Mediaboss Marketing

Video of constituents confronting Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Tennessee Rep. Diane Black, for example, has gone viral on social media and garnered significant mainstream coverage and commentary on issues ranging from Obamacare to President Trump's ethics. Minority party representatives have clearly gotten the message of "no compromise," and some aspects of the majority party's legislative agenda have shown faint signs of stalling. For those who remember the early months of the Obama administration, this all looks rather familiar. Are Trump's opponents forming a "tea party of the left"? My years of research on the tea party suggest that there are valuable lessons for Trump's opponents today, but only if they remember the full scope of tea party activism.

In one sense, anti-Trump activists are ahead of the game. Opposition to Trump has already mobilized vastly more people more quickly than the tea party did. Local grass-roots protests began almost as soon as President Obama was in office in 2009, but these were scattershot affairs, hardly the stuff of a national movement. In the first month, attendees often numbered only in the dozens.

But, as Hillary Clinton can surely attest, having greater numbers is not the same as winning. The rightward shift of the Republican Party was the result not only of the numbers of people who protested Obama, but also the fact that the tea party's grass-roots efforts garnered support from powerful entities like conservative media and well-funded advocacy groups who channeled the energy of the base into particular political institutions and policy priorities. It is not yet obvious which, if any, Democratic institutions will play a similar role on the left.

Conservative media played a critical role in turning small protests into a coherent national movement. The tea party name itself came from a CNBC host, Rick Santelli, who called for a "Chicago tea party" in an on-air rant against President Obama's housing policies. Conservative radio personalities picked up the phrase and hosted many of the early "tea party" protests. By April 2009, Fox News was promoting upcoming tea party protests, now branded as Fox News events and featuring stars like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. Fox News hosts did not demand protesters have a clear-cut set of policy demands before deeming them worthy of attention. Instead, they validated and disseminated widely the grass roots' sense of grievance, encouraging the new "tea party" identity. Thanks to Fox News, tea party activists shared the common source of news and narrative critical to a burgeoning political movement.

So in asking whether we're at the cusp of a progressive version of the tea party movement, the question is whether Democrats can organize themselves effectively without the same media echo chamber the tea party had, and whether elements of the Democratic establishment will, as the GOP did, embrace and harness the grass-roots anti-Trump fervor into electoral success.

State legislatures will be one critical battleground to win if this series of protests is to become a coherent and sustainable movement. Like the Republicans in 2008, Democrats find themselves without an obvious national leader; the advantage of this is that it may increase attention to down-ballot races.

Should Democrats succeed in winning in the statehouses, there is another lesson to take from the tea party. Over the last eight years, Republicans focused on legislative initiatives that were ideologically appealing but also electorally strategic. Voter suppression and anti-union legislation are both policies that undercut the political power of traditionally Democratic voting groups: minorities and union workers. Given the opportunity, Democrats would benefit from prioritizing policies that foster inclusion and participation, like automatic voter registration. The best policies build power.

In the enthusiasm of the 2008 election, Barack Obama was hailed as a new FDR, who would pull the country out of economic downturn and build a lasting liberal power in Washington. Barely two years later, that dream seemed a distant memory. Ironically, that defeat has given Democrats today a source of hope -- and perhaps even a game plan. They would do well to look beyond the colorful protests and packed town halls, and remember the full story of the tea party's success.

Go here to see the original:
Could this be the left's tea party moment? - CNN

5477331

Democrats are hoping its their turnfor atea party.

Democrats Were Blindsided By The Tea Party Wave, The Huffington Post wrote on Feb. 8. Now Republicans Worry It Could Happen To Them.

Is The Anti-Trump Resistance The New Tea Party? The Atlantic asked on Feb. 9.

Are Democrats Having Their Tea Party Moment? Vanity Fair wondered on Feb. 10.

A New, Liberal Tea Party Is Forming, The Washington Post declared on Feb 11. Can It Last Without Turning Against Democrats?

But while a number of liberalelites in the mediaandelsewhere hope is atea-party-esque, broad and inclusive movement to hold bad government accountable, Americans across the country seerioting on behalf offoreigners, assaulting American police officers and attacking political opponents in the streets. All mixed with hopeless whining in Congress. Even the most tea-party-esque event to happen so far the massive womens march after the inauguration,included millionairecelebrities screaming about period blood and bombing the White House.

The chancesthis fiery temper tantrum after eight very successful years of rule by the left rings withthe America mostidentify with, and will help Democratregain their footing, are low. (ASTROTURF: Obama PACs Bused Protesters To GOP Town Halls)

While on Capitol Hill,minority leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi lead theirparty in self-aggrandizing walk-outs, sit-ins and accusations of racism, on the two coasts,the mass movement Democratshave waited for is busying itself scaring the hell out of Middle America.

On Jan.31, Berkeleys campus newspaper called on students to halt free speech on campus. The next day, a speech was cancelled after black-masked rioters caused $100,000in damage, breaking windows, setting fires, pepper-spraying women and attacking anyonethey disagreed with.

The day after, elected California Democratsattacked the president for threatening the universitys federal handouts, instead of condemning the rioters. No doubt they chose to side with black-cladcriminals targeting people for their words, allagainst theircommon enemy, a newly elected president. Americans took notice.

That same day, at an elite university across the country, a woman who said she was a New York University professor screamed and cursedthe countrys most storiedpolice force for not beating the speaker over his politics. The speaker, a co-founder of Vice Media, was later pepper sprayed by an attacker. Further south, a congresswoman from Florida called the Berkeley riots a beautiful sight.

It wasnt just people dressed in black who were acting militantly and everyone else is peace-loving Berkeley hippies, Yvette Felarca, a California immigration activist who self-identifies as amilitant butlikely cant do three pull-ups, told the LA Times.

Everyone cheered when those barricades were dismantled. Everyone was there with us in political agreement of the necessity of shutting it down, whatever it was going to take. It shows we have the power. I thought it was quite stunning.

The weekend after the riots, the student newspaper congratulated itself on students standing up for theirvalues.

This is what community looks like, the rioters chanted. Like an inferno? CNN anchor Jake Tapper replied.Americans took notice.

And back on the Hill, President Barack Obamas old secretary of Labor said his party should hit President Donald Trump between the eyes with a two-by-four and treat him like Mitch McConnell treated Barack Obama.

The Democrats are taking a victory lap, one Senate staffer told me as he stood in front of a Chinatown pizza shop a half hour after Trumps secretary of Education was sworn in. They dont know they lost, he laughed. Its no wonder theyre prayingfor a movement.

Indeed, the tea party leaves much for the left to admire.When itformed around seven years ago, Democratic politicianstried in vainto prove elements of racism and violencewhile conservative grassroots used peacefulorganizing to retake power, slow a liberalpresidents agenda, and push the national party in a direction they wanted. Today, the leftfinally hasitsviolence,but the plan toside with therioters and demonstrators to retake power and slow a populist presidents agendais significantly more likely toconsume than help them like an inferno.

FollowBedfordonTwitter

Original post:
'This Is What Community Looks Like': The Left's Fancy New 'Tea Party' Threatens To Devour Them Whole - Daily Caller

By Ron Colenews@fosters.com

DOVER A snowy Saturday afternoon found more than 30 adults and children settled in a warm and toasty Wonderland.

The Childrens Museum of New Hampshire held its annual Wonderland Tea Party hosted by Alice and the Queen of Hearts, one of the most popular events at the museum.

Wonderland was replete with large tables set with china, teacups and roses and decorated with treats. At each place setting was a home-made sugar cookie in the shape of a heart.After all had gathered, they were greeted by the Queen of Hearts and Alice herself.

The Queen welcomed all and mentioned that the tea party was being held near a special date and asked if anyone knew what that occasion was. Talulah Bryant of Barrington quickly piped up with Valentines Day and was congratulated by the Queen.

The Queen of Hearts then advised all that in order for them to participate in the tea party, they would need to be welcomed into her court. Each child approached her, receiving a blinking red heart on a chain. Each child also received congratulations on their formal greeting of a bow or curtsey.

The Queen then read the words to the Lewis Carroll novel which has been a favorite of children for 151 years. Alice, at this time, was holding pictures of the adventures she had after she fell down a rabbit hole.

A variety of teas were sipped as well as apple juice. The children set about decorating their cookies and eventually some magical Wonderland flowers.

This was a special day for the adults as well as the children, and for many it was as real as of the book. Kellyanne Zink of Somersworth was joined by her appropriately named daughter Alice, who was accompanied by her properly attired doll, also named Alice.

We just finished reading the book, said Kellyanne and she is so excited to be doing this.

Many of the children were formally dressed for the special occasion.

Although the weather was a little snowy, it did not deter most from attending this special day. Kaitlyn Fortier traveled with her 4-year-old daughter Aleah Sensabella from Londonderry.

It was a little difficult driving, said Fortier, but we wouldnt miss this. It's wonderful to be in a fairy tale, we need to have more things like this.

Go here to read the rest:
Alice and the Queen of Hearts host a Children's Museum Tea Party - Foster's Daily Democrat

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Grass-roots movements can be the life and death of political leaders.

Its a well-worn story now about how John A. Boehner, then House minority leader, joined a rising star in his caucus, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, in April 2009 for one of the first major tea party protests in the California Republicans home town of Bakersfield.

A little more than six years later, after they surfed that wave into power, the movement consumed both of them. Boehner was driven out of the House speakers office and McCarthys expected succession fell apart, leaving him stuck at the rank of majority leader.

Democrats are well aware of that history as they try to tap the energy of the roiling liberal activists who have staged rallies and marches in the first three weeks of Donald Trumps presidency.

What if they can fuse these protesters, many of whom have never been politically active, into the liberal firmament? What if a new tea party is arising, with the energy and enthusiasm to bring out new voters and make a real difference at the polls, starting with the 2018 midterm elections?

(Alice Li,Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post)

The womens marches that brought millions onto streets across the country the day after Trumps inauguration spurred organically through social media opened Democratic leaders eyes to the possibilities.

With a 10-day recess beginning next weekend, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has instructed her members to hold a day of action in their districts, including town halls focused on saving the Affordable Care Act. The following weekend, Democratic senators and House members will hold protests across the country, hoping to link arms with local activists who have already marched against Trump.

[Swarming crowds and hostile questions are the new normal at GOP town halls]

It was important to us to make sure that we reach out to everyone we could, to visit with them, to keep them engaged, to engage those that maybe arent engaged, Rep. Ben Ray Lujn (D-N.M.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told reporters at a Democratic retreat in Baltimore that ended Friday. The trick is to keep them aiming their fire at Republicans and Trump, not turning it into a circular firing squad targeting fellow Democrats.

Now we want people to run for office, to volunteer and to vote, Lujn added.

[Schumers dilemma: Satisfying the base while protecting the minority]

Its too early to tell which direction this movement will take, but there are some similarities to the early days of the conservative tea party.

In early 2009, as unemployment approached 10percent and the home mortgage industry collapsed, the tea party emerged in reaction to the Wall Street bailout. It grew throughout the summer of 2009 as the Obama administration and congressional Democrats pushed toward passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Many of the protesters were newly engaged, politically conservative but not active with their local GOP and often registered as independents. Their initial fury seemed directed exclusively at Democrats, given that they controlled all the levers of power in Washington at the time; the protesters famously provoked raucous showdowns at Democratic town halls over the August 2009 recess.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumers first brush with the anti-Trump liberal movement came in a similar fashion to Boehner and McCarthys Bakersfield foray in 2009. Originally slated to deliver a brief speech at the womens march in New York, Schumer instead spent 41/2 hours on the streets there, talking to people he had never met. By his estimate, 20percent of them did not vote in November.

That, however, is where Schumer must surely hope the similarities end.

By the spring and summer of 2010, the tea party rage shifted its direction toward Republican primary politics. One incumbent GOP senator lost his primary, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) defeated the Kentucky establishment favorite, and three other insurgents knocked off other seasoned Republicans in Senate primaries (only to then lose in general elections).

One force that helped the tea party grow was a collection of Washington-based groups with some wealthy donors, notably the Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity, who positioned themselves as the self-declared leaders of the movement. For the next few years, they funded challenges to Republican incumbents, sparking a civil war that ran all the way through the 2016 GOP presidential primaries.

Boehner could never match the rhetorical ferocity of the movement. He was perpetually caught in a trap of overpromising and under-delivering. Republicans never repealed Obamacare, as they derisively called the ACA, and they could not stop then-President Obamas executive orders on immigration. Boehner resigned in October 2015.

Democrats want and need parallel outside groups to inject money and organization into their grass roots. There are signs it is happening: The thousands of activists who protested at a series of raucous town halls hosted by Republican congressmen over the past week were urged to action in part by sophisticated publicity campaigns run by such professional liberal enterprises as the Indivisible Guide, a blueprint for lobbying Congress written by former congressional staffers, and Planned Parenthood Action.

[Should House Democrats write off rural congressional districts?]

What is less clear is whether such energy and resources will remain united with Democratic leaders or will be turned on them, as happened with the tea party and the Republican establishment, if the activist base grows frustrated with the pace of progress.

There have been some signs of liberal disgruntlement toward Democratic leaders. Pelosi and Schumer (D-N.Y.) were jeered by some in a crowd of more than 1,000 that showed up at the Supreme Court two weeks ago to protest Trumps executive order travel ban. Marchers showed up outside Schumers home in Brooklyn, demanding he filibuster everything and complaining that he supported Trumps Cabinet members involved in national security.

But there are two key differences between the conservative and liberal movements: their funding, and their origins. Some anti-establishment liberal groups have feuded with leaders, but they are poorly funded compared with their conservative counterparts. And the tea party came of age in reaction not only to Obama but, before that, to what the movement considered a betrayal by George W. Bushs White House and a majority of congressional Republicans when they supported the 2008 Wall Street bailout.

There is no similar original sin for Democrats, as the liberal protests have grown as a reaction to Trump, not some failing by Schumer and Pelosi.

Schumer remains unconcerned about the few protesters who are angry at Democratic leaders. I think the energys terrific. Do some of them throw some brickbats and things? Sure, it doesnt bother me, Schumer said in a recent interview.

How the liberal activists respond to early defeats may be the next sign of which direction the movement takes. Their demand that Schumer block Trumps Cabinet is impossible to satisfy, because a simple majority can confirm these picks. All Schumer can do is drag out the debate, which he has done to an unprecedented degree.

The stakes will be even higher for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch, whose lifetime appointment still requires a 60-vote supermajority to reach a final confirmation vote. A Trump victory on Gorsuch might deflate the liberal passion, and some think that was the main ingredient missing for Democrats in 2016.

We just didnt have the emotional connection, Pelosi told reporters in Baltimore. He had the emotional connection.

More:
A new, liberal tea party is forming. Can it last without turning against Democrats? - Washington Post

A new president blows into Washington, promising to forever change the status quo. He makes bold moves to fulfill those campaign promises. In response, large groups of citizens turn up in the streets and at congressional town halls to (loudly) voice their unhappiness and oppose the president's proposed policies.

In the summer of 2009 it was the tea party, which pretty much declared war on President Barack Obama's stimulus package and health care proposals.

In the winter of 2017 it's Indivisible, a group that's pretty much opposed to all things Trump.

It started out a couple of days after Thanksgiving, at a bar in Austin, Texas, as a conversation between a liberal husband and wife about what to do about Donald Trump. It's morphed into a nationwide movement, comprising 7,000 affiliated groups in all 50 states and almost every congressional district.

That husband and wife, former congressional staffers Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, were like a lot of Democrats after the 2016 presidential election -- shellshocked. Liberals wanted to fight back effectively but had no idea how.

"There was this overwhelming cry from different groups of people about not knowing what steps to take in order to fight," said Sarah Dohl, an Indivisible board member and former communications director for Democratic US Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas. "We thought we could help."

So Dohl, Greenberg, Levin and a few other people put together a guide of sorts for liberal activism in the age of Trump.

Dohl and Levin worked together in Doggett's office during 2009's tea party summer and witnessed firsthand how a loosely affiliated group of conservatives was able to band together to stymie Obama's agenda. So tea party strategies have been incorporated into Indivisible's guide.

"We believe that the way progressives can win is by emulating two of the tea party's tactics: local activism and defensive politics," said Dohl. "We can do what the tea party did in 2009. They effectively slowed federal policy making to a halt. That's not obstruction for the sake of obstruction, but to save our own progressive ideals."

The guide notes that the tea party activists took "on a popular president with a mandate for change and a supermajority in Congress. We saw them organize locally and convince their own (members of Congress) to reject President Obama's agenda."

Indivisible (Dohl said they wanted a phrase or name with a historical connotation) says it can do the same to President Trump, with what it sees as one key advantage.

"Trump is not popular. He does not have a mandate. He does not have large congressional majorities," the guide says. "If a small minority in the tea party could stop President Obama, then we the majority can stop a petty tyrant named Trump."

Indivisible's guide -- in a "poorly formatted, typo-filled Google Doc" -- was on the Internet by December, but it really took off in liberal corners of the Internet when progressive policy heavyweights like Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor during the Clinton administration, tweeted it out on social media.

Now the group has a little more structure. A more sophisticated website, which Dohl says has gotten about 10 million page views, has replaced the Google Doc. Indivisible became a nonprofit about three weeks ago.

About 100 volunteers around the country -- working remotely nights and weekends because Indivisible doesn't have an office -- do the grunt work of handling emails and social media, maintaining the website and providing congressional updates.

But Indivisible's board members -- Levin, Greenberg, Dohl, immigrant rights advocate Angel Padilla and union organizer Matt Traldi -- stress they're not trying to lead the anti-Trump movement.

"The last few weeks have made it abundantly clear that local groups are taking ownership of the resistance to Trump's agenda themselves," Indivisible says on its website. "You all are the leaders -- we're just here to help."

Indivisible started taking online donations about two weeks ago, but Dohl stresses that none of its money is coming from billionaire George Soros, whose name is often mentioned in conservative circles as backing all kinds of liberal causes.

"We haven't received any money from him," she said. "Those checks must have been lost in the mail."

Moving forward, Indivisible wants to do two things: make it easier for everyday citizens to advocate for the causes they believe in and help local groups implement Indivisible's online guide for "resisting the Trump agenda."

The guide goes on to list tactics the former congressional staffers say work when dealing with Congress: attending town halls, showing up at other public events where a member of Congress may appear (like a ribbon-cutting ceremony), visiting district offices and calling congressional offices.

That first tactic -- showing up at town halls -- was a popular one this week. Progressives and liberals, including some Indivisible-affiliated local groups, have been flooding GOP town halls and other meet-your-representative events, allowing them to publicly lambast the very people trying to roll back Obama's agenda.

But Democrats aren't safe from Indivisible's wrath, either. Just like the tea party tormented GOP members it felt weren't strong enough against Obama, Dohl says it's important for progressives "to stiffen the spine" of congressional Democrats.

Thursday night, two Republican members of Congress -- Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Diane Black of Tennessee -- were each confronted with impassioned constituents during simultaneous events. The shouted questions, emotional pleas and raucous protesters of the evening crystallized the GOP's tough political road.

In suburban Salt Lake City, local police estimated that some 1,000 people packed into a high school auditorium to see Chaffetz as hundreds more waited outside. For 75 minutes, the congressman confronted a crowd that fumed with resentment of Trump and accused Chaffetz of coddling the President.

They jeered and chanted "Do your job!" when Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, was pressed on why his panel spent months investigating Hillary Clinton's emails but has not yet launched inquiries into Trump's taxes (Trump has declined to release his tax returns).

Remember, this is Utah. States don't get any redder, and it's amazing to see that much anger bubble up from the Democratic base in a district where Chaffetz was just re-elected by a margin of 47 percentage points.

Black faced the same kind of anger that night in her "Ask Your Reps" event in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

This is what success looks like to Indivisible.

"Success to us is every delay," said Dohl. "Every time we can change the narrative. Success looks exactly like the Jason Chaffetz town hall (Thursday) night."

CNN's MJ Lee and Eric Bradner contributed to this report.

Read more:
What is Indivisible? Political group hopes to be flip side of tea party - CNN