CNN Reporter Susan Roesgen getting punked at the Chicago Tea Party

CNN reporter Susan Roesgen attends a Tea Party in Chicago and neither her nor her attitude are to well received by demonstrators.

Being originally from New Orleans I am quite familiar with Susan Roesgen. She was previously employed at NBC affiliate WDSU-6 and ABC affiliate WGNO-26 where she displayed a certain degree of professionalism in her reporting. Conversely, since she has become employed by CNN, she has evidently lost her journalistic integrity.

Here is Roesgen "interviewing," a protester at one the Tea Parties taking place in Chicago.



Roesgen posed an interesting question to this gentlemen, "Why are you protesting against paying taxes when you are about to get a $400 tax cut from the Obama administration."

Does Miss Roesgen mean this tax cut? From Fox News, Senate Democrats to Scrap Obama's Tax Rebate. The very same ones which will probably sunset in a year or two? Not to mention how they effect the issue of paying for his ridiculous spending proposals. These tax cuts and rebates will only exacerbate the problem with the national debt if the government's insane fiscal policies are allowed to continue.

All of this raises two considerations about Roesgen. She is either woefully ignorant of the daily news or she is conveniently glossing over these little nuggets of information for political purposes.

The next topic is the broader context of the Tea Parties, their real purposes, and how they are being portrayed by the media. Most MSM and Left leaning organizations are treating these demonstrations as Right Wing sponsored movements simply against taxation and the President. Nothing could be further from the truth.

These protests have little to do with the current amount of taxation being levied against Americans or Obama personally. They are demonstrations against the reckless spending and continual bailout mentality of the federal government as a whole. On the tax issue, the question being raised at the Tea Parties is, "How are we [The American People] going to pay for all of this spending?" Obviously tax payrolls, at some point, are going to have to be raised on the majority of the working classes in order to generate enough revenue for the government to keep functioning at Obama's proposed levels. This is the problem most people attending the Tea Parties are concerned with.

What about the media bias in favor of the Obama administration and any agenda attached to it? By news organizations engendering the ideas that these protests are simply about taxation, in its current form, the participants are insane right wing extremists who merely despise the President, or these movements are being sponsored by Right leaning organizations for political gain they can create a schism between the original message and people who might have otherwise listened.

The next part of this particular equation is Obama's supposed popularity and it being brought into play. Let's first assume that most polls are correct and he sits at a fairly strong 60-65% approval rating. If these demonstrations are portrayed as ad homenim attacks, perpetrated by the Right or Right Wing organizations, it can energize current Obama supporters and reaffirm support from voters who might have been on the fence because of his handling of the economy and the budget.

Looking at polling data that was presented during the stimulus and budgetary debates you can see why the White House and left leaning organizations might be concerned about Obama losing ground. According to Gallup, from February to March the percentage of most Americans was that the economy was going to get worse sat at about 75-80%. (Please note, though, present data from Gallup shows confidence is starting to grow in our economic future.) For the sustainability of his Presidency, it's imperative that Obama be perceived by the public as their economic savior. Tea Parties highlight the possibility that he may not be what he was billed as.

Through the implication that GOP, with assistance from Fox News, is using these protests as a political platform against the President the Left can generate new and more excitable talking points of "dirty politics" or "conservatives are insane." Further assisting them in their attempts of decimating Republican hopes for a victory in 2010.

While the Tea Parties are a very interesting phenomena, being that conservatives are not prone to demonstrating, the underlying political currents being stirred and the fear they have generated on the Left is intriguing. More than likely, as time goes on, the political strategies being executed by the Far-Left and how they hope to accomplish victory in the 2010 elections will become more clear. I am sure what we are seeing right now is just the tip of the political iceberg.

Update:

Micehlle Malkin has an interesting post up which covers Roesgen's bias, CNN beclowns itself

(Tip o'the lid to memeorandum)