Cable Anchors, Guests Use Tea Parties as Platform for Frat House Humor

[prisonchaplain]

Try really reading what I post rather than trying to instantly dismiss it all as "liberal talking points." I was not stating it should be dismissed because Fox News orchestrated it, I'm saying that Fox News hijacked the movement for their own purposes and most people who now support the movement don't have the faintest clue of its origins.

And I'm repeating that the partiers were not hijacked, are not that easily duped, and that to suggest so is an act of dismissiveness. Did FOX offer its own spin and commentary on the events? Perhaps. But, as other strings have pointed out, it's coverage proved far superior to the South Park-like 'tea-baggin'' coverage offered by other outlets.

[DigitalShadow]

And I'm repeating that the partiers were not hijacked, are not that easily duped, and that to suggest so is an act of dismissiveness. Did FOX offer its own spin and commentary on the events? Perhaps. But, as other strings have pointed out, it's coverage proved far superior to the South Park-like 'tea-baggin'' coverage offered by other outlets.

And you still seem to have completely missed what I was saying. The original Tea Party concept started with Ron Paul and his followers, the concept of the Tea Party is what is being hijacked by Fox News, not the people who are now participating. What I'm talking about when I say "hijacked" is a small movement that has been completely hyped and taken over by Fox over the last few weeks, much to the dismay of many people originally in the movement.

I am not claiming that these people now participating the tea party are being duped in any way, just that Fox has transformed the movement to suit its own needs and now conservatives are flocking to it not because of the original movement but because of the Fox influence on it.

[john doe]

I think you give too much credit to Fox News.

[DigitalShadow]

I think you give too much credit to Fox News.

Actually I think the public in general pays too much attention to their particular news brand of choice while plugging their ears and saying "lalalalalala" when anyone with an opposing view is speaking.

[a-train]

Actually I think the public in general pays too much attention to their particular news brand of choice while plugging their ears and saying "lalalalalala" when anyone with an opposing view is speaking.

This is only true for those that haven't stopped watching television. The internet crowd doesn't watch television. I don't. The internet has totally replaced it for me.

-a-train

[Maxel]

Actually I think the public in general pays too much attention to their particular news brand of choice while plugging their ears and saying "lalalalalala" when anyone with an opposing view is speaking.

And going to the source clears the matter right up.

Honestly, DigitalShadow, I have nothing against you, but the tea party movement is clearly not run, organized, etc. by Fox News. Fox covered 4-5 different parties of well over 60 around the country between April 13-17 (2009 Tea Parties- Google Maps) according to the official web page of the tea party movement (I stopped counting at 60; I'm sure there's more between 80-100. You are more than welcome to count them yourself).

Yes, Fox News made a huge brouhaha about it- and thank goodness for that! Frankly, I doubt the movement would have gotten nearly enough publicity if it hadn't been for Fox. I seriously think (and this is just a gut feeling, not based on any real evidence) that the news coverage the tea parties received from other news outlets was in response to Fox's coverage of them. That is, if Fox hadn't covered them, the rest of the news world would have been content to just let the matter go unreported. That attitude is, of course, following in the President's footsteps who was apparently unaware of the tea parties until after the fact.

[DigitalShadow]

This is only true for those that haven't stopped watching television. The internet crowd doesn't watch television. I don't. The internet has totally replaced it for me.

-a-train

It's the same with the internet crowd. They go to sites that support their world view and ignore anything that would go against it.

[DigitalShadow]

And going to the source clears the matter right up.

Honestly, DigitalShadow, I have nothing against you, but the tea party movement is clearly not run, organized, etc. by Fox News. Fox covered 4-5 different parties of well over 60 around the country between April 13-17 (2009 Tea Parties- Google Maps) according to the official web page of the tea party movement (I stopped counting at 60; I'm sure there's more between 80-100. You are more than welcome to count them yourself).

Yes, Fox News made a huge brouhaha about it- and thank goodness for that! Frankly, I doubt the movement would have gotten nearly enough publicity if it hadn't been for Fox. I seriously think (and this is just a gut feeling, not based on any real evidence) that the news coverage the tea parties received from other news outlets was in response to Fox's coverage of them. That is, if Fox hadn't covered them, the rest of the news world would have been content to just let the matter go unreported. That attitude is, of course, following in the President's footsteps who was apparently unaware of the tea parties until after the fact.

I never said that Fox organized or ran the Tea Party movement, only that their influence took over a small movement and that most of the people around me who talk about the tea party movement now are conservatives who don't even like Ron Paul.

[Maxel]

I never said that Fox organized or ran the Tea Party movement, only that their influence took over a small movement and that most of the people around me who talk about the tea party movement now are conservatives who don't even like Ron Paul.

You're right. I straw-manned your argument like nobody's business. My most sincere apologies.

My main problem is with the attendant implications of saying that 'Fox News took over a small movement' and changed its core. The point is that Fox News has highly publicized the tea parties, yes, but the movement is alive and well notwithstanding Fox's coverage of them, and that the idea that this is wholly run or manipulated by Fox is somewhat bizarre- which I now understand you're not saying. Sometimes I miss really obvious things. That's the second time now in about 3 days... Maybe I need to go lie down.

Edited April 20, 2009 by Maxel

[prisonchaplain]

And you still seem to have completely missed what I was saying. The original Tea Party concept started with Ron Paul and his followers, the concept of the Tea Party is what is being hijacked by Fox News, not the people who are now participating. What I'm talking about when I say "hijacked" is a small movement that has been completely hyped and taken over by Fox over the last few weeks, much to the dismay of many people originally in the movement.

I am not claiming that these people now participating the tea party are being duped in any way, just that Fox has transformed the movement to suit its own needs and now conservatives are flocking to it not because of the original movement but because of the Fox influence on it.

Then I guess I'd say, "so?" If a small group with a niche idea becomes a massive group with a populist and popular idea, then we call that a snowball effect, not a hijacking. Folk like Ron Paul, highly intelligent, with strong, well thought out, but not widely supported ideas, sometimes bless society with a nugget of truth that is so powerful, massive groups take that and grow it into something truly society-changing. FOX may have been a part of that process, but I seriously doubt that the network controls the partiers anymore than Ron Paul does.

[Moksha]

I think you give too much credit to Fox News.

I have noticed that seems to be the case for many Fox viewers who don't really want the news, but rather something they can agree with.

[bytor2112]

I have noticed that seems to be the case for many Fox viewers who don't really want the news, but rather something they can agree with.

and CNN viewers and MSNBC viewers.......perhaps a better point would be that most news outlets have a bias and editorialize more than they report the news.

[Churchmouse]

It's the same with the internet crowd. They go to sites that support their world view and ignore anything that would go against it.

Why don't you enlighten the rest of us lost sheep as to where we can find unbiased views. All outlets have their own agenda. I prefer Fox News. At least they "claim" to shows both sides and they do have liberal contributors. That can't be said for the left's MoveOn or MSNBC. You're aware of MSNBC? That's the one with ratings so low you need a microscope to find them.

[DigitalShadow]

Why don't you enlighten the rest of us lost sheep as to where we can find unbiased views. All outlets have their own agenda. I prefer Fox News. At least they "claim" to shows both sides and they do have liberal contributors. That can't be said for the left's MoveOn or MSNBC. You're aware of MSNBC? That's the one with ratings so low you need a microscope to find them.

My point was that there are no unbiased views. Think for yourself rather than looking for some source of information to take as Gospel so to speak.

[DigitalShadow]

Then I guess I'd say, "so?" If a small group with a niche idea becomes a massive group with a populist and popular idea, then we call that a snowball effect, not a hijacking. Folk like Ron Paul, highly intelligent, with strong, well thought out, but not widely supported ideas, sometimes bless society with a nugget of truth that is so powerful, massive groups take that and grow it into something truly society-changing. FOX may have been a part of that process, but I seriously doubt that the network controls the partiers anymore than Ron Paul does.

And I say "so?" right back to you. My main point of contention was you not having a clue what I was really talking about for 3 replies. In any case, the only reason I brought it up in the first place was because I had heard of the "hijacking" from someone originally supporting the movement but now upset at what it has turned in to.

So yes, I guess it would make sense for some to call it "snowball effect" and others to call it "hijacking" depending on your perspective and I can agree to disagree but I'm glad you at least seem to understand WHAT we were disagreeing about now.

[DigitalShadow]

You're right. I straw-manned your argument like nobody's business. My most sincere apologies.

My main problem is with the attendant implications of saying that 'Fox News took over a small movement' and changed its core. The point is that Fox News has highly publicized the tea parties, yes, but the movement is alive and well notwithstanding Fox's coverage of them, and that the idea that this is wholly run or manipulated by Fox is somewhat bizarre- which I now understand you're not saying. Sometimes I miss really obvious things. That's the second time now in about 3 days... Maybe I need to go lie down.

I guess I don't think that Fox News itself intentionally changed the core of the movement, but I do think that the influx of Fox News followers has somewhat changed the core of the movement.

[DigitalShadow]

and CNN viewers and MSNBC viewers.......perhaps a better point would be that most news outlets have a bias and editorialize more than they report the news.

Agreed. Unfortunately there is no market for simply reporting what happened because it is far more profitable to twist what happened to reinforce a group of people's world view. The "news" is no longer a source of what is going on in the world, it is a shelter for those too afraid to look beyond whatever they want to hear.

[Churchmouse]

My point was that there are no unbiased views. Think for yourself rather than looking for some source of information to take as Gospel so to speak.

If there are no unbiased newscasts, how do you gather the information to think for yourself. You have to listen to someone to get information. You don't have the ability to gather it on your own.

[DigitalShadow]

If there are no unbiased newscasts, how do you gather the information to think for yourself. You have to listen to someone to get information. You don't have the ability to gather it on your own.

Everyone has a bias, news casters, news writers, you, me, everyone. It is impossible to escape that because of human nature. That is why it is important to think about things for yourself rather than simply plugging in to one source of information and instantly rejecting anything contrary. There is nothing wrong with getting information from the news, but you should interpret that information for yourself rather than letting them do it for you.

Edited April 20, 2009 by DigitalShadow

[prisonchaplain]

There is one magazine that, though not terribly in depth, does a reasonable job at presenting multiple viewpoints--The Week. It's a 30-40 minute read each week, and often leads me to additional hunting on the net. realpolitics.com is often a good website for multple viewpoints--I used it a lot during the elections. But the bottom line is that everything must be read with discernment.

[StallionMcBeastly]

I was at the alleged largest Tea Part at the Sacramento State Capitol. It definitely was NOT a Republican gathering. It was an anti-huge tax, anti-government waste, anti-socialism gathering. I think the boos were louder and stronger when Republicans or the Bush administration was mentioned. The Republicans have SOLD OUT their principles. People are not happy with EITHER of the parties, and that is what this gathering was about. Not Republican, not Democrat.

It was a gathering of people who want government out of their lives and out of their pocketbooks.

Nancy Pelosi said the Tea Parties were funded by big corporations and referred to it as a "astro turf" movement. I pray for her demise.

[Just_A_Guy]

PC, are you perchance thinking of realclearpolitics.com?

Stallion, I thought I'd heard somewhere that the head of the California Republican Party showed up to the Sacramento tea party and was roundly booed off the stage. Can you confirm?

[StallionMcBeastly]

PC, are you perchance thinking of realclearpolitics.com?

Stallion, I thought I'd heard somewhere that the head of the California Republican Party showed up to the Sacramento tea party and was roundly booed off the stage. Can you confirm?

That's not quite how it went down. Mark Meckler, the organizer of the event, was speaking when he mentioned that the head of the Californian Republican Party was in the crowd somewhere and everyone booed and shouted at him. Mark explained how the Republicans at first didn't want anything to do with his Tea Party when he invited them - but after the Republicans noticed it was getting some attention they then asked to jump on board but Mark denied them.