42 members of the Oregon Tea Party Coalition organized a protest Friday night, against being ignored by the mainstream media:
The Mercury went along and documented all of it. Starting with the guy at the back, doing the rock hands, who has an INCREDIBLE business card:
First, let me say: I love conservative Oregonians. Ever since I went to the Americans For Prosperity pep rally in early June, I’ve been entranced by them. For one thing, nobody is ever “working on a screenplay” at one of these events. And there’s generally a lot more attention paid to personal hygiene than you might find at, say, the food carts on SE 12th and Hawthorne on an average Friday night.
While I may not agree wholeheartedly with their politics—I like paying taxes for things like roads, schools, and health care, for starters—I think Oregon politics is often deathly boring. And these guys certainly liven things up. Read more about the protest after the jump.
The protest started at six o’clock outside the Oregonian‘s headquarters on SW Broadway.
Reynolds introduced himself to me promptly, saying the group is upset by under-reporting of a Tea Party protest in Washington on September 12. The DC cops said there were 2.3million people there, others have confirmed attendance at 1.7million, said Reynolds. “But all the news networks reported it as tens of thousands,” said Reynolds. “That makes us a little bit perturbed.”
That was when I counted the protesters: 42. I double-checked it, to be sure. The crowd later swelled by 11, when the protest moved to Pioneer Square. Making 53.
“The media won’t report accurately, there’s under-reporting and a lack of reporting,” said Randi Kainz, a spirited protester who periodically told me to “make a note of that,” whenever anything interesting happened. The crowd began chanting “can you hear us now?” and “hear us now!”
Nobody from the Oregonian came out to report on the protest. “One guy came up to the doors but he scurried off in a hurry,” said Reynolds.
Then a KOIN van drove past without stopping. “Did you see that?!” asked Kainz. “That KOIN van just drove right past, without even stopping. Make a note, please.”
A US Postal Service truck drove past, with the driver leaning out the window and honking wildly as he waived. It really got the crowd fired up.
“The president said we were ginned up on talk radio,” said Roxanne Ross, organizer of the Gresham Tea Party. “He also called us ‘astroturf’ because we’re artificial grass roots.” Ross denied those claims.
Kainz organized the original tea party in Portland, she said, seeming genuinely upset about the ‘astroturf’ claims. “There’s nothing astroturf about this,” she said. “I’ve coordinated sign-making parties for every one of these. We don’t have a senior leader.”
Then John Kuzmanich showed up. He’s running against David Wu in Oregon’s first congressional district, next year. He owns US Nationwide Mortgage, out in Beaverton, he said. “I couldn’t believe that they reported just 10,000 people for the march in DC,” he said. “That was the line for the rest room.”
Kuzmanich was due to go on Victoria Taft‘s show at 6:50, and said he’d be sure to mention that the Mercury was down here while everyone else ignored things. “Say hello from me,” I said.
“503 994 5055, option four,” yelled Kuzmanich, giving the number for the Oregonian. “Just ask for the guy in the news room. Hold on. Wrong number.”
“We’re grassroots, not astroturf!” yelled another supporter. “We can’t even get the number right!”
“1-800-432-1420!,” yelled Kuzmanich. “Option four. They put me on hold. They can’t find 60 to 100 people outside their own front door, they’ve got a problem.”
As mentioned, the crowd was 42-strong. I didn’t get the chance to ask Kuzmanich why he’d added 18 to 58 extra, because he got through to somebody. “What could be more important than the man running for office outside your own building?” he said, loudly, into his cellphone. “This is John Kuzmanich, I’m running for congress. We’re wondering why you’re not out here reporting. Don’t you think you should come out and say hi?”
“It’s 1520 SW Broadway,” yelled another protester, trying to give the Oregonian reporter the address of his own building. Laughter.
Kuzmanich looked disappointed. “With full reception, right outside the building, he told me he couldn’t hear me,” he said. And the group moved on to Pioneer Square.
Waving signs depicting KGW owner NBC in Obama’s Pocket, several protesters got chatting off the air with KGW reporter Pat Dooris. “Nobody covered our Tea Party protest in April,” they said.
“I was live at seven, saying behind me you can see thousands of protesters for the first tea party,” said Dooris. “And on that day we covered a huge rally in Salem, so you got a twofer from the big 8.”
“Boycott KGW!” read the signs, behind him.
“Nobody likes a critic who doesn’t have their facts right,” said Dooris.
Then KGW’s Live at Seven reporter, Joe Donlon, came out, and went live on the air with the protesters. “Americans are out there, and we’re not getting any coverage,” said Kuzmanich, accompanied by Reynolds, on camera, with the grassroots behind them.
Donlon said he wanted to share KGW’s coverage logs with the protesters. “It was our lead story on September 12th, and then on April 15th, here, it was our lead story,” he said. “So you may have a beef with the media, but I’m here to defend what we did.”
“Well, do you think it’s a story you’ll continue to cover?” asked Kuzmanich.
“Absolutely,” said Donlon. “We hear you loud and clear.”
There was a big cheer, and everybody went home.
I hope these people are eaten by wolves.
Matt Davis thinks it’s pretty silly for anyone to be “working on a screenplay.”
Big surprise, idiots can’t do any fact-checking on their complaints.
Really, it’s just a bunch of over-priveleged white assholes who are seriously butt-hurt that no one agrees with them.
Hi, Right. Left here. We’ve been doing this stuff for awhile. We should get a beer sometime, chat about what you can really expect from whole this protest thing.
Matt, was there any kind of police presence?
“What could be more important than the man running for office outside your own building?”
Even the county’s biggest pumpkin is more important than a bunch of jackasses standing outside a building.
Come on tea party folk! The aughts are almost over. If you want attention you need to fake your child’s disappearance with balloons.
Get with it.
The Fox News/Townhall.com crowd protesting KGW for some sort of “incomplete” coverage? Priceless. It’s true–these people never fail to entertain.
Also, I’m glad the tea bag movement has so greatly advanced since its inception that the best thing they can find to do today is protest local media coverage from six months ago. How progressive, people! Any other regtrograde protesting you’d like to get off your chest? How about that community college professor who sneered at your Laroucheian politics back in the early 90’s?
These guys crack me up. I love how they really have no idea that they’re destroying their own party. They should create a co-blog with Michael Steele and they can call it, “What Up Home Skillet Honkey Crackers.”
I love it that the guy provides a RANGE for his own crowd–the one that was right there next to him.
That fellow looks to have put on a few pounds since he had that business card made.
What’s funny is that this is precisely the type of coverage one expects from the Mercury, but one can no longer tell where the Mercury ends and CNN or The Oregonian begin.
The thing is, BlackedOut, they do want to destroy their party in it’s current incarnation. They actually think that if the GOP is brought back to its “conservative roots” that people will magically jump back on the bandwagon. They are delusional in every way.
I say let them keep up their “RINO” witch hunt and run any centrist GOP candidate with an inkling of hope to get elected out of town (wherever that may be).
I think a lot of the teabaggers problem is that they are called that and so the topic can’t be discussed in a family friendly news media. I’d blame Savage for it, (much like Santorum no longer being a PG word,) except that I’m fairly sure the teabaggers did it to themselves by not looking on Google before they picked their name. Which, among other things, gives you a good idea of who they are: Old white guys that don’t know how to use computers.
I love the look on the face of that weasel-lady in the first picture.
Re: attendance at the Fox News 9/12 Rally in Washington, ABC News says it was much closer to 70,000, even though one of the organizers announced that they reported a much larger figure, then had to retract it (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/protest-cro…). Even Michelle Malkin only cited a 1.2 million figure. And this jackass goes ahead and doubles it, much like he did for his own crowd. Maybe you have to have double vision to be a teabagger.
Wow, lots of hate in here. “Good. Use your aggressive feelings … Let the hate flow through you”
@CH … I don’t think he’s put on any lbs … the business card photo looks to have been taken with a fish eyed cell phone or something.
There’s nothing funnier than a bunch of sore losers.
geoff = Jeffery
@DemonJuice: What? Never! Just because he remember how he took the picture for his business card, he still referred to himself in the third person so it couldn’t possibly be.
@demonjuice & geoff: The date stamp on the photo this dude used for his business card (can we just stop for a moment and acknowledge how tacky his business card is? These people definately aren’t Nazis because the Nazis had some good graphic designers working for them) is from four years ago. In the time between the old photo and the photos from Friday, Jeffy R seems to have added an extra chin and quite a bit of cheek mass. I’m guessing he’s put on weight due to depression ever since the Republicans lost control of congress in 2006.
Actually, LT1800 = Jeffery. I don’t know who Geoff is.
Kazings!All around!
He’s a good sport, then, our Jeff.
@LT1800: How do you respond to the fact that your accusations towards KGW of ignoring your protests were all proven false? That’s gotta be embarassing.
And could your provide a source that states that there were more than 80,000 attendees at the September Tea Party protests in DC?
These people are nuts. They want the country we formed in 1776 with 317 million people roaming around, packing heat, defending their claim. It can’t possibly work like that again. Taxes buy civilization. Teabaggers have idealized a bygone era into a politcal movement that is annoying but has literally no hope of going anywhere. The ship left the harbor about a hundred years ago.
I would actually just like to protest KGW. They have got to be the worst local news in Portland. “Whats new on youtube?” “Look at these bagels!” “What does the hack circle outside our window think?”
Pathetic news.
@demonjuice geoff=geoff
“Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side!”
@graham: Flashing a piece of paper in my face for 1.5 seconds on live TV and asking me to respond to the “data” that “proves” their point on the spot isn’t exactly doing anyone a lot of good in the journalistic sense. A search of KGW online archives proves our point.
@Suburban Porn King, I bet you have all sorts of fascinating insights into Constitutional Law.
Debt = Bondage? Invite these people to Hump to fill in those seats!!
@?pqM … You have no historic perspective. The public education system has failed you. Your parents failed you as well. I would be very angry if I were you. Google, “Indentured Servitude”.
“A search of KGW online archives proves our point.”
I don’t think a search of the KGW site proves anything other than that it’s a crappy website.
aww, ran out of hackneyed Star Wars quotes? already?
@geoff: Yes I’m googling that right now. But my work firewall seems to be filtering out the pictures of “bondage teabagging”, so I’m not finding much.
@LT1800: You didn’t do any research beforehand.
Your group claimed that KGW didn’t cover your protests (“Nobody covered our Tea Party protest in April,”). They responded by telling you that they did. And they did. (http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_…) You didn’t show any due diligence by checking your accusations before you made them.
You are either a liar or a fool.
@LT1800 – While I’m not a lawyer, I have read the US Constitution many times and I have my pocket version (courtesty of the CATO Institute) right here.
@LT1800 – Ok, I’ll bite. Taxes are not unconstitutional, so sayeth the US Supreme Court. The court’s history is littered with failed tax protests.
I presume you guys will all be forgoing any Social Security or Medicaid benefits when you retire. Now that’s protest!
It’s nice to hear all the comments about idealogy, policy, etc. To those who have expressed your disagreements with the Tea Party message, you are missing the same boat at the media. This is about a simple question: “Should we cover 7,000 people gathered in Pioneer Square for a Tea Party, or 7,000 people gathered in Pioneer Square for a Blazer event, or both?” True ethics in journalistic reporting would include BOTH.
@elGordo: When on the phone with the Oregonian, surrounded by a mass of people, and asked to give an estimate, there is no time to do an exact headcount. Relax!
@Graham: First, KGW’s ammunition was documentation that they reported at 6:30pm on an event outside their studio. Quite impressive when the masses were still pouring in well after 7:00pm, and reaching up to 7,000. Reporting on an event before it starts? Nice.
Second, disputed numbers aside, all you had to do was open your own eyes and take a look at the 9/12 D.C. event to come up with a number in the multiple hundreds of thousands at first glance alone. Try it.
@pacificrk: There were 53, not 7,000. If the news media showed up everytime there were more than 53 people doing something, then they’d need to cover most weddings, a lot of birthday parties, and many restaurants during mealtime.
As for the “message” of those people: They are hungry. Just imagine the promo rolls for that: “Why are people eating dinner today? Our in depth investing on the human body and its need for energy.” As for the story, they could interview people: “Yeah, I was driving by this Taco Bell, and I though, a taco sounds nice, so I got one. Who knew that there were as many like minded individuals that also wanted a taco at dinner time? By the way, I’m not making that up, I really did want a taco. Now who do I talk to about getting a reality TV show?”
@Suburban Porn King – LOL I won’t have to forgo SSI or Medicare, that will all be bankrupt and gone forever by the time I’m old. Of course, we’ll be servicing that debt forever and ever, so at least we’ll have something to remember them by.
No, but really, that weasel faced lady was perfect! One of the things that you learn growing up with good, understanding, tolerant parents is the whole “can’t judge a book by its cover” thing.
And that’s a perfectly good rule of thumb. But I gotta tell ya’; the longer I live, the longer I note that ‘evil little pinched weasel face’ almost always equals ‘evil little pinched weasel person’.
I’m sure she’s very nice, though. Realistic, too.
I have to agree with Hairypalmed Bachelor on the judge-a-book-by-its-cover thing, I’m sure there are some very nice folks there.
Hmmmm
Weasel faced
Gained a bunch of weight
Tea baggers
Liar
Fool
Hackneyed
Nuts
Tacky
Nazi
Did I get all the invective and pejorative? Don’t want to miss anything.
Oh wait, I missed Sore Loser and Hungry.
This is fascinating. Despite overwhelming evidence proving them wrong, they’re still convinced that the news media is ignoring them. And this isn’t a belief thing–these are statements of fact. Did every TV news outlet cover their April in-state protests? Yes. It was the lead story in most cases, from what I remember.
That’s a fact–a simple, verifiable fact–that destroys their entire premise, yet it doesn’t matter. Same goes for their protests on the national scale. The cable networks, at least, covered the big DC protest, and quite probably the broadcast outlets as well. And yet they’re all convinced that they’re being ignored by the media… despite clear, ample evidence that they’re getting coverage.
As I said, it’s a fascinating study: Steadfast beliefs that only grow more steadfast as contrary evidence piles up.
Part of it is sheer marketing, brand-building, and dependency propaganda by Fox News and other conservative outlets. Fox just has to convince their viewers that their network is the only one covering their protests (despite this not being true), and by repeating this over and over, they’re creating this belief that they can only trust Fox. The “mainstream” is discriminating against them! Persecuting them!
It’s an awful lot like an emotionally abusive relationship. Battering, abusive boyfriend convinces girlfriend that nobody else could ever love her, so no matter how horrible he treats her, she sticks around. Loves him even more, in fact.
Yeeesh. I need a shower.
Anyway, LT1800, get the fork over it. They gave your protest–all of your protests–more coverage than you deserved, considering how jumbled, incoherent, and infantile the messages were. Any impartial, objective coverage of the events would have made fun of you for being off your cracker. That KGW considered your viewpoint valid even for a minute is undeservedly generous.
Anyone want to guess how much of my life is spent watching/reading/ingesting Fox News?
Anyone?
Answer = 0.
How bout you, Paul, whence does your knowledge emanate?
Oh yeah, I forgot the eaten by wolves thing. Gotta add that to the list.
Once again the Mercury proves itself ten times the paper the Oregonian is.
I always gotta give it up to the clever ones in the crowd: making fun of screen names is exactly the way to go. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
But really; I don’t think Dean Martin was hairy-palmed, not that that’s what the issue was, but still…
Oh. So what the issue actually was? That bedwetters who don’t want to pay their taxes have gotten way more ink and video than plenty of actual homegrown movements who know damn well that they stand a fair chance of getting tear gassed and beaten for being out in the streets.
We’re ignoring you, yes. You deserve to be ignored. The media is only starting to catch up to the idea that maybe, just maybe some people need to marginalize themselves in peace.
http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article…
Civil war be damned.
I’m protesting KOIN for not covering that amazing bowel movement I had back in March of ’06.
Who’s with me?
Let me get this straight. These people have actually received far more publicity than the size of their group deserves, but that’s not enough?
Sounds a lot like reality TV chasing parents to me.
LT1800, you forgot delusional.
On August 29th, there was pro-health care reform rally, with about 300 people present. Was there any media coverage of that?
The weight gain comment was a simple observation. I don’t fault or look down upon you for fattening up.
@suburban porn king (nice moniker btw, your parents must look at you with proud eyes). “Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government. —James Madison”
We know the ship left harbor, it was called the Wilson administration … we have the LONG view on this. It wont be today, it wont be tomorrow, but, our view will again win the day because, it is Truth. Your gods are peddling slavery. Enjoy it you drone.
“I always gotta give it up to the clever ones in the crowd: making fun of screen names is exactly the way to go. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” – rich bachelor TRUTH
“@suburban porn king (nice moniker btw, your parents must look at you with proud eyes).” – geoff EPIC FAIL
It is clear to see that its not the protest but the subject of the protest that gets covered. The media and those socialist in congress do not want true debate on the issues, They are intent on their agenda and will do anything and tell lies to get it through. Many of the comments I read show a total lack of knowledge by those opposed to the “Tea-Baggers” of the issues facing the nation. It is clear to see that they are using the talking points supplied right out of the socialist Obama White House.
What’s clear to me is that you idiots have no idea what is actually in the Constitution.
@American Freedom: Please provide a list of the socialists(!) in Congress. There is one; Bernie Sanders. You are an over-zealous liar. Please try again.
Also, you should look up what socialism actually is; you seem to be laboring under delusions of false definition.
@Graham
American Freedom’s definition of socialist:
Socialist = anyone who disagrees with American Freedom’s ideas.
@American Freedom
Could your handle be any more cliche? Why not something more descriptive like, “I am the only person in the entire country that knows what is right.” I think it has a better ring to it don’t you?
Main Entry: so·cial·ism
Pronunciation: ˈsō-shə-ˌli-zəm
Function: noun
Date: 1837
1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
m-w.com
It has gone beyond astonishment for me, how many times it becomes necessary to post that definition.
And, erm, which of those three definitions are you using? Because there isn’t a single lawmaker who believes in any of them…
I wonder what black-hole-of-stupidity online forum is driving all these idiots to this story…
@stu & LT1800: It seems to me that Jeffery would be arguing that BlackedOut and I are correct in chastising American Freedom for accusing Congress of being socialist (with the exception of Bernie Sanders, obviously). Too many Freepers and Tea-baggers accuse the Left of being socialist, when in fact those same Freepers and Tea-baggers would be better served (at least in their own mnds) of accusing the left of being fascists. But really, most of these morons haven’t done the requisite research to begin a political debate that doesn’t involve immense amounts of stupidity.
And just as a gimme to the People of the Right who make incorrect purjorative claims against the left, the political system that most closely resembles Government Option health care is called, “Welfare State”.
“It is clear to see that they are using the talking points supplied right out of the socialist Obama White House.” —American Freedom
Uh, YOU, sir/madam, are using the exact same, vague, specious talking points I’ve heard from the Right over and over and over and over again. It’s like a script a telemarketer uses. Even the same words, the same language, the same cliches. Such drone-like remarks lack the conviction that might actually spark an actual dialogue.
Come up with some opinions on your own. Even if they end up being the same as the majority of others from the Right, or teabaggers, or whatnot, just do some thinking on your own, use your own words!
Thought exercise for you, if you’re so inclined:
What part of owning GM, Chrysler, BofA, AIG, Citi, potentially health care and energy consumption (via Cap and Trade), et alia, does NOT conform to any of the 3 sub-definitions of socialism cited?
And please, someone explain to me how The Welfare State differs from socialist economic theory.