It's Time to Name the Tea Party Politicians
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1109Lowdown_Final.qxd:1109Lowdown 1/9/11 11:00 AM Page 1 VOLUME13 NUMBER 9 SEPTEMBER 2011 The ❛❛Buckets of crazy. ❜❜ ——A REPUBLICAN STAFFER in the House, candidly describing tea party lawmakers pushing LOWDOWN a ridiculously destructive debt ceiling bill. EDITED BY JIM HIGHTOWER AND PHILLIP FRAZER In just one year, the tea party went from hating billionaires to fronting for them It’s time to name the tea party politicians (and their sponsors)—and call them out AS HE KEEPS DEMONSTRATING, President Obama is not dard. “Everyone supported it,” says a top executive of bulb-maker exactly Mount Rushmore material. But—good God!—the Philips. So did Edison’s descendents, who issued a simple state- ment that old Tom himself could’ve written: “Technology changes. petulant pettiness and corporate servility of Congress’ tea Embrace it.” party Republicans makes Obama’s timidity seem like a Plus, the new law shows that government rule-making can work chapter from Profiles In Courage. beautifully, producing a major surge in industry innovation. In only four years, Philips, GE, and Sylvania have already developed incan- merica has BIG needs right now—a jobs crisis, housing crisis, descent bulbs that meet the government’s higher efficiency stan- infrastructure crisis, energy crisis, climate crisis, middle-class dard and save money for consumers. crisis, democracy crisis. But they can’t even be addressed Nonetheless, such dim bulbs as Michele Bachmann, along with because tea party ravers in the House, joined there by a gag- the tea party caucus, joined the Kochs’ silly circus. They merrily rolled A gle of old school right-wingers, keep throwing hissy fits over the bizarre anti-efficiency light bulb bill right through the House. far-out ideological gimcrackery. Luckily the Senate won’t pass this folderol, so it won’t become law, Our problem in Washington really comes down to this: We have but that won’t stop congressional tea partiers from continuing their too many 5-watt bulbs in 100-watt sockets. Take, for example, the goofy rant against big government “telling us what kind of light astonishing clamoring by tea party congress critters to pass a light bulbs we can buy.” bulb bill. Yes, light bulbs! In July, these addle-brained lawmakers Name the names actually spent time, energy, and their Meanwhile, America’s corporate credibility on stopping the horrible scourge media have surrendered any sem- of energy efficient bulbs from spreading across blance of journalistic responsibility in the country. covering the tea party congress. On This non-issue was literally the one hand, they treat the slight- drummed up by the billionaire Koch est sneeze from these lawmakers brothers (who, by the way, are in as a powerful storm. For example, the dirty energy business and on July 27 the Koch-backed astroturf profit if you have to use more of group, the Tea Party Express, held a it to light your home). During the “Hold the Line” media event on the past couple of years, various Koch Capitol grounds. It was promoted as front groups have been shrieking a mass rally to demand that Congress that nanny-state Democrats have slash trillions of dollars from the fed- banned Thomas Edison’s old, glow- eral deficit through spending cuts ing 100-watt incandescent globes. alone, with no tax hikes on billion- As of next January 1, they wailed, aires and corporations. sales of Edison’s marvel will be News cameras were there to outlawed, replaced by the cold record and report every bon mot glare emitted by spiral, fluores- tossed out by such tea party cent bulbs. favorites as Sens. Jim DeMint Only, none of that is true. There is and Rand Paul. They did not report, no ban, just a new standard for all bulbs however, that fewer than 50 of the to consume less energy. And it was not set by Democrats, but by expected masses showed up (see a great photo of DeMint at the a Republican-sponsored law signed in 2007 by George W. Bush. “rally” speaking, essentially, to no one but the cameras: www.flickr. Furthermore, the light bulb industry backed the new efficiency stan- com/photos/58372028@N00/5981973020). 1109Lowdown_Final.qxd:1109Lowdown 1/9/11 11:00 AM Page 2 2| Hightower Lowdown September 2011 The next day, the progressive American Dream Movement drew WHO IS THE TEA PARTY CONGRESS? a crowd ten times larger to another Capitol Hill rally, demanding that eems like this would be an easy question to Congress protect seniors from the budget slashers and, instead, elim- inate special tax giveaways to corporations and the rich. No cameras answer, but it turns out that we could find no came to cover the message of these citizens. Sgroup, including the tea party’s own organiza- On the other hand, the media establishment is failing even to give tions, that has made a complete list, or at least they’ve the public an answer to journalism’s most basic question: Who? Name not made one public. So, the Lowdown’s ace fact dig- by name, who are these tea partiers casting votes to harm workaday gers dug out the names themselves, presented below people, further enrich the rich, and extend greater corporate power in three categories for everyone’s political edification. over us? We can’t have an informed electorate if it’s not informed. Many tea party activists themselves could benefit from this infor- Endorsed and elected as tea partiers in 2010 mation. The rank and file assume that the crop of outsiders they sent I. Note that there is no such thing as the Tea Party. The movement has no to Congress are now inside representing their interests. But most formal political entity for holding primaries or conventions, nor does the tea would be stunned to know that their “representative” has voted to kill party name appear on general election ballots. Instead, “official” tea party Medicare, gut Social Security, protect Wall Street speculators, and turn candidates are those who’re endorsed by FreedomWorks or the Tea Party our natural resources over to polluting profiteers. A big chunk of the Express—both of which are creatures of Dick Armey and his billionaire back- tea party nation did vote in 2010 for smaller government—but not this. ers. Last year was the first congressional election with candidates endorsed The media, however, only generalize that tea party Republicans are as “tea partiers” and at least 26 of them won, all elected as Republicans. doing this or that, failing to deliver such useful specifics as: “Hey, the There may be more, but these are the ones we could find—if you know of goober you sent to Congress just stabbed you in the back.” On July others, please send their names (along with any backup material attesting 28, for example, the New York Times ran an important article about to their tea partiness) to [email protected]. the wholesale assault on environmental protections by “freshman NAME CITY/STATE NAME CITY/STATE Republicans,” not even mentioning that these are tea partiers. The members were attaching some 70 pro-polluter amendments to Mo Brooks Huntsville, AL Steven Palazzo Biloxi, MS Rick Crawford Jonesboro, AR Archie, MO an appropriations bill—including unleashing coal giants to blow Vicky Hartzler Tim Griffin Little Rock, AK Jon Runyan Mount Laurel, NJ up Appalachia’s mountains, allowing uranium mining at the Grand Paul Gosar Flagstaff, AZ Ann Marie Buerkle Syracuse, NY Canyon, exempting offshore oil drillers from any accountability for Tom Graves Ranger, GA Nan Hayworth Mount Kisco, NY their equipment failures, blocking all agencies from doing research Raul Labrado Eagle, ID Renee Ellmers Dunn, NC on climate change, letting industrial corporations escape from even Bobby Schilling Colona, IL Steve Stivers Columbus, OH reporting their carbon pollution, and stopping the EPA from so much Adam Kinzinger Manteno, IL Joe Wilson West Columbia, SC as studying pollution by factory farms. Todd Young Bloomington, IN Tim Scott Charleston, SC But, no names of the members sponsoring this stuff were reported. Marlin Stutzman Howe, IN Kristi Noem Castlewood, SD In America’s democratic system, it’s not enough to say “Congress” Mike Pompeo Wichita, KS Jaime Herrera did this, or even “tea party” legislators did it. Name the names, so they Jeff Landry New Iberia, LA Beutler Camas, WA have to be accountable for what they’re doing. At a minimum the news Dan Benishek Iron County, MI Sean Duffy Ashland, WI outlets could put the names on their websites. Tim Walberg Tipton, MI Reid Ribble Appleton, WI This is important for all voters, but especially for those who thought Steven Palazzo Biloxi, MS Paul Ryan Janesville, WI that electing this tea party bunch would help end a business-as-usual Congress controlled by corporate money and lobbyists. After all, the tea party insurgency was not sparked by a hatred of government, but operatives... and a simple, ready-made agenda for diverting the angry by raw fury at Republicans and Democrats alike for coddling the Wall crowds’ attention from Wall Street to the bugaboo of Big Government. Street banksters who crashed their casino emporiums into our econ- With no real competition, Armey established himself as the de omy. Arrogant and avaricious bankers were handed multibillion dollar facto commanding general of the disjointed tea party army. He cre- bailouts in 2008-2009, while workaday Americans were being handed ated the Tea Party Express and the Tea Party Patriots as astroturf pink slips and eviction notices. fronts for orchestrating some 600 “tax day” protests on April 15, This daylight robbery definitely put the “ugh” in ugly, and it brought 2009, creating the image of mass opposition to Obama’s health the public’s general anger about collusion between corporate and politi- care reforms.