Entries Tagged 'Tea Party' ↓

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This will have ramifications. As I told someone tonight, “Will he follow thru on his teabagger promises?” Remember, Obama used the fringe left to get himself elected then forgot about them after he took office (That’s okay, Steve got a job suckering the ‘Good People’ of Sioux Falls into voting for Huether (you know, the guy with the gay agenda – Mike, not Steve). Will Rand remember the teabaggers?

In the first race called Tuesday night, conservative insurgent Rand Paul — son of former GOP presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul — defeated Secretary of State Trey Grayson in a Republican primary fight for the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Jim Bunning.

David Koch, just your average everday billionaire fighting for the little guy, teabagger, trying to make his way through this life.

After reading this column in my Hightower Lowdown Newsletter yesterday, I have become even more scared of the right-wing extremists and the lies their movement is built on. I guess it explains the sea of white at tea pary rallies across the country;

Jim Hightower, the populist muckraker editor of The Hightower Lowdown, explains that it’s not caused by fickle and spineless politicians, but rather by their corporate handlers. He asks “Who, specifically, are these plotters, and how do they impose their narrow agenda of self-interest over the public interest? Most Americans are totally unaware of these interests which have . . . quietly embedded themselves . . . in our society’s governing institutions.”

It may come as a surprise that Kansas is central to this scheme. For although the folks at Radio Free Kansas have probably probed this matter, how many Kansans have ever heard of the multi-billionaire Koch brothers (pronounced “coke”)?

Koch Industries of Wichita Kansas is one of the key players in the shift to government “of, by, and for the corporations”. Koch is a major producer of oil, gas, timber, coal, and cattle. It’s a petroleum refiner, controls some 4000 miles of pipeline including a piece of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, manufactures asphalt, chemicals, polyethylene, nitrogen fertilizers, concrete, lumber products, and myriad consumer goods. It has 700,000 employees in 60 countries. Why do you know so little of this giant? Because it is purposefully a “closely held company”, which means there is no stock ownership for sale, all financing being family controlled. And that means there are few public disclosure requirements. But with it’s sales topping $100 billion a year, it is bigger than corporate giants like Verizon and Morgan Stanley.

Charles and David Koch, who control this family-owned business, are tied as the 19th richest billionaires in the world, just below the four heirs of the WalMart fortune. They also have a burning right-wing ideology, following their daddy Fred, who co-founded the John Birch Society. Since 1973, they have strategically funneled more than $1 billion to right-wing groups through their three Koch Family Foundations. Hightower writes “These “charitable” foundations are dedicated to achieving the brother’s anti-government, corporate-controlled vision for America. This stealth force includes national and state-level think tanks, Astroturf front groups, academic shills, university centers, political-training programs, fundraising clearinghouses, publications, and lobbyists. Their extremist ideas have never had strong public support, yet they’ve moved from the back burner in the 1970′s to the front burner in the Bush years.”

“The Kochs are not the only right-wing funders, of course, for other far-right family foundations as Bradley, Coors, Olin, and Scaife are also major players. But the size, scope, strategic purpose, and secrecy of the Koch investments make the brothers worthy of special attention.” And beyond the dollars, the brothers take an active role in running many groups. David is board chair of Americans for Prosperity who bankrolled the Tea Bagger “revolution”. He’s also on the board of the Cato Institute and the Reason Foundation. While Charles is chair of the Institute for Humane Studies and a director of the Mercatus Center. Read more at - The Corporate Money That Took Over Washington. And to learn more affiliations, go to Koch Industries financial-political connections.

A little blast from the past, the John Birch Society;

I found this group interesting, and they have an event tomorrow in Sux Falls;

Brown Bagger Movement Gets Started in South Dakota

When:   Wednesday, March 3 at Noon

Where:  326 East 8th St, Suite 108 (Congressional office of Rep. Herseth-Sandlin

What:

The “Brown baggers” movement, a progressive alternative to the Tea baggers movement, will converge on the Congressional office of Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin on Wednesday, March 4 at noon, in order to express their frustration at a failed political process that continues to funnel enormous resources into unwise and unwinnable wars while millions of Americans lack adequate health care and jobs.  According to the organization After Ten Downing Street, one of several peace and justice organizations backing the Brown bagger movement,  “Brownbaggers are asking members of the House to publicly commit to voting No on any bills that fund wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Yemen, and to publicly urge their colleagues and the House leadership to make the same commitment. As lesser steps in the same direction, PDA is encouraging congress members to cosponsor HR 2454, calling for an exit strategy from Afghanistan, and HR 3699, prohibiting any increase in the number of U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan.”

Background :

“We have to choose between jobs and wars,” said Progressive Democrats of America’s national director Tim Carpenter. “The American people are on one side, but our so-called representatives in Congress are on the other. The Supreme Court is busy increasing corporate control of our elected officials. We need to be busy enforcing the people’s control before it is too late.”

“Without wasteful war and military spending,” said PDA’s deputy director Laura Bonham, “we could have healthcare, jobs, housing, education, retirement security, environmental sustainability, diplomacy and foreign aid. No longer will we take seriously anyone’s claim to support these things while voting to fund more war.

And now let’s move to the Gordon Howie comedy hour (actually only 2:47 minutes of pain). I think he has beat Blake Curdfluffles out on embarrassing youtube moments. Someone needs to get Howie the memo; our gun rights in SD are not being threatened, we are a pro-choice state (you lost two ballot initiatives) and politicians should not dress like morticians when addressing the public.

I am still trying to get details on this event. But it is going to take place Wednesday night at The Holiday Inn City Centre in the Starlite Room. They will focus on economic questions. I have also heard that two of the mayoral candidates have turned down the invitation.

Attorney General Marty Jackley will be speaking at the DownTown Holiday Inn on Tuesday Jan 19th  from 12-1:30 PM.  $15. Includes a buffet lunch with dessert. Open to the public.

Mr. Jackley is one of 15 attorneys general that is challenging the constitutionality of the Nebraska Compromise and Florida to purchase Senatorial votes.   This is a historic meeting. If you would like to attend there is limited seating. Please RSVP to 605-332-1962 by 10:00 a.m. Monday morning Jan 18.

sponsored by teapartysd.com

I’m not sure if I will attend, but I think it would be an interesting presentation.

Think Progress makes a great catch on C-SPAN this morning: Someone calls in while Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) is answering the lines, practically in tears because Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) missed this morning’s procedural vote on health care.

He was apparently concerned that — after following Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) instructions to pray that someone couldn’t make a manager’s amendment vote Sunday night — his prayers for Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) to die struck the wrong senator.