Sharron Angle

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.

Fox News: The Republican Fundraising Network

Posted by on July 15, 2010 at 9:52 am. 1 Comments :

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Nevada Republican senate candidate, Sharron Angle, revealed how the right works hand-in-hand with conservative media to advance, not just their agenda, but their candidates. Answering a question about whether she has been dodging the press, Angle explained her media strategy and what she believes is the purpose of campaign interviews:

“The whole point of an interview is to use it – like they say “earned media” – to earn something with it. And I’m not going to earn anything from people who are there to badger me and batter, you know, use my words to batter me with.”

There you have it. According to Angle, candidates do not engage the media in order to disseminate their message or to inform voters. They do not subject themselves to inquiry in order to connect with people and make a case for support. The whole point is to make money. Therefore, there is no reason to take questions from anyone other than friendly reporters and sympathetic talk show hosts.

When pressed as to whether restricting her appearances to places like Fox News creates the impression that she is avoiding neutral or potentially adversarial outlets, Angle explained her reluctance to grace the “mainstream media” with her presence:

“Well, in that audience will they let me say I need $25 dollars from a million people – go to Sharron Angle.com – send money?”

So if you want to interview Sharron Angle you first have to agree to permit her to pitch her candidacy. If she can’t exploit your newspaper or TV station to raise money, you are useless to her. And the interests of the voters, who simply want the information they need to make an informed decision, are irrelevant.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the goto network for people like Angle is Fox News. She has made numerous appearances there where she did peddle her web site and beg for donations. And it isn’t just Angle. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida have pretty much set up campaign desks at Fox. It is a relationship that has proven to be quite fruitful. Even when the candidates are not on the air, their Fox representatives like Sean Hannity, Dick Morris, Laura Ingraham, etc., will carry the ball for them.

Last year, former White House Communications Director, Anita Dunn, called Fox News “the communications arm of the Republican Party.” Now we have evidence that it is also their fundraising arm as well.