'Tea Party Coloring Book' is kiddie propaganda art

As kids, lots of people had their first participatory art experience with coloring books. Simplified contour drawings in thick black lines leave blank spaces to be filled in with crayons or colored pencils.
 
Now, just in time for the November election, a small Midwest publisher has come up with a distinctive hybrid: a coloring book merged with kiddie propaganda.

"The Tea Party Coloring Book for Kids" is a 32-page "special edition" on the right-wing political movement, produced by a division of Really Big Coloring Books Inc. The online imprint of the St. Louis-based publisher produces one other special-edition product: a 2008 coloring book on then President-elect Barack Obama.

Cheerful in tone, semi-literate in its writing and factually challenged, "The Tea Party Coloring Book for Kids" offers itself as "a teaching and learning tool" for children ages 2 and up.

There aren't any drawings of tea bags suspended from sun hats, nor racist depictions of Obama as a witch doctor with a bone through his nose. Instead, puzzles, lyrics to patriotic songs and line drawings of the Statue of Liberty, edifices in Washington and the facade of the New York Stock Exchange are interspersed with free-market-obsessed texts.

Next to a big dollar sign, "Freedom of Choice and Economics" extols the "ability to choose your job in America's free market." Bright-eyed teen doctors flank "Good Health Care for All Americans," which means private medicine "not restricted by federal or state governments." "No more taxes!" is largely self-explanatory, a sentiment floating in the clouds above Mt. Rushmore.

Some of the drawings are funny. Pigs at a trough ("pork") look sick to their stomachs. The Mt. Rushmore presidents appear grave but worried. All of the citizens -- young or old -- wear big smiles on vacant, happy faces. Cluttered details on some of the drawings make the prospect of actual coloring dubious.

One drawing apparently cheering the virtues of agribusiness subsidies for the production of corn-based ethanol wouldn't cause Van Gogh to lose any sleep. A composition near the end, just before the workbook section on how to write your congressman, shows a wedge formation of striding young citizens that would likely pass muster with the Kukryniksy, the Moscow art collective that rose to the rank of People's Artist in the old USSR.

The texts are less funny. Government is "suppose [sic] to use our tax dollars" wisely. Federal debt has "become a life style because as [sic] this will bankrupt our country."  Run-on sentences are rife, which would have caused my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Adams, apoplexy.

But it's the premise of the coloring book that is the real eye-roller. Inside the front cover, the unidentified author explains that the origins of today's tea party are found in the iconic 1773 event in Boston's harbor -- and gets the history wrong.

The coloring book casts the pre-Revolutionary War episode in full fairy-tale mode, as a dispute between freedom-loving American colonists and an oppressive, far-away government that imposed taxes without their input.

In reality, a government deal with the British East India Company, one of the first and largest transnational corporations in history, meant that small businesses in the Colonies were going under because they could not compete. The Boston Tea Party was a popular uprising against big corporate tax cuts enacted by the British Parliament, many of whose members were, like King George III, major company stockholders. 

Speaking of deals, in 2004, Really Big Coloring Books entered into a partnership with MeadWestvaco Corp. to print and distribute its product line, an arrangement expanded in 2008 and now including the "Tea Party" tome. A business with global interests in packaging, office products, chemicals and real estate in 30 countries, the company also has an active political action committee based in Richmond, Va.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, MeadWestvaco's PAC has spent more than $95,000 in the current election cycle on contributions to 17 House and nine Senate candidates, 91% Republicans. In May, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led a forum at MeadWestvaco's Richmond offices calling for repeal of healthcare legislation passed this year by Congress.

A report by Britain's Guardian newspaper says the coloring book, which retails for $3.95, has sold in the thousands. It is being reprinted daily, presumably without corrections, to keep up with demand.

-- Christopher Knight
twitter.com/KnightLAT

Photos: "The Tea Party Coloring book for Kids." Credit: Christopher Knight /Los Angeles Times

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Comments

[Will]

At last, a book that GW can read and enjoy.
Stay inside the lines Georgie!!

[R U Joking?!]

More Commie symp spin from the LA Times.

How dare those middle-class, white, Christian Americans get involved for their own political interests!

How dare they challenge America's engineered slide into 3rd World decay!

They need to be shamed into accepting their proper role, meaning paying for their ethnic replacement by 3rd World hordes, while cheering for it. Celebrate Diversity!!!

Just ask the LA Times.

[Pasquino Marforio]

"free-market-obsessed texts"?

The LA Times would belong in the Soviet Union, except it collapsed under the weight of a command controlled economy, just like the United States is.

TEA.

[Bonnie]

The comments here are amazing for their lack of connection to reality. You isolate yourselves from differing opinions and alternative ideas for solving our problems and you fear independent thinking. You shout down any attempt at intelligent debate with personal attacks. You are closed minded and bigoted, hating anyone whose ideas differ from your own. That is not superior intelligence, as you think, it is ignorance. The veil has been removed and the face of modern liberalism has been revealed and it is a rotting stinking corpse whose ugliness is apparent to everyone. So long left coast liberals, we are having a tea party.

[ncx]

hmm Is this coloring book propaganda in the same sense as those pro gay coloring books that are distributed by liberal gay rights advocates? How about the pro pot coloring books distributed by liberal pro pot advocates? Or maybe the anti-tobacco ads cooked up by the pro pot anti-smoking left wing liberal groups. I'm just trying to understand what you mean by propaganda...or rather, why everything liberal democrats do is always referred to as "educational" but everything else is propaganda. Then again, I'm on the LA Times website. So I suppose I'm looking for common sense in the wrong place.

[southoc]

I am a Democrat, however I support the grass roots fiscal ideals of the Tea Party.

Taxation without representation was a founding issue which fulled the American revolution.

Right now Americans and taxed to death to support erroneous government programs and waste.

Until we fix our fiscal problems we cannot deal with other issues.

Time for a new revolution.

[kay2the2nd]

I will be buying several of the "Tea Party Coloring Book for Kids". I have NOT, and will not buy either of the PRO-Obama coloring books:
http://www.amazon.com/Barack-Obama-Coloring-Pictorial-Archives/dp/0486473201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286203518&sr=8-1 or
http://www.amazon.com/Barack-Obama-Activity-Coloring-Book/dp/0982282206/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1286203518&sr=8-3
Nor will I buy either of the Bush Bashing books:
http://www.amazon.com/George-W-Bush-Coloring-Book/dp/1891053949/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286203649&sr=8-1 or
http://www.amazon.com/oficial-G-W-Bush-Coloring-Activity/dp/188992413X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286203649&sr=8-2.

[David Chen]

What do we call Obama kids books at the book stores? There are more little kids Obama books than Abraham Lincoln and George Washington books combined. What a shame!

[uncleebbie]

@DanStlMo, you wrote "Funny the author does not mention the same company publishes an Obama coloring book."

wow you didn't even make it to the 3rd paragraph before you decided what was included and what was not!

[Donald Frazell]

In a democracy, you get the government you deserve. And reading these assorted comments of left and right, we are lucky to have what we got. Whata buncha selfish scared ignorant morons. God help us.

Until the people change, and start taking responsbility for their lives and actions, more of the same will continue, and the US will slip into mediocrity. This thread has proven we are pretty much there already, and the ability to process and research impartial data, and come up with reasonable conclusions is over.

The center must hold, but does it exist anymore? It does, but unaffiliated, the T-bags as tiny but loud and annoying a buncha poodles as the lefties. WE are the silent majority, we just are busy paying our bills, and taxes, and riasing our kids without whining like spoiled babies. In a multiracial society, unlike some here who are stuck in the middle ages.

It is time to put aside childish things.
St. Paul, before Pres.Obama.

Art collegia e media e splintered cult cable channels(no latin terms for that)delenda est.
Means must be destroyed

[Caitlin]

Funny the author does not mention the same company publishes an Obama coloring book.

Posted by: DanStlMo | September 30, 2010 at 04:50 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Dan, did you actually READ the story? From the third paragraph:

"The online imprint of the St. Louis-based publisher produces one other special-edition product: a 2008 coloring book on then President-elect Barack Obama."

[Jessica]

The only thing more disgustingly outrageous than the tea party itself is this latest attempt to brainwash children. I wish these nutbags would go try to "help" some other country, and leave the US to genuine patriots.

[Learn history]

I didn't know there were this many cretins that didn't know the reason for the Boston Tea Party. In fact it was about a tax cut which made British tea cheaper than smuggled tea. Some idiot actually thinks it was about the Townshend Acts of 1767 and that everyone was just to lazy to do anything for 6 years. Learn about the Tea Act of 1773. There was already a tax on tea before 1767 and there was already smuggling. After 1767, smuggling increased and LESS taxes were going to Britain. This is not an opinion, but well documented fact. Apparently these imbeciles received their degrees at Beck University where they could be free from silly facts, logic, or reason.

[Kirsten]

@Tyrone - No, actually. The parents were sent a letter about the song WITH the lyrics. Nobody said a word against it. They were given the opportunity to have their child opt out of the performance. Horrible indoctrination!

Also, all these people pointing at 'Why Mommy is a Democrat' along with other democratic kids books: This is an article on THIS PARTICULAR book. The author never said anything about THOSE books being okay either. Why? Because they're not. Shoving politics down your kids' throats rather than letting them wait until they're old enough to understand and make a choice for themselves is wrong, no matter your political affiliation.

Seriously, the lot of you make me sick.

[Hillman]

I have a serious question for Tea Party folks.

Your big thing is that you want a smaller, less intrusive government.

I agree.

But why is it that you are ok with government being completely intrusive when it comes to the most personal of life decision. That is, you are absolutely fine with the federal government interfering with gays getting married, literally intruding into the most personal and important relationship a person can have.

Isn't that the ultimate in government intrusion?

Same question on medical marijuana. We spend billions every year fighting the 'war on marijuana', then billions more incarcerating people for minor marijuana charges.

Why not save those billions, and tax legal marijuana?

Again, I view this as a big government thing.

Can any Tea Party reps out there give me a detailed answer on these issues?

And before anyone says 'we all have different ideas', I have to call shenanigans on that. To my knowledge there's not a single major Tea Party candidate that's come out with anything but a far right position on these two issues.

[Dave]

The only thing more disgustingly outrageous than the tea party itself is this latest attempt to brainwash children. I wish these nutbags would go try to "help" some other country, and leave the US to genuine patriots.

Posted by: Jessica | October 04, 2010 at 06:28 PM

YOU ARE AN IDIOT!!!!!!

[woof-woof]

Knight takes a twisted view of history and presents it as fact. For a less biased view, see any standard US history text or the Wikipedia article on the Boston Tea Party.

[Hairy Carrion]

Lame. Most of the comments are lame and so is the coloring book. Lame.

Wake up and smell the statist capitalism.

[LM PhD]

I could not care much less about the politics (right or left), but exposing children to poor grammar is tantamount to child abuse. The grammar in this book is deplorable. Was there no editor?

Arky, you are very well informed so you probably already know this but maybe others do not, the original Tea Party was ridiculously under-informed. Most British citizens had no representation in Parliament in the 1750s-70s. The phrase "no taxation without representation" was, in point of fact, a call for "special rights" for colonists.

The laughable choice of the "Tea Party" moniker for this most recent political incarnation betrays, on the part of both founders and followers, a lack of knowledge of American history. How very sad.

[John Gotti]

Name Calling. This Leftist Rag, just can't help it. Any more Teachers commit suicide after you trashed their Reputations?