Glenn Beck is auctioning off $500 a plate lunches at the tea bag rallies. You know, affordable for the working man and all. But Benen observes that the tea baggers are missing the entire point of grassroots activism:
These right-wing events aren't just coming together naturally; they're the product of Fox News and corporate lobbyists. This is practically a textbook example of "astroturf." That Glenn Beck is charging $500 a plate to have lunch with him, to help subsidize the effort, only helps reinforce the larger dynamic.
Nothing says grassroots -- nothing says "Going Galt" -- like a massively expensive lunch held exclusively for the super rich with a television celebrity/maniac. Oliver Willis adds:
When people were protesting the Iraq War, they didn't have $500 a plate fundraisers. Then again, they didn't have sponsorship from Fox News, the backing of corporate lobbyists and the attendance of prominent conspiracy theorists like Alan Keyes.
The tea baggery is actually sounding more like mini outdoor conventions than actual grassroots protests. I'm seriously interested to see whether there are merchants selling "Galt" t-shirts. Then I'd like to see if anyone will ask those people if they see the irony in such a thing.