This Coffee is Weak…and the Tea’s Not Much Better
Posted by: Not The Only One in Straight Up Scams, Media, Voting, Government CorruptionI’ve spent the last few hours combing the Internet trying to learn more about this Coffee Party. At first glance, the name appears to be a parody of the Tea Party, so I assumed it was a clever parody of a grassroots movement a la Stephen Colbert as opposed to an actual grassroots movement. However, multiple sources including the New York Times and Washington Post suggest that it is very much real so I guess it is.
The following is is the mission statement from the Coffee Party website:
“The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.”
Here’s the mission statement from the Tea Party website:
“Tea Party Patriots, Inc. (”TPP”) is a non-partisan, non-profit social welfare organization dedicated to furthering the common good and general welfare of the people of the United States. TPP furthers this goal by educating the public and promoting the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets.”
Is it just me or do the Tea Party and Coffee Party appear to be thinly veiled disguises for the Republican and Democratic parties? The fact that Fox News so fervently promoted the Tea Party and that two of the biggest liberal media outlets in the country are strongly promoting the Coffee Party raises some red flags for me. In addition, these two mission statements eerily resemble the broken promises of the two major political parties. The Republicans are always preaching about free markets, fiscal responsibility and limited government, but when in power, do the complete opposite. The Democrats assure the public that they want to bring transparency and accountability to government and that in the end all the heavy taxation and regulation will have been for the greater good of the American people. This of course is also bullshit because when Democrats are in power they also do the complete opposite of what they say they stand for. In the end, both parties end up being statist control freaks who give away billions in tax dollars to the various special interest groups who bribe the leadership of both parties.
Why would the Republicans and Democrats fabricate grassroots movements that do not appear to be attached to them? People are fed up with being let down and disappointed over and over again by the national leadership; moreover, they are fed up with. Imagine how high discontent among Americans must be when Congressmembers from both parties decline to run for reelection and are instead resigning from their thrones. Traditionally, Congressmembers had to either die, get arrested, be elected or appointed to a higher position in government or go senile for their cushy seats to be relinquished. But now, Congressmembers like Robert Wexler of Florida, Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, and Nathan Deal of Georgia have all stepped down, presumably to run for state offices instead of the more lucrative and traditionally less scrutinized Congressional seats. Most sitting members of Congress are former members of their respective states’ legislatures, so a reverse trend appears to be in play.
Another really good reason for the national Democratic and Republican parties to launch the Tea Party and Coffee Party is to make sure frustrated voters don’t run to support third parties. Seems to me that anyone fed up with the two-party system should automatically seek an existing third party (we certainly have no shortage of those in local and national elections), not create a new one. The fact that many of the Coffee Party and Tea Party leadership appears to have not fully denounced their big party affiliations and appear to be way too chummy with sitting politicians from the two major parties.
The forums on the Coffee Party website offer some interesting insight to what the rest of America thinks of this covert operation:
“If Government Is Not the Enemy…Then can we have it abuse us all a little less? Really, the fewer things the government does, the easier it is to get agreement on those things. The idea of government running my health care makes me think of how great a job government has done in handling its own checkbook. There will be more trust in government when it stops raping us.”
Sounds like this person isn’t drinking the Kool-aid-flavored coffee here; he should check the Libertarian Party instead.
“I’m confused -Thought this was a new diverse grassroots group open to ideas and change??? I am a liberal but more of an independent lefty open to any ideas that make sense and solve problems. So far all I am seeing on this site is 99% typical same ole’ far left talking points and the same old name calling of anything right of far left. As a moderate I see posts telling me that I am the problem. What is diverse or new about that?
The current discourse I am reading seems as closed minded as some of the Republicans are to our ideas. How does that promote “open and respectful dialogue” as described in the mission statement put forth by Annabel ? How is that change? So what is different about the coffee party than any other far left blog site? I can get this same stuff at the Huntington Post.
I for one am just as upset with the Democrats who controlled both house and senate yet got nothing done. We are still in Iraq. We still have Gitmo. Obama just re-approved the patriot act. We have exploded the debt and I do not see much in the way of jobs in my town and my home value is crap. Obama has so many people on his staff formerly from Goldman Sachs yet we believe him when he says he is not influenced by special interests or is it because he is one of us and so we think he is not playing favors to wall street just like the last President?? Where is the change he promised me?
Why then do we blame the Republicans and call them obstructionists or worse and I see no criticism of the Democrats we elected that have actually had the power of both houses even in the last years of Bush?? I think to be legitimate we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and realize the Democrats share about half the blame in the mess that is government that can not get any solutions passed. Seems both sides use the same political tactics and lack of cooperation when the other is in power. Both sides seem more interested in getting re elected then doing what is right and what the people want. I see special interest groups affecting legislation of both parties so why is it wrong for Republicans and OK for us?
Are we that blinded by love and naivety that we think that all Democrat politicians are good and well intentioned and the other side is all bad? If we do think that way, then the coffee party will never change anything and the mission statement put forth is a joke unless we are truly willing to listen to all ideas and by any sense of logic, accept that the solution always lies within a compromise and collaboration of ideas.”
If more liberals were as even-handed as this guy, I would probably still be one. Bill Maher famously said that the Republicans and Democrats are merely twin girls played by Patty Duke. Well it seems that Patty Duke went out and bought two masks, one carrying a cup of tea and the other a cup of coffee.
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