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Coffee Party activists say their civic brew's a tastier choice than Tea Party's

the makeout hobo

the makeout hobo

Rockin' In The Free World
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Furious at the tempest over the Tea Party -- the scattershot citizen uprising against big government and wild spending -- Annabel Park did what any American does when she feels her voice has been drowned out: She squeezed her anger into a Facebook status update.

let's start a coffee party . . . smoothie party. red bull party. anything but tea. geez. ooh how about cappuccino party? that would really piss 'em off bec it sounds elitist . . . let's get together and drink cappuccino and have real political dialogue with substance and compassion.

Friends replied, and more friends replied. So last month, in her Silver Spring apartment, Park started a fan page called "Join the Coffee Party Movement." Within weeks, her inbox and page wall were swamped by thousands of comments from strangers in diverse locales, such as the oil fields of west Texas and the suburbs of Chicago.

I have been searching for a place of refuge like this for a long while. . . . It is not Us against the Govt. It is democracy vs corporatocracy . . . I just can't believe that the Tea Party speaks for all patriotic Americans. . . . Just sent suggestions to 50 friends . . . I think it's time we start a chapter right here in Tucson . . .

The snowballing response made her the de facto coordinator of Coffee Party USA, with goals far loftier than its oopsy-daisy origin: promote civility and inclusiveness in political discourse, engage the government not as an enemy but as the collective will of the people, push leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008.

The ideas aren't exactly fresh -- Tea Party chapters view themselves as civil, inclusive and fueled by collective will -- but the Coffee Party is percolating in at least 30 states. Small chapters are meeting up, venting frustrations, organizing themselves, hoping to transcend one-click activism. Kind of like the Tea Party did this last year, spawning 1,200 chapters, a national conference and a march on Washington.
Click to expand...

washingtonpost.com

Interesting. Should see how this goes. I personally could see this getting a lot of momentum. It's been a long time since there's been significant populist activity on the left, and this looks like it could lead to that.
 
the makeout hobo said:
washingtonpost.com

Interesting. Should see how this goes. I personally could see this getting a lot of momentum. It's been a long time since there's been significant populist activity on the left, and this looks like it could lead to that.
Click to expand...

From what little I've read, and there's only a little, I don't necessarily think this is a left-wing populist movement. If you compare it to the Tea Party, of course it is left-wing, but that's only because the Tea Party is so much right-wing.

Rather, I see that, so far, the Coffee Party is a populist movement who feels that the Tea Party doesn't accurately represent their interests. Now this may be for reasons of rhetoric or it could be reasons of goals or it could be reasons of methods.

So far, their main message is "We aren't the Tea Party and we want to be heard too." However, I don't know if they've really said anything yet.

I'd really like to see what they stand for or what their platform is before we label them as right-wing or left-wing. It could be that they are a left-wing populist movement but it could also be that they are a right-wing populist movement with fewer undercurrents of negativity towards the left-wing (for example, they are right-wingers, but refuse to call Obama a nazi or a socialist or a marxist or a muslim).

I'd really like to see more before I make a judgment on them.
 
**** this I'm creating my own movement:

Organization for the Control, Deportation, and Extermination of Prehistoric Dinosaurs

(OCDEPD)


!!!!!
 
Arch Enemy said:
**** this I'm creating my own movement:

Organization for the Control, Deportation, and Extermination of Prehistoric Dinosaurs

(OCDEPD)


!!!!!
Click to expand...

I create my own movement every day after I eat my bran cereal.
 
the makeout hobo said:
washingtonpost.com

Interesting. Should see how this goes. I personally could see this getting a lot of momentum. It's been a long time since there's been significant populist activity on the left, and this looks like it could lead to that.
Click to expand...

It will be interesting to watch the Coffee Party and the Democrat party split a voting block that makes up 20% of the country...:rofl
 
apdst said:
It will be interesting to watch the Coffee Party and the Democrat party split a voting block that makes up 20% of the country...:rofl
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Ummm, I think that's an awfully low number for Democrats and liberals in the U.S.
 
samsmart said:
Ummm, I think that's an awfully low number for Democrats and liberals in the U.S.
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Only 20% of the country identifies itself Liberal.

We already have the Green Party, the socialists and the communists. Another Leftist party is exactly what the doctor ordered...:rofl
 
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Furious at the tempest over the Tea Party -- the scattershot citizen uprising against big government and wild spending -- Annabel Park did what any American does when she feels her voice has been drowned out: She squeezed her anger into a Facebook status update.

let's start a coffee party . . . smoothie party. red bull party. anything but tea. geez. ooh how about cappuccino party? that would really piss 'em off bec it sounds elitist . . . let's get together and drink cappuccino and have real political dialogue with substance and compassion.

Friends replied, and more friends replied. So last month, in her Silver Spring apartment, Park started a fan page called "Join the Coffee Party Movement." Within weeks, her inbox and page wall were swamped by thousands of comments from strangers in diverse locales, such as the oil fields of west Texas and the suburbs of Chicago.

I have been searching for a place of refuge like this for a long while. . . . It is not Us against the Govt. It is democracy vs corporatocracy . . . I just can't believe that the Tea Party speaks for all patriotic Americans. . . . Just sent suggestions to 50 friends . . . I think it's time we start a chapter right here in Tucson . . .

The snowballing response made her the de facto coordinator of Coffee Party USA, with goals far loftier than its oopsy-daisy origin: promote civility and inclusiveness in political discourse, engage the government not as an enemy but as the collective will of the people, push leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008.

The ideas aren't exactly fresh -- Tea Party chapters view themselves as civil, inclusive and fueled by collective will -- but the Coffee Party is percolating in at least 30 states. Small chapters are meeting up, venting frustrations, organizing themselves, hoping to transcend one-click activism. Kind of like the Tea Party did this last year, spawning 1,200 chapters, a national conference and a march on Washington.
Click to expand...
Juan Valdez must be smiling right now. :coffeepap

By the way, the Coffee Party is indeed liberal. The above story describes one of the Coffee Party's goals as, "push leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008." In other words, Annabel Park and her friends believe that President Obama's election was a mandate for the federal government to enact big-government policies - the sort of policies that Tea Party participants are opposed to.
 
I am waiting for the ultimate all inclusive (except for practising mormons and muslims) Keg Party

That party will cross party lines and include democrats, liberals, conservatives and republicans.
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
I am waiting for the ultimate all inclusive (except for practising mormons and muslims) Keg Party

That party will cross party lines and include democrats, liberals, conservatives and republicans.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes. Arguments seem better when they are settled over a pint.
pint.jpg
 
How about a Beer-Party? I'll join that one!
 
MyOwnDrum said:
How about a Beer-Party? I'll join that one!
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I'm down. Primary party goal will be to halt the ever-present War on Alcohol. Too often the media has portrayed beer-drinkers as fat, lazy, stupid drunks in an effort to stigmatize our way of life!
 
Deuce said:
I'm down. Primary party goal will be to halt the ever-present War on Alcohol. Too often the media has portrayed beer-drinkers as fat, lazy, stupid drunks in an effort to stigmatize our way of life!
Click to expand...

That's right. They should portray us as we really are. As fat, lazy, stupid moderate alcohol drinkers!
 
Deuce said:
Too often the media has portrayed beer-drinkers as fat, lazy, stupid drunks in an effort to stigmatize our way of life!
Click to expand...
Yeah. How dare the media do that! Don't they know that it's Hollywood's job to portray beer-drinkers as fat, lazy, stupid drunks?
:beer:


By the way, does the rise of the Beer Party mean that the Coffee Party is a bust?
 
the makeout hobo said:
washingtonpost.com

Interesting. Should see how this goes. I personally could see this getting a lot of momentum. It's been a long time since there's been significant populist activity on the left, and this looks like it could lead to that.
Click to expand...

Almost by definition, populist movements are incompatible with the idea of substantive intellectual discussion. If this thing turns out to be groups of 20 people in each city complaining about everything, great. If it turns out to be something bigger, let's just call it what it is: Moveon.kos
 
the makeout hobo said:
washingtonpost.com

Interesting. Should see how this goes. I personally could see this getting a lot of momentum. It's been a long time since there's been significant populist activity on the left, and this looks like it could lead to that.
Click to expand...

Reagan populism destroyed American conservatism. If it enters liberalism it will kill again.
 
the makeout hobo said:
washingtonpost.com

Interesting. Should see how this goes. I personally could see this getting a lot of momentum. It's been a long time since there's been significant populist activity on the left, and this looks like it could lead to that.
Click to expand...

I doubt she even understands the history behind the name they chose.
 
apdst said:
It will be interesting to watch the Coffee Party and the Democrat party split a voting block that makes up 20% of the country...:rofl
Click to expand...

Except this Coffee Party is nothing but a bunch of liberals and Democrats. At election time they will vote Democrat.

This is another example of the 'Cargo' phenomenon. They think by putting up a facade of what appear to be alternative ideas, they can actually launch a new movement that accomplishes something original.

This sort of liberal is simply a joke.
 
the makeout hobo said:
washingtonpost.com

Interesting. Should see how this goes. I personally could see this getting a lot of momentum. It's been a long time since there's been significant populist activity on the left, and this looks like it could lead to that.
Click to expand...

So now, in addition to extremists on the right, we have extremists on the left. Nothing new here. LOL.
 
danarhea said:
So now, in addition to extremists on the right, we have extremists on the left. Nothing new here. LOL.
Click to expand...

I don't really see the Coffee Party as extremists on the left.

cpwill has said that liberals are 20% of the people. What he neglects to mention is that 40% identify themselves as conservatives, while the other 40% identify themselves as moderates.

I think the Coffee Party are made up of those moderates, or those who are center-left. Unlike the Tea Party, who are making demands on the government, the Coffee Party is trying to make a well-spoken consensus on the issues. Such a thing is hardly what extremists do.
 
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