What would you say or do if a Democratic elected official spoke at a tea party?

It happened in Kansas. State Senator Chris Steineger not only attended a tea party but was a featured speaker. And he is considering running for governor - against Brownback.

His explanation:

In the past year, I have attended and spoken at public events sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity and the April 15 taxpayer tea party. It is important for Democrats to take their message to groups of people we may not agree with, or may not know much about.

1) Millions of Americans have financial angst with the down economy, layoffs, losses in retirement accounts, and declining home values. Even before the economic downturn, millions of Americans felt as though they were not getting ahead. You don’t have to follow a wide variety of national polls over the years to understand this. Many polls show that an increasing number of Americans have little faith in either political party to improve our lives.

2) Thomas Frank in his book “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” points out that millions of Americans were attracted to right wing neo-con generated messages and voted for their candidates despite the fact that those same neo-cons ultimately enacted policies to the detriment of the folks who elected them. Many of these folks are blue collar and middle class.

3) James Carville in his book "Winning the Barbeque" argues that when at the backyard BBQ and your opponents are aggrandizing their own policies and denigrating yours, it is vitally important to stand up, speak out, defend your own policies, and advocate for their acceptance. In many sports leagues, the team that doesn’t show up to compete, forfeits the game. When Democrats don’t show up to compete with right wing hate mongers, we forfeit the chance to win over the many Americans who ARE NOT hard core right wingers, but more precisely, are economically and financially worried.

more . . . http://kansasjackass.blogspot.com/2009/04/steineger-addresses-concerns-over-tea.html

Did he agree with the teabaggers or call them out?

If he called them out, I'd call him kind of brave for going in the first place.

We have asked to see that speech and so far, he hasn't released it. We only got this explanation I posted.

And being a true progressive, he lost me as soon as he mentioned James Carville. LOL

idea of reform of taxes that appeals to many/most people. These people are very wrong about how this needs to be done. But we should listen to the main gripe and see what can be done in a reasonable and responsible way.

But does he need to participate in a teabag rally to do that?

There is probably a better way to address this "concern". What is his record as a progressive? Is there one?

And we have supported him for the most part. But he has made a few votes we were concerned about. One was on privatizing prisons.

The truth is, this is Kansas. And getting true progressives elected statewide is difficult to say the least. Since we THOUGHT Chris was on our side, his appearance at the local teabag rally was a disappointment to say the least. Check out the comments at the link I posted.

Are you confusing him with someone else?

I was confusing him with someone else.

We have had so many GOPers in this state leave that party and become Democrats. Our new governor is not only a former GOPer, but was head of the state GOP.

Easy mistake. :)

What happened to FDR?

I don't mind his speaking at a tea party. It depends what he said though.

Here in Oregon the R mayor of Springfield spoke at the tea baggers rally, and then accepted all the stimulus money he could grab for the city. Several people suggested our stalwart congressman, Pete DeFazio, be invited to speak since he has been consistent about voting against all the stimulus bills from Bush and Obama.

The request was denied, but the organizers of the rally had a lot of explaining to do and didn't do a very good job, digging the hole deeper with every attempt. The obvious reason: the tea baggers aren't really focused on the economy in Oregon or anywhere else. They are a bunch of right wing wackos that include a sizable core of racists.

I consider it a good tactic to have Democrats and their political leaders attend these rallies and speak to their issues.

And you pointed out a reason many Democrats objected to our state senator attending - this was more about hating the prez than protesting taxes.