Obama May Not Have Called Conservative Activists "Tea Bags"

By Justin Duckham - Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama has caught flak for reportedly calling the conservative activists that descended on Capitol Hill twice in the past week “tea bag, anti-government people.”

The description comes from a New York Times blog written by Jackie Calmes featuring a quote provided by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) detailing Obama’s talks with Congress in the hours leading to the House vote.

“According to Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, who supports the health care bill, the president asked, “Does anybody think that the teabag, anti-government people are going to support them if they bring down health care? All it will do is confuse and dispirit” Democratic voters “and it will encourage the extremists.”

Right wing blog redstate.com posted an article Tuesday morning chiding the left for its use of “tea bag” or “tea bagger” as in insult aimed at conservative activists, using the New York Times blog to charge that even the President uses the insulting term to describe the demonstrators.

However, it seems that Obama might not have uttered those words and that Blumenauer was in fact paraphrasing.

Talk Radio News Service was present during Blumenauer’s discussion with Calmes and captured sound from the exchange. While the audio shows that Blumeanuer did make the statement in question, the Oregon Democrat appears to revise his words several seconds later to instead suggest that the president only said “extreme people.”

Click on the audio icon below to listen to the exchange.

The Hunt for Blue November

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held a press conference to discuss elections being held in November. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the press that Saturday, July 29 begins the 100 day countdown to the November election, saying that the DSCC has overwhelming evidence that Americans are looking for change and finding it in Democrats.

Schumer said polls indicate that Americans are more concerned over topics like health care and education rather than national security and abortion, a concern he said shows a preference for Democratic policies. He noted Mississippi, which he described as the most conservative state, is leaning Democratic in November and becoming a swing state. Schumer, who said that only 3 of the 35 seats contested in the fall are in blue states, said Sen. Barack Obama’s popularity in the Republican Deep South is a valuable asset for Democratic senatorial contests. Schumer said Democratic senatorial candidates are well ahead in Virginia, New Hampshire, Colorado, New Mexico, and Alaska while candidates in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska are behind but gaining momentum.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) stated that elections are also looking promising for Democrats on the House side of the Hill. He said that the DCCC is focusing on early contact and persuasion, launching “Get Out and Vote” campaigns in 50 districts throughout the United States. With a Democratic-controlled White House and Congress, Van Hollen said policies concerning stem cell research, children’s health care, Iraq, and gas prices would be successfully addressed.