Re: these tea parties, it's like the conservative establishment suddenly said, "The people like grassroots? We'll give 'em grassroots!" And then proceeded to enact some bizarre facsimile of what they think grassroots organizing means. What they failed to note is that the left only made progress once they quit wearing Technicolor costumes, bringing stilts to rallies, and screaming on the podium. Obama's victory was a victory of image control and talking points—of superior rhetoric, in short. He made it clear early on that he would disassociate himself from anyone who started spouting off in inappropriate ways—even, as you may recall, his own pastor.

The conservative establishment has its own top-down talking-point distribution system—but where the Obama team emphasized decorum and patient discourse, these clowns are injecting angry displays of power and tone-deaf, ill-conceived spectacle. Guess which one earns people's respect?

Then again, I guess that's the point: These people aren't interested in earning our respect. They're trying to start a civil war.

---