April 15 is the big day when Republicans will get together and dangle tea bags in front of their faces (for some reason) and to make loud noises. Oh, and wingnut babies will go unsupervised, allowing them to flee for safety.
Meanwhile, I suspect one of the problems with the Tea Parties is that it’s not altogether clear what they’re rallying for. [...]
I take it they don’t like the economic stimulus package, but that’s already passed. They don’t like budget deficits, unless they’re run by Republican presidents. They don’t want their taxes to go up, but Obama has already passed a significant middle-class tax cut, which by most measures, is the largest tax cut ever signed by a U.S. president.
So, angry, right-wing activists are going to get together to demand … what exactly? A 36% top rate instead of a 39.6% top rate? A $3.1 trillion federal budget instead of a $3.5 trillion deficit? It’s hardly the stuff of a credible and coherent political movement.
They’re going to say that socialism is bad while gathering on publicly-financed park land and outside public buildings. They’re going to insist that they don’t want their taxes raised even though it’s likely that upwards of 90 percent of the tea baggers are getting a tax cut. And they’re generally going to emulate an protest from history that was precipitated by a corporate tax cut, which would otherwise indicate that the tea baggers are against tax cuts.
So…
