links for 2009-04-16

t's a good list, but it appears to have left some events off, which would boost the numbers even higher. I don't see Macon, Ga., listed, and that was reportedly "almost 600" and "about 500" at Warner-Robins, Ga.

Roanoke, Va., is not listed, and the local newspaper article mentions "325 people."

Perhaps most glaringly, Columbus, Ohio doesn't appear on Silver's list, which had, according to organizers, 7,000 people. Even if you think the organizers are overestimating the number, it's more than the zero that are in Silver's current count.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, this is starting to look like a fairly significant undercount. While Silver uses 7,000 for Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Public Safety estimated the crowd at 15,000.

Obama is a very popular President, at the moment, his unpopularity among Republicans notwithstanding, and it's awfully hard to see the Tea Parties doing much to change that reality in the short run; if anything, they're far more likely to reconfirm the majority in its opinion that American conservatism is increasingly wacky, echo-chamberish, and out-of-touch.

Still, here we are in the sixth year of the Iraq War, and all those anti-war protests, their excesses and stupidities notwithstanding, look a lot more prescient in hindsight than they did (to me, at least) when they were going on. So if you're inclined to sneer and giggle at the Tea Parties, keep in mind that just because a group of protesters looks ragged, resentful, and naive, that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong to be alarmed:

We hear that John Garamendi is getting ready to jump into the Congressional race against Mark DeSaulnier for Ellen Tauscher’s vacant, East Bay Congressional seat. Garamendi has name ID in a race that will likely feature low turn-out, and has to be seen as a front-runner (this from a column that has not seen a lick of polling in the race). So, let’s go to the dominos, shall we? Of course, it’s bad news for DeSaulnier and Joan Buchanan, who both wanted to run for the seat. Of course, everyone’s got a free run at it, so there’s nothing to stop DeSaulnier or Buchanan from plunging into the race. DeSaulnier already has some top endorsements, and is unlikely to back down now. It’s also bad news for Dean Florez and Alan Lowenthal, who were mounting Lite Gov campaigns for 2010. If Garamendi wins, Schwarzenegger will get to appoint a new lieutenant, and Florez or Lowenthal would have to run against an incumbent. Of course, that didn’t work out too well for Bruce McPherson, so all is not lost..

A number of press reports have characterized the tea parties as anti-Obama exercises. The Wall Street Journal carried an online story headlined "Anti-Obama 'Tea Party' Protests Mark Tax Day." CNN introduced a tea-party story by saying, "This is a party for Obama-bashers." The Los Angeles Times ran a column headlined, "Anti-Obama Taxpayer Tea Parties Steeped in Insanity." But in Winchester at least, the atmosphere was not so much anti-Obama — organizers posted a note on their website asking that everyone "Please DO NOT personally attack the President or any member of Congress by name" — as it was a classic conservative Republican, limited-government, anti-spending talkfest. Anyone who covered the GOP primary contests in 2007-2008 would have recognized it immediately.

THE top suits and some of the on-air talent at CNBC were recently ordered to a top-secret meeting with General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker to discuss whether they've turned into the President Obama-bashing network, Page Six has learned.

"It was an intensive, three-hour dinner at 30 Rock which Zucker himself was behind," a source familiar with the powwow told us. "There was a long discussion about whether CNBC has become too conservative and is beating up on Obama too much. There's great concern that CNBC is now the anti-Obama network. The whole meeting was really kind of creepy."

But if 100-1,000 people show up at a town council, city council, etc. meeting, in most places, that's an earthquake. It varies widely, but most local government budget meetings are sleepy affairs, and many local lawmakers are used to settling their spending with minimal scrutiny. They've never seen anything like several hundred people showing up with the same message of "don't waste my money."

In other words, if conservatives want to make sure stimulus funds don't get spent on crap, applying pressure at the local level is a way to leverage the tea party energy into something with real impact on the ground. Who knows? It might even get some conservatives involved in government on a more regular basis.

This is an update and probably the last one. Those of you who are interested in extending the analysis (there are undoubtedly many events missing, although most of the major ones should now be covered) are encouraged to do so at Wikipedia or elsewhere.

But, based on news accounts of 306 "Tea Party" protests in different cities across the country yesterday, I get a cumulative attendance of 262,025, with a fair number of (probably mostly smaller) events still unaccounted for.

1. The jury remains out (to say the least) on the Michael Steele era (see especially: nuts and bolts, communications, fundraising).

2. The inordinate actual power that radio and cable hosts have over the actions of Republican elected officials.

3. The media's fascination with the actual (and exaggerated) power that radio and cable hosts have over the actions of Republican elected officials.

4. The failure of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to agree on and/or execute a daily, disciplined coordinated message plan.

5. The worst nativist instincts on immigration, that will cripple any chances the party has to survive the here-and-now and impending demographic changes.

I told Michael Reagan it was the best political event I have ever attended. At least 5,000 and maybe 10,000 anti-tax grass roots advocates descended on our State Capitol West Steps today mid-day for three hours with one simple message: enough is enough! No more taxes! Jon Coupal of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers and Peter Foy of Americans for Prosperity were the key people that made this hugely successful rally happen near the lore of the liberal Democrats! Earlier, I joined with Reagan in his private meeting in the Capitol with the truest of our conservative true believers: Assemblymembers Miller, Logue, Duvall, Silva, Hagman, Conway, and Knight; and State Senator Jim Neilsen.

Mr Sarkozy is pouring cold water on President Obama's efforts to recast American leadership on the world stage, depicting them as unoriginal, unsubstantial and overrated. Behind leaks and briefings from the Elysée Palace lies Mr Sarkozy's irritation at the rock-star welcome that Europe gave Mr Obama on his Europan tour earlier this month.

The American President's call "to free the world of the menace of a nuclear nightmare" was hot air, Mr Sarkozy's diplomatic staff told him in a report. "It was rhetoric – not a speech on American security policy but an export model aimed at improving the image of the United States," they said. Most of Mr Obama's proposals had already been made by the Bush administration and Washington was dragging its feet on disarmament and treaties against nuclear proliferation, the leaked report said.

But, why isn't Foy in Ventura County today at the Ventura County Tea Party?
Because he wants to run for California Governor and will vacate his Ventura county Supervisor seat.

Huckabee says Armey and his cohorts "never listened to what I was saying, but just spoke out to protect their pals who were funding their faces—there’s a word for people who get to paid to show love, but polite people don’t use it openly. I’ve found it amazing to watch the huffy puffy types who skinned me alive during the campaign jump out and support TARP, and then change their tune when Obama and the Dems proposed stimulus. Let the record note, that I opposed TARP—I called it the Congressional Relief Action Program from the beginning. I could say more, but have to go catch a plane!"

Last week was horrible here in Pittsburgh, so it's nice to settle back into the warm embrace of sniping between Arlen Specter and Pat Toomey.

The Arlen squad sent off this letter to Toomey today, regarding changes in his official bio. Besides being a nice catch, it's likely a way of blunting Toomey's criticisms of Specter editing a campaign ad after it was shown to be partially inaccurate.

I have my minor quibbles with the Tea Parties — I wish the movement could articulate a clearer agenda besides "don't do this", and I think the argument would be more persuasive coming from "ordinary American" small businessmen, instead of from quasi-politicians like Alan Keyes. But listening to Pete Dominick, afternoon host on XM POTUS yesterday, argue that the motivation for the event stemed mostly from racism and opposition to President Obama, I find the Tea Party critics even less serious or compelling.

Up in New Jersey, GOP gubernatorial candidates Chris Christie, Steve Lonegan, Richard A. Merkt and Roger Baconwill attend the Morristown Tea Party. But I suspect many attendees would agree with my sense that the day ought to be about positions and policy, not candidates and personality.

Fox News isn’t the only media outlet extensively covering today’s anti-tax tea party protests: Huffington Post is also flooding the zone.

“It is a perfect citizen journalist story,” Arianna Huffington told POLITICO, “because it’s something happening around the country at the same time where people who are involved with us in our citizen journalist project can report back.”

There are roughly 760 tea parties planned throughout the country, and according to a Huffington Post spokesperson, more than 1,800 citizen journalists have signed up.
Huffington said that they’ll abide by traditional rules in doing pen-and-pad reporting, taking photos, making short films, and using Twitter. Anyone who doesn't follow the rules, she said, will no longer be part of the citizen journalism project.