obviously its only democratic if you vote for what the dems want. I mean, its right in the party name!!

3/11/2010 10:26:13 AM

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/index.sjs?distributed_event_KEY=117


At this point I'd be half interested in going to this new party's first event and seeing the inception of a new party if I didn't already have spring break vacation plans for the time. At first it sounded like a joke, but now they've been discussed & interviewed for MSM television and newspapers, and they're the largest political party on facebook having surpassed greens, libertarians, constitution party, tea party, republicans, and democrats.

3/11/2010 5:10:14 PM

I'm going to organize an Alcohol Party where everyone gets drunk and says fuck politics

3/11/2010 5:21:32 PM

Most of this article is just a repeat of the same things from cnn, msnbc,the NY times, & washington post, but I pulled out the parts that talked a little more openly about the coffee party's leanings and the what comes next phase.

full article for your reading pleasure at this link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000354-503544.html

Quote :

"Is the "Coffee Party" the Next Big Thing? Months after the Tea Party erupted onto the national scene at health care town halls, an alternative, more pro-government group of citizens is emerging to say they're angry, too -- they just want less yelling and more talking."

Quote :

"The issues likely to come up at Saturday's meetings could very well arise at a Tea Party meeting. "We want jobs with decent pay for all Americans," the Coffee Party declares on its Facebook page. "We want affordable health care and education. We want our government to cut wasteful spending and practice fiscal discipline. We want regulation of Wall Street to protect consumers and promotion of financial literacy." The coffee partiers share a lot of the same grievances as tea partiers -- even though they are much more likely to have voted for President Obama. "

Quote :

"What Happens After National Coffee Party Day? The Coffee Party is eager to start the debate, but its future remains unclear. After small groups of local coffee partiers meet Saturday to choose the issues that matter to them, the national group expects to come to a consensus on at least some of the issues and propose specific solutions. Another, hopefully larger, meet up session is scheduled for March 27, according to Byler. During the upcoming congressional recess, the movement plans to hold "Coffee with Congress" sessions where they will invite their representatives to sit down for a cup of coffee with them. The movement has even started "campus coffee" branches at universities across the country and hopes to have a day in April where every college campus will have a "coffee date." For its second Coffee Party day on March 27, the group is asking people to take its Coffee Party sphere survey, which asks 60 questions about a person's beliefs on a range of issues. The survey creates a visual representation of one's beliefs and political priorities, which the Coffee Party is using to as a consensus-building tool. "

3/12/2010 12:35:49 PM

Yeah, this won't amount to anything.

Jaded former Obama supporters and frustrated Liberals can't possibly compete with the shrill lunacy and paranoia of the Tea Partiers. In a game where power is built on mobilizing fear and discontent, where the side who shouts the loudest is the last one heard, these pseudo-intellectuals, mild-mannered techies and fat old hippies aren't gonna make a dent in the political scene.

Congrats on becoming the most popular political movement on Facebook, though. That's gotta be worth something.

3/12/2010 1:58:01 PM

This is from yesterday. Rachel seemed to take a critical, but not harsh, look at the Coffee Party so far:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

3/13/2010 9:58:38 AM

[Edited on March 13, 2010 at 11:24 PM. Reason : .]

3/13/2010 11:06:30 PM

I am intrigued to see where this goes. Rachel brought up some very valid concerns.

3/14/2010 1:58:49 AM

I'm trying to understand what this whole movement is: simply a reactionary movement against the Tea Party and their supposed crimes? A grassroots remobilization for the incumbent President? An attempt to simply get different political factions to "play nice"? The entire thing is so nebulous, as if it's a joke that became a political movement, and the leadership is trying to figure out what the hell they're doing as they go along.

I find the whole concept kind of funny: they speak about taking back the system from lobbyists, yet ultimately, some of the most powerful lobbyists are simply manifestations of the political will. My observation is that they're something nefarious when they represent causes that an individual are against.

My expectation is that once this movement has to actually start taking a stance on something, they'll basically become yet another political movement falling under one existing banner or another.

3/14/2010 5:28:05 AM

Quote :

"(Lemme guess: they oppose the electoral college. ) If they like democracy so much, what is the Coffee Party's position on the two-party system?"

Quote :

"Coffee Party founder Annabel Park, who worked as a volunteer for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia's 2006 campaign, says the group is not "aligned" with any party and calls the two-party system out of date."

Well.... Opposition to the two-party system earns them a check in the plus column. However, they likely oppose the electoral college, which would earn them a check in the minus column. (The electoral college is as essential to our republic as the split houses of congress. Alleged problems associated with it actually stem from the two-party system.)

[Edited on March 14, 2010 at 8:20 AM. Reason : ]

3/14/2010 8:18:57 AM

Quote :

"I'm trying to understand what this whole movement is: simply a reactionary movement against the Tea Party and their supposed crimes? A grassroots remobilization for the incumbent President? An attempt to simply get different political factions to "play nice"? The entire thing is so nebulous, as if it's a joke that became a political movement, and the leadership is trying to figure out what the hell they're doing as they go along. "

Sounds like a description of the Tea Party, except not being founded by racist assholes.

3/14/2010 12:57:38 PM

^^ how the hell did you conclude that they oppose the electoral college?

3/14/2010 1:05:51 PM

lol @ star trek guy

3/14/2010 1:11:09 PM

^Today, they are all Trekkies.

A pic from the Winston-Salem meeting:

3/14/2010 1:50:20 PM

International:

Italy:


Panama:


Indonesia:

3/14/2010 7:56:40 PM

Coffee Party HCR Straw Poll Results:


Questions look a bit leading me.

[Edited on March 16, 2010 at 10:16 PM. Reason : .]

3/16/2010 10:15:50 PM

^by that I mean I wish there had been more answer options.

Here is a video for their lead up to their next event. It sounds so different than anything coming out of the tea party. And more healthy.

3/22/2010 7:47:03 PM

^That last event was a second round of meetings happening just before the congressional recess to prepare to meet and talk with their elected officials, without yelling, while they’re back in their home districts.

This event seems to be more focused on college & high school campuses and a lot of this video seems focused on the recent conservative leaning SCOTUS ruling on campaign financing. I know when they had events organized by city there was a Raleigh event, so maybe we'll see one on campus next week. I think this has just been announced, so I doubt anything is scheduled yet.

4/14/2010 12:49:10 PM

Not many Coffee Party groups left active in the state, most that were left seemed to mold into Occupy groups when that came along. Still, they are producing web documentaries on a regular basis, touring getting footage and sharing their videos. I met the founder of the Coffee Party when she came to Raleigh today.

2/8/2013 9:35:43 PM

I keep up with their postings on Facebook.

The problem is that the Coffee Party is full of people who want to discuss problems rationally and like adults. That demeanor doesn't appeal to the current political consciousness.

2/8/2013 9:58:59 PM