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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL GREETED BY PROTESTERSWoman confronts Sen. Mitch McConnell about welfare and coal jobs in Lawrenceburg | 0:56

A woman confronted Sen. Mitch McConnell about too many Kentuckians having to rely on welfare while accepting that coal jobs are dwindling due to mechanization. Sam Upshaw Jr./CJ

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Several hundred protesters gathered outside the American Legion Post in Lawrenceburg to rally against Sen. Mitch McConnell. Sam Upshaw Jr./CJ

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Several hundred protesters rallied outside of Sen. Mitch McConnell speech in Lawrenceburg.

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Woman confronts Sen. Mitch McConnell about welfare and coal jobs in Lawrenceburg

Several hundred protesters rally against Sen. Mitch McConnell in Lawrenceburg

Protesters rally outside of Sen. Mitch McConnell speech in Lawrenceburg

Jody Lambert of Georgetown, Ky. uses a megaphone to chant "Ditch Mitch" and other anti-McConnell sentiments outside the Louisville Marriott East with around 500 protestors Wednesday. McConnell spoke at the Jeffersontown Chamber of Commerce luncheon.(Photo: Matt Stone/The C-J)Buy Photo

When Victoria Keith came home to Kentucky a decade ago, she didnt expect to be leading a self-described resistancemovement against the president of the United States.

But the 72-year-old former documentary filmmaker, who lives on her family's farm a few milesoutside Hopkinsville in the western part of the state, said she is horrified byPresident Donald Trumps agenda.

"Its hard just to sit back and listen to all of this and not want to at least begin speaking up, Keith said.

Much like the conservative tea party groups that sprung up in the aftermath of President Barack Obama's election in 2008, citizens who see themselves as liberals,progressives or libertarian-leaning have organized to oppose Trump's policies.Many have used an online document called the Indivisible Guide" produced by a group of former Democratic congressional staffers as a blueprint.

The guide has reportedly spawned about 7,000 groups nationwide, and the main website shows Indivisible chapters oraffiliated groupsin all 50 states.

According to the website of Indivisible Kentucky, which is what the Louisville chapter calls itself, there are roughlya dozen groups in the commonwealth, with representationin all six congressional districts. There are more than four dozen in Indiana.

The 26-page guide, which has been downloaded more than 1 million times, "has made it easy to get going, said Keith, who joined with more than a dozen neighbors to form Pennyroyal Indivisible Kentucky named after an indigenous plant in the region.Its not just completely left up to you, theres a lot of support and help from this network of people.

Indivisible Kentucky was founded by Kim Hibbard and the Rev. Dawn Cooley after the 2016 election results left many in the community feeling angry. 2/22/17(Photo: Marty Pearl/Special to The C-J)

The Louisville chapterwasfounded in Januaryby the Rev. Dawn Cooley and Kim Hibbard, a computer systems administrator, before Trump even took office. It has since protested outside the offices of Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, drawing 300 people to McConnell's office in one demonstration.

It also encouragesmembers to get involved in other events,includingMayor Greg Fischer's pro-immigration event last month that attracted roughly 5,000 people outside the Muhammad Ali Center downtown.

Cooley, a Unitarian Universalist minister, and Hibbard met online just as the latter registered the group's website."I reached out to her and said, 'I've got people, and you've got tech,' and about a month ago she and I met and decided to work together and Indivisible Kentucky was created, Cooley said.

McConnelllikened the movement's rise toa tantrum thrown by liberals upset overTrump's victory. He said the protesters "did not like the result of the election,"during a speech in Lawrenceburg, Ky., where he was met with about 1,000demonstrators.

Scott Lasley, a political science professor at Western Kentucky University, said: "It was a pretty hard-fought, bitter election, and part of what you're seeing is a result they (the protesters) did not see coming. ... I wouldn't use the word 'sore losers,' I'd usethe word 'surprised losers.' "

Others have accused liberal megadonors, such as investor George Soros, of bankrolling the demonstrations. Sean Spicer, Trump'sWhite House press secretary,said during an interview on Fox News recently that unlike the conservative opposition to Obama, the anti-Trump protests are an"Astroturf-type movement" made up ofwell-paid activists.

"I mean, protesting has become a profession now," Spicer said. "They have every right to do that, dont get me wrong. But I think we need to call it what it is. Its not these organic uprisings that we have seen over the last several decades."

Hibbardsaid hergroup hasn't received anyoutside fundingand is made up of volunteers. The group sets up a donation box at meetings, she said.

"This is a strictly organic group of people that are willing to give money out of our own pockets to maintain our common goal," Hibbard said. "We are the constituents of Kentucky.We have a voice, and we will be heard."

Cooley attributes the movement'srise to people of different backgroundsfeeling threatened by Trump's action, such ascontroversial restrictions on the travelof immigrants from seven largely Muslim countries. She said the group has heard from immigrantrights groups and others who are forming a coalition and have participated in their demonstrations.

The Indivisible manual borrows from the tea party's early tactics that empowered grassroots conservatives who opposed Obamas $830 billion stimulus package and health care overhaul.The tea party movement'sinfluence was felt in the 2010 elections, when it propelled Republicans to take control of the U.S. House and helped secure Paul's Senate victory, among others.

Cooley said she wouldn't be surprised if members began to consider running for elected office in the near future but that it isn't part of their current strategy. She also isn't sure if those candidates would challenge local and state Democrats in primary elections, as Paul did,or work more closely with the party.

"One of the strengths of Indivisible right now is our very laser focus," Cooley said. "We're focused on stopping Trump's agenda through direct action and lobbying our own representatives."

Lasley said he doubts whether any liberal-leaning movementcan pry Kentucky from conservative hands, especially in rural areas. "Republicans are going to be in pretty good position for the next 30 to 40 years," he said.

Trumpwon Kentucky by 30 percentage points in November, and by even larger margins in large swaths of the state where many are hoping hecan make good on promises such as reviving the coal industry. One of Trump's first moves in office was a measure to end an Obama regulation protecting waterways from coal mining waste thatindustry leaders had said would lead to job losses.

Protesters greet Sen. Mitch McConnell with heated questions

Sen. Mitch McConnell hears it from protesters -- this time in Louisville

Against that backdrop, Hibbard said Indivisible Kentucky isencouragingmembers to get involved with anydemonstration that aligns with their beliefs. The Indivisible guide advisesconstituents to attend town hall meetingsand other public events where members of Congress appear, swarm district offices and clog congressional phone lines.In Utah,Indivisible-affiliated groups made news last month when about 1,000 demonstrators shouted questions at Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz during a town hall meeting.

In Louisville, Cooley and Hibbard said they planto continueprotesting outside McConnell's office every Tuesday for the first 100 days of Trump'spresidency. They call the protests "Trump Tuesdays."

Indivisible Kentucky memberstried toconfrontMcConnell when he arrived atLouisville's airport on Feb. 10 to no avail. Later, a larger group protestedoutside the Senate majority leader's Louisville houseover the nomination ofJeff Sessions asattorney general.The grouphas a "hunt for Mitch" section that alerts chapters across the state on his scheduled whereabouts.

Other chapters are planning to flood congressional offices with letters and postcardsand are looking for opportunities to rattle members of Congress anytime they return from Washington.

Deborah Hankins, a retired schoolteacher who founded Ashland KentuckyIndivisible, said her group ofabout 40 members want a town hall meeting with Congressman Thomas Massie. She said the congressman's district office said he wouldn't be backduring Congress' recess last week but that she saw a picture of Massie in Henry County, which is in thedistrict.

"I think he's forgotten there's an election coming up that he's going to participate in and thinksthat this movement isgoing away, and he doesn't have an answer that we'll accept," she said.

Massie spokesman Lorenz Isidro said last summer the congressman hosted nearly two-dozen events across Kentuckys 4th congressional district, which stretches from Louisville's eastern suburbs to Ashland.

"He plans to continue this unprecedented level of public accessibility and interaction both through public forums and on social media," Lorenz said."Constituents are encouraged to follow his Congressional Facebook page to receive notices of upcoming public events."

Asked about the rising protests, McConnell spokesman Robert Steurersaid his boss believes that the U.S. Constitution affords all citizens the right to peacefully assemble. "As Senator McConnell has said, 'Going back to the beginning of this country we've had a pretty open ability to complain about whatever you want to and it's about as American as apple pie.' People are free to express themselves," he said.

On Tuesday in Lawrenceburg, McConnell said he was "proud" of the protesters.

While exercising that right, Indivisible Kentuckyleaders stressed that members must avoid embracing anger. Many who carried signs at the McConnell protest in Lawrenceburg, for instance, held signs calling the senator a coward and comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler.

"We don't want to become our enemy," Cooley said. "... We've got righteous anger, but righteous anger is not the same as vitriol, as hate speech and so I don't want to get into thatwhich is against our values."

Hankins said the angeris already beginning to wane in her part of the state, and that it's important for progressive-minded voters and people who live in rural America to listen and persuade Trump voters who are their neighbors.

"We have to point out to people they need to vote in their own self-interests, which has puzzled liberals for years," she said. "And I don't think lecturing from the outside is going to do it, we need to learn how to speak to people."

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.com.

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Anti-Trump movement may be spawning liberals' answer to the tea party - The Courier-Journal

In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 photo, people react as U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz speaks during a town hall meeting at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Some attendees of the contentious town hall hosted by Chaffetz have sent the congressman fake invoices after he claimed some people there were paid protesters. Rick BowmerAP

Ideas

Ferguson was Deputy National Press Secretary and Senior Spokesperson for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign for President.

On August 25, 2009, Democratic Congressman Bart Gordon held a town hall meeting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A local news report called it a discussion about the nation's health care that led to loud boos and heckling from the crowd. On February 9, 2017, Republican Congresswoman Diane Black elected to Gordons seat in the fall of 2010 held a town hall meeting in the same city. A local news report headline proclaimed, Diane Black, GOP lawmakers faced defenders of Obamacare at lively town hall . Sounds similar, right?

The zeitgeist is quickly setting in: Republicans right now face a backlash akin to what Democrats faced from the Tea Party in 2009 and 2010. Some have gone so far as to call this resistance the Democratic Tea Party. Its a convenient comparison: Democrats like it because the Republican Tea Party was successful in 2010, and the media appreciates it as a simple and straightforward story. I've been guilty of leaning on it myself.

But the Democratic resistance and the Tea Party actually differ in a number of important ways, each of which tells a different story about where our country is and where our politics may be headed.

For starters, the Tea Party was forged as an opposition to a societal reality in our country, while todays resistance is opposed to a political reality. The Tea Party began before the election of President Obama, as a reaction to President Bush and the bank bailouts of 2008. Tea Partiers believed that society and the economy had all left them behind. The movements anger was stoked by the realization that the country had changed to the extent that it would elect someone like Barack Obama and support his liberal policies like the Economic Recovery Act (the so-called stimulus) and the Affordable Care Act (scornfully dubbed Obamacare). These members wanted the entire country to revert to a set of values that more closely resembled what they saw on Leave It to Beaver .

On the other hand, the current resistance isn't based on a belief that our country has gone astray from some former golden age. It's a political backlash, borne out of Donald Trumps policies and his presidency. Its participants arent rejecting the social structures of American society. They are embracing and defending our evolving structures of diversity and inclusiveness. The people stepping forward to resist the Trump Administration are standing against an Administration that doesnt respect the core values that this nation holds: that we are all equal and that we can all achieve our own dreams.

Second, these movements were forged in entirely different political situations. Members of the Tea Party believed they had been marginalized and had to fight back against this new oppression. They represented a minority, losing the 2008 elections by almost 200 electoral votes and 10 million people, while Democrats gained a more significant majority in the House and a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate. Headlines announced a permanent progressive majority. The Tea Party disapproved of their country going in this new direction, which bred their movements anger.

Todays resistance is almost the complete opposite. While Trump is indeed president winning the Electoral College by approximately 75 votes he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million. While Republicans maintained their control of the House and the Senate, they lost seats in both. The current resistance isnt reacting to its lost status as the majority in American politics, as the Tea Party was. It is speaking out for the majority of Americans who feel inadequately represented in Washington. This resistance is giving political voice to those the political system has deprived of a voice. They are speaking for the silenced majority.

The third major difference is in how these movements act. There are certainly some tactical similarities both use rallies and town hall meetings to attract attention to their causes but the undercurrents are very different. The Tea Party was truly a movement of anger at the system, at the country and at the movements members declining station in life. This best manifested in their slogan, from the American Revolutions Gadsen flag, Dont Tread on Me demanding that people and government just leave them alone to their familiar ways.

While todays resistance certainly has some anger, the basic emotions fueling it are alarm and fear. We are alarmed by what the current political system, and its leadership, will do to us, our friends and our country. We are fearful that our family and neighbors might be barred from entering the U.S. by a Muslim ban or might lose their access to health care if the Affordable Care Act is recklessly repealed. We are worried that the political system now serves corporate interests and the Presidents far-flung (but undisclosed) business interests, not the interests of the people or their nation. We are alarmed that people we know and love wont be treated equally or fairly under the new Administration. The Tea Party consisted of people angry about their own perceived situation; the resistance is people alarmed and fearful about what might happen to others.

The best distinction between the two movements, though, is the one that is most important to our President: crowd size. The largest Tea Party rallies reported were between 150,000 and 250,000 people, depending on the source. The Womens March last month irrefutably included over 4 million people nationwide a 16-fold difference. Washington, D.C., alone likely doubled the largest Tea Party totals.

While it would be easy and convenient to pronounce that 2017 is merely 2009 redux, the simplicity of that comparison belies the underlying and important reality. The Tea Party sought to fix our country and align it with Tea Party politics; the democratic resistance seeks to fix our politics and align them with our countrys values. The movements may share some tactics, but the spirit that drives them are, and the consequences of them will be, very different.

Ferguson was Deputy National Press Secretary and Senior Spokesperson for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign for President; before, he was Executive Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Independent Expenditure.

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The Resistance Is the Majority of Americans Not a New Tea Party - TIME

Three times every day, now and for the foreseeable future, Brina Bujkovsky is placingcalls to Washington D.C. one to her representative in Congress and one to each of her U.S. senators.

So do thousands of other members of Together We Will, one of a number of activist groups that sprouted up in recent weeks to target President Donald Trump and representatives who support him.

The phone calls, which have overwhelmed switchboard operators at the House of Representatives more than once, are one of the tools activists are using to try to regain a foothold in turbulent political times.

They are demanding town-hall meetings, they picket outside congressional offices and they write letters to editors. Their efforts bring to mind many of the same tactics used by the conservative tea party eight years ago.

In recent days, they bought a full-page newspaper ad to try to dragoon Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, to a town hall in his district Tuesday night even though it was likely to be packed with critics.

Instead, Issa made an impromptu appearance as protesters and supporters clashed outside his Vista office Tuesday morning, taking questions from both sides.

The call for town halls has also arisen in East County, where thegroup circulated a mock wanted poster of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, accusing him of going AWOL onconstituents.

Were trying to shed light on the fact that our Congress members are not making themselves available to speak with their constituents, said Bujkovsky, a San Marcos business owner who is coordinating Together We Wills activities in Hunters 50th Congressional District. A lot of people feel like its an emergency situation.

Hunter has said he will host a community meeting next month.

The wave of activism washing across San Diego County and elsewhere largely centers on the Trump campaign pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 legislation known as Obamacare.

The resistance movement also focuses on other initiatives pushed by the new president since he was sworn in last month, including immigration policy, climate change regulations and controversial Cabinet nominations.

Many of their strategies come from Indivisible, a playbook for political activism developed by former congressional staffers who watched the tea party movement take root soon after Barack Obama moved into the White House.

The current political landscape is similar to the atmosphere that ignited the tea party after the 2008 election. Eight years ago there was a Democrat in the White House and Democrats running the House and Senate. There is still one party rule, but Republicans are the ones in charge this time.

Like us, you probably deeply disagree with the principles and positions of the tea party, Indivisibles handbook for grassroots activism says. But we can all learn from their success in influencing the national debate and the behavior of national policymakers. To their credit, they thought thoroughly about advocacy tactics.

The handbook gives activists advice on where to sit at town hall meetings (spread out through the room to give the impression of broad support),how to hold a microphone when asking a hostile question (tightly, so that a staffer cant cut the interrogation short without appearing physically aggressive) and to how to get called on to ask a question (look neutral).

Both movements developed their own vernacular, with tea party members labeling Obama a socialist and Trump supporters being called fascists.

The Indivisible guide, which takes its name from a key word in the Pledge of Allegiance, has been downloaded more than 1.7 million times in recent weeks. Almost 5,000 community groups have been set up under its direction.

We want to take something thats really dark right now, with a lot of looming threats all over the place, and turn it into some positive progress, said Kathy Stadler of Indivisible San Diego, one of the local chapters that emerged from the nationwide model.

Iman Salehian is a graphic designer from San Diego who works with Swing Left, an organization focused on electing more progressive candidates to Congress in 2018 and beyond. She said she became involved with Indivisible after attending the Womens March in January.

I did read an Indivisible guide, Salehian said. I think that has formed a lot of people's strategies going forward.

The various resistance efforts are generating a lot of attention locally and nationally, which may contribute to outcomes such as Issa coming out to hear the people outside his office Tuesday for more than an hour.

No matter what side of the political spectrum youre on, people are worried about what the future holds for their health care, Issa told the crowd.

The hubbub outside Issas office was part of a broader effort targeting members of Congress across the nation.

So-called Resist Trump Tuesday protests have been staged in scores of communities every week since the inauguration. Some meetings hosted by Republican members of Congress have showcased angry voters and pushed some lawmakers to cancel or leave early.

Longtime political strategist Bob Shrum said he has not seen the Democratic Party so energized since the Vietnam War. He said that if the momentum keeps up, turnout for the midterm election will soar.

People really care, and they are reacting to events, said Shrum, who teaches political science at the University of Southern California. Republican members of Congress, especially in districts that are reasonably competitive, ignore this at their own peril.

Shrum said the Trump resistance is similar to the tea party not only because participants employ many of the same strategies but because they each grew out of public concern over access to health care. But this latest movement, he said, is more organic.

This is spontaneous, he said. Its like the womens march. This is coming from grass roots. Its coming from the bottom up. The tea party was a mix. It was somewhat from the bottom up but there was a lot corporate money spent too.

Former tea party leader Mason Weaver does not see many similarities between the two efforts. He said the Trump resistance is fueled by an orchestrated drive to de-legitimize a change-agent president and noted the violence that has erupted at some recent protests.

We didnt get paid to demonstrate. We didnt break windows. We didnt start fires, said Weaver, who is an author and keynote speaker. I dont see a groundswell. I see liberal-trained people who are generally dissatisfied.

Weaver said the town-hall meetings his teams attended were always respectful.

Disallowing people to talk was never part of the tea party, he said. Many of these folks are just organized as a mob.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend upcoming events by Hunter and Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego.

And Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, held a town hall at constituents urging on Monday night. He said it used to be difficult to get people interested in attending such gatherings.

Unfortunately, it took the election of Donald Trump to remind people that we are fighting for democracy, Peters said.

At the town hall without Issa Tuesday night,Vista resident Minna Riber, 75, said she has not been political since the civil rights movement in the 1960s but she is now.

If I drop dead right now, I know I would have done something I had to do, she said standing outside theoverflow event in Vista. We are a participatory democracy. This is what democracy looks like.

Staff writers Teri Figueroa and J. Harry Jones contributed to this report

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com(619)293-1708@sdutMcDonald

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Resistance to Trump takes some cues from the tea party - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Fran Foster, The Newsweekly 12:03 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2017

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Food items were all princess-themed, as well, including these Cinderella pumpkins and red licorice representing Meridas hair from "Brave."(Photo: FRAN FOSTER/THE NEWSWEEKLY)

Ladies dressed in gowns, tiaras and jewels partook of the regal tradition of the afternoon tea at the City of Vero Beach Recreation Departments 14th annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party at the Vero Beach Community Center on Feb. 11.

In addition to tea cups and dainty morsels, the event was an afternoon filled with crafts, dancing, food and tea, games and prizes. Both mothers and daughters were encouraged to dress as their favorite princess character or in formal tea party attire. They posed for many pictures in the photo booth to capture the moment.

The best part about putting on such a big event like the Mother-Daughter Tea Party is seeing all of the smiles from the little girls and their parents, and knowing that you were the reason behind that smile, said Angela Holshouser, City of Vero Beach recreation supervisor.

The 104 participants had a wonderful time and the memories of dancing with princesses, taking funny photos in the photo booth and winning prizes are priceless.

A special thank you went to Tea and Chi, which sponsored all of the teas for the events as well as volunteers, such as Liz Hancock, who supplied cupcakes. Hancock has been part of the event for nearly 15 years and says she loves being involved.

Other volunteers entertained guests by dressing up as princesses and leading activities.

The best part of the afternoon had to be the presence of multiple generations of ladies great-grandmothers and aunts, as well as first-time mothers embracing their little princesses and their own princesses within.

I would not change a thing, Holshouser said. The hard work definitely pays off. I cannot wait until next year to do it all over again.

For more information, please contact Holshouser at772-770-3775 or visit the recreation page at http://www.covb.org.

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A tea party for the generations - TCPalm

The protests began immediately upon the election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency. Stunned by an election defeat they did not see coming; the far reaches of the Left reacted by taking to the streets in a brat fit seldom seen in American politics.

The temper tantrum has not subsided.

In the weeks and months since the 2016 presidential election celebrities have vented on award shows, the aggrieved (even those who dont know why they are aggrieved) have taken to the streets, to airports and even to the gates of President Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort. Lacking any discernible set of principles let alone a strategy for implementing them, it seems the only tactic remaining is for powerless Left wingers to complain and to do so loudly.

The pending repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act which turned out to be not so affordable has sent protesters scurrying to town hall meetings held by various Republican members of congress. This has given rise to comparisons to the grassroots TEA party movement that gained considerable influence early in the Obama presidency.

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But this is not your fathers TEA party. The differences between the TEA party movement of the Right and what we see happening today transcend mere ideology. The TEA party movement is reviled by the Left precisely because it occupies that sweet spot in American politics that brings together conservatives and much of the center. Its goals are clear; its principles are strongly rooted in the nations history and culture; and at its core it presents an optimistic vision for the future.

The effectiveness of the TEA party scared the bejesus out of the Obama Administration to the point it began using government power, namely the Internal Revenue Service, to hinder and harass development of the movement. Efforts at countering the TEA party surge with a hapless group loosely known as the Occupy movement ended up being nothing more than an opportunity for frustrated campers to spend a few weeks in public parks.

The week after the Presidential inauguration and the so-called womens march protests that followed I was in Washington, D.C. As I sat at a downtown restaurant awaiting a breakfast meeting I struck up a conversation with the server and commented that the previous week must have been exciting. The expression on his face changed to one of anger as he recounted how protesters had smashed out the windows of the restaurant causing it to have to close for a day. For him that meant a day of lost wages.

This illustrates a key difference between the TEA party movement and what is happening today on the American Left. TEA partiers did not vandalize buildings and set fire to cars. Protesters opposed to the Dakota Access pipeline, apparently lacking in employment, spent weeks in an encampment. When they left litter and debris was strewn across acres of formerly pristine land. TEA party activists are respectful of public places, value private property and channeled their anger into policy reform.

And the TEA party movement is about free speech and helping average Americans make their voices heard in the halls of government. The current blob of Left wing protesters seeks to stifle free speech. They have kept conservatives from speaking at college campuses and even blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from entering a public school. This is a favorite tactic of the Left: when you cant win the argument, prevent the other side from arguing.

Then there are the optics. When the TEA party rallies you see American and Gadsden flags, not women parading about town wearing hats replicating their private parts. Americans in the persuadable middle of the political spectrum are not going to be swayed on policy matters by violence and pornographic headwear. If a rally or protest looks like a Barnum & Bailey sideshow, then it wont be taken seriously by average Americans who are looking only for family sustaining jobs for themselves and better educational opportunities for their children.

No, the endless protests are not going to morph into a TEA party of the Left. Rather what you have is a pity party thrown by a group of people with nothing to offer but footage to fill the screens of the mainstream news media.

Lowman S. Henry is chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His email address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org

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LOWMAN S. HENRY: Democrats forming a pity party, not a TEA Party - The Mercury