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Allegations of "Teabagging"

Some commentators have made jokes about the Tea Parties, referring to the protestors' use of the term "teabag" or "teabagging", in reference to the sexual practice.

Reports have traced back the teabagging story to a photograph David Weigel of The Washington Indepedent, took at a late February rally. The photograph shows a protester holding up a sing that read "Tea Bag the Liberal Dems Before They Tea Bag You". A website which helped to organizing events on July 4, reteaparty.com, encouraged people to "Tea Bag the Fools in D.C." Griff Jenkins, a reporter for Fox News said demonstrators were going to "teabag the White House," and quoted the website by encouraging viewers to "Teabag the fools in D.C."

On April 10, MSNBC's David Shuster said that the protests were "fluffed repeatedly by FOX News" and that "limp or not ... more of these things are supposedly unfolding on or near Tax Day, April the 15th." He continued, "We see the video of them holding up the tea bags and—I suppose the symbolism of that can be read a lot of different ways." On April 13 he offered "details of who is stimulating the movement and where the money is blowing in from" and described the movement as "short on outrage and long on Republican manufacturing." He said that the right wing is "going nuts for it" and that "thousands of them whipped out the festivities early this past weekend." He continued, saying that "the teabaggers are full-throated about their goals" and "want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending." He then spoke about the source of the protests, saying "the tea bagging is not a spontaneous uprising. The people who came up with it are a familiar circle of Republicans, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, both of whom have firm support from right-wing financiers and lobbyists, as well as Washington prostitute patron, Senator David Vitter, who has issued statements in support of teabagging but is publicly tight-lipped." He then addressed Fox News, saying "Then there was the media, specifically the FOX News Channel, including Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. Both are looking forward to an up close and personal taste of teabagging themselves at events this Wednesday." He concluded by saying, "If you are planning simultaneous teabagging all around the country, you‘re going to need a Dick Armey."

On April 13, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow offered "a double entendre palooza." Her guest, Ana Marie Cox, said "Well, there is a lot of love in teabagging." On April 14, she admitted that her approach to the protests was "to laugh at it, even while trying to report on it, which is the prurient, juvenile approach." On April 15, she said "the turnout today can probably best be characterized as a mixed bag" and mentioned an "offbeat path tea party." She said that protesters had "joy and the enthusiasm to teabag." Her guest, Ana Marie Cox, said "These people who turned out were truly dedicated to teabagging. And they really, they put a lot of muscle into it, but, hopefully, not too much. But I think that they were very, very excited to be there."

On April 14, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann said "FOX has whipped up excitement for the parties, recruiting viewers to come out, guaranteeing huge outdoor gatherings, spilling into the streets, choking off traffic with all their teabagging." and "Nor is FOX alone. Republican talking-heads like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have pushed their own version of teabagging—down the throats of teabaggers." He spoke about the source of the protests, saying "Dick Armey [is] at the head of it" and that "right-wing money bags... have blown lots of cash to make the movement look as if it's coming from the bottom-up and not the top-down." One the possibility of counter-protests, he said "if enough counter-protesters rear their head tomorrow, if things get too testy, teabagging might jut blow up in FOX‘s face."He suggested that the protests might have "had the news programs on FOX News going off half-cocked." On April 15, he said "After all the anticipation and buildup, the teabagging exploded all across America." and that "it is hard to change position right in the middle of a teabagging." On the origin of the protests, he said "In Washington, it climaxed at that grassroots organization, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, founded by “Mr. Grassroots” himself, Richard Mellon Scaife, funded by him anyway." He continued, saying "But this Dick Armey revolution only came out in dribs and drabs. At some spots outside the beltway, in crowds that numbered at least one dip, teabaggers hoping to get at least two dip, got some help from FOX News, sending its big guns all over the country." On the motivations of the protesters, he said "oddly, teabaggers oppose stimulus, even the stimulus package. Dick Armey hates inflation." and "these teabaggers claim high taxes have brought them to their knees."

On April 15, CNN's Anderson Cooper said "It's hard to talk when you're tea-bagging."

On April 17, political scientist Melissa Harris-Lacewell wrote in The Nation that "I nearly choked on my inflight pretzels when I learned that the Right was calling for Americans to teabag Obama!"

Responses

In response, national organizer FreedomWorks issued a flyer stating

The term teabagging has strong sexual connotations. Beware of anyone with a camera asking you if you are a "teabagger" or enjoy "teabagging" or similar leading questions — they are trying to make a fool of you.

Fox News responded by calling the remarks "frat house humor" and accusing MSNBC's David Shuster of weaving "a tapestry of 'Animal House' humor." Fox News further compared MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Air America's Ana Marie Cox to Beavis and Butt-head. Max Pappas, Public Policy Vice President of national organizer FreedomWorks, called the comments a "shame." Jeff Poor, writing for right-wing media watchdog NewsBusters, labeled the teabagging references as "dirty", "juvenile", and "low brow."

Conservative Media Research Center President Brent Bozell wrote that CNN and MSNBC had put on an "utterly embarrassing and crude display." He accused them of "vulgar attack-journalism", "lowly crassness", "slimy, smarmy attacks", and "sleaze-riddled condemnation". Conservative political commentator Joe Scarborough said "I'm not going to mention names of people on networks that made sexual jokes, childish sexual jokes." Conservative correspondent Paul Chesser wrote in The American Spectator that "Empty-suited Anderson Cooper fulfilled dreams of one-day fitting in with dreamboat Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, as he cracked gay-themed "teabagger" jokes about the events."