More history on the term Teabaggers

Earlier, I wrote a brief history on the liberal's use of the word "Teabagger". Since the left has remained obsessed with it, I thought I'd update it.

This is, in part, what Salon wrote:

Truth be told, though, for the most part conservatives haven't actually been using the words in such a way as to lend themselves to double entendre. With one or two exceptions, almost all of it has actually been coming from the left, which seems to have adopted the joke en masse during an earlier round of these protests back in February. After many hours of investigative journalism -- the kind that makes you wish you'd just gone to law school instead -- I think I've traced the meme's birth back to February 27th, when blogs like Instaputz and Wonkette started using it independently of one another. They were inspired by a photo that the Washington Independent's David Weigel shot of one protester carrying a sign that was, if you knew that second meaning, pretty funny: "Tea bag the liberal Dems before they tea bag you !!" (sic).

Since then, the left has used it so often, that Oxford added it to their dictionary.
Here's how various lefty websites covered this event. The Huffington Post:

Keith Olbermann took credit for popularizing the word on MSNBC Tuesday night. But the word "teabagger" actually started to spread after the Washington Independent's David Weigel photographed a protester at the first D.C. Tea Party Protest in February holding the sign, "Tea Bag the Liberal Dems Before They Tea Bag You!!"

It actually wasn't Keith, but Rachel. Although you have to give Keith credit for copping to it.
What Mediaite wrote:

Their definition doesn’t touch upon any of the raunchier, more testicular connotations of the word, which Keith Olbermann and Anderson Cooper had a lot of fun with in April. Cooper can take a lot of credit for the popularization of the phrase: in response to David Gergen’s questions about the Republican Party’s abilities to organize and articulate a message, Cooper infamously quipped, “It’s hard to talk when you’re teabagging.”‘

And, just to make sure you can read the original Oxford posting, click on it for the details.

Obama calls Tea party members Teabaggers. Gibbs demures.

From Real Clear Politics:

REPORTER: Are you able to get an answer on Fred's question about the teabagger quote, if the President is aware that people are offended?
GIBBS: Again, I have not seen the book. I can't imagine I'm going to ask the President that, but I will -- I will entertain it. I will check.

No word yet on if the reporter ever got his answer. I'm going with 'yeah... the president said it, all while denouncing the incivility of others'

Who said "Teabaggers" first?

Every once in a while I get into an argument with someone who tells me, with a straight face, that it was the Tea Party Protestors who came up with the term "Teabaggers"... and that its not their fault that they call Tea Party protestors Teabaggers.

Most recently, I got into this argument with an earnest member of the left who insisted it was because of protestors who, on April 15th, wore Teabags on their hat.
Forgetting for a moment that putting teabags on your hat is not the same as being asked to be called a Teabagger, I did my research.

Predictably, it turns out that a member of the left who started using the term.

Rachel Maddow went on the air April 9th (6 days before the protest), and in giddy glee, she played a few tapes in a row of guys holding up tea bags who said that we should tea bag the White House.
This, of course, sent Rachel into schoolgirl convulsions. More over, it gave her the presumed license to use the term "Teabaggers" as much as humanly possible.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So let's get this clear: the first person to use the term was Rachel Maddow.
Which couldn't be more ironic,
If you have a differing opinion, or believe me to be in error, please post to me and I'll make the correction or add your counter argument to the mix.