Brooks Bayne

I can’t haz Teaparty

Teaparty…um, hell no, not any more. Ever since the GOP co-opted something that was supposed to be a “grass roots” movement about the spendthrifts in DC, it’s been kinda hollow. But the tipping point for me was this post I read today about white supremacists wanting to infiltrate and recruit at the 4th of July Teaparty protests. Damn, can it get any creepier? The GOP beltway set *and* white supremacists (I know, some of you think that’s redundant) taking over the Teaparty movement? A couple weeks ago some GOP ad wizard came up with Teaparty 2.0 [facepalm]. They’re cool like that…#fail.

Perhaps all the self-proclaimed leaders of the Teaparty can pass the torch to this new duo (GOP and KKK) coming in to the scene and not get burned on the way out the door.

Who was the leader, or titular head, of the Teaparty movement anyway? If I had to guess, it is/was Eric Odom (imo, from appearance, a total beltway wannabe). Supposedly, Eric’s the one who received the GOP money that was subsequently funneled to other people in the Teaparty movement.  This was billed as a grass roots movement, you beltway douchebags. I was livid when I found this out for obvious reasons. For the record, the L.A. Teaparty events never received a dime from anyone. I guess it’s because the L.A. crew aren’t Republican enough. Praise Geebus, I’m not a Republican. Someone should find out how much Eric was paid in the interest of transparency, right? (he’s not really the leader, but he likes to pretend he is)

Why was I involved with the Teaparty? I was extremely frustrated with Bush’s bailouts last year and voiced it on Twitter, but at the time, there weren’t any conservatives on Twitter with which to commiserate (although some of my lib friends were complaining about it with me, thanks guys!). I’ve been on about 2 1/2 years. The conservatives and the Republicans showed up en masse on Twitter after the 2008 election via #tcot.

Couple the original bailout with even more bailouts and “stimulus”, and this trend was something I thought all Americans should protest, regardless of race, religion, or party affiliation. Somewhere along the way, the Teaparty became highly politicized and partisan – probably when it was decided that the second round of protests would be held on April 15th. From the beginning, the protests were to make people aware of spending, not taxes. Because, after all, the current administration’s plan was only raising taxes on people making over $250k – not applicable to a majority of Teaparty protesters.

How was I involved with the Teaparty? [bill clinton voice] Depends on how you define “involved”. Although I knew (barely) them, I was part of the national “leadership team”. I was on the first phone call with about 12 others (leahy, henessy. odom, etc) that kicked off this whole thing on Feb 20th, 2009 - the day after Santelli’s now famous rant. The largest driving force in the first leg of this movement was centered around the National Tea Party Coalition and the #tcot community. Honestly, I’m just a guy who organized the first L.A. Tea Party event on Feb 27th, 2009, and assisted others at subsequent local events in Los Angeles.

Any regrets? Sure. The lack of a consolidated message which allowed the Teaparty movement to become partisan and ugly, and caused the shift from grass roots to “nut roots”. There were over 1200 events on April 15th and not much uniformity. Lotsa room in that logistical scenario for anyone on the outside who is paranoid, critical or skeptical to attach extraneous meaning to the movement, especially when each one of the 1200 events could’ve had their own message, thus straying off-point.

Any plusses? Sure. People can disagree with me on this, but I believe the recent California election where Props 1a-1e were defeated was a direct result of the nationwide Teaparty events making local people aware.  Regardless of how some partisans wanna frame it, I feel we were successful. The L.A. crew worked really hard to include liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and indies at our events. We also stiff-armed attempts by the GOP who wanted Republican candidates to campaign at our events. The nerve! Lastly, I met some great people along the way.

For me, the Teaparty movement and #tcot is a chapter in my life that I’m closing for now. When things simmer down and a semblance of sanity returns, so will I. Here come the Republican flames. Bring. It. Bitches.