Fox News now giving publicity to Republican Governors' “Tea Party 2.0”
Written by Jocelyn Fong
Published
Following Fox News' aggressive promotion of the April 15 “tea party” protests, Greta Van Susteren did a segment on the forthcoming “Tea Party 2.0,” and stated, “If you wanted to go to a tea party on April 15 but could not make it ... tomorrow's your big chance.”
During the May 13 edition of her Fox News' program, Greta Van Susteren hosted Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) to promote the forthcoming “Tea Party 2.0,” a May 14 public tele-conference hosted by the Republican Governors Association (RGA). Van Susteren stated, “If you wanted to go to a tea party on April 15 but could not make it or there was none in your hometown, tomorrow's your big chance.” She later asked Sanford, “What do they do, do they log on a particular place? And will they be able to interact with you? I mean, how's this gonna work?” and later, "[W]hen is this tea party? When does it begin? Is there a Web address or a phone number?" As Media Matters for America noted, Fox News aggressively promoted and covered the April 15 tea party protests, in some cases calling them “FNC Tax Day Tea Parties,” and Van Susteren reported from a tea party in Washington, D.C.
During the interview, footage from the April 15 protests was aired and the on-screen text read, “To sign up for Tea Party 2.0 go to: www.thegopcomeback.com."
That is the RGA's website for the May 14 telephone call, which states:
At TEA Parties across the country, hundreds of thousands of citizens declared that our taxes are too high, our federal government is too big, and our states' rights are being trampled upon. Out of respect for that great movement, we want to be sure to do our part. Join a free telephone call with Governors Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Rick Perry of Texas to collaborate on our plan to fight for freedom and win America back.
The site also allows users to sign up to be called on May 14 at 8:30 p.m.
The Fox Nation, a Fox News website, is also featuring the video of Van Susteren's interview with Sanford with the headline, “Inside Tea Party 2.0”:
From the May 13 edition of Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren:
VAN SUSTEREN: Another tea party day, it's tomorrow -- it is called Tea Party 2.0. If you wanted to go to a tea party on April 15 but could not make it or there was none in your hometown, tomorrow's your big chance. But tomorrow's tea party is very different from the April 15 tea parties. How different? South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is one of the hosts of the tea party, joins us live. Good evening, Governor, and what is your tea party tomorrow? And how is it different from those tea parties on the 15th of April?
SANFORD: Let me give a disclaimer up front, which is it won't be as good as the first round of tea parties, but I suspect there will be a Tea Party 2.0, and 3.0, and 4.0, and 5.0, and go down the list because what I saw at the original tea party was a level of political energy that I've not seen in the last 15 years that I've been involved in the political process. And I think it's important that that energy gets harnessed toward creating change for the conservative side. I think that there is a genuine blowback across this country in reaction to what much of Obama and the administration and the Congress has laid out and I think that whether it's in this 2.0 version that we're gonna have or some other version, there's gonna be a movement that's created. And our 2.0 version, to give you a long sentence made a little bit shorter is simply via the Internet, inviting about 50,000 people to join us and having a conversation.
VAN SUSTEREN: What do they do? Do they log on a particular place? And will they be able to interact with you? I mean, how's this gonna work?
SANFORD: It'll be somewhat awkward, I'm not a technology guy and so it's been explained to me. Myself and Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, will be on it and we will basically -- there'll be questions submitted and we can answer them. So there'll be, at least in the awkward framework that you can have with a very large audience and two governors, something of a conversation. The idea's to learn more of what's happening at a grassroots level so that we can take those ideas and try and plug them into places in our respective states and through the Republican Governors Association.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, when is this tea party? When does it begin? And is there a Web address or a phone number?
SANFORD: The Web address is gopcomeback. I suspect on that website there's a phone number. That's how computer un-savvy I am. As to --
VAN SUSTEREN: Time.
SANFORD: You can't really call in. It is via the internet and it takes place tomorrow night from about 8:30 to 9:30. So it's a shorter version. You know, I went to three of the original tea parties across our state of South Carolina, and they were much longer and it was amazing the number of people who turned out trying to make their voice heard and if not their voice heard, then their presence known.