I honestly didn't think that the conservatives could possibly get any more lost in their own forest like they have over this whole teabagging thing. Not grasping the obvious sexual innuendo around the whole thing is bad enough, but its just the tip of the absolute absurdity of the whole thing.

1) The original Boston Tea party was a protest over, as we all know, "taxation without representation". The British wished to impose a higher tax on tea coming out of Boston Harbor, taking money out of the local merchants hands, which they or anyone else living in the Massachusetts colony had no say about, as they had no representaion in the UK parliament, who passed he bill. In a nutshell, Paul Revere & co. tossed the tea into the harbor not becuase the tax was high, but because they weren't allowed to vote for members of the government who had authority to govern over them. Actually, if I remember right, Washington actually raised taxes after we won the war.

Every single person at every single one of these 'rallies' is fully and completely represented by the Unites States government. Everyone one of them has a state rep, a state Senator, a Governor, a US rep, and a US Senator who represents them, as has every single American, apart from the embarassments of slavery and segregation, for over 200 years. There is no taxation without representation at play here in any way, shape, or form.

2) This apparent raise of their taxes they they all seem to have some kind of problem with, has actually not taken effect. None of their taxes have rasied based on anything Obama has done in the last three months. So they are protesting something that has not actually happened.

3) Unless there were some millionares slumming around out there today, nobody at any of these rallies will experience any tax increase either. Many will actually get a tax cut. So not only are they protesting something that has not happened, they are in fact protesting something that is never going to happen.

4) Spending under Obama, which is the other 'problem' they have, is not much more than it has been for the past eight years, if you do as Obama has done, and include all the money for Iraq and Afganistan, and not fund them 'off budget', as Bush regulary did.

5) If its not the amount that's the problem, then perhaps its placement of the money. Like in the bailouts:

5a) The bailouts are something nobody likes or is happy to do, but if that was the real problem that drives these teabaggers, then I would like to see what ideas they have to avoid the complete and total collapse of the world economy that many of there very own unregulating small government philosophies have caused.

5b) If not the bailouts, then I suppose the problem is the healthcare reform, which actually hasn't happened yet, or the takeover of banks, which also hasn't happened either, or any of these other feared nationlizations that do not exist. Obama may very well nationalize the banks if he needs to keep the country running, but he has definitely been doing every thing he can to avoid having to do that.

This is what all the the cries of socialism are about. Well, I would say to the teabaggers that if you truly, absolutely are against socialism and socialist policies, then please explain the medicare, medicaid, and social security checks that adorn many of your coffee tables. Or will be soon enough. Each one of those is definitely a perfect example socialism. So, are you not cashing them? Or is socialism okay when its to your benefit?

6) For a protest that is supposed to be about taxes and spending, it seems odd just how much of it seems to be about things that have nothing to do with either. I'm talking about all those questioning Obama's citizenship, or questioning his faith, claiming vast conspiracies about his election, his policies, etc. Which is unavoidable I guess, as every rally has an element of this. There probably were a few free hemp folks there too.

But there seems to be a lot of this today. Especially the citizenship and muslim accusations. They won't go away among some particular portions of the populace. Certain parts of the white populace, that is.

Before you dismiss this as one of those racism trumps things, let me ask you- if Obama being or not being born in Hawaii is cause for concern, or whether he's a muslim or a christian, then how is that during the election I didn't hear a peep about John McCain being born in Panama? Or anyone questioning his willy nilly devotion to two separate christain donimations, depending on the election cycle? Funny how only the black candidate is dogged by these things during the campaign and not the white one.

So yeah, this was the most absurd, fucked up thing I have seen in a long time. But what can you expect from a party with no idea, no long term goals, being run by a shock jock, a guy named Newt, and an attention hog Governor?

One of the few national conservatives that I respected. I disagreed with him on many things, but I never doubted his integrity.

He may or may not have been wrong on various economic issues in his life, but you never could doubt his philosophies came from a sincere, honest place.