Ah, the Tea Party is really small, in fact, merely "a sliver of opinion on the extreme end of politics." So, is the Tea Party larger or smaller than the sliver of opinion on the extreme end of politics of, say, the media arm of the DNC which is also known as the mainstream media?
The Tea Party Movement is a Scam
Is the tea party one of the most successful scams in American political history?
Before you dismiss the question, note that word "successful." Judge the tea party purely on the grounds of effectiveness and you have to admire how a very small group has shaken American political life and seized the microphone offered by the media, including the so-called liberal media.
But it's equally important to recognize that the tea party constitutes a sliver of opinion on the extreme end of politics receiving attention out of all proportion with its numbers.
Yes, there is a lot of discontent in America. But that discontent is better represented by the moderate voters who expressed quiet disillusionment to President Obama at the CNBC town hall meeting on Monday than by tea party ideologues who proclaim the unconstitutionality of the New Deal and everything since.
I especially love Mr. Dionne's characterization of the woman who expressed quiet disillusionment as a "moderate voice." So moderate that she worries about her two daughters and their continued attendance at private school, but the president answered her by discussing credit card laws, pre-existing conditions and stating that she probably wanted new shoes.
That her statement does not constitute "a sliver of opinion on the extreme end of politics" is obvious. It is also obvious that her sentiments represents a majority of Americans including the very sizable number of Tea Party members. If that is a scam then the meaning of scam has been turned on its head, but isn't that the reality of E. J. Dionne?
