Tea Party Leaders Anxious About Extremists

Source: AP

Organizers of tax-day tea parties are preparing for their biggest day of the year Thursday, as thousands of demonstrators participate in local rallies against high taxes and big government spending. But the leaders are striving to keep the rallies from presenting another image: one of fringe groups, extremists or infiltrators obsessed with hateful messages.

Sensitive that poor public perception could sink their movement, some rally planners have uninvited controversial speakers, beefed up security and urged participants to pack cameras to capture evidence of any disrupters. Organizers want to project a peaceful image of people upset by a growing and burdensome federal government.

''We don't want to be misrepresented, whether it's by someone who is not part of the group and has their own agenda, or whether it's by some fringe extremist who may actually be a racist,'' said Jim Hoft, a political blogger and tea party activist who is one of the speakers for a rally in suburban St. Louis.

The National Tea Party Federation, a newly formed coalition of regional tea party groups, estimates that between 1,700 and 2,000 tax-day rallies are occurring Thursday in communities across the country. ''What's at stake is showing various government officials of both parties that people are concerned,'' said Tim Hagle, an associate political science professor at the University of Iowa. ''That's why it's important that you don't have distractions from people who are interlopers of one sort or another.''

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/15/us/AP-US-Tea-Party-Concerns.html?_r=1

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Ron Fornier's AP and the NY Times still trying to spread the meme that these aren't chock full of racists and hypocritical extremists

Stupid asswipes.

manage these nutcases. BUT, "we don't want to pay taxes." :crazy:
:silly:

And don't try to tap dance away from what you started. You broke it; time to pay.

They are nothing without it.

If they keep all the racists, extremist, and folks with a separate agenda out of their rallies, the remaining 4 of them won't look all that impressive.

This is great! The nutjobs^2 will be trying to "weed out" the nutjobs^3, nutjobs^4, etc. Even the nutjobs! (factorial). Then those higher power nutjobs will claim that the squared nutjobs are being compromised and bought out. Then, hopefully, there will be all out warfare between the different powers of nutjobs.

Popcorn time!

Maybe I'm missing something here but our taxes have gone done under this administration.

Radical, fundie, extremist, militant (you pick) right wingers have felt too fringy for too long. They find a visible group where they can openly state their opinions, vocally interact with like minded. The zealots, have found a group that has received much media attention....they are feeling like they are right (as in correct). They are feeling vindicated and suddenly not so fringy. Political celebrities are listening to tea baggers, and in many cases bolstering the ego and legitimizing the tea baggers, with Palin/Bachmann'esque speeches. These tea baggers are not about to disappear back into the woodwork, not now that they have had the spotlight shed on them. No Siree. Tea baggers, ESPECIALLY the extreme right wingers, are not going to give up that platform in any hurry.

The GOP leaders nurtured this hunger and thirst for attention by right wing extremists. They can just suck it up and deal with their abomination of a creation. I suppose they could risk throwing them all under the bus and alienating two thirds of the group. I'd be ok with that too. But in all actual fact, the extremists they have nurtured can no longer be ignored. They will have to address these groups one way or another. I think it's called a lose/lose situation.

Apologies to pigs. They are noble animals.

(okay, someone read the blogs for her)

these people are buffoons :crazy: as well as some being dangerous :nuke:. Can't wait for the "peaceful" gun rally crowds to descend on DC and Gravelly Pt, VA Apr. 19. :sarcasm:

Racism, hate, and fear is the fuel that powers the monster. The brains are the GOP.

See also:

Tea Partiers Get Their "News" From Fox & Are More Likely To Justify Violence Against The Government
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8153726

they didn't seem to worried last summer.

They are falling victim to their own stupidity.

Scraping off teh stupid don't work so well. They are trying like hell to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Dumb Bastards.

They'll be so busy trying to find the infiltrators among the crowd. Popcorn time....:popcorn:

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are into pipe bombs and wiping out the police. They defended the group that was attempting to kill police a few weeks ago - before it turned out that group may not even be connected to tea baggers.

So their mentality is blow up the gov.

It's very good if the tea party gets the message out that that's not acceptable.

This is essentially a white nationalist movement. It is born of the same milieu as the George Wallace for president campaign. It is not fascist per se, but is certainly anti-liberal democratic. And, like the Wallace movement, it will be swarmed by Klanners, separatists, Christian identity adherents, and all such manner of rightists. When the establishment decides to pull the plug in the name of expediency, which will most certainly happen, the remains will be quickly captured by these forces, and it will recede into the background from whence it emerged.