leader" who I saw jabbering on Cspan) was occurring at hundreds of locations around the country, completely separate from the TP folks. But, the TP folks were explicitly countering the BHO thing.

How many folks went to the BHO thing?; 3/13/10, 7:08 PM
Henry said...: Yes but so many more became fans on Facebook. The plan is for them all to play Cafe World and harass the politicians' Facebook pages to death with idiot status updates.; 3/13/10, 7:19 PM
wombat said...: Tea leaves steep
and coffee perks
smaller gov luvs are deep
when Hope & Changers are; 3/13/10, 7:31 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Isn't the coffee party and admission that Obama's hope and change was a hoax?; 3/13/10, 7:34 PM
ricpic said...: Chocolate cake demands coffee. Even us Tea Party guys have to admit that.; 3/13/10, 7:41 PM
knox said...: I guess the collective will told them all to stay home.; 3/13/10, 7:47 PM
Big Mike said...: How about if we tell the Coffee Party members that if Obamacare passes they will have to give up their coffee because caffeine is bad for their health and now that the government is paying for their healthcare ...; 3/13/10, 7:50 PM
Unknown said...: The Coffee Partiers sound like an Axelrod invention. 100% astroturf.

And the real problem is that they can't get the usual demonstrators to come out for these things because they're so dispirited already.; 3/13/10, 8:07 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Also, if the coffee people are mostly virtual does that mean that they are not good enough for Koos?

A segregated left? Who da thunk it?

Obama the divider.; 3/13/10, 8:10 PM
David said...: They are liberals. They talk a lot and then let the govmint do it. How many liberals are working with the poor in Africa or the earthquake victims in Haiti? And how many of the dreaded conservative evangelicals.

Sad thing is, the libs have probably got it right. They don't need to show up. An avalanche of bribes and threats by the President, Pelosi and Reid are going to result in passage of the bill.; 3/13/10, 8:11 PM
wombat said...: Berks, clerks, dirks, gurks, jerks, lurks, mercs, quirks, shirks, smirks, Jung Turks, zerks.; 3/13/10, 8:13 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "And how many of the dreaded conservative evangelicals."

I don't know? Last I read, only one was still in jail.; 3/13/10, 8:16 PM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/13/10, 8:31 PM
Wince said...: In a futile attempt to encroach even upon the scatological double entendre used to malign the Tea Party, the "Coffee Party" adopts as their official coffee...

Chock Full o'Nuts.

Chock Full of Nuts is that heavenly coffee
Heavenly coffee, Heavenly coffee.
Chock Full of Nuts is that heavenly coffee-
Better coffee millionaire's money can't buy.; 3/13/10, 8:37 PM
Nora said...: That's because talking in cafes is so much more civil, you see.; 3/13/10, 8:39 PM
Sprezzatura said...: EDH,

'a' or 'an' whatever; 3/13/10, 8:41 PM
Joe said...: RLS:

Fore got out-of-works?

Course that presumes they ever were looking for a job.; 3/13/10, 8:41 PM
Penny said...: Tea parties used to be what little girls did when they wanted to play "pretend".; 3/13/10, 9:01 PM
Penny said...: It was really cute. Invite three friends, and then repeat until you have three friends who are able to come that day. Then those friends would be your very best friends that day.; 3/13/10, 9:10 PM
EnigmatiCore said...: Showing up in person is just one possible measure.

Becoming a fan on Facebook is another.

Which is more meaningful, really? I mean, a personal appearance at a rally where it is fun and exciting means what, exactly? Especially since when it is done, it is done. Go home, it is over, loser.

Whereas clicking a link to show you are a good liberal stays for as long as anyone is interested. And liberals are always interested-- very long memories, they.; 3/13/10, 9:13 PM
Juan Pablo said...: Coffee Parties! Hehe, gotta love America.
Can we call them "brown ringers"?; 3/13/10, 9:16 PM
Beta Conservative said...: The Coffee Party reminds me of the debut of Air America. Tons of glowing free coverage by the MSM, but no traction ultimately.; 3/13/10, 9:22 PM
Penny said...: It was understood that you needed to "dress up" for this special occasion, but usually that meant you might plop on somebodies' grandma's hat, and frankly... not for long!

When we saw how silly others around the table looked, there was no WAY that hat was staying on!; 3/13/10, 9:24 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Penny's description reminds me of the end of the video at this link. To get the full effect you need to put your in your full name. But, if you're paranoid about some sort of evil surveillance scheme, you should at least use your first name and a fake last name.; 3/13/10, 9:35 PM
Penny said...: The tea set was always "lovely", and the tea was always "excellent". We all took one lump or two with a little bit of cream. Not a single one of us ever ordered just plain tea.; 3/13/10, 9:40 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: "How many folks went to the BHO thing?"

The BHO "thing" like all his rallies on Health care was closed. They an invitation only events. BHO only wants to preach to the choir and bask in their cheers and adulation.; 3/13/10, 9:48 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Peter,

It's a good thing that it was closed because they couldn't handle the even a tiny fraction of the 100,000 folks who previously showed up to see him in St. Louis.

BTW, speaking of using attendance numbers to make assumptions about the political importance of different groups; what are we to take away from the fact that the fired-up, uber-energized, worried-about-the-end-of-the-constitution TPers couldn't draw more than 2% of BHO's campaign crowd? Obviously the appeal of the TPers is being vastly exaggerated by the lamestream media. Conservative bias?; 3/13/10, 10:10 PM
Penny said...: One summer later, not a single one of us would have been caught DEAD at a tea party! lol

That was just about the same time we were all starting school. We would all become "students".; 3/13/10, 10:11 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: ..what are we to take away from the fact that the fired-up, uber-energized, worried-about-the-end-of-the-constitution TPers couldn't draw more than 2% of BHO's campaign crowd?

That with overwhelming majorities in both Houses Obama has not sold healthcare.; 3/13/10, 10:29 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: How was it that Rather put it?; 3/13/10, 10:32 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Which is more meaningful, really?"

Showing up at a demonstration, proves the level of dedication and energy a movement has. If it's large enough, it sends a direct message, but the important thing about the Tea Party is that it is mostly people who do not bother with demonstrations unless they are really motivated. Bottom line is the Tea Party is a lot of people who are very motivated and they represent an even larger number who who agree but still won't demonstrate.

Most leftist demonstrations are composed of people who demonstrate at the drop of a hat. These are people who are: 1) less dedicated to the issue and 2) less typical of the average American. Therefore they represent smaller numbers in the electorate and are themselves less motivated. This leads me to believe the Tea Party is a much more powerful and representative movement than it appears.; 3/13/10, 10:44 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Math by Lem (and Quayle):

1 + 1 = potatoe; 3/13/10, 10:47 PM
Sprezzatura said...: bagoh,

Do you have links that support your demographic claims?

Or, are you sharing your heartfelt beliefs rather than actual facts?; 3/13/10, 10:51 PM
Republican said...: Although the STL teaper leadership in St. Louis are mostly bonkers, you have to give them a lot of credit for taking the wackery a step further than many other groups.

Kudos to Glenn Reynolds for continuing to give them credibility so they aren't involved anywhere they can do real damage, and kudos to the teapers for keeping the lefties busy with the silliness.; 3/13/10, 11:10 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Not exactly tea party, but you might enjoy this too.; 3/13/10, 11:26 PM
Anonymous said...: You know those Coffee Party people just want to turn the USA into Denmark.

I tasted the Danish coffee. PHHEEEW! I had to spit it out! YUK!

It tasted like Socialism.; 3/13/10, 11:35 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Do you have links that support your demographic claims?

Or, are you sharing your heartfelt beliefs rather than actual facts?"

There are of course no such documented demographics. I'm expressing my impressions from attending a number of such demonstrations across the country from Los Angeles to D.C., including a number of Tea Party ones as well as others on the left for decades including, in recent years, those organized by code pink, ANSWER and others. There is a vast and distinct difference between the attendees at the Tea Party events. I also see (IMHO) a difference in that many people who vote democrat do not identify with those who generally demonstrate at leftist rallies, while Tea Party attendees appear to be very typical of the general center-right voter. These are personal impressions I get from first-hand experience and not from reading blogs or editorials. I have heard and read numerous critiques of the Tea Parties events and attendees by people who have never been to one. Of course that's true in the other direction as well, but I have been to both kinds and I've been both a liberal and a conservative, at different times in my life and I think I understand both. So take that for what you will.; 3/13/10, 11:39 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: If coffee parties have a lot of Facebook fans, that only goes to show that Twitter > Facebook.; 3/13/10, 11:46 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: In fact, the political things people post on Facebook are generally only marginally more coherent than the political email forwards one receives.; 3/13/10, 11:49 PM
Michael McNeil said...: Chocolate cake demands coffee. Even us Tea Party guys have to admit that.

Chocolate cake demands MILK!; 3/14/10, 12:04 AM
Penny said...: Is there a moral to this story of recollected, little girl tea parties?

Oh, who knows? Maybe only for me.

Anyway, as luck would have it, I never attended a single coffee party, so you are all spared from future meanderings on the topic of coffee parties.

Face it, "coffee party" doesn't have half the cache as "tea party". But "coffee"? Well, that's a whole other story...

Night all.; 3/14/10, 12:08 AM
Michael McNeil said...: It's a good thing that it was closed because they couldn't handle the even a tiny fraction of the 100,000 folks who previously showed up to see him in St. Louis.

BTW, speaking of using attendance numbers to make assumptions about the political importance of different groups; what are we to take away from the fact that the fired-up, uber-energized, worried-about-the-end-of-the-constitution TPers couldn't draw more than 2% of BHO's campaign crowd?

That was then (2008) — this is now (2010). Obama's campaign appeal is long past. Let's see him get anything like that size and enthusiasm of crowd out to see him these days. The number who attended Obama's rally in St. Louis this week was some 400 — quite a comedown from 100,000 and far less than the Tea Party demonstration drew there.; 3/14/10, 12:20 AM
Anonymous said...: Bottom line is the Tea Party is a lot of people who are very motivated and they represent an even larger number who who agree but still won't demonstrate.

You can get a bus full of college potheads to go to a demonstration at the drop of a hat. You can fill as many buses with teachers'-union types as you want to pay time and a half for. But usually, you can't get the Tea Party folks, people with real jobs and responsibilities, to show up for much of anything. The fact that they are drawing such crowds should scare the Democrats to the marrow of their bones.; 3/14/10, 12:27 AM
Michael McNeil said...: Is there a moral to this story of recollected, little girl tea parties?

What vapid comments. The Tea Party movement of course hearkens back to the Revolutionary War's Boston Tea Party not “little girl tea parties.” And while the demonstrators there did “dress up,” it was as Red Indians rather than “somebodies' grandma's hat” — while they dumped the King's tea into Boston Harbor.; 3/14/10, 12:31 AM
David said...: 1jpb said...
"And how many of the dreaded conservative evangelicals."

I don't know? Last I read, only one was still in jail.

Which of course betrays your ignorance and insularity. I am not a practicing Christian--never have been--but the work done by American Christians in the world's neediest places is amazing.

Check out Billy Graham Jr's work. For every "name" like him there are tens of thousands of ordinary, nameless people living and working to help the helpless throughout the world.

Can't you possibly acknowledge and approve of that?; 3/14/10, 1:00 AM
Jim said...: David -

Can't you possibly acknowledge and approve of that?

Nope. Alinsky taught that once you have staked out a position, then you must act as if no other position exists. Therefore, you cannot acknowledge that there is another side to the story or you ruin your whole narrative.

That's where Obama/Pelosi/Reid get the whole "Party of No" meme from: They must act as if Republicans have never put forward their own proposals because otherwise their false choice of "It's our way or nothing at all" falls completely apart.

So it is with 1jpb and his attack on evangelicals. In his world, evangelicals are evil; therefore, the millions they serve around the world (including in our own inner cities and rural areas) through their humanitarian missions DO NOT EXIST.

Any argument that they DO, in fact, exist can only be the product of extreme right-wing racist Nazi propaganda distributed by evil corporations who are looking to grind up babies to make oil.

Here endeth the Alinsky lesson.; 3/14/10, 1:29 AM
Titus said...: Have you all seen Lady Gaga and Beyonce's video Telephone?

Totally fab.; 3/14/10, 3:00 AM
rhhardin said...: Alan Colmes is outraged by Dan Reihl's post Isn't it time to euthanize Reid's Wife?.

I thought it was great. Limbaugh is certain to cite it.

It went on a little long about abortion, which is not to the point, but didn't suffer the overland extended trombone solo failing of most of the genre.

Colmes's outrage raises fundamental questions about the left.

It's no wonder the left can't ever figure out consequences.

Relations escape them completely.; 3/14/10, 6:52 AM
Revenant said...: But usually, you can't get the Tea Party folks, people with real jobs and responsibilities, to show up for much of anything. The fact that they are drawing such crowds should scare the Democrats to the marrow of their bones.

That certainly describes the people I know who have been to Tea Party rallies. With few exceptions it is the first protest rally they've ever been to.; 3/14/10, 3:12 PM
Fen said...: A good example of MSM bias. Contrast CNN's coverage of the astro-turf Coffee party with their censorship of ommission and smears of the TEA party.; 3/14/10, 3:37 PM
kentuckyliz said...: Waiter, waiter! There's astroturf in my coffee!; 3/14/10, 3:53 PM
kentuckyliz said...: Waiter, waiter! This coffee tastes like mud!

That's funny, it was fresh ground this morning.

(rimshot); 3/14/10, 3:54 PM
kentuckyliz said...: Honey, your coffee is so bad, it's grounds for divorce.; 3/14/10, 3:54 PM
kentuckyliz said...: So what insulting name do we call the Coffee Party people?

I like brown ringers. It's vaguely homo sounding, keeping in line with the teabagger idea.

If Starbucks decides to sponsor them, we can call them Over-Roasted And Bitter.

Obamaristas?

My fave so far:

Coffeepot Heads; 3/14/10, 3:57 PM
Blue@9 said...: "So what insulting name do we call the Coffee Party people?"

None, none whatsoever. There's so little chance that this "movement" will go anywhere that it's best just to ignore them. What derogatory name should we call a movement that is completely derivative, reactionary, and without any substantive ideas? The "Tea Party" is so named because it has an historical antecedent and a political philosophy derived from the actual event. The "Coffee Party" mocks itself.; 3/14/10, 4:18 PM
LonewackoDotCom said...: What you won't hear from almost anyone else is that America is being QPed (I'll let you figure that out). On one very, very important and fundamental issue, the Dems, the GOP leadership, the Coffee Party, and the Tea Party are all aligned against the interests of the U.S.

We need a party that represents U.S. interests instead of the interests of just a few (no matter how much TP likes to pretend they're grassroots). What's especially ironic is that the issue in question raises the taxes on the TPers and reduces their power. It's also an issue that the Beltway is extremely vulnerable on.

Yet, they aren't using it because - to be frank - almost all their adherents are absolute idiots, and the ones who aren't are corrupt or glassy-eyed libertarian lunatics.; 3/14/10, 4:37 PM
Revenant said...: So what insulting name do we call the Coffee Party people?

"Democrats"; 3/15/10, 1:41 AM
Alex said...: In Ritmo's universe, the Tea Partiers are astroturfers and the "Coffee Party" are real people talking about real ideas.; 3/15/10, 2:58 AM
X said...: "What do we want?"

"Higher taxes!"

"When do we want them?"

"Now!"; 3/15/10, 8:56 AM
Scott said...: So what insulting name do we call the Coffee Party people?

As Monty Python once said....

"Lets not call them anything, lets ignore then entirely!"; 3/15/10, 9:40 AM
former law student said...: Liberals have too many things to do instead of nursing grudges. No bitter clingers they.

Remember "Games People Play"? Listening to Sean Hannity, Mark Levine, et al. is a 16 hour a day game of "Ain't It Awful."; 3/15/10, 6:10 PM