Illustratie YieldMedia.org voor The Nation Institute. Klik om uit te vergroten.
Dit is een must read achtergrondverhaal. De Tea Party is evident het extreemrechtse antwoord op de succesvolle campagnestrategie waarmee Obama tot ontzetting van corporate America president wist te worden. Nu echter zit er kolossaal veel meer geld en mediamacht achter en zijn de zogenaamde grass roots gezaaid door grootindustriëlen die uit zijn op het afbreken van elke vorm van overheidstoezicht (regulering) en alle collectieve voorzieningen:
Tea Party, Inc.: The Big Money and Powerful Elites Behind the Right-Wing's Latest Uprising
Door Adele M. Stan, AlterNet / The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, 24 october 2010
The Tea Parties are billed as a people's movement. But they wouldn't exist without the help of deep-pocketed billionaires.
(...) Taken together, Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks (another far-right political group seeded by the Kochs) and Murdoch's News Corp, owner of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, form the corporate headquarters of a conglomerate one might call Tea Party, Inc. This is the syndicate that funds the organizing, crafts the messages, and channels the rage of conservative Americans at their falling fortunes into an oppositional force to President Obama and to any government solution to the current economic calamity.
Groups such as Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation, and the FreedomWorks-affiliated Tea Party Patriots; the bevy of political consultants for hire; and various allied elected officials can be understood as Tea Party, Inc.'s loosely affiliated subsidiaries. The Web sites of FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party side projects of Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck are linked with those of Tea Party Express and Tea Party Patriots, all of which in turn solicit support for Tea Party candidates.
(...) For more of AlterNet's reporting on the Tea Party movement, check out our new anthology, Dangerous Brew: Exposing the Tea Party's Agenda to Take Over America, edited by Don Hazen and Adele M. Stan.
Zie ook:
Covert Operations; The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama
Door Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, augstus 2010
Documentaire: 'Astroturf Wars; How Corporate America Is Faking A Grassroots Revolution'
www.astroturfwars.com
The Gloves are Off: The Tea Bag Party is ProtoFascist
Daily Kos, 15 september 2010
Tentherism: The Bizarre Ideology Behind Tea Partiers' Plans to Kill Social Security and Child Labor Laws
The Progress Report, 24 oktober 2010
Tentherism is an anachronistic Constitutional theory embraced by a slate of GOP candidates bent on dismantling 100 years of progress. [Zie in dit verband ook mijn blognotitie: Rechtse ideoloog Ayn Rand bewonderde seriemoordenaar; K]
The Tea Party movement: deluded and inspired by billionaires
George Monbiot, The Guardian, 25 oktober 2010
The Supreme Court Sold Out Our Democracy - A Corporate Coup 125 Years in the Making
Door Joshua Holland, Alternet, 25 oktober 2010
Historian Thom Hartmann discusses the history of corruption that led up to the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
Pollutocrat David Koch refuses to answer questions about Citizens United secret right-wing meetings
ThinkProgress / ClimateProgress, 12 januari 2011
New Yorker exposes Koch brothers along with their greenwashing and whitewashing Smithsonian exhibit
Door Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 24 augustus 2010
(...) the New Yorker published a devastating investigative piece by Jane Mayer that exposes the Koch family’s efforts to put together the Tea Party movement and much of the modern right-wing infrastructure. '
Tea Party Misses Target
DanBecker en James Gerstenzang, Times Dispatch, 22 oktober 2010
Maar de Washington Post concludeert na een 'months-long effort [...] to contact every tea party group in the nation' dat 'the breadth of the tea party may be inflated' en dat de organisatie als los zand aan elkaar hangt, bottom up gaande gehouden door gewone burgers.
Het laatste is in strijd met deze bevindingen van Don Hazen and Adele M. Stan:
Huffington Post political columnist Sam Stein cited a Democratic strategist who said that by the midterms' close, Americans for Prosperity will have spent $45 million on organizing "voter education" and get-out-the-vote activities that test the limits of legal nonprofit expenditures. Actually, Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips told me his plan was to raise and spend even more, though he wouldn't name a figure.'
'Both groups [FreedomWorks en Americans for Prosperity] excel at training activists and spreading the word for Tea Party candidates, who have raked in a significant portion of their campaign donations from small donors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
De Washington Post presteert het de link tussen de Koch-miljardairs en de Tea Party - via clubs als FreedomWorks en Americans for Prosperity - buiten beeld te laten. Alsmede de prominente rol - niet verslaggevend of zoals de WP betreffende Glenn Beck schrijft 'representing', maar de beweging virulent groot makend en richting gevend - van Rupert Murdochs Fox News, met Beck als de belangrijkste demagoog.
Dat de WP de Tea Party klakkeloos als 'grass roots' neerzet, getuigt van een levensgrote blinde vlek, dan wel politieke bias: voor de kritische beschouwer is het inmiddels een uitgemaakte zaak dat de Tea Party een 'astroturf'-beweging is (Astroturf is een bekend Amerikaans merk kunstgras, de naam is in zwang geraakt in de betekenis van 'nep-grass roots').
Natuurlijk, de voedingsbodem van onvrede en woede is niet kunstmatig (integendeel: die is concreet over de mensen uitgestort door dezelfde elites die een en ander nu politiek exploiteren); de agenda van de erop geënte Tea Party is echter niet bottom up, maar top down tot stand gebracht[#].
Later toegevoegd:
Study Confirms Tea Party Was Created by Big Tobacco and Pollutocrat Kochs
Door Brendan DeMille, DeSmogBlog / Climate Progress, 11 februari 2013
[#] How the Tea Party's Noxious Legacy Will Haunt Us for Years
Door Will Bunch, Media Matters for America / Alternet, 29 september 2011
The chaos unleashed by Fox and friends on the American political system during those two years of the Obama backlash is going to be with us for a long, long time.
Pollutocrat Koch fueling far right academic centers at universities nationwide
Door Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 16 mei 2011
FSU Accepts Funds From Charles Koch In Return For Control Over Its Academic Freedom
Door Travis Waldron, ThinkProgress, 10 mei 2011
Charles Koch, the billionaire libertarian who has funded front-groups and lobbying efforts to expand his anti-tax, anti-regulatory agenda under the guise of “free enterprise,” has now widened his reach into another key public policy area: academics. The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation entered into an agreement with Florida State University in 2008 in which the foundation would provide millions of dollars in funds for the school’s economics department.
Boehner Shares Stage With David Koch At Wall Street Club
Door Alex Seitz-Wald, ThinkProgress, 10 mei 2011
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) went to the heart of Wall Street last night to deliver a major speech on the deficit at the Economic Club of New York. The stage on which Boehner spoke featured a who’s who of financial moguls, including conservative billionaire David Koch, co-owner — along with his brother Charles –of the oil conglomerate Koch Industries, and a major funder of right-wing advocacy and tea party groups.
Tom Engelhardt vindt de uitkomsten van het onderzoek door de Washington Post (zie hierboven) interessant en geloofwaardig. Volgens hem is het punt, dat de op zichzelf niet erg grote Tea Party: 1. door de media wordt opgeblazen tot een kolossale volksopstand (wat het volgens Engelhardt niet is) en 2. vervolgens wordt misbruikt doordat er 'Tea Party-kandidaten' naar voren worden geschoven en gefinancierd door de rijke elite - kandidaten die dankzij de vertekening in de media het (onterechte) imago krijgen dat ze heel veel mensen vertegenwoordigen. De overwinning van Harry Reid in Nevada op Sharon Angle, geeft steun aan Engelhardts visie. Anderzijds lijkt die strijdig met de uitkomst van een peiling van de huidige omvang van het volgens Sara Robinson altijd al aanwezige latente min of meer extreemrechtse electoraat - tot voor kort volgens haar meestal geschat op ruim 10 procent van de kiezers - door The Wallstreet Journal: een van de drie mensen die zei op 2 november te gaan stemmen noemde zich een Tea Party-supporter[*]. Of wellicht toch weer niet strijdig: gezien het woord supporter, dat - TWJ is van Rupert Murdoch - geheel conform Engelhardts analyse een bewust en slim gekozen woord in de vraagstelling zou kunnen zijn, om de Tea Party veel groter te laten lijken dan hij qua 'ledenaantal' is! Maar dan wordt het op een gegeven moment bijna een semantische kwestie, want als echt 35 procent van de mensen de Tea Party-ideologie steunt, kan Engelhardt, met de Washington Post, dan volhouden dat de Tea Party 'eigenlijk' maar klein is?
Met andere woorden: een beweging kan veel groter en beslissender zijn dan je zou kunnen denken op grond van het aantal actieve leden, omdat het aantal supporters daarvan een veelvoud is. Dit is wellicht de belangrijkste 'misrekening' in het onderzoek van de Washington Post.
Een ander belangrijk punt van Engelhardt is dat de media vanwege de gigantische inkomsten uit verkiezingsspotjes er een groot belang bij hebben de verkiezingen en alles eromheen, zoals de Tea Party, te hypen. Ook licht Engelhardt met cijfers toe dat de afgelopen tien, twintig jaar de elites zich ongehoord hebben verrijkt ten koste van de gewone man en dus zat geld in kas hebben om de politiek en de media naar hun hand te zetten. Zie Engelhardts verhaal:
[*] De (rechtse) correspondent Diederik van Hoogstraten (Elsevier en de Volkskrant) meldt in dit artikel vlak na de midterm-verkiezingen, op grond van exitpolls dat 40 procent van de kiezers sympathie voor de Tea Party zou hebben. Volgens deze exit poll was het nog sterker: 'Supporters of the fledgling conservative tea party movement supplied about 2 of every 3 Republican votes while women, independents, suburbanites and white Catholics fled toward Republican House candidates, according to a national exit poll of voters.'
Ballot Box Blues: The Most Dispiriting Election of a Lifetime
Door Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com, 2 november 2010
The fake populism from those pushing the anti-science disinformation of the plutocrats and pollutocrats
Door Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 1 november 2010
Will the Tea Party Take the Senate?
Door Adele M. Stan, Alternet, 2 november 2010
The Republicans may not win the Senate, but the Tea Party could take it hostage, thanks to millions of unaccountable dollars, post-Citizens United.
A Compendium of the Corrupt Politicians and Corporate Campaign Cash Flooding This Election
Alternet, 26 oktober 2010
A round-up of the key articles AlterNet has run on the slimy goings on in our elections process.
Toevoeging maart 2011:
The tentacles of the Kochtopus: What you need to know about the financiers of the Radical Right
Door Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 4 april 2011
(...) Charles and David Koch would prefer to keep their influence behind the scenes but recent reporting by the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s Think Progress and a variety of media and advocacy organizations shed light on the enormous breadth and reach of their network.
(...) Here is a brief summary of the report’s findings:
- The Koch brothers, whose wealth, when combined, is the fourth highest in the nation, run one of the largest private companies in the country. Koch Industries is involved in industries ranging from oil and gas, refining and chemicals, minerals, fertilizers, forestry, consumer products, polymers and fibers, and ranching. They have operations in 45 states.
- The Koch brothers use their considerable wealth to bankroll the right wing, including the Tea Party. This serves the purpose of furthering not only their right-wing ideology but also their bottom line. Koch Industries has a lot to gain from gutting government oversight and electing candidates who oppose government regulation, especially in the oil-and-gas industry.
- Chances are the Koch brothers are part of any recent right-wing attack as of late as they have fought health reform, Wall Street reform, collective bargaining rights, and efforts to curb climate change, to name just a few.
- We have identified at least $85 million the Koch brothers have given to at least 85 right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups over the past decade and a half.
- Their main advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity, has chapters in 32 states and spent $45 million in the last election, predominantly to help elect Republicans.
- The Kochs donated directly to 62 of the 87 members of the House GOP freshman class.
- The Koch brothers are active at the state level, spending $5.2 million on candidates and ballot measures in 34 states since 2003. They donated directly to 13 governors that won election last year.
- The Kochs are not going away. In fact, they have already pledged to raise $88 million for the 2012 election and have started scheduling events for potential Republican presidential candidates.
6 Reasons the Tea Party Is More Dangerous Than McCarthyism
Door Abbt Scher, Truthout / Alternet, 4 augustus 2011
The Tea Party rebellion brings together six major political and economic trends of the last 20 years that are distinct from the anticommunism powering the McCarthy age.
Toevoeging maart 2012:
Kochs, Lies, and Videotape
Door Robert Greenwald, 31 maart 2012
This week as I premiered my new film, Koch Brothers Exposed — the result of a year-long investigation on how two billionaires are using their wealth to corrupt democracy — Koch Industries has launched an attack on the film and me. The Kochs intimidate, they menace; they have a letter from their lawyer borderline threatening the media if it reports what’s in the film — and they always try to change the subject so their behavior can stay in the shadows: not only are they unwilling to accept my offer of a debate or interview, they also refuse to testify about their interest in the Keystone XL pipeline and may have to be dragged kicking and screaming into revealing their secret contributions to groups doing election work. This time, the Kochs are using a technique I point out in the film: attacking to avoid dealing with the facts. They are dodging and distorting the truth to avoid confronting our findings on cancer, voting rights, civil rights, and more.
Toevoeging december 2015
Koch Footprints Lead to Secret Slush Fund to Keep Fear Alive
Door Pam Martens, Wall Street On Parade, 26 oktober 2010
A secretive libertarian nonprofit with ties to Charles Koch bankrolled what was widely perceived to be a fear mongering effort to throw the Presidential election to Senator John McCain in 2008. Until now, where the money came from has been a hotly debated mystery.
Seven weeks before the Presidential election of 2008, approximately 100 newspapers and magazines in the U.S., including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, and St. Petersburg Times, distributed millions of DVDs of the documentary, “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.” Altogether, including a separate direct mail campaign, 28 million DVDs flooded households in the swing voter states.
En m'n blognotities:
Exitpolls VS: veel sympathisanten met Tea Party
Video-bewijs: miljardair-vervuiler David Koch trekt aan de touwtjes van Tea Party-extremisten
Fascistisch Amerika: komende verkiezingen weer een stap in die richting?
Extreemrechts in Amerika ruikt kansen
Glenn Beck's propaganda vervalst de geschiedenis
Bedrijven in de VS krijgen financieel ongelimiteerde greep op de democratie
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