Obama Backlash Isn't About Race

(NEWSER) - When the tea party protesters converged on Washington, one leader, radio demagogue Mark Williams, repeatedly described them as “working stiffs” who felt left out. It’s no wonder they’re angry, writes Timothy Egan for the New York Times, because it’s been a lost decade for “working stiffs.” In 2008 the poverty rate hit an 11-year high and the median household income fell to $50,303, less than it was 10 years earlier. More»

(NEWSER) - Evaluations of the effectiveness of yesterday’s anti-tax “tea parties” are split predictably down partisan lines, Chris Cillizza writes for the Washington Post. Republicans touted the protests, which brought out tens of thousands and garnered major media coverage, as a success. “I think something is going on out there,” said South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. Newt Gingrich likened the populist demonstrations to Ross Perot’s 1992 campaign. More»

Tens of thousands set to attend nationwide demonstrations

(NEWSER) - Fiscal conservatives across the country will reenact Revolutionary history today with tea parties in every state to protest taxes and increased spending, ABC News reports. Tens of thousands are registered to attend in major cities, testing whether anti-Obama budget sentiment, which has picked up steam on the Internet, with help from Fox News, is “the beginning of conservative online grassroots politics,” says a Republican Internet strategist. More»

Court clears Walter Bagdasarian for exhorting people to 'shoot the [racial slur]'

(NEWSER) - The First Amendment protects even racists calling for the president’s assassination, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today, overturning the conviction of Walter Bagdasarian. Bagdasarian was convicted of threatening to kill a presidential candidate two weeks ahead of the 2008 election for an online rant in which he called for people to “shoot the n*****,” and predicted that Obama would “have a 50 cal in his head soon,” the LA Times reports. More»

US pushes loyalists to defect, hopes for regime change: David Brooks

(NEWSER) - There’s a big gap between what the US is doing in Libya and how the administration is describing it—and while the White House’s explanation is "maddeningly ambiguous," the actual operation is right on, writes David Brooks in the New York Times . Regime change is the ultimate goal, and insiders see three ways it could happen: Moammar Gadhafi could be defeated; he could be “persuaded to flee the country” (more likely); or his supporters could defect, resulting in the government’s fall (most likely). More»