Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Dunedan
Actually no, goatfucker. The term was coined by Anderson Cooper of CNN after TEA Party members got into the brief habit of mailing tea bags (as in Boston Tea Party) to representatives as a pun voicing their frustrations with Mr. Bush's bailout. Mr. Cooper, at least, had the decency to retract his sexually offensive pun the next day on AC360.
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According to the conservative National Review, it was the tea baggers themselves who coined the term:
Quote:
To “teabag” or not to “teabag”: That is not the most pressing question of these times, but it is a question to consider. Routinely, conservative protesters in the “tea party” movement are called “teabaggers,” and those calling them that do not mean it in a nice way. Many conservatives are mulling what to do about this term: fight it, embrace it, what?
First, a little history. After Barack Obama was sworn in as president, with his big majorities in Congress, the Democrats launched quite a bit of federal spending: particularly with the “stimulus” package. Some Americans were determined to counter this. And, before you knew it, we had the “tea party” movement. What protesters were doing, of course, was invoking the spirit of the American Revolutionaries, and their Boston Tea Party. According to the website of the Tea Party Patriots, the movement is committed to three “core values”: fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets.
The first big day for this movement was Tax Day, April 15. And organizers had a gimmick. They asked people to send a tea bag to the Oval Office. One of the exhortations was “Tea Bag the Fools in D.C.” A protester was spotted with a sign saying, “Tea Bag the Liberal Dems Before They Tea Bag You.” So, conservatives started it: started with this terminology. But others ran with it and ran with it.
Rise of an Epithet by Jay Nordlinger on National Review / Digital
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Then, Anderson Cooper and others ran with it.
But whats in a name.
Rand Paul is now the new voice of the movement. Is that a step up from Sarah Palin?
Probably not....but the fact remains, extemists like these two will turn off the independent voters before you can say tea baggers are nuts.