Posted by
Bill Crawford on Sunday, April 18, 2010 9:34:31 PM
For the longest time, they were ignored. I was warning you all here a year ago that there was a groundswell reaction coming, because I wasn't near the only one out there that was looking at the first few months of this administration and feeling like they were living the first chapters of Atlas Shrugged.
They had a presence at the Town Hall meetings last year, but the primary focus (rightly so) were the Seniors who were getting the wits scared out of them by the reports of Medicare cuts.
No, it took a while, but the Tea Parties are now part of the national consciousness. They are no longer ignored. Now they are ridiculed. They are bigots. They are hateful. They are dangerous- read Bill Clinton and part deux of his 'conservatives brought on Oklahoma City' act.
This should be madness, but at this point it is merely amusing. Ever been to a tea party rally? Lately? They send out e-mails with dress codes, and behavior warnings. They admoish signs that are considered negative TV targets. They are polite.
They don't litter.
The good pollsters know what they are. They are regular voters. Zogby and Rasmussen are watching these people like hawks. There is a reaction coming this November, and it will be a harsh one. It is Gertrude Himmelfarb's "dissonant culture" having had more than enough of the counter culture majority in Washington.
It really isn't complicated.