This surprises me a bit, but hey, it pretty much speaks to me. http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/ And from CNN's top page: Percolating in the Coffee Party Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- In one chair sits a rural retiree, his financial security shot in the slump, a humble Southerner who's never thought much about politics. In another seat is a born Northerner, an inner-city native, a relative of a civil rights giant. And nearby, circling a table, are an economist, an artist, a onetime John McCain supporter and a long-haired guy who's rich in Woodstock memories. Meet these members of the Coffee Party Movement, an organically grown, freshly brewed push that's marking its official kickoff Saturday. Across the country, even around the globe, they and other Americans in at least several hundred communities are expected to gather in coffeehouses to raise their mugs of java to something new. They're professionals, musicians and housewives. They're frustrated liberal activists, disheartened conservatives and political newborns. They're young and old, rich and poor, black, white and all shades of other. Born on Facebook just six weeks ago, the group boasts more than 110,000 fans, as of Friday morning. The Coffee Party is billed by many as an answer to the Tea Party (more than 1,000 fewer fans), a year-old protest movement that's steeped in fiscal conservatism and boiling-hot, anti-tax rhetoric. This new group calls for civility, objects to obstructionism and demands that politicians be held accountable to the people who put them in office. -------------------- I know there's a snowball's chance in hades that this ends up meaning anything, but it is refreshing and I'll probably attend an event or two, especially if I can end up in non-insane conversations with people with differing views.
Funny thing is, you can already see some knuckleheads who have joined this movement with the completely wrong idea. For example: Already the focus of the founders is lost on some idiots. Hopefully they keep a tight focus and their moderate members heavily.
One of the guys in our Lemon Party meeting tonight at 8:00 had to cancel, so there's a spot open. First come, first served.
Yeah, I think inviting Palin and Beck as key speakers is when you went off the rails as a moderate, dialogue-intensive movement. Or maybe earlier.
On the positive side, their popularity/notoriety helped put the movement on the map media-wise, but on the negative side the movement got saddled with their image compounded with some of the fringe crazies that the media loves to portray as typical of all advocates. Maybe the "coffee" image will provide a more indicative flavor.
I have nothing fundamentally against a Coffe Party or any other caffeinated beverage party but what do they stand for? What issues are they seeking to advocate? This sounds more like a salon than what I would consider a party.
Yeah, perhaps just a salon for a different group of frustrated people. I think people are really responding to the idea of discourse, civic engagement, and civility. But where does that leave one on a big controversial issue? Perhaps you just organize voting drives around candidates who meet the standards of civility, logic, and compromise, no matter their initial stance on issues, and no matter what talking points their original parties want them to parrot. That would make for a pretty short list of candidates to hold up, actually.
Why would I mind, or rather why do I think you would care if I mind? But could you expand? I guess it depends on what you mean by "lame." If you mean in the literal sense of not being able to accomplish anything in the national political landscape, you are probably correct.
I don't see how anything can be more lame than the Tea Party so for someone to view the Coffee Party as being more lame than the Tea Party I assume it must be missing something. Since racism seems to be so prevalent (except for Thumbs) in the Tea Party I assumed it must be what is making it less lame than the Coffee Party. The comment was not to be taken seriously as I assume JuanValdez's was not either.
This is really very funny and would have passed me by if thumbs hadn't pointed it out. LOL. Thank you. If the Coffee Party can't enlist Juan Valdez, what hope does it really have?
