MoveOn.org drives new liberal catch phrase: ‘Tea party downgrade’

The left-wing activist group MoveOn.org picked up the new liberal slogan bashing conservatives for Standard & Poor’s U.S. credit rating downgrade: “Tea Party downgrade.” President Obama’s chief campaign strategist David Axelrod and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry both used the phrase on Sunday talk shows.

In a Sunday afternoon email to supporters, MoveOn.org accused tea partiers of being responsible for the first-ever credit downgrade in U.S. history. “This ‘tea party downgrade’ is a shameful blow to our nation’s honor and risks throwing us right back into recession,” Moveon.org wrote. “Worst of all? It was completely avoidable. But when given the choice between extremist posturing and responsible leadership, tea party Republicans chose wrong.” (RELATED: Axelrod: ‘This is essentially a tea party downgrade’)

MoveOn.org added that “now, amazingly, they’re trying to pin the blame on Democrats.”

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor downgraded the United States credit rating from AAA to AA+ with a negative outlook on Friday evening.

MoveOn.org asked its supporters to share an image of a mock headline reading “Heckuva Job, Tea Party!” via Facebook and email.