Please start using the "Bircher" identity when talking about Tea Party.

[grasswire]

Neo-Birchers

New Birchers

Whatever seems easy to use. "The Tea Party is the old John Birch Society, you know."

The American people repudiated the Birchers the first time around. The moniker means something negative.

And it is true that the Tea Party is the direct offspring.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

1. That would only have currency with political junkies and older people

[NuclearDem]

4. Could get a few other people onboard by quoting General Ripper

And mentioning that the crazy water fluoridation conspiracy was JBS' thing.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

15. Okay, I'm only 25 and despite being a political junkie

I have no idea who General Ripper is supposed to be and I vaguely have an idea of the water fluoridation kerfuffle. Politics, if it is to be successful, should not be steeped in esoteric knowledge.

I suppose I could google these topics but that's the point.

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. Well said.

And then we get labeled as "elitist liberals" because we gots smarts.

[IrishAyes]

67. No, you label yourselves with narrow and lazy minds, and you DO have awfully long snouts,

y'know. Smarts? In your dreams, baby. Grow up first and get your noses out of your belly buttons so you can do something more worthwhile than trying to see how exclusive you can make your little club.

(signed)

Old-Line Liberal and Proud of It
So Sue Me

[ScreamingMeemie]

69. Ummm....

Ermmmmm...

Nope, not worth it.

(For the record, darling? I last saw 25 decades ago)

[IrishAyes]

73. And still so little progress since then?

[ScreamingMeemie]

74. I stand by my original statement.

Move along now.

As Scuba so eloquently stated downthread, we don't need to equate them with anything other than what they are: Republicans. Anything else smacks of that liberal elitist label.

Sorry dude.

[IrishAyes]

80. Quoting your own words:

"And then we get labeled as "elitist liberals" because we gots smarts."

"Move along now."

Can anything possibly reek of elitism worse than that?

I'll move along when I damn well feel like it, Meemie. One of my many uncles co-founded the ILWU and yes, I did have a broad education drummed into my hard skull. That's only a few of the many reasons I neither seek nor require your stamp of approval on my Democratic credentials.

Move along, my arse!

[papa3times]

23. Well now

you have heard of General Ripper and all the rest so you can google it! You can't google something you've never heard of.

[IrishAyes]

72. True, they can't google something they never heard of.

But the energetic mind seeks out new knowledge on its own w/o having to be led by the hand. There's no excuse at all for anyone with a college degree not already knowing the historical basis of things, especially not when they imagine themselves political junkies. Or maybe they're confusing that with junk food.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

103. Yes, because we only want people who share our arcane trivia to vote with us

The other 99.8% can f-off because we don't need them in our democracy.

[NuclearDem]

29. Well, it's not really politics.

General Jack D. Ripper.

[SeattleVet]

40. General Ripper on Fluoridation:

[No Vested Interest]

92. Thanks for posting this; good to see it again-

I saw the movie when it first came out in the 60's.
One of the best movies ever made.
Food for thought.

[IrishAyes]

64. Yes, Unicorn, that IS the point.

When you come across knowledge new to yourself, google away! Then you won't have to be bothered with us old farts trying to tell you anything at all.

While you're at it, look up Lyndon Larouche. He was worse than any JBS, and that's saying a lot. But don't be fooled by memorial pages, though. Of course nothing an old fart learned is worth a damn unless it's confirmed on the internet, is it? We're sooo last century.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

104. clue-by-four: I couldn't care less about an old black and white movie about the Cold War

It's entertainment value is nostalgic, at best. It's political value is non-existent. I'm aware the film is a "classic" to the generation that lived through those times but to me it's just another movie. It will mean even less to my generation that do not share my interests in politics. Effective politics depends on relevance to the audience.

[IrishAyes]

105. Fortunately for you, not everyone takes such a shortsighted and self indulgent attitude.

I don't really care how much you don't care about what any other generation has done, since we did a lot of things right and continue in that vein even today. The political impact of that film extends far deeper and wider than you seem able to grasp.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

107. It was relevant in its day.

Meanwhile, the 2014 mid-term elections are just over a year away. Due to redistricting there are more Democratic senators vulnerable than there are House GOPers and -- as shocking as this may be to you -- the Cold War is not on the list of our electoral priorities.

Most of my generation is more worried about getting a job, paying down our student loans and wondering if SS will be bled dry before we will ever get to use what we're expected to pay for. Sorry, but a generation as selfish as mine isn't interested in Googling old films we aren't going to watch because they're about subjects that have no bearing on our own issues. We're just self-centered that way.

Feel free to continue to lecture about how we're lazy and we suck while you're out on your next GOTV drive. And be sure to include all that condescending snark you're so awesome at. We like that.

[IrishAyes]

109. It's shortsighted and self destructive not to look beyond yourself to the whole big wide world

out there. Every generation and culture has something to offer and something to learn. I do not disparage your entire generation at all. In fact I admire many young people and sympathize with their struggles. Just pointing out that when we find ourselves in a hole, it might be time to stop digging and figure out a few things before proceeding. Blind rage is a trap. There are always people around ready to use it against you.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

110. And? I'm still not seeing the relevance to political campaigning

which is what the thread is about: framing our message. The frame has to fit the picture. The Cold War isn't in the picture.

[IrishAyes]

115. That's called tunnel vision.

Before I go further, allow me to rephrase something I said in my last post.

Of course I care what you think and how you feel; it would've been more accurate for me to say instead that I don't believe in letting the tail wag the dog.

Maybe another short analogy will help since we don't have countless years to repeat ourselves at each other. When you sit down to a meal, do you ever stop for a nano second to consider how the food landed on your plate? If not, you really cheating yourself.

Proceeding (at last!) to political campaigning - when and if you don't give a tinker's damn about how and why things came to be, you're trying to run a one-legged race against people in jets. If you want to frame the picture, you'd do well to look through a wide angle lens. Because the past does matter whether you realize it or not, whether you care or not, and it will impact your future far more than you seem to realize yet.

One last try: I'm advocating for a holistic approach to everything, even or especially in politics. Because that's the only way things work. All the raging against the machine with eyes and ears clamped shut won't ever change that one iota in a million years. Embrace karma or she will bite your arse big time.

Especially try to grow out of that egocentric sophomoric notion that airing your opinions is free speech while you scream at others to shut the hell up. That might impress some of your age mates but not anyone else. I scream, therefore I am? Oh, sorry for the allusion to philosophy since a narrow and self-defeating world view will discount that discipline as well.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

116. I just wanted to know how Dr. Strangelove was relevant to 2014.

[IrishAyes]

118. Well, I'm tired of trying to explain it to you.

I'm also beginning to think you're playing me, at least a little, because nobody's that dense.

See ya later!

[Nuclear Unicorn]

119. No, you keep treating my call for relevance

as a rejection of history in general on my part. It's not. Not all history is relevant to all issues at all times despite having an overall important place. Hey, I get history and I am totally prepared to oppose the next Mongol invasion as depicted in Mulan -- I just don't think it's relevant in the 2014 mid-term congressional election cycle.

Nor do I think the average millennial recognizes or feels motivated by arcane references to movies they cannot relate to mentioning paranoid CTs no one is discussing by defunct groups that have fallen into obscurity.

For better or for worse politics is making a sales pitch. A good sales person contextualizes the product for the buyer on the buyer's terms. Imagine the car salesperson pitching horsepower in technical terms to a customer seeking mileage and reliability -- and then belittling the customer for their lack of knowledge of horsepower, torque, etc. "I guess you just don't care about automobiles. Farble, grumble, warble, hrumpf!"

Well, Pffft! to that.

Enjoy your pedestal in your mind. I'm sure the view is awesome from up there.

[IrishAyes]

120. I can assure you that it is.

You're welcome to join me any time you can stop carping long enough to realize you're doing far more of what you accuse me of doing than I am.

[No Vested Interest]

121. Senators are not affected by redistricting.

Two senators represent the whole of each state.
Only House Representatives affected by redistricting, and, yes, they are in a most terrible way.

Winning the House is/will be very difficult, but always worth giving our best shot, for we never know what circumstances may arise that would make even a district that seems unwinnable - winnable.
An incumbent may become ill, die -I'm not wishing it,but that has happened-, be involved in a scandal or illegality, have family or monetary problems.
So it's always worth putting forth a worthy candidate; if he/she doesn't win, it's always good practice and exposure for another campaign.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. At 58, I'm probably at the lower age limit for remembering the JBS at all

and, even at that, I was a pre-teen whose only reminiscence was a billboard on highway that said 'Impeach Earl Warren -the John Birch Society.'

[No Vested Interest]

46. Didn't other Birch billboards also say 'Get US out of UN"?

Teas would likely want to do that as well.

[Cirque du So-What]

54. I know that was on their 'wish list'

but I don't remember seeing that particular saying on a billboard. At age 10, I was pretty much limited to seeing only those stretches of road where my parents drove. Yes, they're still all a-skeered of the UN, going so far as saying that a Socialist Muslim Kenyan usurper would be more than happy to relinquish US sovereignty to the One World Government.

[No Vested Interest]

61. Well, that anti-UN billboard was a long-time fixture

in SW Ohio.
Some things never change.

[Cirque du So-What]

65. I grew up not all that far from your locale

but 'Impeach Earl Warren' is the one I remember. FWIW, in a city not too far from where I lived, a billboard proclaimed 'N****r, don't let the sun set on YOU in (city name deleted).'

[lunasun]

87. Sadly a mentally ill relative was a bircher and they were very racist group

MLK was a communist instigator Civil rights = communism

[Cirque du So-What]

88. By any chance, was your relative J. Edgar Hoover?

Hoover tried his damndest to find evidence that MLK was a commie. Your relative's mental illness notwithstanding, perhaps millions believed this about MLK back in the day.

[No Vested Interest]

91. And Oh, how they hated it when MLK won

the Nobel Peace Prize.

As much - maybe more- than when Pres. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

I will comment that MLK was already deeper into his life work of promoting Justice and peace than our Pres. was when BHO won the award. However, BHO won it fair and square, and I won't take anything away from him for winning on the early side of his life work.

[lunasun]

94. But birchers had photos they distributed of communist meetings with MLK in it + also were active

Last edited Sun Oct 20, 2013, 11:44 PM - Edit history (1)

in sending money to colonial factions to keep African countries from independence and new rule/nations

all black nationalist in Africa were communists as were any 60's rockers mimicking "negro music"
and for good reason Bob Dylan was attacked by birchers -would not want people thinking anti-establishment thoughts!
All civil rights here were communist plants of course and should be 'removed" from the US and we see how that was translated by their followers unfortunately

Many segregationists joined the Birch Society and at least 5 members of its National Council (its governing body) were racists:

T. Coleman Andrews (the 1956 Presidential candidate of the segregationist States Rights Party),
Dr. Thomas Parker (SC),
A.G. Heinsohn Jr (TN),
Tom Anderson (TN),
Revilo Oliver (IL)
Many senior officials of the White Citizens Councils (such as W.J. Simmons, Louis Hollis, and Medford Evans) were also Birchers


The 60's was hard on the neo fascist and racist elements and they freaked -The JBS was conveniently there as a place to vent their hate in group settings with their like minded haters without joining the KKK but I still think it is too long ago to provoke memories for most folk of their insane and sickening antics
They embraced the US revolutionary look that teabaggers do on a lot of their materials and that God Flag and Family crap too, They held their conventions in Boston place of the......1773 .tea party
so today is a retro redo of what they tried to bring forth in the post Joe McCarthy 60's as multiple progressive movements took hold here back then

[truebluegreen]

114. I saw one a few years ago in SE Idaho. I'm sure it is still there.

[Heather MC]

27. Look how easily the Repugs get their branding Mesages out to the public

Why can't we do the same thing to them they do to us
I remember when no one here wanted to refer to the ACA as Obamacare
but look at us now

[Gidney N Cloyd]

62. Repugs have it easy. Messages that resonate with RWers are killed by scrutiny.

They keep it visceral and short enough to fit on a bumper sticker not just because it sells, but because detail will blow a hole in them. On the other hand, liberal messages sometimes go against baser human instincts and require some details and deeper evaluation to get to the buy-in.

[Skidmore]

44. Isn't the conventional wisdom that Teabaggers

are older people? A full toolbelt gets a job done. No reason not to point out their historical roots.

[2theleft]

106. Lots of Tea Party 30-50 somethings at my work...

It is beyond me to understand why. When I say lots, the team I'm on, probably 25% of them are TP. I hope it is just a strange grouping of workers and not some wide spread disease across the rest of the company.

[IrishAyes]

55. Well, not that we old political junkies are ready for the trash heap just yet,

But don't you think the more educated and enlightened youth should gain a little extra knowledge and context? It's free around here, you know, if you can duck incoming fast enough and have a cast iron stomach. But I guess there's really no 'free lunch' after all, is there?

(Ma, she's hitting me back again! Make her stop, wahhhh!)

[VanillaRhapsody]

81. I prefer Confederates or NeoConfederates...

[jbond56]

2. TeaCrackers

[Hoyt]

17. *1

[lunasun]

95. I would go with that

[gopiscrap]

3. Yup I've been thinking that for a long time!

[pangaia]

5. Most repubs don't even know what the John Birch Society was/is.

Although it is quite accurate.

[HooptieWagon]

6. Yes, there's a lot of John Birch Society in teabaggerism...

but there's also a good bit of far-right christianity that wants to establish a theocracy. Plus several other marginalized radical groups like KKK. Individually, no one would pay attention, but as a coalition they're a pretty scarey threat.

[kestrel91316]

21. Know-Nothings, KKK, Birchers, Teabaggers............

same shit, different day.

All ignorant and proud of it, all xenophobic, all christofascists.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

8. Fred Koch begat the JBS and his sons begat the Tea Party. Yeah, I'd call that a connection.

[starroute]

47. The connections also run by way of the Council for National Policy

Tim LaHaye, Larry McDonald -- people like that brought Bircher policies and conspiracy theories into the CNP, from which they spread to the rest of the radical right.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/176538/meet-evangelical-cabal-orchestrating-shutdown#

The coalition is managed by Heritage and the Council for National Policy. The latter organization, dubbed once as “the most powerful conservative group you’ve never heard of,” is a thirty-year-old nonprofit dedicated to transforming the country into a more right-wing Christian society. Founded by Tim LaHaye, the Rapture-obsessed author of the “Left Behind” series, CNP is now run by Christian-right luminaries such as Phyllis Schlafly, Tony Perkins and Kenneth Blackwell.

Yesterday, The New York Times revealed in great detail how the Conservative Action Project has orchestrated the current showdown. The group initially floated the idea of attaching funding for Obamacare to the continuing resolution, and followed up with grassroots organizing, paid advertisements and a series of events designed to boost the message of senators like Ted Cruz.

Though the Heritage Foundation, through its 501(c)(4) Heritage Action sister organization, has played a lead role in sponsoring advertisements and town-hall meetings, tax disclosures reviewed by TheNation.com show that the Council for National Policy has provided a steady stream of funding for the organizing effort.

[Squinch]

9. .

[russspeakeasy]

10. I was thinking more along the lines of "The Seditions Party".

[1KansasDem]

11. Might as well call them Whigs.

Today few know or remember much about the JBS.

[Mc Mike]

12. Definitely Koch connections to birch and teabag funding.

Birch connections to some of the crazier right wing fundys, too. Chris Hedges reported that the 'Left Behind' author Tim LaHaye ran Birch Society training seminars in CA, and Bircher N.B. Hunt worked with LaHaye to found the Council for National Policy, which brought together Dominionists like Rushdoony, Robertson, and Falwell with rich right wing industrialists who were willing to fund the 'christians'. (from Hedges' 'American Fascists', pp. 136-7, hardbound.)

[BlueMTexpat]

13. You are absolutely correct about this.

I grew up in the 40s-60s. I remember the JBS all too well because there were a bunch of them in my birth state of MT and even there, they really stuck out. They were considered looney-tunes by anyone with a functioning brain in both political parties and thus, their political effects were marginalized except during the McCarthy era. Unfortunately, that marginalization led to forgetfulness with an American public that already has minimal recollection of any past, especially one they may not actually have experienced. But they have been with us all along, like a latent volcano.

Wiki can give one an overview. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society

They were fierce haters of anything beyond their immediate purview and idolized J. Edgar Hoover and Joe McCarthy as fierce anti-Communists. I remember that those in my area also hated JFK with a fanaticism that is only equalled by the rabid fanaticism of the Teabaggers towards President Obama. While the majority of the American people were devastated by JFK's assassination, JB'ers in my area actually celebrated his murder as a victory - I remember that well - and it has always been one of many reasons why I still don't buy the official version of JFK's assassination. Before then, I merely thought of them as fascists, but so crazy that they could never be considered credible. But since the assassination, I have loathed them as fiercely as ever they loathed JFK. Over the years, I have been horrified at the Republican party for embracing them and at the US MSM for giving them any credibility whatsoever.

Yes, the TeaBaggers are their latest incarnation even though the JBS still exists as nominally separate entity. You and I are not alone in believing this - and with very good reason. http://www.counterpunch.org/2009/10/19/tea-baggers-and-birchers/

[ErikJ]

45. This JFK Wanted for Treason poster in Dallas newspaper that day.

And there were 1000's of these handbills handed out and postered all over Dallas the morning of 11/22/63. All paid for by Fred Koch founder of the JBirch Society.

[No Vested Interest]

56. I've never seen that before. Shocking.

They were likely kept in low-profile following that day.
Hate is a terrible thing.

[ErikJ]

66. Just one of 1000's of things I picked up listening to Thom Hartmann

It is interesting how hush-hush that was since then.

[War Horse]

70. Seen it many times

And I'm a Dog-damned Norwegian.

The fact that people don't seem to know about this is all the more reason to spread this stuff around, IMHO.

[BlueMTexpat]

111. If you were living in Norway, you probably

got more coverage of what was actually going on the in the US in that era than we Americans did. Most in Western Europe did.

US citizens always excoriated the "propaganda" occurring in the USSR and Soviet bloc countries, without realizing that we also were getting our own. To be sure, it wasn't never to the same extent, nor was it like the pitiful US MSM of today, but yes, there was a lot that was never mentioned by mainstream outlets if the narratives did not suit TPTB - even then.

[IrishAyes]

83. Well, they hated dear sweet old Harry Bridges just about as much as they did JFK.

Part of Harry's alleged crimes? He refused to refuse to hire Communists. Wouldn't give a litmus test to be in his people's union. Said they were good workers and that was all that mattered to him.

Oh, yes, now I remember another little dustup though not first hand. When Harry closed down the entire West Coast maritime trade with the Big Strike. One of my uncles got a souvenir steel plate in his noggin from scabs hired in part by Koch Sr. Uncle gave as good as he got, though, you'd better believe. Classic big Irish bruiser, became Harry's business agent too, so he could talk or fight either one.

I do remember the day JFK was assassinated, though, because we got the news in gym class. A vast majority of students cheered. I can still hear the tongue lashing coach gave them. One of the best and most righteous rants I ever heard. Nearly broke my heart when RFK was shot. I loved his older brother but for some reason he was still my favorite, Bobby.

[FarPoint]

100. Printed by Fred Koch????

Crap....the pappy of the Koch Brothers!

Now this is how we connect the dots.

[IrishAyes]

77. Excellent post, thank you.

[BlueMTexpat]

112. Thanks. I believe that some of those involved in early

Tea Party protests were actually like a lot of us in their unhappiness with the bank giveaways. In fact, many of those were surprised at how much common ground they had with the Occupy groups.

But those were people with open minds and functioning brains and THEY didn't stay with the Tea Party movement. The Birchers, however, embraced it. Those who've mentioned connecting the dots with the Kochs are spot on.

I also admired RFK and have always believed Sirhan to be a scapegoat. Yes, he did the shooting. But who wound him up to that extent and ensured that he would be armed in a place where RFK was likely to go? There is still too much that we don't know about that assassination either, as well as with that of MLK. I will go to my deathbed firmly believing that the Kochs, the JBS, the Hunt Bros and a few other "highly placed" and influential people, some of whom later became high officials in the USG, were very much involved with every one of them. Every. Single. One.

If that makes me a nutty "conspiracy theorist," then so be it. But I have lived through and seen a lot in my nearly 70 years. In the 1960s, people that the JBS hated were successfully assassinated. Other attempted assassinations then and since have been botched (unless, of course, they involved small planes or mysterious heart attacks).

Not that I wanted ANY to succeed - that will never be my style - but still ... it does make one wonder. It has also made me very afraid for President Obama, because JBS/Tea Party hatred is so strong.

[IrishAyes]

117. You and me both.

Just because we're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get us!

Seriously, if we dismiss all conspiracy theories out of hand, those are the ones that will get us for sure. Human nature in the best of circumstances has a dark side.

May I share my favorite Frank & Earnest cartoon panel? They're cavemen in this one, standing there in the expected wardrobe, carrying big clubs. Frank says, "It's called unilateral disarmament, Ernie. Drop your club, turn your back, and I'll demonstrate it for you."

That one ranks right up there with Pogo's famous observation, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

After the first inauguration, the Obamas nearly gave me a heart attack when they stepped out of the limo on PA-Av to walk and wave at the crowds. I wanted to scream, "Get back in the limo before - " At the time I didn't realize they were on a block comprised of government buildings, which made it a little less dangerous but not by much. The Texas book depository was a government building too.

Odd as it may sound from an ardent Obama supporter, in a way I'll be so glad when his administration reaches a safe and proper conclusion and I can start worrying about Hillary's safety for a change. I think I'd come unhinged if anything happened to either one. I used to worry about outliving Bob Dylan too, but the way he takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin', he still might survive me. Which would be okay.

[valerief]

14. Neo Klan

[grasswire]

16. even those who don't actually remember the Birchers...

....know that the words have negative connotations.

And for those who don't remember, it only takes two sentences to inform.

[TeamPooka]

19. The New Klan. nt

[Coyotl]

20. I'm going with the Tyranny Party

This is a new brand of seditionist terrorism. The Birchers were well-meaning ignoramuses indoctrinated to hate communism. The Birchers were a benign cancer compared to the present-day brand of ignorance, a raging pustulosis upon prosperity and normalcy.

Don't get me started

[kiranon]

31. Like the name and the art work. Good job!

What to call it? A resaurus? A redino?

[Coyotl]

51. How about a teasaurus?

Just like a thesaurus, except everything is the antonym of true.

[IrishAyes]

86. Perfect! We have a winner, folks!

[mountain grammy]

38. yes, perfect..

[SummerSnow]

59. How about Teazilla party

[Coyotl]

78. Wouldn't it offend other primates to lump them in the family?

[IrishAyes]

85. I'm truly impressed.

Rant away, pal, I'm all ears.

[progressoid]

22. I don't think many people even know what a Bircher is.

Hell, I doubt even Teabaggers know. And the ones that do know, are probably proud of the connection.

[busterbrown]

26. Agree.. They are Birchers all right..

But they will hide from that label...Stating who are they? And people we are trying to connect with (middle independents" won’t know who they are... I say stay with Teabaggers.

[Control-Z]

24. Teabagging Birchers. (nt)

[mulsh]

25. Teabagger pisses them off but no reason I can't use neo-bircher also.

thank.

[iandhr]

28. 95% of people don't know who brichers are.

[UTUSN]

30. R#17 & K for, they only change their names every generation or so n/t

[montex]

32. Sedition Party

I get the whole "Bircher" idea, no doubt because I'm old enough to know who they were, but doing the typical high-brow Liberal thing of using a label most Americans have no idea what it means is pointless.

Sedition Party. Keep it simple (two words). Keep it easy to understand for THEM. We are the smart ones, but we are sometimes not smart enough to talk down to their level. When dealing with the massively bigoted Right, you have to be clever enough to trick them into understanding your point of view. That is why Fox is so successful with the tea baggers - they always talk down to them in the most basic terms they can understand.

Never forget who you're up against. They are not intelligent people capable of reasonable discussion. Propaganda and slimy Fox-mistruths are all they can understand.

[mrsadm]

33. Let's credit a recent Adam Gopnik (The NewYorker) article for this idea....

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/10/the-john-birchers-tea-party.html

"what I find startling, and even surprising, is how absolutely consistent and unchanged the ideology of the extreme American right has been over the past fifty years..."

[mountain grammy]

36. Excellent article, thank you.

[BlueMTexpat]

113. Thank you from me too!

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

34. Tea Birch Society? Tea-Birchers? Birther-Birchers?

[Botany]

39. That is their new nom de guerre

The tea birchers Awesome and don't forget that daddy Koch got his
money from helping good old Joe Stalin.

[mountain grammy]

37. Yep.

[alfredo]

41. The Chad Mitchell Trio wrote a song about them. Hear it below.

[FarPoint]

42. Additionally...the Tea Party

members are the offspring of the... Dixiecrats being the grandma and John Birch, the granddaddy....

[SeattleVet]

43. The John Birch Society is still active

They was a co-sponsor of the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference.

Bob Dylan immortalized the the JBS in song many years ago:

[OldRedneck]

48. I prefer to call them:

Tealiban.

[dgibby]

49. I've been calling them Born Again Birchers.

Two good books that will explain them and their agenda: "Wrapped in the Flag", but Claire Conner, and " Crazy for God", by Frank Schaeffer. You can follow both of them on FB, too.

[lunasun]

96. thanks I will check them out

[IrishAyes]

52. Excellent suggestion.

How about "Tea-Birches" to make the point.

[AlbertCat]

53. But the Birchers were nuts scared to death of Commies

And the Teabaggers are nuts scared to death of Democracy.

[NCarolinawoman]

57. John Birchers accused Eisenhower of being a "Commie"....

because he expanded social security to cover many more people.

[Scuba]

58. Call them what they are - Republicans.

[ScreamingMeemie]

71. +1

[stevenleser]

60. I tend to think the Alex Jones Crowd is more Bircher than the teabaggers.

Birchers tended to be a lot more about conspiracies in addition to their right wing nuttiness. A lot of the Alex Jones stuff comes from them (Anti-vax, anti-fluoridation, anti UN and anti "New World Order&quot and they added modern conspiracies like Chemtrails and HAARP.

I think that Jones actually is a modern Bircher.

[glowing]

63. Most under the age of 35 wouldn't have a clue what Bircher society was

[ScreamingMeemie]

75. +1

[grasswire]

76. it's time they learned nt

[Lizzie Poppet]

79. Under 55, even.

It's a good analogy but a poor tactic.

[samplegirl]

68. Reading Wrapped in a flag

by Claire Conner..........talk about right out of the playbook! It really puts into perspective how the far right has use all the Birch talking points and tricks to further its agenda.

Page after page.........a reminder of something Billo or Rush or Sarah has used at one time or another!

[Thirties Child]

82. The John Birchers wrote books quoting each other

In the 60s I joked about how stupid they were. Who knew they'd still be around 50 years later. Or that I would be.

[Marr]

84. I much prefer "Teabagger".

The word was already profane when they stupidly started using it to describe themselves, it already has a lot of negative connotations in the political scene. I doubt that most people under 40 would even know what the John Birch Society is.

[libodem]

89. Absolutely

[City Lights]

90. Teabagger=Republican.

Every Bagger is a Republican. Every American should know it.

[No Vested Interest]

93. What relationship would DUers say the Federalist Society

has to the Birchers?

In my mind they're the well-educated (lawyers) branch, but may be even more dangerous, influential, and insidious because of that.

[lunasun]

97. and younger-The Student Division has more than 10,000 law students as members

[No Vested Interest]

98. Sounds as though they're recruiting them at that vulnerable stage

so they'll be tied to them in contacts and in ideology long-term.

[Rex]

99. NO thanks, I LOVE calling them Republicans!

[FarPoint]

101. Here is an excellent link

and Book/video clip by Claire Connor...." Wrapped in the Flag: A Personal History of America's Radical Right:

Okay...I myself am just connecting the dots....finding this fascinating in so many ways. One is...why has this not been identified by media journalist earlier? A huge, radical, political power base was present in Congress and growing for years!




http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/07/1229520/-INSIDER-Proof-Tea-Libertarian-Parties-ARE-The-John-Birch-Society#

[HappyMe]

102. They are just republicans.

I don't think the teabaggers are woo enough to be Birchers.

[Bluenorthwest]

108. Birchers and Tea Party should be called by their true name, Republicans

Most Americans don't know what a 'Bircher' is any more. Plus it is not up to me to play 'quantify the Republican' or to make sure they are all titled as their PR firm wishes. Ted Cruz and Susan Collins are both Republicans, identical and bound by their Party alliances. It would serve Collins for us to pretend that she is not part of Cruzdom but she sure as hell is. The Queen of Cruzdom in fact.