Krugman on beating one's head against a wall of tea bags:
And if you point out that their arguments don’t add up, they fly into a rage. Try to explain that when debtors spend less, the economy will be depressed unless somebody else spends more, and they call you a socialist. Try to explain why mortgage relief is better for America than foreclosing on homes that must be sold at a huge loss, and they start ranting like Mr. Santelli.
History will remember this as a counter-factual era highlighted by unfocused, contradictory rage. And how it won the day.