OUDaily.com | YOUR VIEWS: Tea Party coverage unacceptable

Welcome Guest Register or Login

YOUR VIEWS: Tea Party coverage unacceptable

by | April 20, 2009 | 30 comments

Tea Party coverage unacceptable

I couldn’t keep myself from laughing after finishing the last half of “Anger Boils Over at Capitol,” which was concluded with a small passage reading “Our Commitment to Accuracy: The Daily has a long-standing commitment to serve readers by providing accurate coverage and analysis. Errors are corrected as they are identified. Readers should bring errors to the attention of the editorial board for further investigation.”

Well, you’ve made quite the error. The first error I’m eager to point out is using Wallace Collins as a reputable, trustworthy source. Besides being successfully sued two separate times for libel, he’s also the very last person who should be commenting on anything even remotely related to education or spending. I urge you to recall his debacle last year on the House floor when he admitted he couldn’t read very well due to being a public school graduate, or that his libel lawsuit costs had to be garnished out of his Oklahoma taxpayer-funded paycheck. Setting these issues aside, you might have thought “maybe I should interview someone who disagrees with the cause but, at least, has the intellectual capacity to comprehend the message.” This personal deliberation should have come immediately after hearing him mutter, “None of us want to (pay taxes). But I would venture a guess that none of them want to cut any government services either.” In fact, that is precisely what Tea Partiers are asking for, since the definition of “services” has come to include frivolous bailouts of private corporations.

I’m not sure if I should be upset that you interviewed someone who put the cause down and clearly doesn’t understand it, or thank you for proving the point that these are exactly the kind of people Tea Partiers wish to throw out of office – those who are unwilling to take a stand against spending because they’re too concerned with how that might affect their re-election campaign.

The author also made the mistake of implying that these Tea Parties are a partisan issue. If he had cared to perform even a cursory investigation into the history of the protests, he would have known that not only are these events protesting both parties, but also that the organizer for the Oklahoma City Tea Party is a Democrat.

-Tessa Breder, international security sophomore, OU College Republicans Chairman, Cleveland County Republican Party Vice-Chairman

More like this story

Comments

The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register

RogerG 3 years, 1 month ago

These were REPUBLICAN parties.

JWade 3 years, 1 month ago

"Tea parties are not a partisan issue," huh?

Shirley, you can't be serious, surely.

Flips88 3 years, 1 month ago

TheMurdered, I know most will concede that Collins isn't really who we want in the state legislature, and frankly, there are a lot of people on the Democratic side that need to be as far away from making law as possible. However, Republicans must also agree that people like Sally Kern are a disgrace to public office as well as people like Randy Terrill whose sole purpose seems to be making Oklahoma as ethnocentric as possible. The beef isn't with either party. It's with our whole legislature. They don't do anything worth being proud of.

Regor 3 years, 1 month ago

Oh, JJanowiak, if only you had read the last section of this opinion post. TEA PARTIES ARE NOT A PARTISAN ISSUE. If you can please reveal your source to prove that "95%" of TEA Partiers were Republicans, I would be mightily impressed.

Second error: Glenn Beck hosted with Ted Nugent last Wednesday, not yesterday.

I can promise you the OKC TEA Party and the OUCR TEA Party offered much more impressive, in-depth rhetoric than what you must have heard. Both had speakers for an an entire hour and I was quite impressed with what they had to offer, as it was not the same old regurgitated spiel of disapproval of corporate bailouts you mention. Of course, many of the speeches given in Oklahoma City were given by Democrats, so I suppose that might disprove your wrongful assumption that this is a partisan issue.

Lastly, I'm curious, did you actually attend any of the local TEA Parties? I attended three different TEA Parties with over 8,000 attendees in total and not once did I see any signs referring to anyone's race or a desire for secession. If you did go to any of them and saw the opposite, I'd like to know. Unfortunately, my guess is you're going strictly off of what you viewed on TV.

Flips88 3 years, 1 month ago

Well Regor, I saw a nice picture from the Oklahoma State Capitol with a giant sign reading: "WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK. SEND OBAMA BACK TO AFRICA" Both thoughtful and thought provoking, I must say. A true credit to the movement.

TheMurderer 3 years, 1 month ago

Regor, they got their information from Keith Olbermann and Janaene Garofalo, not the news. So lay off!

mustafa 3 years, 1 month ago

RE. Signs with racist or otherwise offensive slogans.

If the presence of any such sign at any demonstration is enough to discredit said event then it behooves the opponents to provide such signs.

Would liberals stoop to going to such events with racist signs in order to ruin the appearence of civility? Such a tactic is right out of Rules For Radicals, the Leftist handbook which has no conservative counterpart.

JJanowiak 3 years, 1 month ago

I've been loving Fox News this weekend since the Tea Parties are the only thing they'll cover because of the MSM-wide "conspiracy". The list of epic fails is so long, but the top, IMHO, is the kind of leadership these parties are getting. Who was the main speaker at the D.C. party? Michelle Malkin, who is a special hunk of stupid, sexist, racist idiot. Yesterday Glenn "Imunindiependentthenker" Bleck hosted the San Antonio party with Ted Nugent (yes, TED NUGENT) playing in the background. Ted Nugent is CRAZY!

Nowhere did I see any conservative intellectuals, or anyone making any stand beyond "well, we shouldn't be bailing out corporations" coming from someone obviously without any idea of what the consequences of a string of failing corporations are.

Lastly, signs --everywhere-- were filled with craziness, racist, secessionist rhetoric. And this whole bipartisan thing? 95% of those people are obviously Republicans with a sprinkling of libertarians, because even disenchanted Democrats know better than to get involved in this kind of fail.

It's admirable that conservatives want to stand up for their ideals, but they went to great lengths to make themselves look stupid and ignorant.

JJanowiak 3 years, 1 month ago

Regor, the tea parties are quite transparently a partisan issue organized by explicitly conservative groups. If you saw a bunch of democrats in attendance at the local parties it's because most of Oklahoma's democrats are for most intents and purposes Republican.

My bad on the broadcast, it didn't say that it was a recast.

But come on, have you not watched the TV lately? The crazies have come out for this moment, and while they don't represent the majority of protesters, organizers did a bad job of keeping them out, just like they did during McCain's run (remember all the racist shouting then?). You think that a group of people waving flags saying "don't tread on me" and "come and get it" are the kinds of things most Americans are interested in right now? The Republicans failed again and it's disappointing because the TEA parties could have been so much more, but instead we DID get the usual demagoguery - Oklahoma only escaped national media nutjobs because it's so irrelevant.

eightbitgirl 3 years, 1 month ago

Flips88, I was a big fan of "OBAMA MY FOREFATHERS WERE CHRISTIAN. YOURS ARE FROM KENYA. WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOU?" and "AMERICAN TAXPAYERS: JEWS FOR OBAMA'S OVENS." I feel that those two signs really point toward the grassroots effort and bipartisan feel that FOX News definitely did not have a hand in. I also cannot type any of that with a straight face.

I did attend a Tea Party. I saw just how hateful, pointless, and stupid these people are, and it made me sad for humanity. These weren't grassroots efforts, and the one I went to had pretty much not a thing to do with government spending. It was a forum for every single fringe job lunatic in the Houston area to air their grievances about gay marriage, abortion, illegal (and some legal, which is even more baffling) immigration, and a way to call the President racist names without having to face consequences for their actions. I feel bad for the people who went to a Tea Party with a legitimate gripe other than MARXISTFASCISTILLEGALIMMIGRANTSOCIALISTWITHACHRISTIANPREACHER, but they were vastly outnumbered by ignorant people with a bone to pick.

dargus 3 years, 1 month ago

"i really like the double standard. it's acceptable for liberals to bash anti-liberal (less govt, lower taxes, etc.) protests. but it's unacceptable for anti-liberals to protest."

The double standard applies to both sides. Remember when protesters hated America? I do.

Regor 3 years, 1 month ago

JJanowiak, what I'm hearing is that you've retracted your entire earlier statement and now mean to say that all of those who consider themselves Democrats are, by virtue, Republicans simply because of their geographical location? Not only is this hilariously absurd, it's absolutely false. It also proves you're willing to say anything, true or not, to make your points.

Flips88, I'm curious, where did you see this sign? It certainly didn't come on any of the news stations or newspapers that covered the TEA Party that day and I couldn't find any footage of it on YouTube or Google. I obviously saw no such sign at any of the TEA Parties I attended, or I, along with many others, would have been outraged. In fact, the only mention of it I had heard came off of Twitter...please tell me you've got better sources than that?

TheMurderer 3 years, 1 month ago

Delightful, and expected. Now who's going to great lengths to makes themselves look stupid and ignorant?

TheMurderer 3 years, 1 month ago

I liked the signs representing all liberals that said things like "We Support Our Troops When They Shoot Their Officers", "Don't Let the Jews Send Us to War", "I Want YOU To Die for Israel" and the one that replaced the S in Israel with the Swastika. Those were great! It's just too bad all liberals are ignorant racists. Also, all environmentalists are terrorists because I saw on TV where a group of them blew up several labs in the Northwest.

Nevertheless, I'm glad the discussion has focused on the issues in the letter--namely, the journalistic integrity of The Daily. Though, I doubt there would be much debate on that topic because most people realize how terrible it is. Makes us proud of OU!

RogerG 3 years, 1 month ago

When Obama wants to eliminate wasteful spending, Repubs complain When Clinton balances the budget, Republicans impeach him When Bush spends on no-bid contracts and unnecessary invasions, they're cool

Fiscal responsibility is not their strong point Reagan ran up the deficits too. OKIE democrats are far worse than a NY moderate urban Republican;;But these tea parties did not have anyone who voted for Obama; all it had were hating low information Republicans and libertarians and perhaps a few yellow Dog Democrats aka Dixiecrats

kdbp1213 3 years, 1 month ago

i really like the double standard. it's acceptable for liberals to bash anti-liberal (less govt, lower taxes, etc.) protests. but it's unacceptable for anti-liberals to protest. this is what makes the USA great !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regor 3 years, 1 month ago

Eightbitgirl, we must have attended different parties as I didn't talk to a single "fringe job lunatic" or "ignorant" activist at any of the three I went to. Nor did I run into any hatefulness for anything other than wasteful government spending, which did not limit itself to the current administration but gave hell to the last one, as well. What I can promise you was that this was a grassroots effort. How do I know this? I was a part of it. I talked quite a bit with Alan Webb, the OKC TP organizer, up to the 15th and came to learn of the different groups spreading the word. In fact, I was invited to the first TP by a friend via Facebook, this was long before it was on FOX's radar. The reason you're unaware of this and blaming FOX for their coverage is simple. You, along with Flips88 and JJanowiak, are willing to say just about anything to discredit this movement because you plainly see it as an attack on your mother ship that is the DNC.

In addition to this, I urge you to take a gander at the ratings CNN and MSNBC earned that day as compared to FOX. I'll spoil it for you--they were dominated. Why? Tens of thousands of Americans were making an effort to communicate with their government on April 15. Contrary to Roesgen and Cooper’s report, that’s news!

As usual, you all have decided to follow the party line and pick out the tiny fraction of radicals to illustrate your point because effective organization on this scale seems threatening to the next election cycle. I’m doing my best not to lump you all into the same category as Guraffalo, but you’re not making it easy.

Finally, you all have missed the actual point of this letter which was focused on the exposure, not just the message of the TEA Parties. The Daily’s coverage and analysis of the TEA Parties was utterly skewed. They used poor sources and even poorer judgment when they attempted to explain and dissect the story, which didn’t help your cause at all. Unless, of course, you think Wally Collins to be a good representative of your views to this matter, which I’ll pity no matter what side of the aisle you happen to fall on.

PS--JWade, I'm absolutely enthralled with your deep analysis and abundance of credible information. Please enlighten us as to where you found this fountain of knowledge.

JJanowiak 3 years, 1 month ago

Regor, you deny that Oklahoma democrats are more conservative than the Democratic party? I'm just telling you what's already common knowledge even though you'd obviously rather play dumb.

Regor 3 years, 1 month ago

A: What is "RogerG"?

Regor 3 years, 1 month ago

JJanowiak, sorry, pal. I'm not going to run to the rescue to facilitate your much-needed back-pedaling.

TheMurderer 3 years, 1 month ago

Way to cut wasteful spending, Mr. President!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/SPIN-METER-Saving-federal-apf-14976290.html?.v=1

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cut a latte or two out of your annual budget and you've just done as much belt-tightening as President Barack Obama asked of his Cabinet on Monday.

The thrifty measures Obama ordered for federal agencies are the equivalent of asking a family that spends $60,000 in a year to save $6.

mythman 3 years, 1 month ago

TheMurderer, do you know what an ad hominem is, and why it's a fallacy? An ad hominem is a cheap attempt at filling a column when you don't have a substantial argument. Breder wastes most of her space complaining about Collins instead of actually addressing the arguments put forth.

Flips88 3 years, 1 month ago

3098_72057477748_508207748_1732905_6339304_n by samike88

But you know Tessa, I'm sure there are tons of state capitols with oil derricks on site, so please feel free to ignore this reality as well.

I bet if you asked every single one of those tea party attendees if taxes were higher under Reagan or Obama, they would all say Obama and they would all be wrong.

TheMurderer 3 years, 1 month ago

Obama eliminates wasteful spending, CONFIRMED: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures

Obama ends no-bid contracts, CONFIRMED: http://newledger.com/2009/04/irony/

Sources: Keith Olbermann, Janaene Garofalo, and Jon Stewart

TheMurderer 3 years, 1 month ago

Mythman, are you denying that Wallace Collins is a fool? If you are, then you don't know the man. And it's not really ad hominem attacks Breder is using as much as it is the truth. Everyone in Norman knows about how he lied against both his Democratic and Republican opponent and then was successfully sued by both for libel.

Wallace Collins, Democratic lion.