One of the big reasons that the tea party movement was so successful in 2009 was the conservative media. The democratic-media complex didn’t approve of the uprising and frequently attacked the protesters and the movement.
Photo via Looking at the Left at the Denver protest in April 2009.
It was social media websites, blogs, conservative radio, and FOX News who promoted the tea party events. With over 500,000 readers a day, Glenn Reynolds promoted the movement all year long. His frequent reports and encouraging words helped the movement succeed.
Today Glenn Reynolds wrote an excellent article for The Wall Street Journal about the National Tea Party Convention he attended in Nashville last weekend. Glenn discussed where the movement is headed in today’s article:
A year ago, many told me, they were depressed about the future of America. Watching television pundits talk about President Obama’s transformative plans for big government, they felt alone, isolated and helpless. That changed when protests, organized by bloggers, met Mr. Obama a year ago in Denver, Colo., Mesa, Ariz., and Seattle, Wash. Then came CNBC talker Rick Santelli’s famous on-air rant on Feb. 19, 2009, which gave the tea-party movement its name.
Tea partiers are still angry at federal deficits, at Washington’s habit of rewarding failure with handouts and punishing success with taxes and regulation, and the general incompetence that has marked the first year of the Obama presidency. But they’re no longer depressed.
Instead, they seem energized. And surprisingly media savvy. William Temple donned colonial dress knowing that it would be an irresistible lure to TV cameras. When the cameras trained on him, he regaled interviewers with well-informed discussion of constitutional history. Other attendees were hawking DVDs, books, and Web sites promoting tea-party ideals, while discussing the use of tools like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for political organizing.
Press attention focused on Sarah Palin’s speech, which was well-received by the crowd. But the attendees I met weren’t looking to her for direction. They were hoping she would move in theirs. Right now, the tea party isn’t looking for leaders so much as leaders are looking to align themselves with the tea party.
2010 ought to be a great year for turning energy into action.
** The St. Louis Tea Party Coalition is planning their next rally at the Arch on Saturday February 27.
UPDATE: Like clockwork the leftists at Media Matters attack Glenn’s report on this grassroots movement. This uprising of the people is a serious threat to the elitists and socialists in power.
