Democrats don’t really care to associate with tea party folk, even though some of them are Democrats. Republicans would dearly like to rope the rampant stallion and bring it home to the ranch. But, from the very first, tea baggers have proudly declared their formal non-affiliation with the two major parties, and no one but polling researchers working day by night in the bowels of some major educational institutions claim to know who these folks might be. Even the ivy leaguers among pollsters will admit, when pressed, that opinion about them is unsettled. When opinion does settle, someone will write a book about the phenomenon, and all of us will know. Until then, Republicans will continue to stroke and pet the beast, while Democrats, put off by what they perceive to be the ideological orientation of the tea baggers – anti tax, pro-constitution, strongly individualistic (Galt-like, the tea baggers say) – will continue to ignore them and hope the movement dissipates by election day.
Democrats don’t really care to associate with tea party folk, even though some of them are Democrats. Republicans would dearly like to rope the rampant stallion and bring it home to the ranch. But, from the very first, tea baggers have proudly declared their formal non-affiliation with the two major parties, and no one but polling researchers working day by night in the bowels of some major educational institutions claim to know who these folks might be. Even the ivy leaguers among pollsters will admit, when pressed, that opinion about them is unsettled. When opinion does settle, someone will write a book about the phenomenon, and all of us will know. Until then, Republicans will continue to stroke and pet the beast, while Democrats, put off by what they perceive to be the ideological orientation of the tea baggers – anti tax, pro-constitution, strongly individualistic (Galt-like, the tea baggers say) – will continue to ignore them and hope the movement dissipates by election day.
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