DOCSLIB.ORG

CQR Tea Party Movement

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
CQR Tea Party Movement Res earc her Published by CQ Press, a Division of SAGE CQ www.cqresearcher.com Tea Party Movement Will angry conservatives reshape the Republican Party? he Tea Party movement seemed to come out of nowhere. Suddenly, citizens angry over the multi- billion-dollar economic stimulus and the Obama ad - T ministration’s health-care plan were leading rallies, confronting lawmakers and holding forth on radio and TV. Closely tied to the Republican Party — though also critical of the GOP — the movement proved essential to the surprise victory of Republi - can Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Tea partiers say Brown’s Tea kettle held high, a Tea Party activist dressed like a election proves the movement runs strong outside of “red states.” Revolutionary War soldier rallies tax protesters in Atlanta on April 15, 2009. It was among several But some political experts voice skepticism, arguing that the Tea protests held in cities around the nation. Party’s fiscal hawkishness won’t appeal to most Democrats and many independents. Meanwhile, some dissension has appeared among tea partiers, with many preferring to sidestep social issues, I such as immigration, and others emphasizing them. Still, the move - N THIS REPORT ment exerts strong appeal for citizens fearful of growing govern - S THE ISSUES ....................243 I ment debt and distrustful of the administration. BACKGROUND ................249 D CHRONOLOGY ................251 E CURRENT SITUATION ........256 CQ Researcher • March 19, 2010 • www.cqresearcher.com AT ISSUE ........................257 Volume 20, Number 11 • Pages 241-264 OUTLOOK ......................259 RECIPIENT OF SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE N AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SILVER GAVEL AWARD BIBLIOGRAPHY ................262 THE NEXT STEP ..............263 TEA PARTY MOVEMENT CQ Re search er March 19, 2010 THE ISSUES SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS Volume 20, Number 11 • Does the Tea Party rep - Tea Partiers Running in MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas J. Colin 243 resent only a narrow seg - 244 25 States [email protected] Most are Republicans running ment of the population? ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR: Kathy Koch • Will the movement for House seats. [email protected] reshape the GOP? Most Tea Partiers Have ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kenneth Jost • Does the movement 245 ‘Unfavorable’ View of attract conspiracy theorists? STAFF WRITERS: Thomas J. Billitteri, Obama Marcia Clemmitt, Peter Katel Many also think Obama has BACKGROUND raised taxes. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rachel Cox, Sarah Glazer, Alan Greenblatt, Reed Karaim The Original Populists Tenets of the Tea Party Barbara Mantel, Patrick Marshall, 249 President Andrew Jackson 248 Excessive government spending Tom Price, Jennifer Weeks feared financial elites’ power. and taxation are motivations. DESIGN /P RODUCTION EDITOR: Olu B. Davis ASSISTANT EDITOR: Darrell Dela Rosa Right Turn 251 Chronology 250 Populists’ handling of race Key events since 1892. EDITORIAL INTERNS: Dagny Leonard, Julia Russell placed them on the politi - Tea Partiers Take Aim at cal right. 252 FACT-CHECKING: Eugene J. Gabler, Health Reform Michelle Harris Movement plans more town The ‘Silent Majority’ hall meetings. 250 President Nixon courted the “great silent majority.” Sarah Palin Shines at 254 Tea Party Convention Enduring Appeal Some see her as a potential 253 Populist themes remained party leader. popular following Nixon’s A Division of SAGE New Coffee Party Drawing resignation. 256 PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER: Supporters John A. Jenkins Effort to confront tea partiers gathers strength. CURRENT SITUATION Copyright © 2010 CQ Press, a Division of SAGE. At Issue SAGE reserves all copyright and other rights herein, The Election Test 257 Does the Tea Party move - unless pre vi ous ly spec i fied in writing. No part of this 256 Tea Party candidates seek ment represent another publication may be reproduced electronically or 58 seats. Great Awakening? otherwise, without prior written permission. Un - au tho rized re pro duc tion or trans mis sion of SAGE copy - Political Realities right ed material is a violation of federal law car ry ing 258 Massachusetts Sen. Scott FOR FURTHER RESEARCH civil fines of up to $100,000. Brown is a Tea Party hero CQ Press is a registered trademark of Congressional but also a pragmatist. For More Information 261 Organizations to contact. Quarterly Inc. Third-Party Option CQ Researcher (ISSN 1056-2036) is printed on acid- 259 Bibliography free paper. Pub lished weekly, except; (Jan. wk. 1) Tea partiers aren’t likely to 262 Selected sources used. start a new party. (May wk. 4) (July wks. 1, 2) (Aug. wks. 2, 3) (Nov. wk. 4) and (Dec. wks. 4, 5), by CQ Press, a division The Next Step 263 of SAGE Publications. Annual full-service subscriptions Additional articles . start at $803. For pricing, call 1-800-834-9020, ext. 1906. OUTLOOK To purchase a CQ Researcher report in print or elec - Citing CQ Researcher tronic format (PDF), visit www. cqpress.com or call Short Life? 263 Sample bibliography formats. 259 866-427-7737. Single reports start at $15. Bulk pur - Some observers see a chase discounts and electronic-rights licensing are also short life for Tea Party. available. Pe ri od i cals post age paid at Wash ing ton, D.C., and ad di tion al mailing of fic es. POST MAST ER: Send ad dress chang es to CQ Re search er , 2300 N St., N.W., Suite 800, Wash ing ton, DC 20037. Cover: AP Photo/John Bazemore 242 CQ Researcher Tea Party Movement BY PETER KATEL liberal Democratic lion, Ed - THE ISSUES ward M. Kennedy. 2 “The Tea Party movement t’s lock and load time, a had a lot to do with that elec - pumped up Dana Loesch tion,” says John Hawkins, pub - I told several thousand at - lisher of the online Right Wing tendees at the Conservative News. “[Brown] had millions Political Action Conference and millions of dollars flood - (CPAC) in Washington last ing in from the Internet, which month. “We’re in the middle showed people getting ener - of a war. We’re fighting for gized and excited.” And some the hearts, minds and souls on the left acknowledge that of the American people.” the Tea Party campaign for Forget politeness, the St. Brown could have stirred sup - Louis-based radio host and Tea r port among Republican and e Party activist told the equally c GOP-leaning independents. n e energized crowd. “It’s all p “At a time of heavy reces - S t about amplifying your voice.” r sion and joblessness, giving e b Conservatives, she said, should o banks a bailout rankles peo - R / declare often and loudly, “ ‘I s ple across the spectrum,” says e g don’t like Barack Obama.’ ” a Joseph Lowndes, a University m I And as for the president’s of Oregon political scientist. y t supporters, said the 31-year- t “A lot of Brown supporters e old homeschooling mother, G might have been in that camp.” “Make them uncomfortable. Republican Scott Brown celebrates in Boston on Jan. 19, But a vote for Brown 2010, after winning a special election to fill the seat of . Attack, attack, attack. the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Tea Party activity doesn’t equate to Tea Party Never defend.” typically occurs in Republican territory — “red states” membership, he adds, because Many tea partiers may favor — in the South, West and Midwest. But Tea Party the movement’s sharply de - a softer approach, but Loesch’s activists also cite Brown’s upset election in fined conservative political per - take-no-prisoners intensity Massachusetts, considered among the bluest of spective doesn’t travel well blue states, as indicative of their broad appeal. reflects the dynamic and tri - across the left-right divide. “A umphant spirit emanating lot of people who are inde - from the country’s newest political trend, A major wing of the movement, Tea pendents and disenchanted with Obama which arose in early 2009 in reaction Party Patriots, has helped set up a aren’t going to be tea partiers,” he says. to economic stimulus legislation, cor - fundraising arm, Liberty Central, in the The decentralized and loosely de - porate bailouts and the Democrats’ Washington suburb of Burke, Va. Its fined Tea Party movement takes its health insurance reform effort. president and CEO is Virginia Thomas, name from the Boston Tea Party — Indeed, as CPAC’s enthusiastic em - wife of Supreme Court Justice the 1773 protest against British taxa - brace of Loesch and other tea partiers Clarence Thomas. She appeared on tion. Tea Party Patriots is a national makes clear, the Tea Party movement the same CPAC platform with Loesch grassroots organization that claims to is on the cutting edge of a conserva - and two other movement members. support more than 1,000 community- tive surge that aims to undercut, or Obama’s “hope and change agenda based Tea Party groups around the even defeat, the Obama administration certainly became a leftist agenda pret - country. The Patriots-organized Tax Day and what foes call its big-government, ty fast,” she said. “We saw what they protests last year drew 1.2 million peo - socialist agenda. Tea partiers are also try - were doing, and it was just a big ol’ ple, says Tea Party activist Jenny Beth ing to push the national Republican Party power grab.” 1 Martin of Woodstock, Ga., a founder to the right, with Tea Party-affiliated The movement proved itself a po - of the group. She and her husband candidates this year running in GOP litical force to be reckoned with in the lost their home and filed for bank - primaries for at least 58 congressional special Senate election in January of ruptcy in August 2008 after their busi - and state offices, including three gover - Republican Scott Brown for the Mass - ness failed. They owed $510,000 to the norships.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Tea Party and the Muslim Brotherhood: Who They Are and How American News Media Gets It Wrong
    Jeremy Abrams The Tea Party and the Muslim Brotherhood: Who they are and How American News Media Gets it Wrong Jeremy Abrams 1 Table of Content I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 II. Defining Political Parties and their Role in Democracies ................................................................. 2 A. Generally ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 B. Structurally .................................................................................................................................................... 3 C. How the Tea Party and the Muslim Brotherhood Fit the Mold ................................................. 4 III. Brief Descriptions of the Tea Party and the Muslim Brotherhood ............................................. 4 A. The Tea Party ................................................................................................................................................ 5 1. History ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 2. The System in Which it Operates ..................................................................................................... 9 3. Official Status ........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Book Note Justice Thomas’S Inconsistent Originalism
    BOOK NOTE JUSTICE THOMAS’S INCONSISTENT ORIGINALISM MY GRANDFATHER’S SON: A MEMOIR. By Clarence Thomas.1 New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 2007. Pp. xii, 289. $26.95. Since his infamous confirmation hearings, several of Justice Tho- mas’s biographers2 have struggled to understand and explain the ap- parent conflicts in the life and jurisprudence of a man who acknowl- edges that his conservative views do not comport with the traditional viewpoints of African Americans3 and who advocates an originalist in- terpretation of the Constitution.4 Justice Thomas has received harsh criticism from some of these biographers, and the debate surrounding his adequacy as a Supreme Court Justice has strong political under- pinnings.5 Seeking to correct other accounts of his life, which Justice Thomas views as partly “untrue, at times grossly so” (p. x), My Grand- father’s Son sheds new light on his personal history — especially the key roles race and religion played therein — but generally eschews di- rect discussion of his jurisprudential philosophy. Even so, Justice Thomas’s memoir illuminates his judicial philosophy, because that phi- losophy stems from the experiences and principles discussed in his book. My Grandfather’s Son begins with a description of Justice Tho- mas’s West African ancestry (p. 2) and early childhood. Born in a shanty in Pinpoint, Georgia, on June 23, 1948 (pp. 3–4), Thomas spent his early years fatherless, alongside his mother, Leola; aunt, Annie; and siblings, Emma Mae and Myers (pp. 1, 3). In 1954, Myers accidentally burned down their home (p. 6), and Leola took her sons to live in a de- ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading Clarence Thomas
    Columbia Law School Scholarship Archive Faculty Scholarship Faculty Publications 2004 Reading Clarence Thomas Kendall Thomas Columbia Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, and the Law and Race Commons Recommended Citation Kendall Thomas, Reading Clarence Thomas, 18 NAT'L BLACK L. J. 224 (2004). Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2172 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Scholarship Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ESSAY READING CLARENCE THOMAS Kendall Thomas* The state is INHERENTLY racial, every state institution is a RACIAL institu- tion, and the entire social order is equilabrated (unstably) by the state to preserve the prevailing racial order. -Omi & Winant' Several years ago, a special issue of The New Yorker entitled "Black in America" included an extraordinary profile of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.2 Authored by Jeffrey Rosen, the article begins with an account of Justice Thomas's interventions in two of the most important cases decided during the Court's previous term. In the first of these cases, Missouri v. Jenkins, the Court was called upon to define the constitutional scope and limits of the federal judicial power to address racial concentra- tion in Kansas City's public schools through salary increases and the crea- tion of magnet programs.3 In the second case, Adarand v.
    [Show full text]
  • Real Democracy in the Occupy Movement
    NO STABLE GROUND: REAL DEMOCRACY IN THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT ANNA SZOLUCHA PhD Thesis Department of Sociology, Maynooth University November 2014 Head of Department: Prof. Mary Corcoran Supervisor: Dr Laurence Cox Rodzicom To my Parents ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is an outcome of many joyous and creative (sometimes also puzzling) encounters that I shared with the participants of Occupy in Ireland and the San Francisco Bay Area. I am truly indebted to you for your unending generosity, ingenuity and determination; for taking the risks (for many of us, yet again) and continuing to fight and create. It is your voices and experiences that are central to me in these pages and I hope that you will find here something that touches a part of you, not in a nostalgic way, but as an impulse to act. First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Laurence Cox, whose unfaltering encouragement, assistance, advice and expert knowledge were invaluable for the successful completion of this research. He was always an enormously responsive and generous mentor and his critique helped sharpen this thesis in many ways. Thank you for being supportive also in so many other areas and for ushering me in to the complex world of activist research. I am also grateful to Eddie Yuen who helped me find my way around Oakland and introduced me to many Occupy participants – your help was priceless and I really enjoyed meeting you. I wanted to thank Prof. Szymon Wróbel for debates about philosophy and conversations about life as well as for his continuing support.
    [Show full text]
  • Obama's Insurrection
    Preface to Matthew Vadum’s Obama’s Insurrection By David Horowitz It is not the proper role of an opposition party in a democracy to mount a “resistance” to a duly elected government and press for its overthrow at the very outset of its tenure. But that is precisely what the Democrats have done in the first months of the Trump administration. For the second time in its history, the Democratic Party has opted to secede from the Union and its social contract. This time there is not going to be an actual civil war because the federal government is now so powerful that whoever controls it will decide the outcome. The passions of an irreconcilable conflict are still present but they are channeled into a political confrontation over the executive power. In launching their resistance, Democrats rejected the honeymoon normally afforded 1 to incoming presidents. Until now this tradition has functioned as something of a sacred political rite. Campaigns are by their nature divisive, and they inevitably exaggerate the differences between factions of the electorate. The presidential honeymoon is designed to reunite the contending factions as constituents of a shared constitutional republic. It allows an incoming president to take his place as the chief executive of all the people, to have his cabinet confirmed, and to launch his agendas before the normal contentions of a democracy resume. It ratifies the peaceful transition of power and reasserts the principle that as Americans we are one. According to the Gallup organization, the normal duration of a presidential honeymoon in recent times has been seven months.
    [Show full text]
  • Examining Turnover in the New York State Legislature: 2009-2010 Update," Feb 2011
    A Report of Citizens Union of the City of New York EXAMINING TURNOVER IN THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE: 2009 – 2010 Update Research and Policy Analysis by Citizens Union Foundation Written and Published by Citizens Union FEBRUARY 2011 Endorsed By: Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law Common Cause NY League of Women Voters of New York State New York Public Interest Research Group Citizens Union of the City of New York 299 Broadway, Suite 700 New York, NY 10007-1976 phone 212-227-0342 • fax 212-227-0345 • [email protected] • www.citizensunion.org www.gothamgazette.com Peter J.W. Sherwin, Chair • Dick Dadey, Executive Director TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary Page 1 II. Introduction and Methodology Page 3 III. Acknowledgments Page 5 IV. Major Findings on Legislative Turnover, 2009-2010 Page 6 V. Findings on the Causes of Turnover, 1999-2010 Page 8 VI. Opportunities for Reform Page 16 VII. Appendices A. Percentage of Seats Turned Over in the New York State Legislature, 1999-2010 B. Causes of Turnover by Percentage of Total Turnover, 1999-2010 C. Total Causes of Turnover, 1999-2010 D. Ethical and Criminal Issues Resulting in Turnover, 1999-2010 E. Ethical and Criminal Issues Resulting in Turnover Accelerates: Triples in Most Recent 6-Year Period F. Table of Individual Legislators Who Have Left Due to Ethical or Criminal Issues, 1999-2010 G. Table of Causes of Turnover in Individual Assembly and Senate Districts, 2009 – 2010 Citizens Union Examining Legislative Turnover: 2009 - 2010 Update February 2011 Page 1 I. Executive Summary The New York State Legislature looked far different in January 2011 than it did in January 2009, as there were 47 fresh faces out of 212, when the new legislative session began compared to two years ago.
    [Show full text]
  • Setting Course: a Congressional Management Guide
    SETTING COURSE SETTING “The best thing a new Member and his or her staff can do is to sit down and read Setting Course cover to cover. It’s a book that has stood the test of time.” —House Chief of Staff SETTING “Setting Course is written as if you were having a conversation with someone who has been on Capitol Hill for 50 years and knows how things work.” —Senate Office Manager COURSE SETTING COURSE, now in its 17th edition for the 117th Congress, is a comprehensive guide to managing a congressional office. Part I is for Members-elect and freshman offices, focusing on the tasks that are most critical to a successful transition to Congress and setting up a new office. Part II focuses on defining the Member’s role — in the office and in Congress. Part III provides guidance to both freshman and veteran Members and staff on managing office operations. Setting Course is the signature publication of the Congressional Management Foundation MANAGEMENT GUIDE CONGRESSIONAL A and has been funded by grants from: Deborah Szekely A CONGRESSIONAL MANAGEMENT GUIDE THE CONGRESSIONAL MANAGEMENT FOUNDATION (CMF) is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit whose mission is to build EDITION FOR THE trust and effectiveness in Congress. We do this by enhancing the 117th performance of the institution, legislators and their staffs through CONGRESS research-based education and training, and by strengthening the CONGRESS bridge between Congress and the People it serves. Since 1977 CMF 117th has worked internally with Member, committee, leadership, and institutional offices in the House and Senate to identify and disseminate best practices for management, workplace environment, SPONSORED BY communications, and constituent services.
    [Show full text]
  • Ag Districts Get Focus in Battle for Congress
    April 15, 2020 Volume 16, Number 15 Ag districts get focus in battle for Congress If Republicans have any hope of winning control of the U.S. House this fall, they’ll have to start by winning a series of major agricultural districts Democrats won in 2018. Of the top 100 House districts in terms of farm production, seven are rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. Six of the seven are held by Democrats, including House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson's 7th District seat in Minnesota. The influential chairmanship is held in high regard - a title he could retain unless the House flips back to Republican. The lone Republican tossup seat belongs to Rep. Rodney Davis, whose 13th District in central Illinois includes the university towns of Champaign and Urbana as well as swath of one of the nation’s most productive corn and soybean-growing regions. Three of the tossup ag seats are next door in Iowa, including seats that first-term Reps. Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer won in 2018 by ousting GOP incumbents. The third Iowa seat is being vacated by Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack. The two other tossup seats are in California and New Mexico. In California’s 21st District, which ranks fourth nationally in farm revenue according to the latest Agriculture Department census, first-term Rep. TJ Cox faces a rematch with Republican David Valadao, whom Cox ousted in 2018. www.Agri-Pulse.com 1 In New Mexico’s 2nd District, which covers the southern half of the state, first-term Democratic Rep.
    [Show full text]
  • The Civil War in the American Ruling Class
    tripleC 16(2): 857-881, 2018 http://www.triple-c.at The Civil War in the American Ruling Class Scott Timcke Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies, The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, [email protected] Abstract: American politics is at a decisive historical conjuncture, one that resembles Gramsci’s description of a Caesarian response to an organic crisis. The courts, as a lagging indicator, reveal this longstanding catastrophic equilibrium. Following an examination of class struggle ‘from above’, in this paper I trace how digital media instruments are used by different factions within the capitalist ruling class to capture and maintain the commanding heights of the American social structure. Using this hegemony, I argue that one can see the prospect of American Caesarism being institutionally entrenched via judicial appointments at the Supreme Court of the United States and other circuit courts. Keywords: Gramsci, Caesarism, ruling class, United States, hegemony Acknowledgement: Thanks are due to Rick Gruneau, Mariana Jarkova, Dylan Kerrigan, and Mark Smith for comments on an earlier draft. Thanks also go to the anonymous reviewers – the work has greatly improved because of their contributions. A version of this article was presented at the Local Entanglements of Global Inequalities conference, held at The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine in April 2018. 1. Introduction American politics is at a decisive historical juncture. Stalwarts in both the Democratic and the Republican Parties foresee the end of both parties. “I’m worried that I will be the last Republican president”, George W. Bush said as he recoiled at the actions of the Trump Administration (quoted in Baker 2017).
    [Show full text]
  • Taking Down Trumpism from Africa: Delegitimation, Not Collaboration, Please Patrick Bond 9 Feb 2017
    Taking down Trumpism from Africa: Delegitimation, not collaboration, please Patrick Bond 9 Feb 2017 In the US there are already effective Trump boycotts seeking to delegitimise his political agenda. Internationally, protesters will be out wherever he goes. And from Africa, there are sound arguments to play a catalytic role, mainly because the most serious threat to humanity and environment is Trump’s climate change denialism. Consider two contrasting strategies to deal with the latest mutation of US imperialism: we should protest Donald Trump and Trumpism at every opportunity as a way to contribute to the unity of the world’s oppressed people, and now more urgently link our intersectional struggles; or we should somehow take advantage of his presidency to promote the interests of the ‘left’ or the ‘Global South’ where there is overlap in weakening Washington’s grip (such as in questioning exploitative world trading regimes). The latter position is now rare indeed, although before the election Hillary Clinton’s commitment to militaristic neoliberalism generated so much opposition that to some, the anticipated ‘paleo-conservatism’ of an isolationist-minded Trump appeared attractive. One international analyst of great reknown, Boris Kagarlitsky, makes this same argument this week largely because Trump is questioning pro-corporate ‘free trade’ deals. But the argument for selective cooperation with Trump was best articulated in Pambazuka as part of a series of otherwise compelling reflections by the Ugandan writer and former South Centre director Yash Tandon. Tandon might re-examine the ‘space’ he can ‘seize’ with Trump, the ‘fraud’ Since more than any other individual Tandon helped make the 1999 Seattle and Cancun World Trade Organisation summits a profound disaster for world elites, I take him very seriously.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyright by Judith A. Thomas 2012
    Copyright by Judith A. Thomas 2012 The Thesis Committee for Judith A. Thomas Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Live Stream Micro-Media Activism in the Occupy Movement Mediatized Co-presence, Autonomy, and the Ambivalent Face APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Karin Gwinn Wilkins Joseph D. Straubhaar Live Stream Micro-Media Activism in the Occupy Movement Mediatized Co-presence, Autonomy, and the Ambivalent Face by Judith A. Thomas, BFA Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin May 2012 Dedication For my husband, inspiration and co-conspirator, Rob Donald. (Photo: The First Adbusters’ Poster for Occupy Wall Street, September 2011. Acknowledgements The work of Manuel Castells on autonomous networks and communication power has had a profound impact on this scholarship. The breadth of his vision and theoretical analysis is inspiring and insightful. I hope this work contributes to the continuing critical cultural discussion of the potential of citizen micro-media in all contexts but especially the international uprisings of 2010-2012. Most especially, my sincere thanks to the following University of Texas at Austin professors whose knowledge and curiosity inspired me most: Joe Straubhaar, Paul Resta, Shanti Kumar, Sandy Stone, and especially my generous, gifted and patient supervisor, Karin Gwinn Wilkins. I will miss the depth and breadth of debate we shared, and I look forward to following your challenging work in the future. v Abstract Live Stream Micro-Media Activism in the Occupy Movement Mediatized Co-presence, Autonomy, and the Ambivalent Face Judith A.
    [Show full text]
  • Capitol Insurrection at Center of Conservative Movement
    Capitol Insurrection At Center Of Conservative Movement: At Least 43 Governors, Senators And Members Of Congress Have Ties To Groups That Planned January 6th Rally And Riots. SUMMARY: On January 6, 2021, a rally in support of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election “turned deadly” when thousands of people stormed the U.S. Capitol at Donald Trump’s urging. Even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who rarely broke with Trump, has explicitly said, “the mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people.” These “other powerful people” include a vast array of conservative officials and Trump allies who perpetuated false claims of fraud in the 2020 election after enjoying critical support from the groups that fueled the Capitol riot. In fact, at least 43 current Governors or elected federal office holders have direct ties to the groups that helped plan the January 6th rally, along with at least 15 members of Donald Trump’s former administration. The links that these Trump-allied officials have to these groups are: Turning Point Action, an arm of right-wing Turning Point USA, claimed to send “80+ buses full of patriots” to the rally that led to the Capitol riot, claiming the event would be one of the most “consequential” in U.S. history. • The group spent over $1.5 million supporting Trump and his Georgia senate allies who claimed the election was fraudulent and supported efforts to overturn it. • The organization hosted Trump at an event where he claimed Democrats were trying to “rig the election,” which he said would be “the most corrupt election in the history of our country.” • At a Turning Point USA event, Rep.
    [Show full text]