Tea Party

The Difference Between #OccupyWallStreet And The #TeaParty

Posted by on October 10, 2011 at 11:36 pm. 25 Comments :

As the “Occupy” movement continues to grow and expand across the country, some in the media have been trying to make comparisons between it and the Tea Party. In fairness, there are some similarities. Both are comprised of Americans who are angry about unfairness and corruption in politics and business. But the similarities are mostly on the surface. The differences are far more abundant and disturbing. For instance…

No critic of the Tea Party ever infiltrated it in order to instigate violence as Patrick Howley, an assistant editor for the conservative American Spectator, has admitted doing. He bragged about posing as a protester to “mock and undermine” the movement.

No critic of the Tea Party ever accused the Tea Party of plotting mass murder as Glenn Beck has done – twice. Last week he said that this protesting “leads to gas chambers” and to “millions dead.” This week he claimed that the protesters “will come for you and drag you into the streets and kill you.”

Tea Party SignsNo critic of the Tea Party ever made wild, unsubstantiated assertions as to the motives of Tea Party members. Certainly there was strong opposition based on evidence provided by Tea Party members themselves. Their rhetoric and signage expressed some unsavory opinions. But the Occupy critics are inventing criticisms that they cannot support.

No critic of the Tea Party ever encouraged others to break the windows of Democratic offices with rocks and baseball bats as right-wing militiaman Mike Vanderboegh did.

No critic of the Tea Party ever had their own cable news network to hype their agenda and events. The Occupy movement has had to struggle to get the press to pay them any attention, and when reporters did show up they were hostile and insulting. The Tea Party, of course, had Fox News which literally branded the Tea Party as a part of Fox News and gave them hours of valuable air time. Fox praised Tea Partyers as brave and patriotic, but that’s not how they portray the Occupy protesters:

The Occupy movement has been peaceful and focused on communicating a message of fairness and accountability. It is fighting for the rights of the 99% of Americans who have been rolled over by corrupt corporations and politicians. It is not the beneficiary of dedicated news channels and billionaires with vested interests. Other than that it exactly like the Tea Party.

Remember When Fox News Loved Protesters? What About #OccupyWallStreet?

Posted by on October 5, 2011 at 7:21 pm. 10 Comments :

A couple of years ago there was a media frenzy surrounding a bunch of screaming malcontents who showed up at town hall meetings and refused to let anyone speak. They became known as the Tea Party and, while portrayed by right-wing media as a grassroots movement, they were actually organized and financed by billionaires like the Koch brothers and conservative establishment lobbyists like Americans for Prosperity.

At the time they received a warm welcome from mainstream media ranging from talk radio to the Wall Street Journal, to Rupert Mudoch’s Fox News. In fact, Fox News literally adopted the Tea Party and branded it as their own:

Fox News Tea Party

Fox ran hundreds of stories extolling the virtues of these allegedly valiant Americans seeking to return America to the utopian fatherland it was before they had elected a black president. They sent there star reporters and anchors to headline the Tea Party rallies. The Fox Nation posted articles with titles that praised the Tea Party as “A great Part of America’s History – and America’s Future.”

Fast-forward two years and there is no sign of that patriotic spirit in the conservative media that slobbered over the Tea Party. Now that there is a real populist movement advocating on behalf of the middle-class, Fox News has reversed course and declared that such activity is “dangerous” and “anti-American.” Rush Limbaugh called the protestors “human debris and parasites.” Glenn Beck went even further (as usual) saying…

“They are only interested in destruction. That leads to gas chambers. That leads to guillotines. That leads to millions dead. That leads to Mao. That leads to totalitarianism, every single time.”

So Beck thinks that the people seeking compassion for the 99% of Americans who are not wealthy, are plotting genocide. OK, it goes without saying that Beck is nuts, but what is the media excuse for misrepresenting or ignoring the “Occupy Wall Street” movement that is inspiring hundreds of thousands of Americans nationwide?

Comedian Andy Cobb of Second City has helpfully provided a way to break through the media blackout. He proposes a makeover that will turn ragged protesters into just the sort of spokespersons that appeal to a lazy, biased press.

I’m not entirely sure that Cobb’s makeover will work, but he’s on the right track. In order to grab the attention of modern media you need to give them what want most: drama, conflict, controversy, sex, and most of all, ratings. A few months ago I did my own handbook for “How To Be A Media Magnet:”

Media Magnet

The so-called “liberal” media has shamefully avoided accurately reporting on the Occupy Wall Street protests. Similarly, they have failed to cover the fact that broad majorities of the American people agree with the goals of the protesters who are calling for more fairness in tax policies.

“Taxing millionaires in fact is one of the rare political issues to draw bipartisan majority support – 57 percent from Republicans, 75 percent among independents and 89 percent among Democrats. Even among supporters of the Tea Party political movement, 55 percent support raising taxes on millionaires…”

When Democrats and Tea Partyers are both calling for the rich to pay their fair share, the media and our representatives in Washington should start paying closer attention. It’s time to level the playing field. It’s time to undo the absurd legal notion that corporations are people. And it’s time for Americans to come together and retake control of their country from the impersonal monoliths that exist only to accumulate wealth at the expense of our standard of living.

In order to achieve these goals we will also need to hold the media accountable and demand that they do their jobs responsibly and honestly. That means that Fox News, and their audience, should be reminded of their hypocrisy when they promote phony movements like the Tea Party while disparaging the real populists occupying Wall Street (and many other places). And it means reminding the rest of the press, who are not much better than Fox, of the very same things.

The Tea Party Con

Posted by on October 1, 2011 at 3:42 pm. 3 Comments :

Tea Party ConI always knew that the Tea Party is a con. I’ve written extensively about the small numbers of people associated with it, its low approval ratings, and the fact that they are all Republicans anyway. Now the Tea Party has confirmed their fraud by coming together in Schaumburg, IL for an event they themselves call the TeaCon.

Today the event is wrapping up two days of Tea Baggery that featured rightist luminaries like Glenn Beck, Andrew Breitbart, and Herman Cain. But if they were hoping to score some positive post conference PR, they must be mighty disappointed.

Gawker is reporting that the leader of the Chicago Tea Party, Steve Stevlic, who helped to organize the affair, was busted a couple of years ago soliciting the services of a prostitute. Of course, this is such a common occurrence amongst these family values advocates that it probably can just be assumed. Another featured speaker at the event is Republican congressman Joe Walsh, who owes more than $100,000 in child support. So much for families.

I’m sure the Tea Bagging conventioneers had a great time – all 640 of them. It’s not exactly the kind of turn out they were enjoying two years ago. But it is better than the Vegas convention that was cancelled for lack of interest earlier this year.

The Fox News GOP Debate Was A Hate Fest – Literally

Posted by on September 23, 2011 at 7:51 am. 10 Comments :

The accumulating evidence of the ignorance, bigotry and callousness of the Republican Party continues to manifest itself at their own convocations of crackpottery – the GOP presidential primary debates.

The star of these debates is turning out to be the audience, as the crowd steals the spotlight from the candidates. In the first debate a few weeks ago the audience cheered the mention of 234 executions carried out during the term of Rick Perry in Texas. In the next debate a question was asked regarding whether society should let a sick person die merely because he had no insurance. The iced (hearted) Tea Party audience began shouting “Yeah!” And last evening’s debate sponsored by the Republican PR agency, Fox News, saw the crowd disrespecting an Iraq war veteran by booing his videotaped question about equal rights for gays and lesbians serving their country in the armed forces.

While the audience endeavors to demonstrate that they are bigger jerks than the candidates, the candidates refuse to surrender that honor without a fight. Amongst the inanities erupting from this affair:

  • Michele Bachmann unveiled her plan to reduce tax rates to zero for all Americans. That and her unicorn giveaway program should excite voters.
  • Ron Paul reiterated his theory that government immigration programs developed to keep foreigners out would eventually be used to trap Americans in.
  • Rick Perry described his preference for a running mate that involved mating Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. Setting aside the disturbing visual imagery, the prospect of a vice-president that combines the brash ignorance of Cain with the background of ethical lapses of Gingrich shouldn’t make anyone feel better about a Perry ticket.

Finally, Fox News distinguished itself by inviting a question from a representative of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks people and organizations that engage in racism and extremist criminality, has classified FAIR as a hate group. That automatically qualifies the organization for participation in any Fox News event.

The embrace of FAIR and the booing of a veteran are emblematic of the modern GOP’s moral decline. And the party is generously exposing its most revolting warts in the primary as its candidates and its members seek to appeal to basest wet dreams of their Tea Bagging comrades.

LET HIM DIE: The True Tea Party Values Exposed

Posted by on September 15, 2011 at 11:56 am. 23 Comments :

At the Tea Party/Republican debate earlier this week, there was a moment that revealed the true nature of the Tea Party’s values and compassion for their fellow citizens. It unfolded in this exchange between the CNN moderator, Wolf Blitzer, and Rep. Ron Paul. But it was the audience response to the question that merits more attention.

Wolf Blitzer: Let me ask you this hypothetical question: A healthy, thirty year old young man, has a good job, makes a good living, but decides, “You know what…I’m not gonna spend two hundred or three hundred dollars a month for health insurance because I’m healthy, I don’t need it.” But something terrible happens and all of a sudden he needs it. Who’s gonna pay for it if he goes into a coma? […] Are you saying that society should just let him die?

Tea Party Audience: (shouting) Yes! Yeah!

That pretty much sums up the Randian philosophy of self-interest that permeates the Tea Party and the right in general. It illustrates their detachment from society and the conviction that we are all on our own, that we have no moral obligation to anyone else, and that if some unfortunate person is suffering – even dying – that’s their problem.

It is notable that Blitzer’s framing of the question slanted the issue to focus on someone with a job and good pay who declined insurance by choice. However, in reality, a working person probably already has health insurance from their employer. The question completely avoids the more likely scenario wherein a person is uninsured due to unemployment or underemployment, not by their own choosing. People falling into this category can include housewives, students, and retirees, along with ordinary folks who just happen to have been laid off or had some other misfortune.

The Tea Party is now out of the closet with regard to their overt insensitivity and uncaring attitude toward those in need. They seem oblivious to the notion that the needy may include their neighbors, their family, or even themselves. What’s worse is that they have exposed themselves as hypocrites to the values they profess to hold. Do they have any recollection of the words of their Lord regarding His criteria for entry into the Kingdom of Heaven? He spoke of the treatment of the hungry and the sick saying…

“Whatever you neglected to do unto one of the least of these, you neglected to do unto Me!”

Jesus At A Tea Party
Click to view larger and share on Facebook

Much is revealed of us by our treatment of others. And much is revealed of our society by its compassion for all of its citizens. The Republican audience in the previous debate demonstrated their aversion to compassion by cheering for executions. Now the Tea Party has assumed the role of the biblical Romans and, like Pontius Pilate, have washed their hands of it.

Remember This While Watching The CNN/Tea Party GOP Debate

Posted by on September 12, 2011 at 10:35 am. 3 Comments :

CNN Tea PartyWhen the Republican debate tonight airs it is important to put into context the venue in which the candidates will appear. This debate is being broadcast on CNN along with their co-hosts, the Tea Party Express (TPE).

From the start, the notion of elevating any Tea Party group to the position of national debate sponsor was ludicrous. The Tea Party is nothing but a fringe element of the Republican Party. It has very little support, even amongst Republicans, and its approval ratings have been on a path of rapid descent. It’s most recent nationwide bus tour, which is scheduled to conclude today at the Tampa site of the debate, has been an utter failure with record low attendance.

Contrary to the general practice of engaging impartial partners for debate presentations, TPE is hardly impartial. It is a political action committee that has actively engaged in campaigning on behalf of specific candidates. They supported senate candidates Sharron Angle in Nevada, Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, and Joe Miller in Alaska (all lost). They have also been vocal proponents of Sarah Palin who has appeared as a sort of mascot for the group. Palin is supposedly still considering joining the race president herself (although I submit that she is perpetrating something of a hoax in conjunction with Fox News), so TPE cannot now be reasonably be portrayed as fair presenters. They have far too many obvious conflicts of interest.

What makes matters worse is that TPE is a corrupt organization that has even been rebuked by the rest of the so-called Tea Party movement. They were created by Sal Russo and his Republican PR firm, Russo Marsh, and their brief history is fraught with scandal. Rival Tea Party groups were harshly critical of them for directing nearly half of the money they raised from citizen supporters to Russo’s firm. Their former spokesman, Mark Williams, was forced to resign after publishing a racially offensive article on his web site. TPE was booted from the National Tea Party Federation for these and other ethical lapses.

What might have have prompted CNN to make this unholy alliance with a discredited and over-hyped entity? Undoubtedly CNN’s new president Ken Jautz had something to do with it. Jautz, who took the reins at CNN last September, was previously in charge of their sister network HLN. It was there that he made history by giving Glenn Beck his first job in television. At CNN he has already distinguished himself by hiring Andrew Breitbart’s Editor-in-Chief, Dana Loesch, as a political analyst and being alone in airing Michele Bachmann’s embarrassing Tea Party response to President Obama’s State of the Union message.

The CNN/Tea Party Express alliance is an unprecedented partnership between a news organization and an active political action committee that has already taken sides in the debate. Would CNN ever consider partnering with MoveOn.org for a Democratic debate? Ironically, the American Dream Movement (of which MoveOn is a part) is now asking for equal time in the form of a post-debate response. Since CNN gave Tea Partier Michele Bachmann just such an opportunity, it would be only fair to grant the same courtesy to a legitimate enterprise with far more popular support. And what’s more, CNN should partner with the American Dreamers to co-host a debate in the upcoming election.

CNN is embarrassing themselves with this association with Tea Party Express. This debate is a farce that lacks the sort of credibility that an honest news enterprise would set as a goal. They ought to take measures to try to redeem what’s left of their tattered reputation – if it isn’t too late already.

[Addendum] CNN has posted an article today about how an “Angry electorate helps sustain tea party.” In it they assert that the Tea Party has “moved toward the mainstream.” CNN’s evidence for this is that CNN chose the Tea Party to co-host a debate that is airing on CNN. And this absurdly circular logic was the work of – you guessed it – a CNN political producer. So CNN is validating their own choice for debate partner by having a CNN analyst write an article for CNN praising the partnership with CNN. How convenient.

Equal Time For The American Dream

Posted by on September 6, 2011 at 10:32 pm. 3 Comments :

CNN Tea PartyLast December CNN announced that they would be co-hosting a Republican debate with the Tea Party Express. That ridiculous idea was something put together under the new leadership of Ken Jautz who was promoted to head CNN after distinguishing himself at sister station Headline News. At HLN Jautz was responsible for such journalistic masterstrokes as The Nancy Grace Program. And of course he will always be remembered as the man who brought Glenn Beck to television.

When the Tea Party Express partnership was unveiled I responded by noting that the group was a corrupt branch of a fake movement that was nothing more than a bunch of ultra-conservative GOP malcontents:

“They were created by Sal Russo and his Republican PR firm, Russo Marsh, and their brief history is fraught with scandal. Rival Tea Party groups were harshly critical of them for directing nearly half of the money they raised from citizen supporters to Russo’s firm. Their former spokesman, Mark Williams, was forced to resign after publishing a racially offensive article on his web site.”

Nevertheless, CNN proceeded with this embarrassing endeavor which will air Monday, September 12. America will have to sit though a farce that elevates the Tea Party to a status they have not earned on their own, seeing as how they have an approval rating in the twenties. Even amongst Republicans they are not particularly well liked. But that didn’t stop CNN from broadcasting Michele Bachmann’s Tea Party response to President Obama’s State of the Union message.

The blatant unfairness of this led me to ask “Would CNN ever consider partnering with MoveOn.org for a Democratic debate?” That seemed unthinkable at the time, which is precisely the point I was making. But now The American Dream Movement has stepped up to assert the same principle of fairness. They are petitioning CNN to give them equal time to respond after the President’s speech on Thursday before congress. And they make a compelling case:

“Now it’s only fair for CNN to air the American Dream Movement’s progressive response to the president’s major jobs speech on Thursday.

The American Dream Movement includes scores of groups representing millions of members who’ve been out in force for months campaigning for jobs, not cuts. In July, we had twice as many gatherings as the tea party had when they launched.”

If CNN would recognize a phony organization that was invented by Fox News and the Koch brothers, and is a adjunct division of the Republican Party, they ought to give some consideration to a legitimate grassroots group of citizens who represent real people and working families.

Please support this effort by signing the petition:

Tell CNN to Give the American Dream Movement Equal Time.

If they would do it for Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party, they should do it for the American Dream Movement. And what’s more, they should partner with the American Dreamers to co-host a debate in the upcoming election. It’s only fair.

Fox Nation vs. Reality: On Tea Party Negatives

Posted by on September 1, 2011 at 12:30 pm. NO Comments :

Fox Nation continues to inhabit a universe that does not remotely resemble the real one that the rest of us inhabit. Take, for instance, this item posted today:

Fox Nation - Tea Party Negatives

So according to Fox Nation, the poll (from Quinnipiac) shows higher negatives for the Democratic Party (51-35) than the Tea Party (42-29), which, of course, doesn’t exist. That’s actually true, even if it isn’t a complete reading of the poll’s results (more on that later). What the Fox Nationalists omit from their sensationalist headline is that the Republican Party has even higher negatives (53-32) than the Democrats. The gap between the favorable and unfavorable numbers for the Democrats is 16%, while the gap for the GOP is much worse at 21%.

As for the Tea Party’s numbers, it is important to take into account a couple of significant factors. First of all, the survey reported that the number of people that have not heard enough about the Tea Party to have an opinion (29%) is about two and a half times more than for the Democrats and Republicans. Were that number lower, the negatives for the Tea Party would exceed those for the other parties based on the distribution of the Tea Party’s known numbers. Secondly, the Tea Party’s favorable numbers are lower than those for both the Democrats and Republicans.

The bottom line for this survey is that the numbers for the Democrats, while nothing to boast about, are better than either the Republicans or the Tea Party when fully analyzed. And that’s not quite the way the Fox Nationalists reported it – as usual.

New Tea Party Express Bus Trip Already Out Of Gas

Posted by on August 28, 2011 at 12:57 pm. 8 Comments :

The big kick off celebration for the Tea Party Express’s latest bus trip began with something of a whimper. The event was held in Napa, California amidst the wineries and grape fields.

Last year the Tea Party Express bus tour was launched by Sarah Palin. This year the best they could come up with was losing Nevada senatorial candidate, Sharron Angle. Palin has a good excuse though. She is busy not riding on her own “One America” bus tour, which she quit six days in.

Tea Party Express had heavily promoted this trip, even promising Baggers that “This is your opportunity to hear special guests speakers, including presidential candidates.” Unfortunately, not a single candidate bothered to show up.

The bus trip will continue across the country with plans to end September 12, in Tampa Bay, Florida, in conjunction with a GOP presidential debate sponsored by CNN and Tea Party Express.

When CNN originally announced that they were partnering with Tea party Express, it was an embarrassing association that never should have been entered into. Tea Party Express is a corrupt enterprise that was created by Republican publicist and fundraiser, Sal Russo. Most of the money raised by the group was funneled right back into Russo’s company for publicity and management fees.

What’s more, since the association was announced, the Tea Party has bled support. It now sports favorable ratings of only 20%. It is viewed less favorably than atheists and Muslims.

CNN sullied its already teetering reputation by embracing Tea Party Express. That decision was the work of Ken Jautz, who was promoted to run CNN after his tenure at Headline News. Jautz will forever be remembered as the man who brought Glenn Beck to Television.

And now that the boneheaded decision to clasp hands with TPE has proven to be a fiasco, it is not too late to break ranks. There is simply no excuse for a news enterprise to partner with a phony scam outfit that purports to represent a movement that is widely reviled.

Debt Wish XI: The GOP/Tea Party Plan To Tax The Poor

Posted by on August 24, 2011 at 10:45 am. 1 Comments :

America’s Republican/Tea Party contingent, who are defined by their dogmatic devotion to lower taxes as a panacea for everything, have finally found a sector of society that they can comfortably saddle with a higher tax burden: The Poor.

That’s right. These anti-tax zealots have concluded that fairness cannot be achieved in the country’s tax code as long as there are disadvantaged freeloaders who are allegedly not paying into the system. While they fight tooth and nail to protect wealthy individuals and corporations from contributing even modest amounts to the nation’s recovery, the rightist brigade is marching lock-step in favor of soaking the poor in order to heal the malaise on Wall Street and the misery of long-suffering bankers. Their battle cry goes something like this: “Half of the Country Doesn’t Pay Any Taxes At All.” Fox News has been pushing that theme for quite a while. For the past two years they headlined it on Fox Nation right at tax time.

Fox News Tax Payers

This movement is not some scruffy assemblage of disorganized trust-funders seeking to upgrade their yachts. It is a coordinated campaign that has pulled together high profile proponents from politics and the press. Here is a sampling of the breadth and unity of the movement and the message:

  • Rick Perry (R-TX): We’re dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax.
  • Michele Bachmann (R-MN): A system in which 47% of Americans don’t pay any tax is ruinous for a democracy.
  • Sarah Palin (R-AK): The problem is more than 40% pay no income taxes at all.
  • Orrin Hatch (R-UT): 51 percent don’t pay anything.
  • Jim DeMint (R-SC): Over half of Americans pay no federal income tax.
  • Mitch McConnell (R-KY): In fact, about half of Americans don’t pay any income taxes at all.
  • John Boehner (R-OH): Fifty-one percent — that is, a majority of American households — paid no income tax in 2009. Zero. Zip. Nada.
  • Eric Cantor (R-MD): We also have a situation in this country where you’re nearing 50 percent of people who don’t even pay income taxes.
  • Alan West (R-FL): Currently we have some 40-45% of Americans who are not paying any taxes.

We’re not through yet.

  • Donald Trump (R-HisOwnEgo): You do have a problem because half of the people don’t pay any tax.
  • Bill O’Reilly (Fox News): 50 percent of Americans don’t pay any federal income tax now.
  • Stuart Varney (Fox News): About half the people who work in America, half the households, actually, pay any federal income tax at all.
  • Dave Briggs (Fox News): [A]lmost half of this country pays no income tax whatsoever.
  • Gretchen Carlson (Fox News): But what does that mean when you factor in that 50 percent of the nation doesn’t even pay federal income tax? Is that fair?
  • [Idiot Award Winner] Steve Doocy (Fox News): With 47% of Americans not paying taxes – 47% – should those who don’t pay be allowed to vote?
  • Sean Hannity (Fox News): 50 percent of Americans no longer pay taxes.
  • Neil Cavuto (Fox News): I’ve discovered nearly half of this country’s households don’t pay any taxes at all.

Oh yes, there’s more.

  • Dave Ramsey (Fox News): This idea that 42% of Americans don’t pay anything…that’s just morally wrong.
  • Brian Kilmeade (Fox News): Fifty-one percent of the country isn’t paying any taxes at all.
  • Eric Bolling (Fox News): 43 percent of households don’t pay any federal tax.
  • Glenn Beck (Right-Wing Radio): There was like 48 percent say they pay their right amount of taxes and 49 percent don’t pay any tax.
  • Rush Limbaugh (Right-Wing Radio): Meanwhile, 45% of Americans pay nothing.
  • Gary Bauer (Right-Wing Evangelist): But the reality is that nearly half of Americans don’t pay any income tax.
  • Rick Warren (Right-Wing Evangelist): HALF of America pays NO taxes. Zero.
  • Ted Nugent (Right-Wing Douchebag): This, of course, will not apply to those 50 percent of Americans who pay no income taxes.

Is there anyone who could seriously argue that this is not a coordinated effort aimed at demonizing low-income and working class citizens? The conformity and ubiquity of the identical messaging from such a broad spectrum of players is audacious and disturbing. And what’s worse, it is deliberately misleading and/or false.

First of all, claims that half the population pay no taxes at all are factually wrong. (See the chart at the left from the Wall Street Journal). There are about 46% who do not pay federal income taxes, but most of them do pay many other taxes including Social Security, state and local, sales, property, gas, etc. Secondly, it should come as no surprise that those with little or no tax liability have little or no income. The majority of this group is comprised of senior citizens, students, the disabled, and the unemployed. Those are the folks that the right wants to tap for new revenue rather than the rich who they have taken to calling “job creators” despite the fact that they haven’t created any jobs since they got the Bush tax cuts a decade ago.

To put this into perspective, federal income taxes account for just 20% of all taxes. When you include all the other sources of tax revenue, people making $20,000 a year pay approximately the same effective tax rate as people making $500,000, give or take 5 percent. However, those earning a half-million have seen their rate decline almost 50% since 1980, while the rate for the 20K earners barely budged.

What’s more, corporate taxes as a percentage of federal revenue dropped from 27.3% in 1955, to 8.9% in 2010. During that same time period individual income/payrolls as a percentage of federal revenue skyrocketed from 58% to 81.5%. Thus the burden of paying for our government shifted broadly from corporations to ordinary people (notwithstanding the Supreme Court ruling that corporations are people). These facts prove that the whole faux controversy over the tax liability of low income Americans is, in technical terms, a crazy zombie lie.

Also worthy of note is that one of the main reasons that many Americans owe no federal income tax is due to the earned-income tax credit that was introduced by Republican President Gerald Ford and expanded by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. And now the GOP is threatening to impose a tax hike on working people by opposing the extension of President Obama’s Payroll Tax reduction. This relief was passed as a temporary measure and is set to expire at the end of this year. Obama has proposed extending it for another year, but House Republicans are balking, saying that “not all tax relief is created equal” (Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX), and that tax reductions, “no matter how well-intended,” will push the deficit higher (Rep. David Camp, R-MI). Camp is a member of the deficit reduction seeking Super Committee. A spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), says the legislator “has never believed that this type of temporary tax relief is the best way to grow the economy.”

Really? Is this the same Eric Cantor who fought so fiercely for the temporary tax relief produced by Bush’s tax cuts for the rich? Cantor, and the rest of the Tea-publicans, are putting their deficit cutting necks on the line to raise the 120 billion dollars that would be restored to the treasury by letting the Payroll tax relief expire, but they will take the fight to Hell and back before considering the recovery of 800 billion dollars from the expiration of Bush’s gift to taxpayers earning more $250,000 a year. Apparently Republicans are opposed to temporary tax relief when it benefits the middle and working classes, but they are wildly in favor of it when it benefits the wealthy.

How can the GOP get away with portraying themselves as tax-cutters while advancing an agenda that would increase taxes for most Americans who happen not to be rich? How can the Tea Party assert through their acronym that they have been “Taxed Enough Already” when they view seniors, and other low-income Americans as not taxed enough? And when will the media expose this brazen hypocrisy?