The Billionaires' Tea Party - Trailer - Available on DVD

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The Billionaires' Tea Party
How Corporate America is Faking a Grassroots Revolution

In the summer of 2009, shortly after Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress swept to power promising a new era of hope and change, a citizens protest movement emerged out of nowhere threatening to derail their agenda. Some said this uprising was the epitome of grassroots democracy. Others said it was a classic example of 'astroturfing' -- an elaborate corporate public relations effort designed to create the impression of a spontaneous uprising. Curious to find out for himself, Australian filmmaker Taki Oldham goes undercover into the heart of the movement. He visits raucous health care town hall meetings where irate voters parrot insurance industry PR; learns that home-grown "citizen groups" challenging the science behind climate change are funded by big oil companies; and infiltrates a tea party movement whose anti-government rage turns out to be less the product of populist rage than of corporate strategy. in the end, The Billionaire's Tea Party offers a terrifying look at how corporate elites are exploiting the anxieties of ordinary Americans -- capitalizing on anger, resentment, and paranoia to advance a narrow, often anti-democratic, agenda.

(Educational version of [Astro] Turf Wars)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• MEF
• Tea Party
• Charles Koch
• David Koch
• Koch Industries
• Americans For Prosperity
• AFP
• Barack Obama
• Democrats
• Republicans
• Taki Oldham
• Politics
• Glenn Beck
• Fox News
• Astroturf

[MarmaladeINFP]

That lady at 1:25 is just plain crazy. I always wonder how a person like her becomes that way. What kind of life has she lived that has led her to be filled with so much hatred and paranoia? I understand the rightwing media feeds into that mindset, but can it really be blamed all on rightwing media? Was that lady once a calm friendly person until one day she turned on the radio to hear the voice of Limbaugh? Or was she always a bit mentally unbalanced and the Tea Party has given her a platform?

[blackiron60]

This is what fascism looks like.

[leaving1977]

it is really interesting there is Tea Party and at the same time the Occupy movement.

but the latter is for the "99%", the former one just a pro-corporate, pro-elite, pro-status quo, and pro- (even) white one. isn't it a crossroad for people to make a critical choice? isn't it like what happened in the 1930's in Europe?

[wrathofme03]

"we are regular citizens who are doodly durda dooda durrrr durrddadadadrudododorororododd­durudrududuurddadadrudaaud DURRRRRRRRRRR!!!"

[decentwork4decentpay]

faux news lol neocon mouth piece channel

[decentwork4decentpay]

@blackiron60 i agree :) these people are dumb right wing clowns that dont know jack shit...

[FreeAmericaRP2012]

Though I am not a member of the tea party since it was hijacked from the Ron Paul movement I can still see a lot about this film is just Leftist propaganda. Anyone could go down to occupy wall street and make this exact film but against them all you have to do is find the stupid ones in the crowd and let them speak. Yes it is hijacked by corporations but so is every movement lately and probably forever. OWS is hijacked, it's all hijacked. We're fucked.

Ron Paul 2012 - so far still grassroots!

[LittlePinky82]

@shekinaluvs4 Yeah, you go do that and see how far you get.

[LittlePinky82]

@raocool1986 Lmao didn't you just watch the video of Fox supporting it? Talk about a liar.

[LittlePinky82]

These people are insane. My favorite is the AK47. I thought they hated commies so why are they using our gun?

[raocool1986]

@darknight651 It depends on which Tea Party group you ask. There are hundreds of TEA Party groups located all over the US, in every state. Mostly they strive for a return to the US Constitution as a basis for federal government. Also they ask for a reduction in government spending because they realize how far in debt both the Democrats & Republicans have pushed the US. (Currently US Debt = $15,000,000,000,000.00)

[darknight651]

@mad8london247 Hell is coming soon.