Tea Party darling candidates like Sharron Angle, Allen West and Joe Walsh

Great guitarist, though. I never figured him as a tea party guy after "Life's Been Good".

I will support Jack Morris for the Hall if they agree to not only kick Jim Rice out, but to eliminate all traces of him from the baseball record books.

My personal favorite was the head of the Tea Party in Missouri who had received a million dollars over the years from the Department of Agriculture for not growing wheat, and would not concede that this contradicted his "limited government" beliefs.

If the Tea Party wants to improve its PR, it might consider disassociating itself from many of its congressional allies and stop backing crackpots in GOP primaries. If you look at the Tea Party platform, it's got nothing but bromides about deficit spending and reducing the size of government. But as soon as you see what Tea Party darling candidates like Sharron Angle, Allen West and Joe Walsh are into, it's not hard to conclude that this is just one more group that uses bland language in its official positions to mask what its members really believe underneath it.

Andy, may I introduce you to "crackpots" Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, Pat Toomey, and Ted Cruz?

And if the few Tea Party supporters I know are indicative of the overall attitudes of the group, it's no wonder they're seen as screwballs or worse. It's true that they're definitely nice people, but that doesn't stop them from bombarding me with every sort of nutball Obama Derangement Syndrome argument that's out there, including jokes about his birthplace and citizenship.

See, I saw very little of that, and I talked to quite a few Tea Partiers. Screwballs? Really? Because they made jokes about Obama? You do realize you're allowed to make fun of politicians, right? (And after eight years of Bush Derangement [actually twelve, and counting], I'd say the left has pretty much given up the civility high ground for all time.)

The point being that when you lie down with dogs, you tend to wake up with fleas, and the Tea Party has been lying down with a bunch of mad dogs ever since the day it was formed.

"Mad dogs"! Please. Get over yourself.

I'm exhausted with the whole debate at this point. I really don't care.

I will say this, however: people acting as if Jack Morris' induction will singlehandedly RUIN the Hall Of Fame -- and the otherwise very strong anti-Morris argument does sometimes shade over into these sorts of hysterics, both here and elsewhere -- do their cause no good whatsoever.

Sorry, but this is the sort of hysteria that I'm not seeing from anti- folks. I have yet to hear anything approaching a claim from them that Morris' election will ruin, let alone "RUIN" the Hall of Fame. I can't even recall a post on this site that attacks Morris, the man. There's been some contempt aimed at writers who persist in nonsense like 'he pitched to the score', but at some point you have to expect to be called on willful ignorance.

Other people upthread have made the case that the question of Morris in the Hall is a proxy for all kinds of other, worthwhile arguments. We're at a point in the US where a large, powerful faction with significant representation at the highest levels routinely argues without any recourse to facts, and pretends that important, substantive evidence (when it's against them) simply doesn't exist.

That's not a good place for a body politic to be, and it's easy to see that also being played out at the vastly less important level of the Morris debate; hence, sometimes, the passion.

If the Tea Party wants to improve its PR, it might consider disassociating itself from many of its congressional allies and stop backing crackpots in GOP primaries.

The problem with this is, you can't improve your PR much when a lot of what you believe is simply nutty. Alan West isn't the fringe of the Tea Party. He's much closer to its heart than he is to its edge.

If only there was a Pavement reference!

What is Pavement?

What is Pavement?

The Jack Morris of music.

*slowly backs away*

You know, in my role as Mr. Local News Guy, I've actually covered several Tea party rallies.

And in MY role as Mr. Local Government Guy, I've actually sat down for face-to-face meetings with Tea Partiers and attended their monthly meetings at the community center.

I had to coin a phrase for their collective attitude: Aggressively ignorant. They knew what they knew was True, and if it wasn't (No, ma'am, cities are not allowed to run deficits.) they dismissed any word to the contrary.

@58: My experience as well. In life, I've noticed that being dumb isn't necessarily all that dangerous. It's the people who are dumb, and absolutely certain they are absolutely right that cause the most damage, by far.

I had to coin a phrase for their collective attitude: Aggressively ignorant. They knew what they knew was True, and if it wasn't (No, ma'am, cities are not allowed to run deficits.) they dismissed any word to the contrary.

Well, you can say this about many people on all points of the political spectrum. I'm not saying many Tea Party types aren't ignorant; they are. But being ignorant ain't a hanging offense; if it were, we'd all be dead men.

Look, if you believe more government is the solution to whatever problem, you're naturally going to have little patience for people who insist it isn't...and vice versa. "If those people weren't so damn stupid, they'd agree with us more often!" And so it goes.

Tea Party darling candidates like Sharron Angle, Allen West and Joe Walsh



Great guitarist, though. I never figured him as a tea party guy after "Life's Been Good".

Let me first get the obligatory I hate the ####### Eagles, man, out of the way...

But the guitarist actually played an event for Tammy Duckworth, the lady who knocked off the former congressman of the same name.

I never think of Guitarist Joe Walsh* as a member of the Eagles, just as a solo artist (and James Gang member).

* - As opposed to Nutty Politician Joe Walsh.

But being ignorant ain't a hanging offense...

if you believe more government is the solution to whatever problem...

You seem determined to put words in my mouth. I sincerely hope you're not my Mr. Local News Guy, because I'd have little choice to distrust every word you said. Also, having once been a Mr. Local News Guy myself (print version), I detested jackasses in the business ruining my credibility before I even got to the scene.

"Look, if you believe more government is the solution to whatever problem, you're naturally going to have little patience for people who insist it isn't...and vice versa. "If those people weren't so damn stupid, they'd agree with us more often!" And so it goes."

Nobody believes that more government is the solution to whatever problem, nor do the Tea Party types believe that it isn't from what I can see. They only believe that the government should help them and not anyone else.
How many Tea Party members did you run across who were willing to give up a dime of what they get from the govt?

How many tea party rallies did you cover when Bush was President running up the National Debt?

Look, if you believe more government is the solution to whatever problem, you're naturally going to have little patience for people who insist it isn't...and vice versa. "If those people weren't so damn stupid, they'd agree with us more often!" And so it goes.

Talk about unfair and ridiculous stereotypes...

"But being ignorant ain't a hanging offense; if it were, we'd all be dead men."

Didn't a survey find that some huge percentage of Tea Partiers don't believe in evolution? No we are not all equally ignorant.

When a fellow media guy or politician starts in on tea partiers, I'll sometimes ask them if they've ever actually met any. They look at me in shock, as if they'd never even contemplate such a thing. "Actually talk to them, the Worst People Ever? Quelle horreur!"

I've met quite a few. Some are nice-but-misguided people who don't know much about government or think very deeply about issues, and some are legitimate whackjobs, like the guy down the street from my work who kept five hundred kajillion rounds of ammunition in the basement of his hardware store so that he'd be ready when society collapsed.

Andy, may I introduce you to "crackpots" Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, Pat Toomey, and Ted Cruz?

I can't say for certain about the others (my impression has always been that Rubio is more of a cynical panderer than a legitimate crazy person), but Pat Toomey (my current senator, unfortunately) is absolutely a crackpot.

Didn't a survey find that some huge percentage of Tea Partiers don't believe in evolution?

51%, according to this poll from 2011.

And if the few Tea Party supporters I know are indicative of the overall attitudes of the group, it's no wonder they're seen as screwballs or worse. It's true that they're definitely nice people, but that doesn't stop them from bombarding me with every sort of nutball Obama Derangement Syndrome argument that's out there, including jokes about his birthplace and citizenship.

See, I saw very little of that, and I talked to quite a few Tea Partiers.

By amusing coincidence, here are the latest three messages from my favorite Tea Party proselytizer, all received in my inbox this morning:

2:48 AM

all they wanted was to have nothing to do with this idiot

http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-texas-must-remain-part-us-212720777.html

guess these tax and spend lunatics need all the suckers , oh I mean gullible citizens they can get.

I can't think of a better outcome, what we are trying to say , and I know you don't believe it but there are 10's of millions of us , we just want to have nothing to do with you. You type are expendable, must be hard to realize that your thinking is all wrong , to the point we want to never see you again.

3:00 AM

first it was how much sugar you can consume, then catholics and non believers in murdering defenseless babies are forced to actually pay for these murders, then forcing Americans to purchase insurance, then using your tax money forcing Americans to pay for legal aliens college ( while black poor Americans don't even get fed properly, and they were born here, then you don't have to show an ID to vote, but ya sure do need one to get a drivers license, hmmmmmmmm now it's how many bullets you can have, hmmmmmm I think I see a pattern here, oh yeah
America land of the enslaved,

I really want to leave and have no use for this nonsense, workin on it can't wait. what a ######## this country has become

But I suppose people like yourself do need to be shepherded, and told what to do and what to think, and then there are those of us that are independent!

3:05 AM

come to think of it, since we are so stupid why not propose legislation to get rid of us ?????? Funny how all liberal progressive zealots don't want to separate, it is strange here is your chance to get rid of the slime in society, and strangely you still want us around, it is perplexing. Oh yeah I just realized as Margaret Thatcher said so eloquently social liberalism is a great idea until you run out of other peoples money!

Of course there are loons on the Left, too, and in the past I've known a lot more of them than I've known people like this. But the loons on the Left these days don't control the majority faction of one of our two major parties, and if the views expressed by the congressional Tea Party caucus don't reflect the tone of these latest messages from my friend (who remains a friend in spite of his insanity), I'd sure like to know where the difference lies.

I sincerely hope you're not my Mr. Local News Guy, because I'd have little choice to distrust every word you said. Also, having once been a Mr. Local News Guy myself (print version), I detested jackasses in the business ruining my credibility before I even got to the scene.

Every word? Really? What about the words, "And now here's the weather"? Calm down, ace.

My point is that many officeholders (mostly Dems, but more than a few Repubs) do indeed look at more government as the solution to most problems. It's what they do. Hammer and nails, and all that.

How many Tea Party members did you run across who were willing to give up a dime of what they get from the govt?

None, of course, although there were those who claimed they would. Nobody ever wants to give up anything, merely shift the cash from "people we don't like" to "people we do like, preferably us".

More cake, please.

The most awesome Tea Party-vs.-government throwdown took place in Fountain Hills, Ariz., where the uninformed masses got all pitchfork/torch-y because... the town was re-upping its solid waste contract.