A Pep Talk from R. Stacy McCain

by Little Miss Attila on March 29, 2009

About unity, the need to rebrand ourselves as the Party of Fun, and the all-important issue of attending our local Tea Parties (the pivotal ones being those on April 15th and July 4th, though the greater Los Angeles area also has Tea Parties on April 4th, this Saturday, and on April 11th—so no excuses!).

He frames the entire rant around Animal House lore. Of course, I was a bit underwhelmed by Animal House, but I was by Red Dawn as well, and that didn’t stop me from buying it a few weeks ago.

Outlaw! Wolverines! Victory!

Sidebar: Golden State, April 15th Protests, divided sort-of according to which “California” they are taking place in. Although to me it’s all “Northern,” once one breaks out of the L.A. Basin, and someone will have to check my work.

Northern CA (also, see: the Bay Area Teaparty Home Page):

Bakersfield [or is this still considered “Central”? Help me out, here.]
April 15, 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Courthouse @ the Liberty Bell,1415 Truxtun Avenue

Atascadero in San Luis Obispo County
April 15, 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Sunken Gardens on El Camino Real

Napa
April 15, 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Mike Thompson’s Napa District Office, 1040 Main Street

Redding
April 15, 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay

San Francisco
April 15, 11:00am – 1:00pm
Civic Center Park, San Francisco

Santa Rosa
April 15, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa Ave between 3rd & 4th St.

Stockton
April 15, 5:00pm – 7:30pm
Weber Point (Downtown Stockton, Center Street)

Sacramento
April 15, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Sacramento State Capitol Building

Central CA:

San Jose (Santa Clara County)
April 15, 5-7 p.m.
Plaza de Cesar Chavez – S Market St & Park Ave, San Jose

Chico
April 15, 11:00 am – 1:00pm
City Plaza Downtown Chico

Fresno
April 15, TBD
Save Mart Center Parking Lot – Fresno State

Modesto
April 15, 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Modesto, 1010 10TH Street Tenth Street Plaza (Rep Dennis Cardoza’s Office)

Victorville
April 15, 9:00am – 7:00pm
Corner of Bear Valley Rd. / Cottonwood Ave. (Victorville) at 12:00 PM, we will protest in front of City Hall in Victorville (for about an hour), then caravan back to the Bear Valley Rd/Cottonwood Ave. location for the remainder of the day/evening.

Southern CA (also, see the Southern California Home Page):

Santa Barbara
April 15, TBA
Meet at the top of the parking structure off of Canon Perdido, across from Nordstrom

Ventura
April 15, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Sidewalks adjacent to Ventura County Government Center

Escondido
April 15, 5p.m – 7p.m.
403 N. Escondido Blvd.

El Cajon
April 15, 5:00pm – 11:00pm
Post Office – 401 W. Lexington Ave., El Cajon, CA 92020

Oceanside
April 15, 6PM-7PM – We will march from the Civic Center to the pier at 6:45
Oceanside City Hall, 300 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA

Glendale
April 15th, 12 noon – 2:00 PM
613 East Broadway, Glendale CA 91206

Los Angeles- San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valley
April 15, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Van Nuys Civic Center Plaza – 6200 Van Nuys Blvd near the court house

Los Angeles South Bay ~ Redondo/ Manhattan Beach
April 15, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Marine Field (Marine and Aviation) followed by a march to Jane Harman’s office on Rosecrans & Continental.

Palm Desert (Riverside County)
April 15, 12:00-14:00
Monterey Ave. and Fred Waring Drive (Park outside City Hall)

Rancho Cucamonga
April 15, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
12300 Foothill Blvd, Rancho Cucamonga

Redlands
April 15, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Intersection of Redlands Boulevard and Orange Street, Downtown
Redlands

San Bernardino
April 15, 12:00 noon
San Bernardino City Hall, 300 N. D Street

San Diego
April 15, 5:00pm – 11:00pm
Post Office – Sports Arena Midway: 2535 Midway, San Diego, CA 92110

San Diego – North County
April 15, 5:00pm – 11:00pm
Post Office – 11251 Rancho Carmel Dr., San Diego, CA 92199

Temecula
April 15, 11:00 am
Duck Pond

Santa Ana (Orange County)
April 15, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Plaza of the Flags, Santa Ana Civic Center – Behind the Superior Court Building. Bounded by Flower Street, Santa Ana Boulevard and Civic Center Drive

San Mateo
April 15, 1:00pm – 7:00pm
Corner of South El Camino Real and 31st Street in front of the Hillsdale Shopping Center

Yucaipa, CA
4/15, 5-7 p.m.
Yucaipa Boulevard and Oak Glen Road

And on to Stacy’s cheerleading. I would only add that one doesn’t have to be a “conservative” to be a tax protester; one can simply be a liberal who is fed up and would like to inject a bit of common sense into the situation we find ourselves in now. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t something fundamentally conservative about protesting high taxes; it only means that when we reach out to people, we might not to dismiss out-of-hand those who voted for Obama: I suspect that some of those people were simply a bit naive, and took the man at his word when he suggested he was going to cut taxes.

Even I didn’t anticipate the degree of, um, confusion Obama would experience once he was elected. I thought he would emulate either Clinton or Carter; I did not envision him going so far beyond Carter in, uh, creative approaches to running the executive branch.

Conservatives must rid themselves of the Dean Vernon Wormer mindset (“No more fun of any kind!”) and instead try to put the “party” back into the Republican Party. Stop trying to be the uptight, respectable Omegas. Let’s bring a hell-raising, fun-loving Delta House mentality to the task at hand . . . .

Amongst the Beltway GOP insiders, the current buzzword is about the need to “rebrand” the Republican Party. We know full well that if they had their way, the Establishment elite—the Crapweasel Coalition of whiny neurasthenic RINOs—would “rebrand” conservatism as a moderate, respectable, “center-right” Me-Tooism.

Fuck the elite, and fuck their ideas. We’re the right-wing “Animal House,” and this is homecoming at Faber.

Ordinary Americans need to think about the nationwide April 15 Tax Day Tea Party protests as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the grassroots to do their own “rebranding.” Thanks to Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, conservatives have been handed a chance to demonstrate our solidarity on one of the few issues on which we all agree: Economic liberty, as opposed to the neo-Keynesian, central-planning agenda of Obamanomics. (It Won’t Work.)

Let’s unite now, people! Put away your differences on foreign policy and social issues. Forget about Iraq and the Bush administration. If we can’t all come together in opposition against Obamanomics, not only is the conservative movement doomed, but the cause of freedom is doomed. We don’t know whether this particular Road to Serfdom is going to lead us to Carteresque stagflation, to the hyperinflation and shortages of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, or to the “Killing Fields” of Pol Pot’s Cambodia. We just know it’s the wrong road, and it’s time to tell Washington we’re not going to march it.

“But what about the media? The media are ignoring the Tea Party protests, Bluto!” Fuck the media, too. You pathetic losers can sit around whining about the lack of national MSM coverage all you want, but on April 15, we’re going to have a nationwide protest so huge, even those biased assholes won’t be able to ignore it. Stop whining, and start organizing:

• Find the location of the Tea Party protest nearest you;
• Make a list of all your neighbors, friends and family members who might share your opposition to Obamanomics;
• Call them, e-mail them, Facebook them, talk to them in person at work or school or church, and urge them to attend the April 15 protest with you;
• Check off the names on your list as “yes,” “no,” or “maybe”;
• Follow up with the “yes” people on your list to plan your attendance, arrange transportation, come up with ideas for clever posters, etc; and
• Follow up with the “maybe” people on your list to try to turn them into “yes” people; one way to do this is to apply positive peer pressure: “Man, you gotta be there! [Name a popular common friend] is going to be there, and afterwards, we’re all going for beer and pizza! C’mon, it will be lots of fun!”

Be an organizer, not a whiner. Never sit around whining and waiting for other people to do something, when you can do it yourself. Look at Suzanna Logan: Instead of whining about a lack of media coverage for the protests, she’s announced her willingness to strip jaybird naked at the big Virginia protest in Richmond. (We’re still trying to schedule the girl-on-girl Jello wrestling, depending on the availability of the lesbian referee.) You can “Go Galt” or “Go Godiva,” but either way, dammit: GO!
. . . . . . . .

Come up with something innovative, something personal and authentic you can contribute to the Tea Party movement. Bring your Boy Scout troop or your Little League team. Wear a costume. If you’re a nurse or doctor or fireman, show up in uniform. Ride a horse, ride a Harley, drive your semi-rig or your farm tractor to the protest.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

“America loves a winner. America will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise a coward. Americans play to win.”
—Gen. George S. Patton

The difference between success and failure, between defeat and victory, between a winner and a loser is this: A winner does everything he can do, and then says to himself, “I haven’t done enough. I need to do more.” He makes victory his goal and, by relentless effort, he makes victory his habit. He goes all-out, he gives it 110 percent, and even if his team doesn’t win, at least he knows he’s done his best.

. . . . . .

A winner emulates success, a winner exemplifies success, and a winner encourages success. A winner is not a whiner. A winner does not envy or derogate the success of others. He does not demoralize others by a defeatist attitude. He does not take counsel of his fears. He is not a crapweasel. He gives his comrades faith for the fight.

OUTLAW! WOLVERINES! VICTORY!

(And, yes: the word “outlaw” above links to Protein Wisdom. “Wolverines” might link to a handful of people, though I suspect it goes to Cynthia Yockey. [Wrong!—it goes to McCain himself. Vain! Vain!] “Victory,” of course, leads to the list of April 15th protests, from which I extracted the “California” entries above.)

{ 2 trackbacks }

Because this is the kind of vindictive bitch that I am — Cynthia Yockey
March 30, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Jane Hamsher Saw Fox News Promoting the Tea Parties Somewhere! | Little Miss Attila
April 11, 2009 at 9:24 pm

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

Cynthia Yockey March 30, 2009 at 5:28 am

Joy,

I’ve been holding a post for a week and your kind link to me is the catalyst for me to publish it later today. I’ll include my own thoughts on Andrew Breitbart’s column today, “Rules for Conservatives,” and Stacy’s rant. I was worried about embarrassing Stacy, but since, as you point out, he did NOT link me, 😉 my hesitation turned into firm resolve.

You make a difference, my dear.

Cynthia

P.S.

But I am two weeks late on getting my heirloom tomatoes seeds planted, so after I sow the whirlwind promised above, they’re next and the whirlwind will have to do without me until they’re in.

Reply

Robert Stacy McCain March 30, 2009 at 6:18 am

Underwhelmed by Animal House?

OK, Attila: Name a funnier comedy film. Not made by Mel Brooks.

Reply

Little Miss Attila March 30, 2009 at 8:44 am

Stacy: The Meaning of Life; Jesus Is Magic.

Cynthia: Your heirloom tomatos make me hungry!

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Ric Locke March 30, 2009 at 9:47 am

Even I didn’t anticipate the degree of, um, confusion Obama would experience once he was elected.

Hmph. Here we have an individual with less management (let alone executive) experience than the twentysomething night manager at the local McDonalds, who has no, repeat no, long-term associations, either friendly or adversarial, with anyone who is not so far out on the left wing they’re clinging to the red navigation light, and whose entire experience of politics is the Chicago Machine, and you didn’t expect confusion once he actually experienced the necessities of office?

It’s not our fault you weren’t paying attention.

Regards,
Ric

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Sean Hackbarth March 30, 2009 at 9:29 pm

How about we not decide before hand the “right” way a tea party should be run? President Obama hasn’t been in office 90 days and some want the opposition political movement properly formed and ready for victory. There’s plenty of time to cut one’s teeth, to make mistake, and learn. Patience, young grasshopper.

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Robert Stacy McCain March 31, 2009 at 8:52 am

Sean: Maybe you don’t get the meta-narrative here, so I will explain:
1. At this point, polls show Obama’s approval numbers remain high, even though the economy is in the tank.
2. Why? Because most people don’t blame Obama for the economy. They still blame Bush.
3. Because Obama’s neo-Keynesian stimulus/bailout plan won’t work. (IT WON’T WORK) it is fair to assume that by fall 2010, the economy will be much worse than it is now.
4. Polls show Congress has very low approval ratings.
5. Ergo, if the Right can push the message that Obama and the Democrats in Congress are to blame for the bad economy, there is a great likelihood that the 2010 mid-terms will go very badly for Democrats.
6. The Tea Party movement is part of pushing that message: A newsworthy EVENT to get people’s attention and make them realize that we are past the sell-by date on the “blame Bush” approach to the economy.

The Tea Party movement is a forward-looking messaging strategy, which will accomplish several purposes at once. These fucking Beltway wienies who are sitting around worrying if the movement is sending the “responsible” message are completely missing the point. We need action NOW to rally the opposition to Obamanomics, because it will take time, manpower and money to build an effective 2010 campaign. If we cannot boost morale among the grassroots and make a show of force — NOW, not six months from now — the Right risks being perceived as irrelevant losers.

Get with the fucking program, and don’t make me have to explain this again.

Reply

Little Miss Attila March 31, 2009 at 10:20 am

Okay, boys: hold on. Let’s dial down the ‘tude. You are both right.

Sean: Yes. We are still experimenting, finding out what works. And a big part of the point of these events is that most of the organizers are gathering names for email lists so that the next wave of protests might be bigger still (some groups are holding their fire until the 4th of July, which may be even bigger than 4/15 will be).

So you are right: we’re building a movement, and we will make mistakes. That’s part of the process.

The point to remember, though, is that we have to have some infrastructure in place within a year, since the midterms are in 2010: by then we need those names, and we will want to know how to get in touch with the Not-So-Silent Majority via email and social media.

Stacy: Take a valium–or at any rate, stop spraying your own with friendly fire. You are right that it behooves us to use these events to get some media attention–maybe even Legacy Media attention–and get it across to people that Obama’s fiscal irresponsibility goes far beyond that of George W. Bush.

There are so many protests planned for 4/15 that I do not think even the Legacy Media will be able to ignore them.

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Robert Stacy McCain March 31, 2009 at 11:25 am

Excuse me, Atilla, and my apologies to Sean. I’m just sick of the Neurasthenic Coalition telling us that conservatives have to be nice to Obama, that protests are ineffectual, we have to cede ground on this or that issue. That’s not how I roll. So long as there is anything worth fighting for, we fight like hell.

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Alan Duncan April 15, 2009 at 4:07 am

“Because most people don’t blame Obama for the economy.”

Perhaps that’s because the economic collapse and its causes occurred well before Obama took office?

Or maybe it’s because the lack of oversight/regulation of mortgage derivative markets that got us into this mess can be blamed directly on “free market” dogma, and Obama is certainly no free marketeer. More like a filthy commie, am I right guys?

I like to think you actually believe Obama and/or the “grrrrr libruls!” are to blame for the current state of the economy, because that’s hilarious, but unfortunately I think you’re perfectly aware of your b.s. Which is what makes this next quote interesting to me. . . .

“Ergo, if the Right can push the message that Obama and the Democrats in Congress are to blame for the bad economy, there is a great likelihood that the 2010 mid-terms will go very badly for Democrats.”

It seems to me that you’re knowingly presenting a complete load-of-crap argument, for purely partisan reasons. You’re a liar. And a pretty unpatriotic one.

“These fucking Beltway wienies who are sitting around worrying if the movement is sending the “responsible” message are completely missing the point.”

Yes they are.

“the Right risks being perceived as irrelevant losers.”

Yes they do.

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