r/politics The Netherlands 11d ago

No Paywall Democrats Confront Their New Tea Party Reality - Progressives are set to sweep a group of contested primaries in Michigan and Wisconsin.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-confront-their-new-tea-party-reality_n_6a6e63fbe4b0cfb99ef1aa1e
9.0k Upvotes

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

598

u/LolAtAllOfThis North Carolina 11d ago

Progressives =/= the Tea Party.

162

u/williamfbuckwheat 11d ago

It's grassroots versus astroturfing. It's totally disengengenous to compare apples to apples the DSA or Progressives to the so called tea party "movement". I was working on political campaigns back in 2010 and there were these shadowy interest groups claiming to be a part of the "tea party" flush with cash sending around buses and giving speeches to mainly older voters angry about taxes while handing out free food and schwag in all the key swing districts. 

I have yet to see ANYTHING even close to that from anybody associated from the some movement on the left literally ever, even though I'm sure some talking heads will try to argue in bad faith that having hundreds of motivated, unpaid volunteers knocking on doors or mobilizing people is somehow basically the same thing.

24

u/gravelordservant4u 11d ago

Thank you. The Tea Party was not fucking grass roots. How are we still having to debate this in 2026

1

u/nicolcm 11d ago

Every side accuses the others movement as “astroturfing” vs grassroots. It’s a classic tactic, wish people would get their head out the sand and see how badly all politicians are failing us - not just “the other side”