The disdain was understated, but it was there. Liberal website Huffington Post published a short item Sept. 20 noting that the man credited with starting the Tea Party movement hasn’t donned sack cloth and ashes in penance. In fact, Rick Santelli said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times that, “If being the lightning rod that started the Tea Party is what's written on my tombstone, I'll be very happy.”
CNBC’s Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor reporter, whose on-air rant against the bailout culture and government intrusion into the private sector is considered by many to be the opening shot of the Tea Party movement, called his passionate outburst on the network’s “Squawk Box” program “the best five minutes of my life.”
Of course, Huffington Post, which sniffed that Santelli “called struggling homeowners ‘losers,’” wasn’t impressed. The site clearly didn’t think inspiring a grassroots uprising of limited government constitutionalism anything to be proud of, and ended the item with perhaps the most damning indictment it could find.
Noting that Santelli called the Tea Parties “a proud moment for America,” HuffPo added, “At least one person agrees with Santelli: Glenn Beck.”
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