Tea Party Explained

the Tea Party isn't what it started out to be have you slept I got up at 2 a.m. and broke down polling data from the Republican Senate primary race in Utah I never heard anyone say that before someone faxed me the polling data I don't even know who but that doesn't matter bob bennett the most conservative member of the senate is going to lose his primary race to a guy named Mike Lee because Lee found room to the right of better you wouldn't think that was possible back in 1968 when Rennie Davis and Hayden and their guys organized the SDS it was specifically to end the Vietnam War but that movement got eaten by Abby Hoffman and Jerry Rubin and the hippies Hoffman and Rubin were a lot more charismatic yeah but it was impossible to define what the hippies were protesting they were about giving the finger to anyone over 30 generically hating the American establishment dropping out getting high and that's how the progressive movement would be painted for the next 40 years people passing out daisies to soldiers and trying to levitate the Pentagon I was there that damn near worked no it didn't the Pentagon's a really big building it can't levitate it how is there room to the right of Bob Bennett for starters a centerpiece of Mike Lee's stump speech is repealing the 14th amendment it's an applause line and he's going to win his primary by double digits charlie I understood the Tea Party in the beginning just like I understood the SDS the tea party was middle class movement responding spontaneously to bad trends wages are stagnant jobs were disappearing Wall Street got trillions and everybody was laughing at them they've been co-opted by the radical right which in turn has enslaved the Republican middle so you think the sixties radicals and the Tea Party are roughly the same with one big exception even at the height of 1968 the Democrats wouldn't have nominated Abbie Hoffman or Jerry Rubin for any office and no candidate would have sought their endorsement can you imagine Humphrey or Kennedy standing for a photo op with Bernardine Dohrn or Allen Ginsberg at that oh I didn't even know you were here get that the Tea Party is being radicalized and their original organizing principles obliterated and no one should be laughing anymore they should be scared shitless my party's being hijacked and it's happening in real time how is this not our top story every night thank you seriously how did you get there you're not gonna be very popular with Republicans Hoffman and rule weren't Democrats and these guys aren't Republicans it needs to be a Republican saying it top story every night until the plant from Little Shop of Horrors goes back to its a planet I think you got the plate coming around you're the one who affects in the Utah polling data right

Channel: Josh Glassman

Views: 964,056

Rating: 4.7582064 out of 5

Keywords: Tea, Party, Newsroom, Jeff, Daniels, Sam, Waterston, Emily, Mortimer, Aaron, Sorkin, Hippies

Id: cGsLhyNJBh8

Length: 2min 34sec (154 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 24 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

This wasn't before anyone else. Newsroom is set a year prior to the time the showed aired, which is why everything they say is so on-the-nose and seemingly comprehensive.

Also, dozens of journalists warned of the radicalization of the middle class as early as 2010.

[u/[deleted]]

They also have Toby ruining the day for everybody

announcing the end of the world

Who cares?

Thanks for having me

[u/LucAltaiR]

I'm probably getting downvoted for this, but The Newsroom was a terrible TV Show.
I know that the purpose was about making a point and a stand into politics and media and what was happening at the time, but as a TV show it just didn't work.

[u/peanutpretzel]

I want to live in one of sorkens stories. Specifically one with Josh Lyman Sam seaborne :(

[u/hankct]

That show was awesome

[u/B0ndzai]

The tea party is the American Taliban.

[u/WhiskeyWolfe]

I really need to watch this show.

As long as that annoying “American Idea of an English Girl” doesn’t feature heavily.