Three St. Louis Area Tea Party Blogs Defend Akin Against GOP Establishment

Three bloggers from that one group that used to be tea party but now has some other acronym recently published blog posts defending Todd Akin and attacking the GOP establishment that tried to push him out.

Virginia Kruta:

If Akin stays in this race, it is possible that he has been damaged enough that we could lose this seat. And that is a scary thought, especially for Missourians, who would be saddled with another six years of Claire McCaskill. But how does that compare to grassroots losing *all* seats that boast candidates who have angered the GOP? Think of Todd Akin as the canary in the coal mine - if he falls to this strategy, who is next? Every election from here on out, we will not only have to fight the left and the media, but also the pseudo-right. 

If we continue to support Todd Akin, we have the ability to hit the national establishment where it hurts. Sadly, many who claim to be fighters have already fallen prey to the narrative. There may not be enough of us left to cripple the establishment this time around, and every time we fail they get stronger.

So wait for Todd Akin's response. And if he intends to fight, I say we fight with him.

Blogodidact:

Yet political players far and wide now wish to overturn the legitimate winner of a primary election; party players and powers that be, wish to disenfranchise all republican voters of Missouri, in order for these power players to put who they would like to see him replaced with. These are the same people who didn't want Akin to run for the Senate, the same people who didn't support him during the election, the same people who did their best to undermine him in order to get a less conservative candidate to run... And yet, after the people of Missouri, who knowingly voted for the more conservative candidate - are very likely going to have their votes overturned, by party players who didn't approve of their votes to begin with.

On the pretext of a politically sensitive gaffe, the candidate nominated in a statewide election, is potentially going to be removed from the race, and replaced by someone the GOP would have preferred to have been (s)elected in the first place.

Ennenbach:

While supporters in both John Brunner’s and Sarah Steelman’s camp gnared their teeth at the opportunity to snag the seat, should Akin vacate, those dreams were quickly dashed by the time they finally finished reading through Missouri’s Sore Loser Law....

It is clear that the people voted, and Akin’s primary win should be upheld. It is also clear that the Missouri Establishment GOP was quick to stand next to the progressive extremists in throwing Akin under the bus, over and over again. 

Guess that's the last time the GOP establishment will ever try "gnaring" their teeth. 

Guy Who Said Conservatives Should "Kill The Claire Bear" Can't Figure Out Why Democrats Think Akin's Views Are Outside the Mainstream

When we last heard from St. Louis-based tea party activist Scott Boston, he was telling a Missouri tea party audience the following about Senator McCaskill:

“She walks around like she’s some sort of Rainbow Brite Care Bear or something but really she’s an evil monster.” “We have to kill the Claire Bear,” he added.

This prompted additional security at Senator McCaskill's events and a harsh rebuke from the Post-Dispatch.

Today, as you can see from the above tweet, Boston is absolutely shocked about a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee email that stated the following:

From his record to his rhetoric, everything about Todd Akin’s Tea Party policies are outside of the mainstream and dangerous for Missouri families.

Noting first that the email was referring to Todd Akin's policies, rather than "conservatives," why would anyone think that Akin's policies are "dangerous" and "outside the mainstream"?  Well, aside from the fact that Akin refused to condemn Boston's "kill the Claire Bear" comments, here are a few reasons:

• The Hill: Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) voted against the creation of a national sex offender registry and against reauthorizing a program that assists runaway and homeless children.
• On CSPAN: In March 2011, Akin said he doesn't like Social Security. "Now, Social Security through the years, for many, many people, has been a terrible investment. It's really a tax, that's all it is. Social Security is a tax. The government has taken the tax. There's been more money coming in than going out. And we spend it. That's not been responsible. I don't like it. I didn't design Social Security. It actually came from Bismarck, FDR put it in place." [CSPAN Washington Journal]
• Fired Up Missouri: ...when giving an interview to Greg Knapp on KCMO, republican extremist Todd Akin stated that he would ban emergency contraception because he "believes it is abortion," and he would ban it for everyone, with no exceptions.
• The Washington Post: In 2012, Akin was one of 24 to vote against the Training and Research for Autism Improvements Nationwide Act; 147 Republicans voted for it. A GOP press release described this as an effort to “advance training and education for autism service providers” so that “autistic children and adults can lead fuller, happier and healthier lives.”
• And: In 2010, Akin was one of only 13 to vote No on a motion “expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals and ideals of the National School Lunch Program.” 155 Republicans voted for it.
• And: In 2009, Akin was one of 11 to vote against a measure “expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that providing breakfast in schools through the National School Breakfast Program has a positive impact on classroom performance.” 152 Republicans voted for it.
• Buzzfeed: Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin drew fire from fellow Republicans in the '90s for praising a private militia group associated with extreme anti-abortion actions, according to a 2000 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.
• Mediaite: Rep. Akin, a veteran and father of three Marines, clues us in about his confusion on the issue with very inarticulate language:

  There is a misunderstanding. If people are gay, they can serve in the military now. It’s just that they can’t allow their ‘gayness’ to get in the way of getting the mission done.

I could go on, but life is too short.

So yeah, even if you don't think that conservatives are "dangerous" and "outside the mainstream" you certainly have reasons for thinking that Akin's policies are.

GIGLI Cofounder Ennenbach Bizarrely Accuses Me of "Hacking"

Remember GIGLI, the completely ineffective astroturf group formed after there was a split in the St. Louis Tea Party?  They have now completely given up on pretending to be a real "grassroots" group and haven't posted anything new on Twitter for over a month.  And recall that unlike the St. Louis Tea Party which actually did organize rallies with hundreds of people in their prime, GIGLI hasn't done anything to show they could organize themselves out of a paper bag.  But they don't need to because the St. Louis media will dutifully pretend they're an actual group without requiring them to establish any credentials.

Anyway, that's all just a long aside to introduce the latest bizarre conspiracy theory about me.  GIGLI co-founder Jen Ennenbach is bizarrely suggesting that I'm "hacking" her Twitter account.  Why? I have no idea, but we can be sure that they'll never provide any evidence to back up the claim, just like they don't with their nutty "SEIU blogger" conspiracy theories.  Anyway, here's the absurd tweet:

Dana Loesch Punks CNN

Since her disgraceful comments cheering marines who urinated on corpses, CNN has wisely kept Dana Loesch out of most of their political coverage including:

• The South Carolina CNN debate.
• South Carolina primary night.
• Post debate analysis of the NBC debate in Florida.
• The Florida CNN debate.
• Florida primary coverage.

So it seems pretty clear that they've been trying to keep her away from their most important coverage, in contrast to previous primaries. However, they did have her on one time since the scandal and, unsurprisingly, she used the opportunity to further damage CNN's credibility. From the transcript:

CNN contributor, Dana Loesch joining me now. So, Dana, Billy Tucker, the leader of Florida's largest Tea Party group has chosen not to endorse a candidate. Why and could an endorsement by Tucker impact all of those undecideds?

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It could, absolutely, Kyra. It could very much impact those undecided voters. This is sort of the bittersweet thing, the double-edged sword about the Tea Party movement.

Because it's such a large, all encompassing movement, there's a ton of different movements that are sovereign. Each group can decide what it wants to do. I know there have been a couple of Tea Party groups in Florida that have endorsed Newt Gingrich.

There were a couple of Tea Party groups in South Carolina that endorsed him, as well, and different parts of the country. But really from my perspective and the group I'm with in St. Louis, the Gateway Grass Roots Initiative.

One of the really founding things of the movement is that you don't endorse candidates, at least I've always thought that, especially in a primary, you don't get involved and endorse candidates because it seems a little bit too close to being used by candidates.

There are a couple of things going on here. First, despite breaking up with the St. Louis Tea Party, Loesch is appealing to the group she created, the "Gateway Grassroots Initiative," to establish her "expertise" on conservative activism. Second, she's shamelessly using CNN to promote her "group".

So what's the problem? The problem is that there's no evidence whatsoever that suggests the "Gateway Grassroots Initiative" is a real group at all, as opposed to a disorganized webpage with lazy brainstorming ideas. Unlike the St. Louis Tea Party, GGI hasn't organized large rallies, hasn't worked on elections, hasn't hosted any public events, and in fact hasn't really done anything at all! They have an "Individual Initiative" project that basically consists of people saying "wouldn't it be nice if we did X" with essentially zero follow-up. After existing for more than a month, they only have 340 followers on Twitter and 280 "likes" on facebook.


In comparison, after one month, Occupy St. Louis had over 6,000 "likes" on facebook and over 1,000 followers on Twitter.

In fact, there is no other evidence to suggest that they are having any impact in St. Louis or anywhere else, despite being initially promoted on Glenn Beck's and Stephen K. Bannon's radio shows and Breitbart's web sites.

Here's what one conservative Missouri activist had to say about the group:

It's been such a #fail. I'm not sure how she holds her head up on her 20th "project" that fails. It's embarrassing. You're exactly right, they have done nothing. Literally nothing.

(as always, though this quote is anonymous, I'm happy to provide more info to any journalists who inquire, though of course I'd have to clear it first with my source)

So basically Loesch is punking CNN in two ways. First, she's pretending to be an "expert" based on a group created after she left the tea party that has done absolutely nothing and appears to exist only online. Second, she's using CNN to promote her own personal endeavors, before those endeavors have done anything to show that they're viable. This is what happens when the mainstream media panders Breitbart editors, who represent a fundamentally dishonest approach to information far more than the represent any kind of true conservatism.

GIGLI Still Attacking Ed Martin Even After He Switched Contests

As we know, the St. Louis Tea Party split up because some of the members supported Ed Martin and others supported ultimate GOP insider Ann Wagner. But even after yesterday's hilarious news that Martin decided, yet again, to switch campaigns, looks like the Ann Wagner splinter group known as GIGLI is still ragging on poor Ed. Here's what they tweeted yesterday:



And here's what the post says:

But Missouri should be asking a couple of questions of Mr. Martin:

First, why has he never attempted to mount a campaign in his home district? Missouri District 1 has been struggling, strangling under Democrat control since 1949. The people in his own neighborhood are drowning under the weight of increased unemployment, and he chooses to step out on them to represent others.

Second, can we expect him to stay in the Attorney General's race if another, shinier candidate steps into the ring?

Suprise! Another Member of Tea Party Splinter Group Actually Working for the Establishment...Against the Tea Party

As was previously noted, the St. Louis Tea Party split because of infighting between supporters of tea party candidate Ed Martin and those of establishment candidate Ann Wagner in the GOP primary for Missouri's Second District. Unsurprisingly, Adam Sharp of Sharp Elbows is in the "completely without actual principles" camp and sided with the new splinter group GIGLI. But what I didn't realize is that Sharp was already working on behalf of the establishment even before this whole kerfuffle started.

I've previously noted that there's a strong tea party challenger to GOP establishment Senator Dick Lugar. Lugar has repeatedly insulted the tea party during his campaign. Ann Wagner, unsurprisingly, is supporting Lugar and even hosted a fundraiser for him. And, coincidence of coincidences, it just so happens that Adam Sharp was sent to do a hit piece on Lugar's tea party challenger Richard Mourdock.

The video is the usual whining and declarations of being the world's biggest victim from Sharp, but what's hilarious is that he's using these tactics to attack fellow tea partiers. He goes to the event in a different state specifically for the purpose of harassing the candidate, interrupts their program, and then acts offended when people don't want to talk to him. It's great comedy.

Here's the video:


Sharp, by the way, is close friends with Chip Gerdes, whom the St. Louis Tea Party accused of writing a hit piece on Ed Martin for Breitbart's site.

Related: A RINO's Guide to Wooing Cranky Breitbart Editors

Ann Wagner's BFF Blames Tea Party for GOP Senate Loss

I wrote earlier in the year about Ann Wagner hosting a fundraiser for Dick Lugar, an establishment conservative facing a Republican primary challenge from tea party candidate Richard Mourdock. Now Lugar has taken it a step further, claiming that the tea party is the reason why Republicans didn't win control of the senate in 2008. Here's Mediaite quoting Lugar:

"Republicans lost the seats before in Nevada and New Jersey and Colorado where there were people who were claiming they wanted somebody who was more of their Tea Party aspect but they killed off the Republican majority.” He then added “this is one of the reasons why we have a minority in the Senate right now.”

I can we can see why the tea party would be in turmoil after a group of them chose to sell out and support Wagner.

Gateway Astroturf Initiative Badmouthing Tea Party To Other Conservative Groups, Claiming They Have "Alchohol Problems"

Jen Ennenbach, one of the co-founders of the new Gateway Astroturf Initiative (aka GIGLI), previously wrote the following about the St. Louis Tea Party:

For a movement that screams ”transparency, transparency, transparency!!!!” I certainly see none here. I see: Executive Director who was recently seated to the Board which stroked her ego; an unemployed lawyer, Benjamin Smith Williams (aka Ben Evans), who holds his Bar in New York, not Missouri, but still likes to act as legal counsel here; a loose cannon, John Burns who has been out of the Tea Party movement for over a year; another huge-headed blogger who likes to distort truth and is too chickenshit to put his name to half of what he publishes (Darin Morely); Co-founder Bill Hennessy, standing by silently, but driving this all behind the scenes.

But it looks like what she's saying about them behind their backs is even worse. Here's a message from Ennenbach to C. Steven Tucker, a leader of the Chicago Tea Party:


So very classy of Loesch's group to publicly pretend to be staying above the fray while privately smearing their former friends.

More Missouri Conservatives Blocked and Insulted By Loesch For Asking Questions

As we all know, Dana Loesch is completely incapable of coherently responding to thoughtful criticism, whether that criticism comes from liberals or conservatives. In fact, she's often at her most obnoxious when blasting conservatives who make comments that aren't praising her. We saw one example of that with Nina's question a couple weeks ago. And now I've been provided with another example of her shutting down a conservative for simply asking why a tea partier would support Ann Wagner.

Here's the post from the man, Greg Z, who announced that Loesch had deleted his comments and blocked him from her facebook page:

And here are the harmless comments that got him blocked:


It's funny that Loesch is so afraid of honest debate. Interestingly, as I've mentioned before, other actual Missouri conservative activists seem to know that Loesch is a blowhard who's not to be taken seriously as a self-proclaimed "grassroots activist."



Other Missouri conservatives who were trashed by Loesch for having the audacity to disagree with her about something:

• The St. Louis Tea Party
• Dr. Gina Loudon
• John Wayne Tucker
• The Hillbilly LogicRadio Crew
• Carl Bearden
  

This is one of many reasons that Loesch's "Gateway Astroturf Initiative" is unlikely to be successful.

Suprise! Gateway Astroturf Initiative's Scott Boston Is Big Ann Wagner Supporter!

As was mentioned previously, the mission statement for Dana Loesch's new group, the Gateway Astroturf Initiative (codename GIGLI) was copy and pasted by a former employee of the national astroturf organization, the Tea Party Patriots. And, wouldn't you know it, that employee Scott Boston just happens to be a big Ann Wagner fan!

You can see on his Twitter feed that he regularly RTs Ann Wagner's campaign announcements:



You get the idea. He also promoted Gateway Pundit's defense of Ann Wagner and attack on Ed Martin:

So the former employee of a national astroturf organization supports the GOP establishment candidate? Who woulda thunk it!