we the people! (well, mr & mrs geddings)

Governor Nikki Haley speaks during a meeting of the Tea Party in Columbia Thursday night at the Statehouse. A.L. Geddings and Louise Geddings of Columbia were representative of the low turnout.

The State: The Columbia Tea Party went from Donald Trump to jilted chump after the celebrity businessman canceled his appearance at Thursday’s State House rally, and state legislators approved tax breaks and spending that the group opposed.

Trump’s decision to not enter the GOP presidential race left local Tea Party leaders stewing about the way they had been treated. But about 30 people were on hand Thursday to thank Gov. Nikki Haley, lawmakers and activists for their work to require more on-the-record Legislative votes.

It was all part of a tough week for the state’s Tea Party movement.…

Columbia Tea Party chairman Allen Olson expected as many as 2,000 would have attended Thursday’s rally had Trump been there. But The Donald, a favorite of many who attended the group’s Tax Day rally with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann elected to not run and dropped the rally from his schedule.

“It was a kick in the gut, but it gives you a chance to regroup,” said Olson.

Full article here

Thank you Donna Dem! 😆

aw….

Fox: 476,537 Tea Party patriots rally in Columbia

Fitsnews: Politicians, political operatives and members of the media came close to outnumbering attendees at a much-hyped Columbia, S.C. Tea Party rally starring U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday.

Only 300 people (including a horde of Palmetto political operatives) attended the event in downtown Columbia, S.C. – which is a generous estimate in our book. That attendance figure – confirmed by other media outlets – amounts to less than one-tenth the size of multiple crowds that have gathered at the S.C. State House in recent years in support of parental choice. It’s also roughly a tenth the size of the crowd that attended this same event in 2009.

😳

Well, at least this guy enjoyed himself (although he looks a little lonely):

Hold on: I’ve just noticed this guy has a ‘McCain/Palin’ badge on his hat … will I tell him or will you? 😕

I thought maybe it was an old photo used for today’s article ….. but, eh, no:

Gov. Nikki Haley addresses a crowd gathered at the State House during a Tea Party rally, April 18

At least he found two over-taxed friends to sit with, so that was nice.

Meanwhile, you have to love the caption under this photo on The State website:

,

So, 300 is a “large” Tea Party crowd these days? 😆

there are some things money can’t buy…

Politicususa: Sarah Palin rolled into Madison, Wisconsin using a Tea Party rally as an excuse to attack union members, but the wheels promptly fell off of her bandwagon as only 6,500 people showed up for the rally, and reports on the scene say that many of those in attendance were there to protest Palin. Not even the Koch Brothers and their magic buses could draw a crowd for Palin.

The Koch Brothers threw their front group Americans For Prosperity into the effort to hold an anti-union rally in Madison headlined by Palin. All the resources were deployed, Palin fans were begged to attend, Americans For Prosperity had no less than 13 buses lined up, and despite all of this, the crowd never came.

…The Wisconsin stunt was a desperate attempt by Palin to retake the media spotlight that Donald Trump has stolen from her. This was Sarah’s attempt to get back up on the national stage. She sees that GOP primary voters are anti-union, so she is going to be anti-unionest of them all.

CBS: Hundreds of pro-union labor supporters are surrounding smaller groups of conservative Tea Party members attending a rally featuring former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Steve Benen: Former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin – remember her? – headlined a conservative rally in Madison yesterday, apparently hoping to generate support for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s far-right agenda. More interesting than the message, though, was the turnout.

The whole thing was organized by the Koch brother’s right-wing Americans for Prosperity, and Palin spoke behind a podium with a sign that read, “I am AFP.”

But who exactly heard all of this?

…At the height of progressive protests in February and March, tens of thousands braved the elements to condemn the Walker agenda – and wouldn’t leave. Yesterday, Palin led a parade of odd right-wing figures, at an event paid for by powerful billionaires, and about 6,500 people showed up. And of those 6,500, most of those in attendance were there to oppose Palin and her far-right allies, not support them.

It’s a reminder about the changing tide. When Tea Partiers organize a rally and bring one of their highest-profile stars to headline, but are nevertheless outnumbered at their own event, which suffered from poor attendance anyway, it’s not a good sign.

More here

muammar ♥ dennis

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Proud of Obama noted the miserably small crowd Gaddafi managed to muster for this, um, rally … which reminded me of this:

ThinkProgress (March 21): With Fox News host Glenn Beck’s ratings down and the biggest tea party rally eclipsed by a recent pro-labor rally in Wisconsin, could the tea party be losing steam? One new sign: a big tea party convention in Tampa, FL this weekend — headlined by such conservative favorites as Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Fox News Judge Andrew Napolitano, and former GOP Congressman Tom Tancredo — attracted only about 300 people. The Save America Convention’s website lists 25 guest speakers, meaning there was one speaker for every 12 attendees. If one includes the 13 musicians and other performers listed as entertainment, that ratio drops to one for every 7 and a half.

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Remember yesterday’s story about Kucinich following up his suggestion that the President be impeached with a plea for campaign donations? You can see why:

Cleveland.com: Kucinich, who won 53 percent of the 2010 vote in his western Cuyahoga County district, has a 27 percent favorability rating statewide, and is viewed unfavorably by 40 percent of voters, the pollsters found. In 2012, Kucinich will likely face voters outside his home base because of redistricting.