Posted on 08/10/2011 4:13:40 PM PDT by philo
Tea Party Made Up of 'Freaked Out White Men': Whitney
By: Jeff Cox
CNBC.com Staff Writer
Tea Party members are primarily “freaked out white men” who pose the greatest political threat to Democrats in 2012, according to banking analyst Meredith Whitney.
Speaking in the broader context of a discussion on CNBC regarding the Standard & Poor’s downgrade of U.S. debt, Whitney said the dissenters represent the type of problems that have led to the current predicament in Washington.
“Call it Tea Party, whatever you will, the fringe element is I characterize (as) freaked-out white men who are unemployed and have been unemployed for three years and they’re scared to death,” she said. “Three to four million of them are about to roll off unemployment benefits in the next three to four months. This is only going to get worse.”
Democrats looking to hold the White House and regain full control of Congress will need to take note.
“For this reason you have to deal with the structural issues,” Whitney said. “If you are a Machiavellian Democrat you want do deal with this issue and defuse the Tea Party as fast as you possibly can because this poses the biggest threat to their re-election in 2012.”
Her comments come at a turbulent time for markets, which saw a more than 600-point drop for the Dow industrials on Monday that was followed by a more than 400-point gain on Tuesday.
Economic uncertainty is at the crux of the tumult, with investors caught between crosswinds of debt issues in Europe and the U.S. as well as the threat of rising unemployment.
Whitney said extending unemployment benefits, which already have been pushed to 99 weeks, is not the answer.
“You feel better about yourself when you’re working. Kids feel better about their parents when they’re working. Having a job is more than having a paycheck,” Whitney said. “To push for the extension of unemployment benefits is going to and should unleash absolute backlash against this administration because that’s a horrendous idea.”
ROTFLOL These people haven’t a clue as to who or what the Tea Party is.
Yes the very people that built this place are freaked out, you Leftist loon!
Well, don’t judge everybody by me.
Am I white? I act white and kind of ‘Uncle Tomish’.
We now know that the Progressive Left and the 2012 election will be all about replacing ‘BushHitlerCheny’ with the ‘Boogie Man TEA Party’ to run against.
Hey, where did all of those AstroTurf War Protesters go? ANSWER? Not a peep since the DNC told them to back off. MoveOn.... LOL, hiding.
Santelli - Take no prisoners! Pissed off the rich white woman!
They continue to try to demonize us or marginalize us, but it backfires and just makes us even more passionate about our cause.
Ah, the old ‘what’s wrong with you; why are you so angry at the horrible things I said about people like you?’ response from her. A classic.
I wonder what kind of reaction a political headline that contained the words “Freaked Out Black Men” would create? Oh, I think I know the answer.
Whitney stepped in it and Santelli called her out. She seemed sincerely flummoxed...it’ll be interesting to see if she changes her snobbish tune.
“…freaked-out white men who are unemployed…”
Well, she’s partially right about that. I am freaked out and I am white. That’s because I AM employed and seeing my future slip away because of runaway government.
Angry because they want more unemployment benefits? This woman is completely in the dark about the tea party.
Seems much more likely that it's the left that's freaked out.
Yeah, whoever this Whitney person is, she totally missed the boat. TEA = Tax Enough Already.
Imagine if Rush said: The DNC is made up of angry blacks.
Bump
“Economists exist to make weathermen look good.”
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