stuff like this complicates the problem for the tea party:

Tea Party federation expels Tea Party Express - Politics - msnbc.com

i don't have any sympathy for them. but i do kinda marvel at this.

Except for the fact that they are against the bailouts, and just about anything Obama does, it doesn't seem like they are very well organized or have a solid platform yet. And they are making some amateur polsci 101 mistakes. Even on the abortion issue, I'm not sure if they really know where they stand. A lot of members are financial conservatives, and want women to have the freedom to decide what is best for them. Yet, they are also getting a lot of socially conservative members who are upset about the spending Republicans did in the past as well.
Goodreads Tea Party - Pro-Life v Pro-Choice [Pro-Theocracy v Pro-Freedom] (showing 1-50 of 52)

I have trouble viewing the Tea Party as a movement other than one based on a series of protests by groups of angry people who hate/dislike taxes, government spending, universal health care, the President, and their skewed and/or misled view of socialism.

The common thread that holds these people together seems to be these things. Because they're all grassrootsy, they eschew leadership and attempts at being co-opted by Republicans. So what holds them together is their dislike for things.

The problem with this is that it allows these racist fringe elements do their thing without any real unified or otherwise official repercussions from the movement itself---partly because nothing is official. If a Tea Partier wants Obama out of office for being an Indonesian Muslim baby-eating witchdoctor terrorist, then what's stopping him or her from saying so? There is no leadership, there is no definitive structure, there is no manifesto.

Or is there?

were you arching an eyebrow as you wrote that?

Actually, yes. I also touched my lips with my pinky finger.

how did i know that? hmm...

lol ! funny

I just wonder what they will think when we have droves of homeless sick, dying people wandering the streets, when all the freeway off ramps are too crowded to sleep under ? how many homeless beggars do you want to wade through to get to the grocery store ?

Is there something going on that I don't know about?

oh I don't know, we may be cutting off unemployment extensions, that will bring on more homelessness. which will turn into more people sick at emergency wards and begging at the grocery store (which happens now but it will expand I'm shure)
but I'd guess you already know this even though your in Canada. as it is I pass several off ramp beggers on the way home and I know there are communities of homeless in the woods along the freeway (I-5 through Seattle) I often see several people sleeping under off ramps on my drive to work.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about America too much. In the worst-case scenario, they'll start building housing out of scrapped military hardware and recycled porn mags.

Porn mags? What century are you living in?

In a century where there are countless tons of porn mags sitting around that people don't need anymore.

Why, what century are you in?

I'm sorry, I thought those had made it to the landfills a long time ago.

Oh, my spleen.

Both these videos ask some interesting questions:

Holy crap! Can you imagine what Hannity would have said if a group of black people started showing up at rallies with loaded semi-auto weapons and signs calling Bush a red-neck inbred, cracker head, moron!?! I'm sure his take would be "Well you know the right to bear arm and freedom of speech is a protected right in the US and these people have a right to express their views. Rush, what you think? "Oh, yes I agree what you're seeing here folks is Americans expressing their views and dislike for the current direction of the federal government, completely covered by the US constitution.

Yeah right, sure that's how the lions of the right would have seen that.

Back when Bush was in office these guys repeatedly stated that "regardless of your opinion of the man, this is America. The office of the POTUS deserves respect, anyone making negative comments about the POTUS are really being un-American... it's just that simply." But now that Obama is in office it's completely OK, encouraged and cheer led by these very same talking heads, to call the POTUS all kinds of nasty things.

Hypocrites.

But, Tully, according to the Birthers, Obama's not a real American....

And look at what Obama is doing to white America! What next, "white slavery"?

It's honestly scary how many GOP party member believe Obama was not born in Hawaii.